Sensory
play is important and integral part of the learning process for children.
Initially when we are born we only have the basal ganglia or the Reptilian
Brain which is fully developed. According to Regalena Melrose, when a baby is
born they are hard-wired to the basal ganglia, and respond to their immediate
needs from this.
Babies
experiences are dominated by sensations and "the brain develops in
response to the environment and
in response to the interactions of the people within this
environment." Melrose
emphasises that Brain Development is hierarchical,
the other parts of the brain cannot form unless the basal ganglia is
reinforced by experiences of the senses.
This explanation offers predominance in relation to the idea
of sensory play. When a child initiates play using their senses of touch,
smell, sight, sound and taste their experience is heightened for optimal
learning. Sensory Play
therefore stimulates the basal ganglia and allows the child
to experience a multitude of sensory experiences that aid and develop their learning experiences
and capabilities.
Moving on, for this activity you will
need... Petroleum Jelly!
I bought x6 tubs (we
have over 20 children in a session at our playgroup) from Wilkinsons 55p for a
pot which is a brilliant deal.
Also this stuff
is suitable for sensitive skin, which is a bonus for any of our children in the
setting who suffer from skin conditions, so they can also get involved with
this messy play!
On a protected
surface I smushed the Petroleum Jelly into weird and wonderful shapes.
It felt really gooey
and sticky and its incredibly malleable, so younger children will find this an
easy object to mould.
As you can see I had
great fun squishing the Jelly in between my fingers, experimenting with the
texture and how it changed shape when pressure was put on it.
I plan to include this activity
in the Playgroup when we go back from Summer Holidays. To be honest I'm
slightly fed up of playdough, and I thought Petroleum Jelly would be an amazing
idea to provide differentiation and a new range of fun and messy play idea! Its
great as it will allow the children to experiment their physical fine motor
movement skills of rolling/gripping/pressing. It's also a lovely sticky,
malleable texture which will allow the children to experience moulding a
different material.
Parents, let me know what you
think of this Sensory Play idea! :)
References:
Melrose, R. (2010) Self-regulation and
brain development (1) and (2), [online], Youtube, Available:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzm0t6wXW0c&list=PL888EF7F2D99252C4 and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9LHvJwj-PQ&list=PL888EF7F2D99252C4
[accessed 17/6/13]
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