You probably know how Children just love to touch and squeeze everything they see. Why not fulfill that need with the Sensory Bag? With this great Do it Yourself activity, your Child will learn and enjoy a wide spectrum of sensory stimulus
SENSORIMOTOR DEVELOPMENT AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT:
We talked a lot about sensorimotor development and its importance in Sensorimotor development and activities for Children so we won’t go into many details here. But we strongly recommend that you read linked article to learn more about sensory, and sensorimotor development for Children.
In short, Sensorimotor development is a process of learning about our surroundings and the world around us using all our senses. To be able to learn, we must use those senses. And we can’t use them if there are no stimuli from our surroundings.
Let’s take for an example most used sense by human beings – sight. If you spend most of your time in the dark room, you won’t be exposed to different illuminations, brightness or colors. And if you spend all your life in that dark room, you won’t even know that they exist!
But what if you then exit that dark room, everything will be fine, right? Well… Not exactly. Research has found that there is something we call critical period (or critical age) for learning different skills. If we don’t learn them in that period, we will have significantly harder time (or even won’t be able) to learn those skills.
Did you know that if Children don’t learn to talk by the age of 6, they will have significantly harder time learning the language and probably won’t be able ever to talk without difficulties
We hope this shows you why sensory stimulation is important for the development of Children.
With more varied stimuli and more varied experiences, their brain develops faster, especially if we expose them to those stimuli in the critical period when they learn best.
TIPS ON USING SENSORY BAG:
Sensory Bag is an activity that provides a lot of sensory stimulation but doesn’t require any advanced skills to make. The beauty is – it’s all about experimentation! You can put anything inside: different shapes, little toys, letters, numbers, button or anything you like.
As a liquid substance, shower gel or shampoo is the best because it’s thickness is perfect for playing with the bag. Oh, and it smells nice. One final note – we recommend you avoid objects with sharp edges because they can easily pierce your bag and that can leave some mess.
For toddlers, just squeezing and touching the bag provides them with the full spectrum of sensorimotor stimulation. The more colors you have the better. Touch, smell, and visual input will result in the development of those senses.
For preschoolers, you can spice it up and make a game from it. For example, you can put blue or red buttons in your bag, draw red and blue circle on the bag and ask your child to move all the red buttons in the red circle and blue buttons in the blue circle.
You can use letters and numbers to make it even better learning activity, possibilities are endless, just try to find the one that best suits your child needs and abilities.
MATERIALS NEEDED FOR SENSORY BAG:
- Shower Gel
- Freezer Bag
- Glitter Shapes
- Scissors
- Duct tape
- (Extra) Glitter
INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING SENSORY BAG:
Watch the video at the top of the article to see a complete guide and how to make Sensorimotor Bag, or continue reading description below.
- Take one Freezer Bag, open it and put your Glitter shapes in the bag. Note that it is best to use oval shapes, or shapes without sharp edges because they can more easily pierce the bag while playing with it and that could make some mess.
- Add glitter if you decided to use it.
- Now pour in your Shower Gel into the bag. How much Gel you will need depends on the size of your bag, but we recommend you fill the bag from 20% to 40% of its full size.
- Now you need to seal your Bag. It will be easier if the bag has a zipper but it’s not required. You can use Duct tape and even Scotch tape. Wrap it around the bag so it’s sealed tightly. If the bag is too big, you can cut it or wrap it as we did in the video.
- And you’re done! Now it’s play time.
POSITIVE EFFECTS OF SENSORY BAG:
- Interesting texture ensures rich tactile stimuli
- Visual and scent stimulation
- Motor development through squeezing and manipulating small objects
- Develops attention and concentration
Looking for more sensorimotor activities? We recommend you to check How to make Homemade Sensory Bottle, How to make Sensory Play Colors and How to make Homemade Playdough and let the fun to continue. And for extra color learning, check out the Rainbow colored rice activity for more sensory playtime.
If you’re searching for some great STEM Activities for Kids and Child development tips, you’re on the right place! Check the Categories below to find the right activity for you.
5 thoughts on “How to make Sensory Bag for Child Sensorimotor development”