Sensory play is such an important part of early childhood and there are so many ways to help your toddler explore each one of their senses. Today, we look at the sense of smell. Though there is so much your child can learn from each one of these activities, remember to first let them have fun smelling, feeling, and just being silly and collapsing into a fit of giggles!
The sense of smell is important for a child to develop speech, language and cognitive development. It also helps a child understand the world they live in and make sense of things around them.
Try these great sensory activities for kids that use the sense of smell!
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This can be done with things in your kitchen. Easy to set up and a game your toddler will love! Put a few edible items that have a strong aroma like a lemon slice, coffee grounds, black pepper, onions, coriander, and cinnamon. Blindfold them and watch as they have fun taking in the different smells.
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Coffee filters or parchment paper works well for this activity. Give your child some cinnamon, some ginger powder, masala chai powder and any other fragrant spice. Make some coloured “tea powders” by mixing red, orange, and yellow food colours with baking soda. Tell your child to make their own tea powder by combining the various mixtures. Attach a string and secure it with a stapler.
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Mixing play dough with aromatic scents is perfect for exploring the sense of smell! Try a lemon-scented one or maybe lavender. It sets off different smell tones.
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Take a bunch of empty containers. Add a drop of essential oil to a cotton ball and put it in the container. Use scents that are familiar to kids like vanilla, strawberry, their favourite lotion etc. You could play a guessing game by blindfolding your child.
This is an interesting game you can play with your kids. Put one tea bag inside each packet and the matching tea bags outside. Get your child all interested in the game by discussing the various scents and any foods that they were reminded of with the same scent. Then get your kids to smell the tea bags inside the packages and match them with the rest.
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Got a couple of old lotion bottles with very little content inside, that you find boring to squeeze out daily and don’t wish to throw out at the same time? Put them all together in a basket and hand it over to your toddler. They will come up with the most interesting activities that you can ever imagine. They will surely be intrigued by the different smells that each bottle houses. Get them to discuss more on what they smell and how different it is from the other ones.
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Every parent loves the smell of coffee! Pour coffee grounds in a tray and have your child draw, doodle or write letters. This smell of coffee is an aroma that rejuvenates the senses. Let their creativity bloom.
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This is a sure hit! Add a few drops of lavender or peppermint oil to a warm bath and add a few of your child’s favourite toys. Let them play and splash about. The scents will definitely calm them down and relax them before they go to bed.
These activities were recommended by moms. If you have some fun activities that you do with your child and would like to tell us, write to us at [email protected] or talk to us in the comments below.
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KSP Team
Parul Gupta
Shruti Narayan
Rushita Sheth
