I recently discovered the Young, Wild + Friedman blog and sensory play kits for kids at a holiday trunk show last month. I was very intrigued by the kits and knew my children would love to get their hands on them! Julie Friedman started making the kits a few years ago for her children, and has since grown it into a business, releasing new kits each month and shipping them all across the country. Each kit, which is centered around a theme, comes with three types of homemade, non-toxic play dough and plenty of hands-on goodies. You can buy the kits individually or sign up for a subscription to receive them on your doorstep each month. Fun, convenient and educational!
Today, we’re featuring Julie’s blog post about the Top 5 Benefits of Sensory Play and ways to incorporate sensory play into your children’s playtime. Make sure to read to the bottom of the post for instructions on how to enter a GIVEAWAY for Julie’s special Valentine’s Day themed sensory play kit!
Photo by Young, Wild + Friedman
Benefits of Sensory Play
by Julie Friedman
Some of you may be wondering, “What exactly is sensory play, and why is it important?’” Personally, we first started learning about sensory play about 4 years ago, when one of my children was diagnosed with a speech disorder coupled with severe anxiety. One of our doctors recommended incorporating more sensory play opportunities in our daily routine, as it may help calm her anxiety and encourage language development. I am a total researcher, so I got reading, and was amazed at what I found! I immediately started making play dough, putting together sensory bins, and even bought an at home music class DVD that we used together. Evie was, as expected, an extremely frustrated child because she was not able to communicate, and using sensory experiences truly did help calm her frustrations. It has truly been incredible to see how her behavior and language have grown and improved through sensory play.
To give you a little more information, I put together the top 5 benefits of sensory play:
Top 5 Benefits of Sensory Play
1. Builds nerve connections in the brain that, in turn, enable your child to complete more complex learning tasks.
2. Supports language development, cognitive growth, fine and gross motor skills, problem solving skills and social interaction.
3. Enhances memory.
4. Has been proven to calm kids who are anxious or frustrated due to different circumstances.
5. Allows kids to learn different sensory attributes- hot, cold, sticky, dry, wet, etc. Develops their awareness of their senses in the most effective way possible- hands on!
We love that our play dough kits provide an incredible sensory experience with everything your children need to explore their senses and a fun, safe, and imaginative way!
Photo by Young, Wild + Friedman
However, there are so many other easy ways your kids can get involved in sensory play. Early on, sensory play can be beneficial for kids who are sensitive to certain food textures, like the slimy-ness of spaghetti or the mushiness of baby food. Allowing the child to explore that texture by touching, feeling, and playing with it in an environment with no expectations can help the child develop a better understanding of the texture, which in form develops pathways in the brain that says it’s okay to eat.
For babies, sensory play can be something as easy as blowing bubbles and watching them float through the air and then feeling them pop on their skin. Giving your baby some wrapping paper and letting them watch it change as they listen to it rip and feel the texture change from smooth to crinkled as they play with it. Or simply letting them feed themselves, and feel the different types of food between their fingers, smell it, taste it.
Photo by Young, Wild + Friedman
For toddlers, letting them explore with finger paints is messy, but definitely a great sensory activity. They can watch the colors mix and change and feel the wet and slimy texture of the paint on their hands. Water is another fabulous sensory activity thats definitely mess free (outside!) Scooping and pouring, discovering items that sink/float.
Preschoolers can enjoy sensory play by making shapes using molds with kinetic sand, squishing and rolling out play dough, or exploring with dry pantry items, such as rice or beans.
The easiest and best way to engage in sensory play is simply by getting outside! Let your child feel the grass beneath their feet, the cool breeze brush across their face. Listen to the birds chirp and sing, watch butterflies flutter and squirrels dart up trees, smell flowers and freshly cut grass, observe the shapes and textures of different rocks and feel the heat of the sun on their skin. Just by going outside all of your child’s senses are engaged… if only it weren’t so dang hot in Texas!
GIVEAWAY!
Photo by Young, Wild + Friedman
We’ve teamed up with Julie for a sweet Valentine’s GIVEAWAY! What better way to have your kids try out sensory play than with a free Valentine’s Day themed Sensory Play Kit by Young, Wild + Friedman? This kit comes with everything little hands need to play, learn and explore through sensory play! Make love bugs and monsters with googly eyes and pipe cleaners, set up a valentine shop with pretend chocolate candy, or make cookies and cakes of all sizes with the different heart shaped cookie cutters and play dough punchers! You can enter our GIVEAWAY on Instagram by clicking here and following these simple instructions:
- Follow @lolliandme and @youngwildandfriedman
- Like this post on our Instagram page
- Tag at least one friend in the comments (the more comments the more chances you have to win!)
Official Rules: Giveaway runs from January 29, 2019 at 9:30 AM CST to February 1, 2019 at 5:00 PM CST. One winner will be chosen at random to receive the prize, a Sensory Play kit by Young, Wild, and Friedman. The winner will be announced via Instastories on Lolli and Me’s Instagram account @lolliandme on February 2, 2019, and winner will also be notified by Instagram direct message. The prize will be delivered by mail, and winner must respond with shipping address within 48 hours to receive the item. United States residents only. Entrants must be 18 years of age or older to win. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited.
Thank you Julie for your insight on sensory play! We loved learning about all the ways to cultivate healthy senses through creative play. If you try any of Julie’s tips, let us know by tagging Lolli and Me and Julie in your post on Instagram or Facebook!
Featured image by Young, Wild + Friedman
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