Preschool Activities for the Five Senses

Ideas for Crafts and Games for Four and Five Year Olds

Aug 13, 2009

There are many engaging ways for a preschooler to learn about the five senses. Planning crafts and games will help make teaching about the five senses fun and exciting.

Parents do not need to spend time in a toy store looking for the ideal toy to help a child learn the five senses. By looking around the house and collecting items is a cost effective way to make crafts or games children will love to play. These crafts and games can be just as fun and educational as the many toys found at the toy store.

Activities for Each of the Five Senses

Homemade Binoculars: Glue together two toilet paper rolls side by side. Tape a thick rectangle piece of construction paper around the toilet paper rolls. Punch two holes at the top of toilet paper rolls. Use binoculars to look for birds in trees or leaves starting to turn colour.

Memory game: Using a deck of cards, take out all numbers two to five. Using these numbers place all the cards in no particular order face down. This game can be played with two or more people or once a child understands the game can be left independently to play.

Blindfold Fruit Taste Testing: Cut up five different types of fruit. Some types of fruit to use are: bananas, strawberries, pineapples, watermelons and pears to name a few. Cut two pieces of each and ask the child to close his or her eyes before starting. Let the child taste each fruit without eating the entire piece of fruit. Then pair up the fruit and place to the side. Once done the child may take the blindfold off and see how many pairs are correct.

Sweet, Sour, Salty and Bitter: Before starting explain how taste buds are responsible for detecting tastes and are found on the tongue. Have the child take a look in the mirror at the taste buds on the tongue. Using lemons for sour, candy for sweet, salted chips for salt and raw rhubarb, zucchini or unsweetened cocoa for bitter.

Texture Book: Make a book of different textured fabric or wallpaper. Types of fabrics used can be silk, cotton and burlap. Have the child write at the bottom of the page how that particular piece felt. A child can use words such as bumpy, smooth or itchy can be used to describe the feeling for each piece of material.

Finger Painting: Using finger paints create pictures while listening to soft music. Ask the child to let the music help him or her to move the paint on the paper.

Go to the Park or Zoo: Go to the park or zoo and sit and listen for a few minutes quietly. Ask the child what he or she hears.

Simon Says: Play the game Simon Says with a child. The child can only do the direction that is given only if the adult says "Simon Says". If the child does the action when the adult does not say, "Simon says" then the child is out of the game and needs to wait until a new game is started.

Take a Sniff: Using twelve-baby food jars cover the outside with wrapping paper or construction paper. In each set of jars place the same item in each. Some liquids need to be poured on a cotton ball then placed in the jar. Have a child smell each and match each smell together to make a pair. Examples of items to use for this activity can be: cinnamon, vinegar, bay leaf, mustard, ketchup, onion, dill, chocolate bar or mint toothpaste.

Bake Cookies: Bake a batch of cookies and ask the child to say when he or she can smell the cookies in the oven.

Five Senses Programs

Check the museums or school divisions in the area to find out if these organizations offer any programs for preschoolers to learn about the senses. Often there are many fun and interactive programs that provide hands on activities and demonstrations about the five senses.

Check Websites for More Activities and Songs

Looking through the Internet is a great way to find other ideas for more activities. Many sites give free printable colouring pages of the senses. Check this web page Preschool Activity Theme - The Five Senses for more great ideas for activities by teachers.

There are many fun activities available to learn more about the five senses. Playing Simon Says or finger painting will teach a young child about the five senses in an engaging way. Calling the local museum to find out what programs are available about the senses is another great way to teach a child about the senses. Taking the time and planning fun games and crafts will make learning about senses enjoyable and interesting for a young learner.

Seaman, Rosie. Through Their Looking Glass, Nashville TN: Incentive Publications Inc.1979.

The copyright of the article Preschool Activities for the Five Senses in Kids Educational Activities is owned by Jackie Parsons. Permission to republish Preschool Activities for the Five Senses in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.