Why Sensory Play Matters: Building Focus and Fine Motor Skills Through Exploration
Young kids need time to explore the world with their whole body. Sensory play is a meaningful opportunity to help toddlers and young children build focus and fine motor skills while they dig, splash, or scoop. With a few simple tools and designated space, you can help your child learn through exploration.
What is it?
Sensory play is a broad term covering any activity that helps kids engage their senses–touch, sight, sound, smell, and even taste. Our senses help us make sense of the world around us and sensory play especially helps toddlers learn and practice skills through discovery and movement. Sensory play helps young kids develop focus, cause and effect, strengthen coordination, control, spatial awareness, and grip strength all while being fun and engaging.
Our Favorite Sensory Tools:
Containers
Scoops / Spoons
Floating Toys
Sand Toys
Bins
Sensory Table
What to do?
Fill a shallow bin with dry rise, pasta, peas, oats. Provide cups and spoons and let your child scoop, pour and dump to their hearts content.
Fill a shallow bin with water. You can also go outside, use a water table, or play in the bath (our personal favorite). Add cups, spoons, and floating toys. Encourage exploration: splashing, filling, pouring, and transferring water from one container to another.
Fill a small sandbox, plastic storage box, or tray with clean sand. Provide scoops, sifters, and small containers. Let your child dig, scoop, and pour the sand.
Fill a bin with leaves, pinecones, sticks and smooth stones. Provide some scoops and containers and let your child play.
Typically Kids Can:
Dumb objects out of a container by 12-24 months
Use both hands to manipulate objects like takes lid of a container by 18-24 months
Sensory play doesn’t need to be complicated or Pinterest worthy. In fact, a simple setup usually encourages richer play. Your child doesn’t need a million options. Keep the containers, scoops, and toys to a minimum. Three at a time works well for us. Then we rotate them out which helps keep the activity fun and engaging. As your child engages their senses, their learning focus, strengthening fine motor skills, and cultivating curiosity through play.
