Five Senses: Sense of Touch

Man, I really should have typed this up last week when it was still fresh on my mind.  Now we've had more than 3-feet of snow and an entire week of snow days to interfere with my memory.  Sadly, I didn't even take as many pictures as usual either to help me jog my memory.

Near as I can remember, we started off by discussing the five senses.  I would tell them the part of their body they used and they would guess what the sense was.  Of course, they were all pretty good at it, although it was pretty humorous to hear that they all thought that talking was the sense their mouth was used for.  :)

Then we read a couple of random books and noticed people using their five senses in the stories.  The kids really liked this activity and I think that pointing out how you use your senses in every day life is a great way to reinforce these concepts.  

After we talked a little about their senses, we started focusing in on their sense of touch.  

First we laughed at the counting box that looked really silly with seven socks hanging out of it.  After we counted the socks, each person picked a sock and reached their hand inside without looking to try to guess what was inside.   We went around the circle and had each person use descriptive terms to describe their items (ex. smooth, soft, round, etc) and then guess what they thought it was.    Most of  them had a pretty good idea.    

Next we went on a touching scavenger hunt (no pictures).  I made a list of some descriptive terms like bumpy, smooth, hard, soft, scratchy, hot, cold, rough, sticky, etc. and then we went around the house together searching for things that fit the description.  When we found something the kids would take turns crossing it off my list.  

Then we did an art project that focused on textures and touch.  I provided the kids with a variety of materials like sand paper, cotton balls, bumpy paper, and tissue paper and let the kids use their imaginations to create their own pictures.  

The kids really enjoyed the unstructured time with scissors and glue and went to town creating a tactile masterpiece.  

The kids were pretty meticulous with their work and spent a good half an hour on this project.  

Later on we worked on our pages for the Five Senses Book which you will get to see in a few weeks(no pictures either).  

It was a fun way to kick off learning about the five senses and I think the kids will really enjoy delving into the rest of the senses in more detail over the next few weeks.  I, for one, am really looking forward to our Krispy Kreme trip!  :)