It's Mhine4ever!

Children learn about their world through their senses. From the moment they are born, they begin exploring sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures. As educators, parents, and caregivers, we can nurture this natural curiosity by creating activities that stimulate each sense while promoting social, emotional, and cognitive growth.

Each daily activity is developmentally appropriate and focuses on one of the five senses.

Learning Goals:

• Introduce sensory experiences through safe exploration.

• Encourage bonding and social interaction.

• Develop early motor skills and curiosity.

Happy birthday, brave soul — to me. 

 Theme: Let curious hands discover soft, rough, bumpy, and squishy textures!

Today we celebrate the amazing sense of touch—how our hands, feet, and skin help us learn about the world through texture and temperature. From soft cotton to scratchy sandpaper, we’ll give our preschoolers plenty of opportunities to explore with their hands (and even toes!).

🧠 Learning Goals:

• Recognize and describe different textures (e.g., soft, rough, smooth, bumpy)

• Build sensory vocabulary

• Strengthen fine motor skills and tactile awareness

• Promote mindfulness and body awareness

👐 Activities:

1. Texture Box – Mystery Touch Game

Create a touch-and-feel mystery box with a variety of safe objects hidden inside.
Items might include:

• Cotton balls (soft)

• Sandpaper (rough)

• Rubber ball (smooth)

• Pompoms (fluffy)

• Pasta or rice (bumpy)

Let each child take turns reaching in (without looking!) and describing what they feel. Ask, “Is it soft or rough? Cold or squishy?” Then reveal the object and talk about it together!

2. Art Time – Texture Collage

Provide a variety of materials like:

• Fabric scraps

• Aluminum foil

• Cotton balls

• Tissue paper

• Sandpaper

• Buttons

Let the children glue the materials to cardstock to create their own “touch collage.” Encourage them to name the textures as they work—great for vocabulary and sensory development!

3. Outdoor Play – Barefoot Sensory Walk

If weather allows, set up a mini sensory path outside with trays or sections of:

• Soft grass

• Smooth stones

• Water in a shallow bin

• Textured mats

• Bubble wrap

Let children walk barefoot or feel the textures with their hands. Talk about how each one feels. This encourages mindfulness and helps them notice how different textures affect their body.

📚 Story Time:

Touch and Feel by DK Books
This tactile board book is perfect for tiny hands! Children will love touching the different textures while learning new words. Let them pass the book around and describe each page.

🎵 Song of the Day:

“Touch Your Nose, Pat Your Head”
A simple, interactive action song that invites kids to touch different body parts while practicing listening skills and motor control.
Add your own verses like “Rub your tummy, tap your toes!”

🧺 Extension Ideas:

• Create a texture walk indoors with different rugs, mats, and towels

• Add texture books to your reading nook

• Introduce clay or playdough for extra tactile fun

💡 Blog Tip for Educators:

The sense of touch is deeply connected to a child’s emotions and body awareness. Providing safe, calming textures can support self-regulation and comfort. Always watch for sensitivities—some children may prefer certain textures and avoid others. That’s okay!

Let those curious hands explore! Today is all about feeling the world—one texture at a time. 🖐️

 Theme: Let’s explore the flavors we love—and some we don’t!

Today is all about tasting and talking! Our little learners will explore the delicious (and sometimes surprising) world of flavors—from sweet bananas to sour lemons, salty crackers to bland lettuce. It’s a great way to spark curiosity and conversation during snack time!

🧠 Learning Goals:

• Identify the basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty, and bland

• Develop vocabulary related to taste and food

• Practice trying new foods in a fun, pressure-free way

• Encourage healthy food choices and creativity in food preparation

🍽️ Activities:

1. Taste Test Adventure

Offer small samples of four basic flavors:

• 🍌 Sweet: Banana slices

• 🍋 Sour: Lemon wedges

• 🧂 Salty: Crackers or pretzels

• 🥬 Bland: Fresh lettuce

Encourage children to describe each taste using words like “yummy,” “weird,” “sour,” or “crunchy.” Discuss which ones they liked or didn’t like—and that it’s okay to feel differently!

2. Cooking Fun – Fruit Salad or Cookie Decorating

• 🥗 Option 1: Make a simple fruit salad together. Children can help peel bananas, place grapes, and stir everything in a big bowl.

• 🍪 Option 2: Cookie decorating fun. Let them spread a little frosting and add sprinkles or fruit pieces.

This hands-on activity boosts fine motor skills and encourages teamwork, plus they’ll love tasting their creations!

3. Art Time – Paper Plate “Pizza” Craft

Provide each child with a paper plate as the “pizza base” and let them add their favorite toppings using cut-out construction paper or stickers (cheese, pepperoni, pineapple, mushrooms, etc.).
Talk about which toppings are sweet, salty, or savory!

📚 Story Time:

Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert
This colorful book introduces children to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables from A to Z. Encourage children to call out ones they’ve tasted—or would like to try!

🎵 Song of the Day:

“I Like to Eat Apples and Bananas”
This classic silly song is a favorite for kids, helping with vowel sounds while celebrating yummy fruits. Add funny faces and dance moves to make it even more fun!

🧺 Extension Ideas:

• Add real or pretend food items to your dramatic play kitchen

• Set up a "restaurant" with menus showing different tastes

• Have children draw their favorite food and describe how it tastes

💡 Blog Tip for Educators:

When exploring taste, always consider allergies and parental permissions. Keep tasting sessions small and optional—never force a child to try something they’re uncomfortable with. It's all about discovery and fun!

Let little tongues lead the way—today is a flavorful adventure that will have your preschoolers giggling, guessing, and asking for more!

 (Five Senses Week for Preschoolers – Day 3)

We’ve been seeing, we’ve been hearing, and now it’s time to sniff our way through the day! Welcome to Day 3 of our Five Senses Week, where our curious preschoolers explore the wonderful—and sometimes surprising—Sense of Smell.

Smell is one of the most powerful senses, helping children connect with memories, food, nature, and even safety (think of smelling smoke or spoiled food!). This lesson invites children to use their noses to discover new scents and describe them in playful, expressive ways.

🌟 What We’re Learning Today:

• What our nose does and how it helps us

• Identifying and describing familiar scents

• Distinguishing between pleasant and unpleasant smells

• Developing descriptive language and memory recall

• Engaging in creative, sensory-rich activities

🕘 Our Daily Schedule – Smell Adventure

🧺 Materials You’ll Need:

• Small scent jars or containers (labeled or unlabeled)

• Items for scent game: lemon peel, coffee beans, vanilla extract, vinegar

• Art materials: paper, glue, cinnamon, cocoa powder, nutmeg

• Sensory table fillers: dried herbs (basil, rosemary), flower petals, cloves, orange peels

• Book: What’s That Smell? by Lucy Cousins (or similar smell-themed book)

• Chart with scent faces: 😊 (good smell), 😖 (bad smell)

• Song lyrics or visual cards for “Sniff Sniff Sniff”

🟢 Circle Time: What Does Your Nose Know?

Start the day with a fun chat about noses and smells.

💬 Ask questions:

• What do you like to smell?

• What smells yucky?

• What happens when we smell food? Or a flower?

👉 Show pictures of noses, flowers, food, and other smell-related items. Introduce the words: nose, smell, scent, sweet, stinky, strong, soft, sniff

Optional: Let children try “air sniffing” with eyes closed and describe what they imagine they smell—this builds creativity and anticipation!

👃 Scent Bottles Game (Sensory Mystery Fun!)

Prepare small jars or containers with different scents inside and cover them with breathable fabric or paper with holes. Let the children sniff and guess!

🎯 Suggested scents:

• 🍋 Lemon peel

• ☕ Coffee beans

• 🍦 Vanilla extract

• 🧴 Vinegar

💬 As they sniff, ask:

• “Do you like this smell?”

• “What does it remind you of?”

• “Is it sweet, strong, or stinky?”

🧠 Extension: Create a chart where children place a sticker under “Love It,” “It’s OK,” or “Ew!”

✅ Skills: Sensory awareness, opinion expression, memory recall

📚 Story Time: What’s That Smell? by Lucy Cousins

This interactive book is a wonderful way to continue the conversation around how we experience smells and what those smells tell us.

📖 During the reading:

• Pause to let children guess what the smell might be before turning the page

• Ask what the children think about each smell described

• Compare with smells from earlier in the game

🎨 Smelly Paintings (Art + Aroma)

Let creativity and aroma combine in this unique art project!

🖌 What You’ll Need:

• White paper or cardboard

• White glue or paint

• Dry spices: cinnamon, cocoa, nutmeg, cloves

🖼 Instructions:

1. Let children paint shapes or lines using glue or paint.

2. Sprinkle different spices over the artwork.

3. Shake off excess and let dry.

💬 Ask: “Which part smells the best? Can you name that smell?”

✅ Skills: Fine motor development, creativity, sensory expression

🌿 Sensory Table: Herbal and Floral Play

Set up a smell-themed sensory bin or table filled with:

• Fresh or dried herbs (mint, rosemary, basil)

• Flower petals or potpourri

• Orange/lemon peels

• Spices (cloves, star anise)

🌸 Children can scoop, mix, sort, and sniff freely.

🗨️ Prompt exploration with questions:

• “What does this smell like?”

• “Does this remind you of something you’ve smelled before?”

Optional: Add magnifying glasses for visual exploration, too!

🎵 Song & Movement: “Sniff Sniff Sniff”

Here’s a playful, easy-to-follow song to end the day. Use body movement and props (like flowers or spice jars) to make it more interactive.

🎶
Sniff, sniff, sniff,
What’s that in the air?
Is it cookies, is it flowers,
Is it stinky underwear? 😄

Sniff, sniff, sniff,
Let your nose explore,
From the kitchen to the garden,
There are smells and so much more!
🎶

👏 Encourage actions like sniffing, wrinkling noses, pretending to cook, or smelling a flower.

✅ Skills: Music rhythm, imagination, gross motor movement, laughter!

✏️ Reflection & Wrap-Up

To end the day, ask:

• What was your favorite smell?

• What smell did you not like?

• What does your nose help you do?

📘 Add to “My Five Senses” Book:
On the “Smell” page, glue a small bag with crushed herbs or spice-sprinkled paper. Let kids decorate it with what they smelled today.

💡 Final Thoughts

Today was all about exploring the hidden power of our noses—and what a fun (and sometimes funny) adventure it was! From cinnamon to vinegar, children learned to describe, compare, and express how scents affect how we feel and what we remember.

Tomorrow, we move on to taste—get ready for some sweet, sour, and salty surprises!

✨ Did your class enjoy the smelly painting or the scent guessing game? I’d love to hear your version of this activity! Tag your posts with #FiveSensesFun or share your experiences in the comments!

 Welcome to Day 2 of our Five Senses Week! After exploring the vibrant world of sight yesterday, today we are tuning into a sense that helps us listen, dance, sing, and stay safe—our sense of hearing.

This lesson is specially designed for preschoolers ages 3 to 4, encouraging them to explore everyday sounds in a fun, interactive, and sensory-rich way. Get ready for giggles, jingles, and meaningful “aha!” moments.

🌟 What We’re Learning Today:

• What are ears for, and how do they help us?

• Identifying and naming everyday sounds

• Recognizing loud vs. quiet

• Exploring music and rhythm

• Developing listening and language skills

🕘 Our Sound-Filled Daily Schedule

🧺 Materials You’ll Need:

• Mystery sound items (e.g. keys, crinkled paper, small bell, water in bottle)

• Small instruments: tambourines, shakers, rhythm sticks, drums

• Listening chart or sound cards

• Book: The Listening Walk by Paul Showers

• Lyrics or visuals for the song “Do You Hear What I Hear?”

• Clipboards or nature walk checklists (optional)

🟣 Circle Time: What Can We Hear?

We begin the day by gathering in a circle and focusing our ears instead of our eyes. Ask the children to sit quietly for 20–30 seconds.

💬 Prompting Questions:

• What did you hear just now?

• Are those sounds loud or quiet?

• What sound do you like to hear at home?

Introduce the vocabulary of the day: ears, hear, sound, quiet, loud, music, listen

🔔 Extension: Show an ear model or picture and explain how our ears help us hear.

🔊 Sound Guessing Game (So Much Fun!)

Time to challenge those listening skills! Hide small sound-making items in a box or behind a curtain and let each child listen carefully before guessing what made the sound.

🎧 Ideas for sound items:

• Crumpling paper

• Shaking a bell

• Snapping fingers

• Pouring water

• Zipping a zipper

Take turns and celebrate correct guesses—this builds confidence and auditory memory.

✅ Learning Focus: Listening, memory, language, auditory discrimination

📚 Story Time: The Listening Walk by Paul Showers

This beautifully written book invites children into the world of quiet observation. It’s a perfect story to slow down and practice mindful listening.

📖 During reading:

• Pause to ask, “What sound do you think comes next?”

• After reading, ask, “What sounds would YOU hear on your own listening walk?”

This book gently encourages mindfulness, awareness, and appreciation of the world around them.

🥁 Music Corner Exploration

Let the children explore sound and rhythm in a playful way by offering them a small music corner.

🎼 Instruments to include:

• Maracas

• Tambourines

• Rhythm sticks

• Small hand drums

• Triangle bells

Let children explore freely or play follow-the-beat with the teacher.

🎶 Group Game Idea: Play “Stop and Go”—make music when the teacher says “Play!” and freeze when they say “Stop!”

✅ Learning Focus: Coordination, sound exploration, rhythm, self-regulation

🎵 Song & Movement: “Do You Hear What I Hear?”

Here’s a simplified version perfect for preschoolers, paired with fun actions:

🎶
Do you hear what I hear?
A bird in the tree, tweet tweet tweet!
Do you hear what I hear?
My friend is clapping with me—clap clap clap!
🎶

💃 Add motions: cup hands around ears, flap like a bird, clap, stomp, shake shakers.

📌 Tip: Let kids suggest their own sounds and turn them into verses!

✅ Learning Focus: Music and movement, expressive language, sound imitation

🌳 Outdoor Listening Walk

Now it’s time to bring our learning outside!

Encourage children to walk quietly (like little foxes!) and use their ears. What can they hear?

👂 Things to listen for:

• Birds chirping

• Leaves rustling

• Cars or planes

• Dogs barking

• Wind blowing

You can bring a simple checklist or let them draw pictures afterward of what they heard.

📘 Optional: After the walk, let them draw or tell a story about their favorite sound.

✅ Learning Focus: Mindfulness, observation, expressive recall, nature connection

✍️ Reflection: What Did You Hear Today?

As a wrap-up, gather the children and ask:

• What was your favorite sound today?

• Was it loud or soft?

• Can you make that sound with your mouth or body?

📖 Add to “My Five Senses” Book:
Let children glue or draw pictures of things they heard today under a page labeled “My Sense of Hearing.”

💡 Final Thoughts

Today, your preschoolers practiced one of the most important life skills—listening. By slowing down and paying attention to the world of sound, they learned to focus, describe, and appreciate their environment in a new way.

Tomorrow, we’ll sniff our way through the world as we explore the Sense of Smell—get your scent jars ready!

✨ Did your class enjoy the listening walk or sound game? Share your photos or experiences using #FiveSensesFun or tag me in your posts!
Let’s inspire more joyful, mindful learning—one sense at a time!