Learning with All Five Senses: Unlocking Your Child's Potential

From ages 0 to 6, children rely heavily on their five senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch—for expression and exploration, as they are still developing their language and communication skills. Therefore, integrating these senses into early childhood education can lead to effective learning outcomes beyond mere verbal instruction and modeling.

Key Points:

• What is Sensory Integration?

• About the Five Senses

• How to Train Children's Sensory Integration
  

1. What is Sensory Integration?

Sensory Integration is a theory developed in the 1970s by American occupational therapist and clinical psychologist Anna Jean Ayres. It refers to the process of taking in information through the senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch) and responding appropriately. Effective sensory integration allows children to improve body coordination, plan movements, and enhance their ability to manage daily tasks.

2. About the Five Senses

According to Junichi Murano, a Japanese color science scholar, in "Color Psychology," the distribution of information reception through the senses is as follows: vision 87%, hearing 7%, touch 3%, smell 2%, and taste 1%. Vision plays a dominant role, far exceeding the other senses. In early childhood education, visual input, such as reading text and images, is predominant. However, various neuroscience studies show that providing children with multi-sensory experiences and different environmental stimuli helps their brains integrate information and respond appropriately. This multi-sensory approach is essential for enhancing learning.

3. How to Train Children's Sensory Integration

Beyond the common visual activities, incorporating hearing, smell, taste, and touch into learning can create diverse educational outcomes.

Hearing In addition to visual learning, hearing is often used in educational contexts. Familiar songs like the ABC song or rhythmic chants help reinforce knowledge and aid in learning. Parents can also read aloud from picture books or storybooks, enhancing children's understanding and future language skills.

Touch Touch-based activities, such as physical exercises, can also serve educational purposes. Hands-on activities like playing with clay, building blocks, or drawing combine play with learning, stimulating children's interest and creativity.

Smell and Taste Smell and taste are the least dominant senses but can be integrated with other senses for learning. For example, simple baking classes can help children learn about different food ingredients through their smells and tastes. These activities also teach children what is safe to eat and improve their hand-eye coordination during the cooking process.

During the crucial stages of a child's growth, the five senses play a vital role in brain development and unlocking their potential. However, it's important not to rush the process or overwhelm the child. Parents should observe their child's state and provide appropriate educational activities, balancing dynamic and static tasks to help integrate their senses effectively.

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