At Action Day Schools, We Support Your Child’s Growth Through Exploration!

Sensory play is an essential part of your infant’s early development. At Action Day Schools, we provide a rich environment filled with opportunities for sensory exploration, allowing your child to engage their senses, build essential skills, and learn about the world around them. Here’s how sensory play can benefit your little one!

What is Sensory Play?

Sensory play involves activities that stimulate your baby’s five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. These experiences encourage your child to explore their environment and learn through their senses, fostering cognitive, physical, and emotional development.

Benefits of Sensory Play for Infants (0-2 years)

• Enhances Brain Development: Sensory play sparks neural connections in your child’s brain. These early experiences are crucial in building pathways for learning and problem-solving skills.
• Improves Motor Skills: Sensory activities, such as squeezing, pouring, and touching, help develop fine and gross motor skills. Handling objects, such as textured toys, also improves hand-eye coordination.
• Supports Emotional Growth: Sensory play offers a safe space for infants to explore new textures, smells, and sounds, which builds self-confidence and emotional regulation.
• Boosts Language Development: When infants explore new textures and objects, they are also exposed to new words and vocabulary. Sensory experiences offer opportunities for caregivers to describe things and encourage language learning.
• Fosters Curiosity and Problem-Solving: Sensory activities challenge infants to figure out how things work. This sparks curiosity and helps develop problem-solving skills as they explore cause and effect.

How We Incorporate Sensory Play at Action Day Schools

At Action Day Schools, sensory play is a key component of our curriculum. We create a rich and safe environment where your child can explore, experiment, and develop important skills. Here’s how we do it:

• Hands-on Learning: Our classrooms are equipped with a variety of sensory materials like textured toys, musical instruments, and sensory bins, designed to engage your child’s senses.
• Natural Exploration: We encourage children to interact with a variety of materials—from soft fabrics to crunchy leaves—giving them the opportunity to touch, listen, and observe.
• Creative Play: Through messy play (like finger painting or playing with playdough), we allow children to express themselves freely and explore textures, colors, and materials in fun ways.

Tips for Parents to Encourage Sensory Play at Home

You can continue to support sensory development at home with simple and safe activities. Here are some ideas:

• Sensory Bins: Fill a bin with items of different textures (e.g., rice, fabric scraps, or water beads). Let your child explore and feel the materials.
• Musical Exploration: Play different types of music or sounds at home. Encourage your child to explore how the sounds change when they tap a drum or shake a rattle.
• Nature Walks: Take your infant on walks in the park, encouraging them to touch leaves, feel the grass, and listen to the sounds of nature.
• Safe Food Exploration: Allow your child to explore new tastes and textures in food—let them squish and feel their food as part of their learning experience.

We’re Here for You Every Step of the Way

At Action Day Schools, we are committed to providing an environment that fosters your child’s growth and exploration through sensory play. Sensory experiences are fun, developmental, and crucial to your baby’s learning journey.