The children at RisingOaks Early Learning | John Sweeney in Preschool 1 have shown a deep interest in sensory exploration, particularly in the sandbox area. This space quickly became a hub for creativity, connection, and curiosity. Their play extended beyond the sandbox, incorporating natural materials found on the playground such as leaves, sticks, and mulch. One day in the month of April, the children noticed water flowing from the side of the sandbox. Keyen, surprised by this discovery, eagerly grabbed a shovel to investigate. Benaiah and Ivaan joined in, bringing over a dump truck to collect the mud. More children gathered, curious and excited to find the source of the water. They began inviting each other to come see, and soon a large group formed to investigate together. This spontaneous event sparked collective curiosity and collaboration.
To extend this sensory interest into the classroom, Jenny created a “dirt and car wash” sensory station. This hands-on activity encouraged the children to explore different textures and observe water flow in a playful setting. They experimented with how cars rolled through dirt and how much they could carry. Despite the mess, they were careful to wash the cars at the end, showing their understanding of cleanliness and order. Building on their enthusiasm, Jenny introduced a slime-making activity. They were fascinated by the transformation as ingredients combined to create a stretchy, puffy substance. The children explored its cold, squishy texture, moulding it into different shapes—cups, straws, and pretend drinks—enhancing their imaginative play. This basic chemistry experiment gave them firsthand experience with cause and effect.
Following their ongoing interest in tactile materials, Simon facilitated a salt dough and gem activity. The children eagerly shaped circles from the dough and decorated them with colourful gems. They explored depth and texture by pressing the gems into the dough, observed how far they could push in and comparing shapes and colours. This fostered their engagement through observational, descriptive and pincer grasp skills.
As the children continued to enjoy sensory exploration, we decided to extend this interest into a Mother’s Day project using salt dough. Tirhas guided the children in creating hand-print plaques as special gifts for their moms. Each child had the opportunity to personalize their hand-print by decorating it with shapes like hearts, flowers, or ducks. Many were so excited about the activity that they asked to make more than one! After the plaques were baked, the children painted them using colours of their 
choice—red, green, brown, blue, and pink.
This process became a joyful and messy sensory experience, sparking lots of questions and conversation. When the children learned the gifts were for their moms, several eagerly asked if they could also make something for their dads. We appreciated their empathy skills and reassured them that we would be celebrating Father’s Day soon. Once the painted plaques were dry, each one was finished with the child’s photo and sticker to display on the wall. After decorating their gift bags with colours and different stickers they handed their gifts to their moms. This heartfelt project not only allowed the children to express love and creativity but also supported their sensory development and understanding of material transformation. Finally, it turned out to be a beautiful mother’s day gift!
To enhance their understanding of chemical and physical changes, the children will plant seeds and observe the process of plant growth.
