Kitchen Sensory Play

Your Child Will Learn

How to use all 5 senses to observe cooking ingredients

Choose 3-5 ingredients in your kitchen that have different textures (examples: salt, sugar, rice, pasta, beans, lentils). Place each one in its own bowl. Wash your child’s hands.
Let your child play with the ingredients in each bowl. What do they feel like?
Encourage your child to explore the ingredients with their other senses.
1. Smell the ingredients.
2. Shake the bowl or listen for any noises when pouring the ingredient.
3. How do the ingredients look similar or different to each other?
4. Taste! (for uncooked ingredients like beans/rice/pasta, you may want to just let them lick a small bit)
(Optional) Continue the sensory exploration by smelling different spices or condiments.

PAUSE

Find a kitchen surface your child can easily access (countertops may be too high, a table might work better) to set up the bowls. Settle into chairs together to begin.

ENGAGE

“What do all of these ingredients feel like? Go ahead and stick your hands in each bowl one by one.”
“What do you notice about what all these things look like? What color are they? Shape? Size?”

ENCOURAGE

“It can be hard to find words for smells. Do you like the smell? Does it remind you of anything else?”
“Does it taste salty like (your child’s favorite salty snack), sweet (like your child’s favorite sweet dessert), or something else?”

REFLECT

Talk with your child about what body part they used to explore the food (ears for hearing, mouth for tasting, etc.)

For less-verbal children, help narrate the things they’re exploring with their senses.

Prompt your child to use more descriptive words as they make their observations.

They will use their five senses to make observations about different things in the world.

15 minutes

3-5 kitchen ingredients with different textures (examples: salt, sugar, rice, pasta, beans, lentils). 3-5 small bowls (one for each ingredient)