Preschool Biology - Teaching the Five Senses

Does your preschooler use their five senses or even know they exist? Most preschoolers use their sight primarily, followed by their hearing. But preschoolers can learn to investigate the world around them using all five of their senses. Here's one fun and easy science activity you can do to teach your preschooler how to use their senses.

What your Preschooler will Learn:

What the five senses are
How to use their five senses to identify an object
That they don't just need sight to identify an object
What parts their body their senses are linked to

What you will Need to Teach the Five Senses:

Colored sugar in a shaker
A blindfold

What To Do to Teach the Five Senses:

Step one: Blindfold your preschooler. If the blindfold scares them, tell them to close their eyes super tight. Don't let your preschooler see what you're doing or what you've got.

Step two: Shake the sugar within in the shaker so they can hear it. Ask if they hear anything. Then ask them what they hear out of. If they're old enough, see if they can guess what you've got.

Step three: Pour some of the sugar into their hand. Have them rub it between their fingers. Ask how it feels. Explain that their skin is what they touch with. See if they can guess what the object is.

Step four: Have them smell it. Be careful with this one, you don’t want them to inhale the sugar. Depending on their sense of smell, they may or may not be able to smell anything. Ask them what they smell with and see if they can guess what the object is.

Step five: Have them taste it. They should like the flavor and older ones will be able to tell you it's sugar. Ask them what part of their body they taste with.

Step six: Take off the blindfold and have them see what the object is. Explain that sight is the last of the five senses and ask what part of their body they see with.

Step seven: Go over with them how they used their senses one at a time to identify the sugar.

Variations:

You can use anything in your pantry or fridge for this science activity - use your imagination! Try using salt, herbs (parsley, oregano, rosemary, mint), cereal, and fruit slices. See how many things your preschooler can guess using their senses other than sight.

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