Focus On: Sensory Experience (Part 1): Table Suds

Sensory experiences are still as big a part of our classroom as they were when our children were infants. Back then, as our babies grew within the span of their sensori-motor cognitive development, we explained this in the context of our children's brain development. They learned from their senses. They were comforted by soft, smooth surfaces, intrigued by the crinkling, crunching sounds of foil pannels, delighted in the cool squeaky splash of thin puddles. These sensory experiences gave the children motivation for the manipulation of their environment. They found pulleys that rang chimes, or paper to crumple and tear. As their fine motor skills develop to allow more complex manipulative skills, these sensory experiences remain a major pull for our kids. Its part of the reason why they run their hands over a table we've just cleaned with soapy water- or come back to the sink after they've already washed their hands a dozen times that day. In order to give the children more chances in the classroom to touch, to feel, we've conducted activities like the one pictured below, wher Melissa covered the table in soapy paint, much to the curiosity and delight of the children.