Picture called "Cartoon Camp" by wix.com
The five most obvious senses are sight, taste, hearing, smell, and touch.
However, there are two more sensory receptors that not many are aware of - that is Vestibular (balance of movements) and Proprioception (body awareness of our body parts).
So why do our children need to be exposed to multisensory play? Research has shown that multisensory play allows children to elevate their cognitive development, like problem skills, analytical thinking, and language development.
Furthermore, multisensory play also allows children to refine their fine and gross motor skills - and provides a perfect opportunity for children to be exposed to several sensory mediums simultaneously.
Multisensory play can help infants and toddlers improve their sensory integration by combining and integrating information from the different senses. After all, multisensory play enables children to be more aware and exposed to their sensory experiences. Sensory integration is crucial for developing perception, which is the ability to organise and absorb sensory information.
All these will help build healthy learning pathways within the brain, making multisensory play experiences all the more necessary.
But why the outdoors? Research has also proven that outdoor experiences will help support and enhance infants' and toddlers' multisensory experiences due to the multiple opportunities for sensory integration. As a result, it will help elevate the multisensory experience and all its benefits. Besides, it does not harm our infants and toddlers to be exposed to the outdoors too!
There are multiple ways that we adults can do to provide our young children with multisensory activities.
Exploration of the outdoors independently.
The first way is to let them be free and explore the outdoors all by themselves, provided that they are given the opportunity to, and it's safe to do so.
Of course, use this method only when it is safe to do so for your child. Ensure that the perimeter is always within your vision and proper boundaries are set ( no going over the fence, for example) to ensure your child's safety as they explore.
This method will allow children to experience information and ignite their senses through either one or multiple senses simultaneously. This method also allows children to be independent and comfortable while they explore their surroundings to their liking, all while igniting their senses.
More importantly, adults do not even need to plan any other activities; all they have to do is let their children independently explore their outdoor settings! Children love the freedom to explore, and given any opportunity to do it; they will take it up.
If you want to interact with your child as they explore, you can too - it is encouraged! As you interact with them, encourage children to observe the changes in nature. For example, allow them to feel various sets of leaves, soil, or even the different branches as they all give children exposure to different textures and objects!
Plan activities.
Another method you can use is to be intentional with your approach - plan activities for them to be exposed to multisensory experiences outdoors.
You can plan sensorimotor activities that include a whole-body experience to foster sensory processing and integration. It can be simple, like building sand castles at the beach with various rocks and materials to decorate the sand castle or building a low tower with stones and logs. Experiences like this will help children to develop their body awareness and expose them to various textures, smells, and sounds. Besides, it will also help children to create a sense of competence and achievement and improve their motor skills!
Basic outdoor hands-on experience does the trick too! For example, allowing children to find and touch natural materials like leaves, pinecones, sticks, unplucked fruits, and even tree bark are all simple hands-on experiences that adults can easily facilitate. Once that outdoor hands-on experience is done, they can discuss their experiences at home through another hands-on experience, art, to conclude their outdoor experience! Simple outdoor hands-on experience will allow children to notice the intricate details like smells, patterns, textures, and if it is safe, a taste of these materials!
Get personal with nature.
When I mean personal - I mean personal where children are exposed to nature on a deeper level - allow children to be exposed to the habitats that call the great nature their home.
Picture called "beautiful nature" by wix.com
After all, young children are fascinated with bugs and animals. They are fascinated with bugs and animals, and allowing them to observe the animals in the wild helps to foster children's natural sense of wonder and build a multisensorial experience for them too!
Expose children to outdoor spaces that are filled with natural vegetation that has the presence of insects, birds, and animals. This will allow children to be exposed to the different sights, smells, and sounds of the animals that call nature home. Of course, as you observe them, ensure that safety measures are in place, too - such as the proximity between you, your child and the animal you are watching, and ensuring that your children do not touch any animals (unless it is safe to do so!)
Ultimately, it is suitable for your young child to be outdoors exploring - after all; they spend a lot of their time indoors. So why not make it beneficial for them by making it a multisensorial experience?
If you have other suggestions for making an outdoor experience multisensorial, share them in the comments below or on our Instagram page!
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