Sensory Week Day One: Sight
Head Teacher Billie-Jo had created an amazing "All About Me" Themed curriculum plan for the the last two weeks and we wanted to stay with that theme and talk about Senses!
Monday we learned about Sight!
Here's what we did:
Art: Crayon Resist
This was a simple yet magical activity which included white construction paper, white crayons, and water color paints. The children were instructed to create designs with their white crayons on their white paper. This created some confusion as they could not see it quite yet! But, once they started painting their design was shown.
Dramatic Play: Letter Detectives
Children were given magnifying glasses and instructed to be letter detectives! They searched for letters and identified them on various objects.
Fine Motor: High contrast Pom Pom Ziplock Bags
We made some simple mazes of various shapes on a piece of construction paper and taped them to the back of a ziplock bag. We then placed gel and a few pom poms (we chose carefully so that that colors strongly contrasted) and the children were instructed to use their index finger and push the pom poms through the maze.
*Tip: make sure to instruct the children to use the pad of their finger rather than their fingernail as this can rip the bag.
Sensory Table: I Spy Sensory Bins:
At the sensory table we gave the children their own tray with beads and some items to search for! They were instructed to use their eyes and sight to find as many items in the beans as they could. This was a great way to add some tactile input while also including sight as a sense.
Visual Perceptual: Light Table:
We created a light table with string lights, an under the bed storage container and white tissue paper! In hindsight, we would've added a little bit more lights to make it brighter, but the kids still loved it! We added the Magnatiles which we knew the light would shine through and they were instructed to build their structures on top of the light table and observe how the light shines!
Writing Center: Sense of the day coloring sheet:
At our writing center the children focused on sight by coloring the items on their paper that matched up with sight and seeing.
Gross Motor: Yoga Cards with Miss Annie
Miss Annie joined friends on the rug and guided them through various yoga poses to practice gross motor skills! Their eyes were put to work by looking at images of children doing the poses via laminated yoga cards and they were instructed to try their best to copy that pose. Miss Annie helped them adjust their pose and challenge them by holding challenging poses for as long as they could before losing balance!
Our Infants and Waddlers had fun with Sight day too!
The infants got to explore a light box as shown below. It's so much fun watching them look in wonder and awe.
They were also shown high contrast gel ziplock bags similar to the ones in the preschool room. The difference was their was no maze! Infants respond well to high contrast images and find them more visually stimulating. We specifically chose these colors to help stimulate their eyes and brains in order to help them explore their environment and feel the gel texture of the ziplock bag and the lumps and bumps of the pom poms in the bag.
The Waddlers participated in their own version of the Crayon resist watercolor painting with help from their teachers, and they got to play with their own light table too!
Overall, it was a great day and the children enjoyed their activities! We enjoyed the "peace" while we could because Tuesday was going to be all about Sound!