# data[].attributes.body
How can sensory play support children's development?

# data[].attributes.body
The centre i am doing my 0-2 year old placement at is a purpose built 7 room centre, i am doing my placement in the 1-2 year old room which is situated at the front of the centre. This room has a beautiful yard that the children have access to at all times of the day as the centre has an open door policy between the hours of 8am & 5pm, This yard is set up daily with many different activities/resources for children to play and learn with.
The yard is shared with the nursery room & the younger toddler room too meaning the activities are available for all ages and abilities.
The children in this room are very active and love outdoor play including climbing, water play & trucks/cars.

# data[].attributes.body
To summarise the 3 observations taken, the children all used sand as a tool to assist their play. They all used the sand in a different way, exploring the texture of the sand through feel, exploring imaginative play with items such as cars and buckets & extending on their fine motor development by shovelling the sand into a bucket.

# data[].attributes.body
Observation 1

What happened?

Mack was playing in the sandpit when he found a tipper truck and a toy excavator, he begun making brrm noises using the excavator to put sand into the tipper truck. He then drove the tipper truck across the sandpit and tipped off the sand.

He said, ‘little wellow truck’ as he held the tipper in his hand and pointed at a bigger tipper and said ‘big wellow truck’.
Mack continued filling the truck and tipping the sand into the one spot causing a pile up of sand.

Observation 2

What happened?

Brileigh was playing in the sandpit counting the shovels of sand as she shovelled the sand using her right hand into a yellow bucket while her left hand held the bucket steady, she was counting each shovel of sand as she placed it into the bucket 'One, two, Three, Five, Six'.  Once the bucket got full, she said ‘Pat, Pat, Pat’.

She then said ‘yellow’ as she pointed at the bucket and held up the shovel she was holding and said ‘Boo’

Observation 3

What happened?

Cooper was in the sandpit grabbing handfuls of sand, looking at them and rubbing the sand between his fingers he didnt have much expression on his face. An educator approached him and showed him a plastic sieve and demonstrated what happens when you put sand in it. He copied the educators’ actions, putting his hands under the sieve to catch the sand, this time placing it in the bucket with a little smirk on his face.

# data[].attributes.body
Through observing the 3 separate children, I was able to see that they could communicate both verbally and non-verbally through their play, the children used words that explained the colours of the buckets and shovels they were using and what they were doing in their play. (Department of Education and Training, 2009 page 43 ).

The children were able to use the sand as part of their imaginative play, Mack was exploring the sand by digging it up and placing it into the tipper truck, Children transfer and adapt what they have learned from one context to another. (Department of Education and Training, 2009 page 39 ). Mack and Brileigh were able to extend on their cognitive development by using language to explain the colours that were involved in their play, Mack also used describing words such as ‘big & small’  This refers back to the second stage of Piaget’s theory the Preoperational Stage of Cognitive Development,  one of the developmental stages the child develops is Toddlers and young children acquire the ability to internally represent the world through language and mental imagery.

All three children through these observations used the sand to support their fine motor development by gripping items such as sieves, buckets, trucks and shovels. They extended on their hand eye coordination by putting the sand into buckets or into the tipper truck. Cooper was able to explore the different textures of the sand through rubbing the sand in his hands before and after putting it through the sieve supporting his sensory development.

In Reggio Emilia theory he mentions that the environment plays a very important role into a child’s development that he defined the environment the 3rd teacher.  Each child used the sand differently as part of their play but all using it to support their learning. According to Vygotsky theory ‘Children learn best not when they are isolated, but when they interact with others, particularly more knowledgeable others who can provide the guidance and encouragement to master new skills’ Meaning that children learn best through play.

Through these observations I can see that all 3 children were learning through play.

# data[].attributes.body
Introducing sensory play to our program is beneficial to a child's development because through sensory play a child is able to learn "through exploring, curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence and imagination" (Department of Education and Training, 2009 page 37).
Sensory play supports cognitive development, fine motor development and helps build communication skills both verbally and non verbally. Children are able to engage in sensory play alone, along side another child or with a group, This supports imaginative play and role play which can help build a child's confidence.

Piaget states in his theory the Sensorimotor Stage that The infant learns about the world through their senses and through their actions (moving around and exploring its environment). This can be achieved through sensory play, where babies and toddlers are able to use their senses to learn and explore and because there are so many different ways to achieve sensory play it is safe for all ages and abilities but still allows the children to use their sense to explore risky play.
Having experiences that are open ended means that children are able to play with the experience how they want to and not how they are told to meaning they are able to maximise their learning. Through play children are able to think in more complex ways.

To engage and expose the children to sensory play you can set up an activity as an intentional teaching activity which will ensure an educator is sitting down at the activity at all times to support children with their exploration of sensory play and once the children are comfortable and confident you can extend on it by adding it into the program.
Having conversations with the children at group times about sensory play will allow the children to feel more confident being exposed to a new activity.

# data[].attributes.body
The play spaces I implemented to support children in learning through sensory play were influenced by the children's interests and the 3 observations I took while doing my placement in the 1-2 year old room.

The first activity I implemented was exploring sensory play through a colour rice experience, this doesn't just support fine motor development and sensory development, this also supports children in colour recognition and hand eye coordination as the children have cups, spoons and funnels to use in this area.
The children used the spoons to put the rice in the cups and then pouring them out into the funnel, one child tried to make a sand castle with the rice, when they realised the sand wouldn't hold its shape they grabbed the rice in their hands and tried to build a mountain of rice.
In observation 1 and observation 2 Brileigh & Mack both were recognised the colours of the items they were playing with and both confidently correctly said the colours.
In all 3 of my observations the children played solo, this activity allows for the children to play solo or with a friend or a group, it is open ended and supports children to use their imagination and learn by doing and having a hands on approach.
I heard Mack say to another child 'Come play with me please' This child played with Mack, using the spoon to shovel the rice into the funnel while Mack held the funnel over a tub.
I found the rice became a little bit of a hazard once it was on the floor so ensuring that educators are sweeping up the rice as soon as its on the floor will help reduce the hazard also having conversations at group time encouraging the children to keep the rice in the tub as much as they can.
I took a step back and observed from a far, instead of sitting down at the activity.

The second activity I implemented was lavender scented play-dough with different shaped cutters, leaves and gum nuts, this supports children in using their smell and their touch senses to explore play. The children were able to create whatever they wanted too with the resources available to them. Some children created pizza's while other children made faces, It was great to see how the children used the same resource so differently.
Cooper rolled balls and stacked the balls, he looked at the stacked balls with a smile on his face as he knocked them down, He watched another child that was also playing with the play-dough roll snake like pieces, Cooper copied the child and held it up proudly once finished.
I sat down with the children at this activity and created while I observed the children, asking open ended questions such as 'what do you think that feels like', ' what does that smell like', 'what can you make'.
This was a popular experience that the children loved engaging in, so I added a visual card to the table that had 4 children playing with the number 4, the older children of the group were able to identify the number 4 and count the friends at the table, I found that this was a great way to minimise the disagreements in which the children would have by it being over crowded.
Overall I believe these activities were a great way to support the children's sensory development, communication skills, hand and eye coordination skills and their overall confidence.

# data[].attributes.body
ACEQUA, The Environment as the ‘Third Teacher’, https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018-04/QA3_TheEnvironmentAsTheThirdTeacher.pdf, Visited on 20 October 2022

Aussie Childcare network, John Deweys theory, https://aussiechildcarenetwork.com.au/articles/child-development/john-deweys-theory, Visited on 20 October 2022

Department of Education and Training, 2009. Belonging Being & Becoming – The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. 1st ed, Visited on 15 October 2022

Mooney, CG 2013, Theories of childhood: an introduction to Dewey, Montessori, Erikson, Piaget, and Vygotsky, 2nd ed, Redleaf Press, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, Visited on 17 October 2022

Simply psychology, Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development, https://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html, Visited on 20 October 2022