Sticks are awesome! From the usual chewing and throwing to drumming and constructing - they are one multipurpose toy. But did you know you could use them to provide an amazing sensorimotor activity for your child? Grab some sticks and let’s get creative
Sensorimotor Development and why is it important:
We talked a lot about sensorimotor development and its importance in Sensorimotor development and activities for Children. If you are interested in a more theoretical overview, we recommend reading it.
Let’s just briefly go over the most important concepts.
Children explore the world through their senses. Everything is new and exciting to them - they must touch, lick and chew to understand and construct their environment. Freedom to explore nurtures their curiosity and allows them to improve their cognitive and motor skills.
That’s one of the basic needs of a small child and we as parents must support it. The key is to construct an environment that is interesting and stimulating but also safe. There should be many different stimuli - textures, sounds, contrasts and child should engage with them actively - as it interests him/her, not in some way prescribed by us.
This early sensory exploration is the basis for all other learning. If a child is curious and engaged, it will try to move towards the object of interest, grasp it, throw it. So motoric development is closely intertwined with this sensory exploration.
Tips on making and using Sensory Sticks:
What I love about the sensory sticks is that there is no “right” way to make them. You can really get creative with the materials - old socks, carpets, sponges, buttons - possibilities are endless. Use many different textures - fluffy, hard, soft, coarse - the more the merrier.
Different materials promote curiosity and allow the child to experience a full range of stimuli. Watch out with the materials. Baby will probably want to explore sticks with her mouth first (doh!), so be sure it’s safe. As with the most toys, don’t leave your child under 3 years to play without supervision.
This is a great toy to have on the go - small, won’t take much space but can provide tons of entertainment. Best thing is, they are so easy to make, you can make the new ones every few days to keep them fresh!
Materials needed for Sensory Sticks:
- Wooden flat sticks (popsicle)
- Glue gun
- Different materials:
- Felt
- Buttons
- Rubbery textures
- Whatever you have and think your child would be interested in
Instructions for making Sensory Sticks:
Watch the video at the top of the article to see a complete guide, and how to make Sensorimotor Sticks, or continue reading description below.
- Decide what kind of materials will you use, there are tons of possibilities, we went with felt, fluffy balls, wood - part of the clothespin and sponge
- Warm up your glue gun and get creative
- Glue it really well and clean up any excess glue.
- Time to play!
Positive effects of Sensory Sticks:
- Interesting texture ensures rich tactile stimuli
- Different colors and materials provide ample visual stimulation
- Fine motor skills development
And that's it! Now you made some new toy in a form of Sensory Sticks for your child. Now watch and enjoy its play.Are you looking for more sensorimotor activities? We recommend you to check How to make Homemade Sensory Bottle, How to make Sensory Play Colors and How to make Sensory Bag and let the fun to continue.
Original article can be found at https://www.stemlittleexplorers.com/en/sensory-sticks/