Kittie Butcher, Michigan State University Extension, and Janet Pletcher, Lansing Community College -
In play experiences, combining the sense of touch with the senses of vision, hearing, taste and smell helps build cognitive skills.
Ten-month old Cassie is grasping and turning some wooden blocks. One by one, she turns them around in her hands, feeling them carefully, and then she brings them to her mouth to further explore their texture and shape. She notices they don’t seem to smell or taste like anything special. With her tongue and her fingers, she explores the flat sides and sharper corners. She is using all of her senses—vision, smell, touch, hearing and taste—to learn more about these blocks.
Young children learn through using multiple senses simultaneously. Hands-on learning with concrete objects, like Cassie’s experience in the scenario described above, leads to abstract thought as she grows and develops. In play experiences, combining the sense of touch with the senses of vision, hearing, taste and smell helps build cognitive skills.
Cognitive skills are those skills we use when we solve problems and create novel ideas from current ideas. The process of solving problems begins with observation; that is, taking note of the attributes of objects. Young children use all their senses to explore objects and they file it away in their memories. Also, when children have sensory experiences, they store their whole body experiences in their “sensory memory.” We use our sensory memory to begin the process of understanding and gaining knowledge.
By exploring the wooden blocks over and over, a child learns something about the characteristics of blocks. One of the things they learn is that the big block is heavier than the small block, but they all taste the same. As High Scope early childhood specialist Suzanne Gainsley stated, “Discovering and differentiating these characteristics is a first step in classification, or sorting—an important part of preschoolers’ science learning and discovery.”
Early childhood educators cannot overstate the importance of sensory play in the educational process. It is the foundation of all the skills children will use in school learning to read, write and solve math and science problems. Once a child has these experiences, they are able to draw upon the body memory and cognitive memory of their experiences when faced with new situations. Further, the process of observation is a skill in and of itself. Keen observation skills give a child an advantage in school and throughout life.
This process continues through the child’s whole life and is the same process adults use to discover new medications or understand the nature of matter at the molecular level. “By providing students with materials that they can physically manipulate, play with and explore, teachers help them learn more about the world and develop crucial skills that they will utilize later in life,” said Caitrin Blake of Concordia University Nebraska.
For example, a texture or sensory table is a popular place for children in early childhood education settings. Cognitive skills such as math skills are developed through spatial awareness and pattern recognition with objects in the sensory table. Science and technology skills, which are cognitive skills too, include observing, experimenting, drawing conclusions, predicting and learning about the natural and physical world.
Putting items in the texture table that present problems or challenges for children will help them develop cognitive skills. Teachers might put tubes of different sizes and items of different sizes so children must find the right-sized tube to fit the item. Gainsley suggests including “objects that children can pour materials through (e.g., paper towel or toilet paper tubes, funnels with different-sized openings, bendable plastic tubing in different lengths).”
While safety is always a concern the teachers of young children must be aware of and attentive to, providing young children with a variety of materials and objects that have different colors, textures and smells enrich a child’s life and build the skills they will need as adults.
Sensory play encourages learning through exploration, curiosity, problem solving and creativity. It helps to build nerve connections in the brain and encourages the development of language and motor skills.
Play has shown to have many benefits for the brain because it not only engages children in activities that promote cognitive development (e.g., problem-solving, collaboration, mental flexibility, creativity) but it also removes barriers to cognitive development (e.g., fear, anxiety, stress).
For example, a texture or sensory table is a popular place for children in early childhood education settings. Cognitive skills such as math skills are developed through spatial awareness and pattern recognition with objects in the sensory table.
By engaging their senses, these bins provide children with valuable hands-on experiences that promote cognitive, physical, and social-emotional development. From exploring different textures to enhancing fine motor skills, sensory bins offer endless opportunities for growth and discovery.
Sensory processing is the base on which the human cognitive system is built. Thus, information processing takes place in two directions: bottom-up and top-down, referred to, respectively, as stimulus-driven processing and knowledge-driven processing.
The development of the five senses, sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell contributes to our cognitive development and is linked to physical development such as the development of binocular vision and fine motor skills. Cognitive development also includes understanding concepts such as time, size, shape, and color.
Cognitive play refers to types of play that help build children's problem-solving and other cognitive skills. Examples include puzzles, memory games, and building blocks. However, anything that involves a challenge for kids to overcome will provide benefits.
An example of cognitive development is when infants start to form memory skills and are able to recall the voices of their parents or recognize their faces. In adolescence, memory development allows the teenagers to solve complex mathematical concepts and easily retrieve information.
Through role play, children learn to navigate social situations, anticipate consequences, and develop strategies to overcome challenges. They also enhance their language skills by using dialogue and vocabulary relevant to the roles they are portraying.
Sensory-cognitive instruction involves the explicit development of imagery. Imagery underlies both word reading and oral/written language comprehension, in the form of symbol imagery and concept imagery respectively.
What is sensory cognition? Sensory cognition is how senses are used to make a connection with the world around us. Let's consider playing with slime as an example. When a child touches slime, they use multiple senses like touch, smell, vision, and can hear the squelching of the slime as well.
Seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and smelling are all ways children learn to think, feel and compare their environment and the objects within it. Using multiple senses at the same time stimulates learning and language development, especially descriptive words.
Blocks, counters and items with assorted colors and pieces also make great cognitive activities for preschoolers because they provide an important sensory experience. As kids use these materials, they develop their sense of touch and use that sense to explore colors, sounds and textures.
Exploration: Sensory play provides a safe space for exploration. Children can investigate new textures, smells, and sounds, building their curiosity and expanding their understanding of the world. This form of inquiry nurtures their cognitive and sensory processing abilities.
The sensorimotor stage typically takes place within the first two years of a child's life. It is marked by the child discovering the difference between themselves and their environment. At that point, they will use their senses to learn things about both themselves and their environment.
These impairments can affect not only their physical and cognitive development but also their emotional and social growth. For instance, a child with a visual impairment might rely more on touch and sound to learn, fostering exceptional problem-solving skills and resilience.
Cognitive-behavioral play therapy uses play in making cognitive changes. It introduces children to different, more adaptive responses to their difficulties, which are then used as models utilizing developmentally appropriate tools (32).
Allowing children to control their sensory experiences empowers them to manage their emotions and reactions. Exploration: Sensory play provides a safe space for exploration. Children can investigate new textures, smells, and sounds, building their curiosity and expanding their understanding of the world.
Introduction: My name is Aracelis Kilback, I am a nice, gentle, agreeable, joyous, attractive, combative, gifted person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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