Dear Fellow Navigators of Life’s Little Lessons,
I’ves in teaching our children through sensorial means.
Here are a few.
Parents can extend these principles to their home environment, turning everyday moments into opportunities for sensory learning.
Tips and Tricks
• Find out what kind of learner your child is by performing a few experiments. Observe your child. See which way piques their curiosity. Is your child more inclined to learn through auditory means, or do they perk up when you present toys with brighter colors?
• Instead of teaching them how to spell by writing words on paper, use magnetic letters on your fridge or die-cut letters.
• When you read them a book, point to the words. Better still, guide their hands as you sound out the words.
• Use household items to teach your children how to count. Cheerios, apples, pencils, spoons are delightful counting tools.
• For older children, play card games, such as War (flipping open a card and adding or multiplying the numbers on the card) or Blackjack (lots of addition there). Call out the answers as they solve it (an auditory approach).
• Throw dice to form a mathematical equation and shout out the answers. There are many stores selling dice with a variety of sides, not just the standard six-sided kinds.
• Play with color. Use vibrant felt pens to illustrate a science lesson. Ask your children to illustrate the story you just read with crayons. Or ask them to write mathematical equations with paint. Be creative.
• Encourage the use of Play-Doh, sand, or clay. Ask them to make geometric shapes with them. Or ask them to make several snowmen corresponding with the numeral cards you made.
• Write or draw on a tray of sand to help them read or write.
• Play Jumping Jacks or Simon Says when teaching math for the development of gross motor skills as well. When we teach verbs, we act out the words written in a “secret” note. You can do the same too.
• For older children, encourage drawing or writing their notes, feelings, or ideas down. It doesn’t have to be a work of art, just a way to memorize and learn more effectively. It is also a way of brainstorming or planning. Making story maps or illustrating plots generate ideas and help children think creatively.
With the use of your imagination, you can think of many ways to teach your children using movement and sensorial experiences.
I hope this helps you in your important journey as a parent. As an architect of your child’s mind.
Yours in the journey,
Susie