Kete rongo Sensory Baskets

Sensory Play | Kete rongo

Sensory play is a learning resource commonly used with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers that allows them to explore the five senses and be creative with a variety of materials.

Learning and Development

Sensory play helps infants and toddlers explore their world through the five senses – touch, sound, smell, sight and, when safe, taste.
Learning through the senses is natural from birth and remains essential throughout preschool years and beyond.
At our centres, we provide open-ended sensory items in baskets or set them out in inviting ways. This encourages children to explore with their senses before deciding how to use the items. These items are often grouped by themes such as wooden objects or cooking related items.
Sensory play fosters decision making, investigation and problem-solving skills. As children notice differences and similarities between objects, they begin to develop early maths and science skills like classification.
Older children explore patterns and deepen their investigative skills, often guided by adults, focusing on elements of the environment that spark their interest.

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How sensory play relates to the primary school curriculum

Continuing Learning at Home

Infants and toddlers:
Create baskets filled with familiar and unfamiliar materials for sensory exploration. Include safe kitchen utensils, different sized and textured balls, coloured pegs, wooden objects and various materials to engage their senses.
Older children:
Extend learning with games that engage the senses. Try these activities:
Matching games:
Fill containers with items such as herbs or flowers and challenge children to match the scents or textures. Take it further by introducing materials like metals, fabrics, wood and plastic for matching and classification.
Rock collections:
Gather rocks and explore geological concepts such as hardness, porosity and weight. Discuss how different rocks feel and what they’re made of.
Nature baskets:
Create baskets with natural materials (e.g., leaves, sticks and stones) to inspire designs, creative play and imaginary games.