F - J in the ABCs of Sensory Play

F is for Fragrances

Smell is a really important sense that often gets forgotten in play. The scent in a room or outside can seriously affect our mood and well-being, in a spa it always smells wonderful to help you relax and feel at ease... have you ever noticed how uncomfortable and irritable you can feel if there is a bad smell around (especially when you were pregnant!!)? And its actually very easy to to add fragrance to a sensory activity; you can use essential oils, food and drink, herbs and spices (which you will find a whole section on in H further down), flowers and other natural materials. Here are some scent ideas:

• peppermint
• eucalyptus 
• tea tree 
• pine 
• coffee
• tea 
• herbal and fruit teas are a good way to infuse smell
• fruit - strawberry and banana have quite prominent smells
• citrus - can come from the juice and zest of the fruit, and you can buy flavoured oils as well 
• herbs 
• spices - cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg are a few of my favourites 
• soap and shaving foam have their own 'clean' kind of smells ;)
• shampoo and conditioners often have great fragrances 
• flowers and leaves 
• rose water 
• lavender 
• chocolate or cocoa 
• pre-made oils and mists, like aqua mist which smells like the sea.
• you can burn scented candles or oil burners too, but obviously make sure they are in a safe place 
• coconut
• almond 
• peanuts (be wary of allergies) 

Here are some sensory activities that use smells prominently:

• Coffee and Tea Sensory Tray from Creative Playhouse
• Lavender Dyed Rice from Nurture Store - we'll be looking at more lavender ideas in R is for Relaxation later in the week. 
• This Get Better Bowl using Eucalyptus Oil is fantastic from Small Potatoes
• Growing a Jewelled Rose makes Scented Sand
• Love Play and Learn has some lovely Peppermint Playdough and Small Potatoes has this Peppermint Glue which is amazing! 
• Chocolate Playdough from The Imagination Tree

Baking and cooking are great hands on sensory activity that definitely includes smells. We made Gingerbread and the whole house smelled delicious. Baking bread gives off a wonderful smell too. 

G is for Glitter 

Glitter is for life, not just for Christmas! 

Glitter is one of my all time favourite things. It truly makes me happy. And it is a great addition to any sensory play. I am going to share some of my favourite sparkly sensory activities but first I urge you to get a tub of glitter and slowly pour it on to your child's hands. Its amazing!! Do it. :)

• Adding glitter to playdough is always great, I really like this Black Sparkle Playdough from the Imagination Tree. 
• And their homemade fairy dust (which we actually made today!)
• We made sparkly soap mud which was also inspired by The Imagination Tree. 
• And added silver glitter to make our Winter Wonderland tray sparkle like snow!
• See the sensory fun we had when decorating our salt dough creations with glitter
• Play Create Explore came up with this fabulous Ice, Glitter and Oil activity!
• And see how they added it to Blue Goop for some seriously sensory fun
• We added glitter to a Shimmering Winter Bath, see it in our guest post at Bath Activities for Kids
• Rainbows Within Reach have included a sensory bag made from Hair Gel and Glitter in their own ABCs of Art Integration post. 

There is so much you can do with glitter, and it can be added to pretty much any activity for an extra sparkle! We get our glitter from the 99p shop [dollar store], Ive also dipped into my own stash of make up glitter and shimmer dust which is still pretty inexpensive. 

H is for Herbs and Spices 

This leads on from fragrance somewhat, as of course all herbs and spices smell - some nicer than others. 
Herbs and spices also have great textures and colours, which make them wonderful sensory materials. Here are some great sensory play ideas that involve herbs and spices:

• We made Herb and Spice Playdough
• Connecting Family and Seoul did some Toddler Inspired Cooking with Herb Playdough 
• The Imagination Tree made Natural Food Colourings with herbs and spices
• Learn with Play at Home did some Painting with Spices and Seasonings 
• Make, Do & Friend used glue and spices to do some Sensory Spice Painting 

I is for Imaginative Play  

Imaginative play is always great for young children, and is vital for their learning and for developing their understanding of the world. Using sensory play with imaginative play only enhances the experience and engagement and therefore increases the learning. 

Use tea bags and coffee granules for the pretend tea party, serve up playdough cupcakes, make some smelly medicine for the doctor's kit, make fairy dust for the fairy garden, bake with wholegrain playdough, cook up some garden soup, make a mud pie, or even a mud kitchen...

• Connecting Family and Seoul did some lovely sensory gardening here
• The Imagination Tree set up a Playdough Sweet Shop and they have loads of other ideas too! 
• Learn with Play at Home set up a simple Washing Up activity 
• I just love this Roadways in the Leaves activity from Happy Hooligans 
• Set up a Construction Site in your sand box or use coffee beans and chocolate playdough like Small Potatoes did here. 

Small world play and themed sensory trays are great ways to combine sensory and imaginative play, and we'll look at that when we get to 'S' and 'T'   :) 

J is for Jelly and other Edible Sensory Play 

Edible sensory play is wonderful. Think about how much children learn at mealtimes! (While we're on that topic, be sure to check out the ABCs of the Family Dinner Table from Connecting Family and Seoul). Edible sensory play engages all the sense, you smell it, see it, feel it, taste it and hear it (crunch crunch!), and food provides some of the best sensory materials for play, even if they are not especially tasty. 

disclaimer: make sure that children are always supervised when putting things in their mouths. 

• Jelly
• Yogurt 
• Pudding or Angel Delight
• Ice cream 
• Spagetti  
• Flour 
• Sugar 
• Custard 

And here are some of those in action:

• This post from Rainy Day Mum for Creative with Kids on Edible Sensory Play for Kids is great!
• We played with Reptiles in Green Jelly
• Edible Finger Paint (scroll to the second half to see the Angel Delight) from the Imagination Tre
• Rainbow Spaghetti from One Perfect Day 
• Pumpkin Goop from Sun Hats and Wellie Boots
• This Sensory Pudding Paint from Train Up A Child looks wonderful 
• Yogurt Finger Painting from No Time for Flash Cards
• I love this JellO Excavation from Tinkerlab

Well thats part 2 of your ultimate guide to sensory play! Come back tomorrow for even more ideas and inspiration, when we go from Kid's Play to Occasions! 

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