Engage All Senses to Deepen the Learning

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There is an old proverb often attributed to Benjamin Franklin that goes like this: “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I may remember. Include me and I will learn.” The true source of this quote comes from an ancient Chinese proverb by Xun Kuang, a Confucian philosopher:

不闻不若闻之, 闻之不若见之, 见之不若知之, 知之不若行之

Not having heard something is not as good as having heard it; having heard it is not as good as having seen it; having seen it is not as good as knowing it; knowing it is not as good as putting it into practice.

– Ruxiao

Even though we know that young children are capable of learning anything at a tremendous speed, they are also prone to forgetting what they have learned (See: Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve). To reinforce the knowledge that your child has learned, we factor in repeats and encourage parents to return to older lessons and review the material taught. This may involve repeating weekly lesson plans and/or going through the supplementary activities and materials that support those lesson plans after some time has passed. An example of a good time frame would be to repeat the lesson plans after a year. Your child will have learned new skills over that year and be able to perform the activities with less support from you.

Making Lessons Interactive

In our example lesson plans, we include activities that involve making things, doing things, and being physically engaged. The goal is to utilise all your child’s senses during the learning – touch, listen, taste, smell, and sight. This is because we learn more deeply when involved in meaningful experiences. Learning is reinforced when the mind can link information from all the senses and make a connection with past learning. Engaging all senses during learning can also significantly enhance retention by creating a more memorable learning experience. 

• Multisensory Learning – when we incorporate multiple senses, it stimulates various parts of the brain at the same time. This leads to better information processing and retention. 
• Enhanced Memory – when we engage multiple senses, it creates stronger neural pathways, making it easier to recall the information later. 
• Increased Engagement – using multisensory activities makes learning more fun and engaging. This promotes greater motivation and interest in the subject matter. 
• Improved Comprehension – using multiple sensory inputs helps learners understand complex concepts more easily. 
• Real-World Connections – engaging the senses helps children connect abstract ideas to real-world experiences. This makes learning more relevant and practical. 

Examples of Multisensory Activities

• Reading: Listen to audiobooks while reading, draw or colour in pictures related to the story, or create a sensory box with objects related to the text.
• Art: Create artworks in the style of famous artists, or use a variety of materials, textures, and media.
• Science: Conduct experiments, smell different chemicals, or touch various textures related to the topic. 
• Culture: Listen to music from a specific culture, create crafts related to the culture, or prepare and taste specialty dishes from a specific country. 
• Math: Use manipulatives like blocks or counters, or draw diagrams to visualize concepts. 
• Language: Practice speaking and listening to the language, use flashcards with pictures, sing songs in the language, or use Montessori 3 Part Cards. 
• Topics: Learn about a specific topic by building multisensory experiences around it. For example, learn about plants by going on a nature walk, planting seeds, and tasting fruit and vegetables.

Creating Multisensory Experiences

Here are some ways you can create multi-sensory experiences with your child(ren).

Tactile activities

• Sandpaper Letters: Trace letters with fingers on sandpaper for beginning writing practice. Practice saying the letter sounds at the same time.
• Shaving Cream Writing: Use shaving cream for drawing or writing practice. Add a little food colour for more fun. This activity engages both tactile and visual senses. 
• Finger Painting: Explore different ways to create art with just your fingers.
• Water Tables: Use food colouring, measuring cups, pipettes or eye droppers to explore with water. Freeze a few toys in ice and “excavate” them with a toy hammer and chisel.
• Sand Play: Go to a beach, use a sand pit, or get some kinetic sand to build structures.
• Play Dough: Create letters, numbers, or shapes out of play dough.
• Sensory Bins: Fill bins with different materials (beans, rice, pasta) for exploration and sensory play. 

Visual Activities

• Flashcards: Use flashcards with pictures and words to reinforce vocabulary and concepts. 
• Air Writing: Write letters or numbers in the air using fingers or arms. 
• Nature Walks: Engage in outdoor activities to explore sights, sounds, and textures. 

Kinesthetic Activities

• Arm Tapping: Tap out sounds or words with fingers or arms. 
• Movement Activities: Incorporate movement into learning, such as acting out stories or singing a song with actions, e.g., “Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”, “If You’re Happy and You Know It”, or “Eency, Weensy Spider”.
• Read It, Build It, Write It: Read a word, build it with letters, then write it down. 

Aim to include at least two senses. The more senses you can incorporate into your lessons, the better it will be. Finally, the sense of smell has the strongest link to memory. You may have experienced this before when smelling a familiar fragrance which brought back vivid memories from the past. This is also one of the reasons why we often include cooking as one of the learning activities in the lesson plans.