Hands-on exploration

Sensory Play

This program can include any activity that stimulates a child’s senses: touch, smell, taste, movement, balance, sight and hearing. Sensory activities facilitate exploration and naturally encourage children to use scientific processes while they play, create, investigate, and explore which can lead to longer attention spans and focus in addition to improving their coordination and motor skills.

Hispanic Heritage Month Activities:

SPAIN: September 16 – 21

CODING Friday and Sunday at 3p

• The Flamenco dance paper fan project will teach children how to code messages using the ‘language of the fan.’

POP-UP Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 11:30a

• Tomato Splat Art is inspired by La Tomatina, or tomato festival where participants hurl overripe tomatoes. Don’t worry, we’re taking the fun outside!
• Marzipan-inspired dough will use scented oils will focus on sense of touch and smell.

SENSORY Tuesday and Thursday at 11:30a

• We’re making castanets, associated with Spanish flamenco music and dance.

GUATEMALA: September 23 – 28

CODING Friday and Sunday at 3p

• Since Guatemala has the largest telecommunications market for Central America, it’s only fitting that our coding session be a charade telephone game.

POP-UP Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 11:30a

• Weaving is a traditional Guatemalan craft. We will be weaving bowls with plastic ribbons and plastic bags.
• Mayan Worry dolls are the size of a fingernail or thumb and are placed under a child’s pillow, carrying their worries of the day. We’ll be making worry dolls while children hear the stories behind this craft.

SENSORY Tuesday and Thursday at 11:30a

• Guatemalan coffee is renowned for its high quality, complex flavor profiles. Kids will learn the science behind coffee making using a syphon.

CHILE: September 30 – October 5

CODING Friday and Sunday at 3p

• Miniature archaeological dig will have kids following codes to determine where to dig to find the dinosaur.

POP-UP Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 11:30a

• “Horsehair” Crin (crafting) is a unique and delicate art form. Kids will use colorful synthetic strands to create similar patterns.
• Conducting with Copper. Kids will learn about conduction using copper – largely produced in Chile.

SENSORY Tuesday and Thursday at 11:30a

• Chilean rain sticks are musical instruments that create a rain-like sound. Kids will make their own hollow tube filled with small grains.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: October 7 – 12

CODING Friday and Sunday at 3p

• Sunray Rover. This coding experience draws inspiration from the legends and myths surrounding astronomy, and the fact that the Dominican Republic is one of the few places to see the Zenith, when the sun is perpendicular to the Earth twice a year.

POP-UP Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 11:30a

• Faceless Dolls are a celebrated handicraft of the Dominican Republic and in Dominican homes. Kids will make little clothes for their own faceless dolls.
• Amber Resign Experiments with Bug Fossils – In the Dominican Republic, the most popular jewelry to buy is larimar and amber. Kids will ‘discover’ fossilized matter preserved in ‘amber’ and make their own fossils.

At Home: Make your own geode crystal

SENSORY Tuesday and Thursday at 11:30a

• We’re making slime while discovering habichuelas con Dulce (sweet bean liquid dessert) while hearing Josefina’s Habichuelas/ Las Habichuelas de Josefina by Jasminne Mendez

October Sensory Play:

Tuesday, October 14 and Thursday, October 16: Melt the Icy Grip

• We’re experimenting between solids and liquids, hot and cold, and smooth and hard.

Saturday, October 18: Swamp Soup

• Kids will have full creative control of what goes in their pot including creatures and items located in swamps.

Tuesday, October 21 and Thursday, October 23: Simmer Pots

• We’re focusing on scents: recognizing and naming spices used in take-home bags to fill your house with autumn scents.

Saturday, October 25: Slime

• Who doesn’t like slime! We’re using fine motor skill and hand-eye coordination by stretching, squeezing, and molding the slime.

Tuesday, October 28 and Thursday, October 30: Pumpkin Guts

• We’re carving into the science of pumpkins.

November Sensory Play:

Saturday, November 1: Dancing Popcorn

• Children will observe the cause-and-effect relationship between the chemical reaction and the popcorn.

Tuesday, November 4 and Thursday, November 6: Cross Stitching Fall Trees

• Benefits: hand-eye coordination, correlating colors and shapes, and differentiating real life

Saturday, November 8: Fruits and Vegetable Stamping

• Fresh fruits and veggies stamping embellishes a take-home craft.

Tuesday, November 11 and Thursday, November 13: Pumpkin Pie Dough

• All the warm spices will be used to create a fun, fall activity for children.

Saturday, November 15: Fall I-spy Sensory Bins

• Finding the items will give kids a sense of accomplishment.

Tuesday, November 18 and Thursday, November 20: Leaf Garland

• As children understand why leaves change colors, they will be creating a fall-themed garland.

Saturday, November 22: Thermometers

• Through early STEM exploration, children will gain an understanding of temperature.

Tuesday, November 25 and Thursday, November 29: Leaf Rubbings

• Making leaf rubbings provides children with an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of plants and nature.