Every day our senses are stimulated. These warn us of danger and help us connect with the world around us. I didn’t try to incorporate learning through the senses consciously, but somehow this approach has worked out beautifully for us in our homeschooling journey. It doesn’t matter though if your children homeschool or not: learning through the senses seems to bring learning to life. Our kiddos do more deep diving into subjects or interests where they get to immerse themselves in whatever subject we are discovering. Ultimately it becomes more enjoyable and memorable to them. And what’s not to love about that?
Now that my older three kiddos have graduated from our homeschool and are out working and studying full time, I hear them talk about their memories of homeschooling and when they do, you can almost guarantee that whatever it is they are recalling is something they learned by engaging their senses. Vary rarely do I hear them recalling joyously about a worksheet they did or a report they wrote. It has happened but it’s rare. Mostly, they sit around the dining table talking about ‘that game we played’ or ‘that time we got to make edible plant cells’ or that ‘eyeball that we dissected and how gross it was!’ These are the memories that I am so grateful colour their minds when they think back on their homeschooling adventure. Having heard how much they value this, I have definitely sought to be more intentional with this approach with my younger two who are still learning at home.
Here are some examples of how and why you might also choose to make the most of learning through the sense of touch.
Learning through touch
Early on, I noticed that my children (especially my neurodiverse children) loved to touch things. They wanted to pet the baby lamb at the farmyard display. They loved the touch-and-feel chunky board books as toddlers and as they grew, this desire to learn through touch stayed with them.
Touch can give us a sense of where we are in space and help us with skills like balance too. Children who learn through touch might like to take things apart to see how they work. They may also like to build things. Providing them with age-appropriate tools and materials can be a wonderful opportunity for them to delve deeper into learning.
If you are learning about a special topic, think about things you could incorporate based on touch for your children’s fingers to explore. If you are studying Ancient Egypt for instance, you could do a miniature archaeological dig for them, burying pots or tools in some sand and have them brush the sand away. For older children learning about DNA, you might have them do a special ‘crime scene’ recreation where they can lift fingerprints from something like a mirror using a highlighter and a piece of sticky tape.
Examples of how to: Encourage your child to learn through touch by creating a nature table where your kiddo can bring in items from the elements and examine them. Provide them with tools to aid their tactile discoveries like magnifying glasses. On nature walks, take zip lock bags with you (or leave them in the glove box in your car!) and allow the kids to bring home a leaf they love the texture of. Have them do leaf rubbings at home or make some salt dough and do some leaf pressings into the salt dough. Bake, paint and hang them.
Our kiddos have loved having fidget toys with them as they work through their Outschool Zoom classes. For your tactile learners why not try these Outschool Classes? Check the supplies list before you book in to ensure you have access to necessary materials.
Check out these Outschool classes:
- Let’s Make Dinner
- Robotics Using Microbit
- Stop Motion Clay Motion Movie Studio Course with Legos, Clay and Crafts
