5 Tactile Sensory Play Provocations to Promote Learning

by Gabrielle Felman View Bio

Gabrielle Felman

For over 15 years, Gabrielle has worked as an Early Childhood Development Specialist. A passionate supporter of young children and their families, she specializes in early childhood development, play therapy, special education, and parent-child & family relationships. Gabrielle designs and leads group programs for children from birth to age 5 and their caregivers. Her work in these groups focuses on the early development of social, emotional, and cognitive growth in young children and the pivotal role that their primary caregivers play within that process. She also works one-on-one with parents and children in her play-based private practice, which focuses on social and emotional learning, self-regulation, family relationships, and school success. Gabrielle is also the Senior Child Development Expert at Lovevery, a stage-based early learning platform.

Tactile sensory, hands on, play is one of the best activities for integrated learning. When multiple senses are ignited, children are using their whole body to learn which research shows deepens brain connections and further establishes concepts. While children engage in messy, tactile play, they are using many developmental systems at the same time and the play lends itself to learning across developmental domains.

Our senses include the basic 5: touch, smell, hearing, seeing, and taste plus 3 additional sensory systems: proprioception (ability to sense movement of the body), vestibular (sense of balance) and introspection (observation of one’s conscious thoughts and feelings). We use all these senses every day and it’s important for young children to have experiences that highlight each one. Although this content focuses on tactile play, the provocations listed below will have other senses embedded in the experiences.

The best part of setting up tactile sensory play is that you can get creative. There is no wrong way to set up this play. The formula is quite simple. For babies, the material (i.e., block of ice) is the focus. For toddlers and preschoolers, you can add additional elements and tools. It’s important to note that an adult should always supervise this play

Here are some ideas to introduce young kids to tactile play:

For babies: 
• Finger paint (in a sealed reusable or plastic bag)
• Large block of ice
• Quinoa
• Sensory balls
• Oobleck (a mixture of cornstarch and water)
• Water
• Bubble wrap
• Contact paper

For toddlers:
• Finger paint
• Coconut fiber
• Quinoa, rice, beans, lentils, pasta
• Dirt
• Sand
• Ice
• Water
• Basket of sensory balls
• Shredding or ripped paper
• Oobleck (a mixture of cornstarch and water)
• Play dough
• Slime
• Waterbeads
• Bubble wrap
• Contact paper
• Shaving cream

While there are endless possibilities when it comes to tactile sensory activities, here are FIVE fun ways to set up sensory provocations that embody whole child learning.

1. Tactile Sensory Floor or Table: Use painters’ tape to secure sandpaper, bubble wrap, tin foil, contact paper and construction paper to the floor or a table. You can do a 9x11 patch of each one. This should look like patchwork so there is no space between the various papers. Allow your little one to explore the different ways the various textures feel on their hands and feet (if on the floor!). Add two or three tempera paint sticks and allow your child to explore the way the paint sticks move over the various textures.
2. Figurines in Ice: Add some of your child’s favorite plastic figures and water into a freezer safe container. Freeze overnight. Once frozen, take the block of ice out of the container and put it into a tray. Give your child warm water, some salt, a spray bottle and a paint brush to try to excavate the plastic animals. They will work on their focus, patience and problem-solving skills to set those animals free!
3. Waterbeads with various cups (ages 3+): Soak waterbeads in water the day before. In a plastic tray or rectangle container, add the bloated water beads and various spoons, large tweezers, tongs and cups. Let your little one work on their fine motor coordination as they move the beads from cup to cup with the various utensils.
4. Finger paint with cars: Cover the table in paper of your choice. You can even use recycled paper bags from the supermarket. Give your little one access to two or three plastic cars. On the paper add a few globs of paint. I like to stick to 2 primary colors so that you can embed the science of color mixing into the activity. Let your little one drive the cars all around the paint and see how they can make various tracks. Use “I wonder” statements to support your child as they explore. For instance, you can wonder what would happen if the car moved fast? Slow? In circles? You can wonder if the various tires make various tracks? You can wonder what happens when the car drives through the yellow paint and then the red paint?
5. Oobleck: This activity is simple yet captivating. In a tray add cornstarch and water to a consistency that is malleable and not too watery. As your child explores how this material can change from a solid to a liquid in their hands is pure magic. Manipulating the oobleck throughout the tray is great for hand strengthening.

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