This month in Preschool 2 at RisingOaks Early Learning | St. Patrick, we have had many very sensory based experiences which had been the talk of the classroom. We are been experimenting with the different forms of art mediums. On a daily basis, the children have been exploring crayons, pencil crayons, and markers. The children have been enjoying these mainly on various coloured paper. We have since furthered this sensory experience through other forms of art and sensory experiences. We have many different materials such as paint as a full body experience, slime, clay, and glue.

Lunar New Year Lantern

This month we began our sensory experience as we celebrated the Lunar New Year. Each child had the opportunity to decorate with markers and crayons as we used bright colours to celebrate the bright flowers and colours we see at this time. The children also used sparkles to add their own unique shimmering qualities to their creation. I then adapted their art creation into a lantern which we decorated our classroom with.

Slime

This month we also had our first experience with slime. The children helped to create the slime by measuring and adding the ingredients. The children assisted with mixing all the ingredients, as we discussed how each ingredient mixes together to form the slime substance. The children used words like squishy, soft, and slimy. This experience was exciting for the children as they enjoyed the squishy slime that got stuck to their fingers. As it was made with dish soap, many of them children enjoyed washing their hands as it felt soft and slippery on their hands.

Easter Egg Sensory Bin

A sensory table full of Easter eggs, cotton balls, and pompoms were left available for the children to explore and experiment with. The children at first enjoyed the colourful eggs and enjoyed matching the colours of the eggs with the Pompoms. As the continued to enjoy this experience, they began to practice their fine motor skills as they clicked the eggs together and separated them. The children seemed to enjoy the fluffy soft pompoms and cotton balls as they felt the soft feeling on their hands and then felt the rough fake grass.

Festival of Colours Holi – Full Body Painting

This month the children had a very adventurous day as they participated in a full body painting experience. With paper covering the floor and wall, the children used their feet, hands, paint brushes, and their body to spread and mix the colours. The children enjoyed slipping around on the paint, watching how their slides and falls spread the paint. As their bodies filled with paint, the children laughed and as they worked together to fill the paper with colour. This activity helped the children to celebrate the festival of colours - Holi, as they got to experience the joy of bright colours that we will continue to enjoy as the weather continues to transition from winter to spring.

Oscar the Grouch’s Visual Sensory Overload

            This month we also had a visitor come to our classroom while the children went on a walk throughout the school. When returning to the classroom, Mr Oscar the Grouch had visited as he heard about the great recycling and composting that the children had been engaged in. As he overheard the ruckus from living inside the garbage, he decided to come out and play with our recycling toys, along with our other classroom toys. Unfortunately, Mr Grouch left quite the mess as he dumped every toy bucket, and flipped every chair. Throughout the afternoon, the children helped to clean up after Mr Grouch. This was great help to assist the children in learning where the toys belong now that the classroom layout has changed. The children seemed to very much enjoy this different sensory activity as it can be overwhelming to see such chaos within the classroom. The children continued to talk about the Oscar the Grouch visit for the following day as the toys on the floor reminded the children about that crazy mess.

Sensory Bottles

            The children who venture into preschool 1 at the end of the day have been enjoying the sensory bottles their classroom created. This month preschool 2 created their own bottles. In this activity, the children got to decide what got into the bottles to enjoy. The children use these bottles to shake and watch the sparkles and beads float around. The children also listen to the sounds of the rattling beads. This is a fantastic sensory experience that can be also used for quiet time moments.

Mud Play

            The children also experienced an exciting mud play activity. With this activity, the children got to enjoy the mess of mud play. They squished, flattened, smoothed, and splatted the mud. They created recipes, buildings, sculptures, and many other creations through the mud. The children had great fun with another messy sensory activity as they laughed and smiled during this exciting play.