Confessions from Toddler School: The 5 Senses

This week we focused on our five senses! We started with a little picture of Cohen that we used to label his five senses and we spent the rest of the week exploring them! I really enjoyed this week! He's at the perfect age to really enjoy the activities and start making the connections! It was really exciting to see him so focused on these activities and using his five senses in other ways throughout the week!

Here's what we did this week:

You can get my blank thematic planner here.

Books:

Truthfully we didn't have any themed books this week! The list above are some of my favorites from teaching but we didn't have much luck at the library when we went this week.

Activities:

Sight Scavenger Hunt:

This activity was all about our sight! We made these simple DIY binoculars from toilet paper rolls and then went on a scavenger hunt around the house! The binoculars were the perfect fine motor activity for both boys - even Avery loved it! 

Cohen's favorite toys right now are his "Moana babies" (I did't realize that was "weird" until I typed it out 🤣). So I hid them around the house for him to find with his binoculars! 

I also printed off this little checklist for him to check them off as he went! I had a feeling he would really like this activity so I laminated the sheet ahead of time so that we could play over and over again. And let me tell you, I'm glad I did! 

Sound Tubes:

This little sound activity was super easy to throw together! I took some empty playdough containers and wrapped some white paper around them, numbered them and filled each one with small items I had around the house. We used coins, pom poms, q-tips, rice and small lincoln logs! I love the flexibility of being able to switch it up whenever I want as well 👌

I made these little picture cards to help Cohen identify the mystery items inside - you can find these picture cards along with a blank set of # cards in the activity pack below! Both boys loved shaking and listening to the items inside. And Cohen was surprisingly good at identifying what was inside by just the sound!

Smell Bottles:

These smell bottles were a huge hit and I had so much fun making them too! I used these little sauce cups we had just laying around, poked some holes in the top and put in some scents we had around the house. I used:

- vanilla

- lemon

- lavender

- peppermint 

- coffee

but you can totally get creative! The possibilities are really endless with this one - just rummage around your kitchen! 👌

Taste Exploration:

I had so much fun putting this one together! I scoured our fridge and pantry for a nice combination of sweet, salty, spicy and "other" for the boys to taste. Luckily my boys are not picky eaters and will eat anything put in front of them so I knew this would be a hit! If you've got a picky eater on your hands this is a great way to get them to try new things too! 

If you'd like this rating sheet you can get it in our activity pack below! 👇

What's in the Box?:

We did not get to this activity this week! But honestly I am okay with that! While Cohen is a super adventurous eater he isn't so adventurous when it comes to tactile stuff (even with all the sensory activities we do). And Avery just makes everything a mess so I'm relieved we got busy this week and didn't have time for this one!

It's pretty explanatory though - put different tactile things in boxes and have your little one reach in. Some ides:

- cooked noodles (nice and slimy)

- cotton balls

- beans

- dirt

Literally whatever you think would be fun to touch! Let your little one explore and guess what might be hiding inside!

Want any of this week's printables?  You can grab them here!

Up next week: Nursery Rhymes