This week we will be learning about our five senses! I’m really excited for this unit because I think it’s something about our bodies, it will be very relatable and tangible for our kiddos.
I know there is a lot of science behind the five senses, but since this is preschool program, we won’t be going too in-depth. We’ll be focusing on basically what the five senses are, and using our five senses in our activities.
We have some fun activities planned! Let’s get into it –>
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My Five Senses Lesson Plans
As always, if you want to go straight to downloading the lesson plan, fill in your info below and it’ll be sent to your email.
If you want more details and extra book suggestions, keep on scrolling!
Activities
Introduction
Before we begin the unit on Day 1, I will first introduce the five senses to my sons. We will start by singing Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes. And then we will read Look, Listen, Taste, Touch, and Smell by Pamela Hill Nettleton and also Cold, Crunchy, Colorful by Jane Brocket as an introduction.
Day 1: Hearing
On our first day, we will be focusing on hearing/listening.
Egg Shakers
I will prep this activity the day before.
Fill several Easter eggs with different items. I would stick to things that your kids are somewhat familiar with. Some suggestions are coins, rocks, M&M’s, paper clips.
Get kids to shake and listen to the sounds the items make. And then guess what they think will be inside.
Listening Walk
Read The Listening Walk by Paul Showers and then go on a listening walk! Encourage kids to be quiet for a couple minutes to listen, and then discuss what they heard during that time.
I know this will be kind of difficult for my son to not say what he hears right away. But I plan on setting a timer for 1 minute and challenging him to only listen and not talk during that time.
Day 2: Seeing
Rainbow Sensory Bottles
I saw this really cool activity on Play to Learn Preschool so I’m really excited to try it out! Check out the original post here.
I bought these clear water beads and liquid watercolor for this activity. And I got several bottles of clear hair gel from the dollar store.
You could totally do these sensory bottles in mason jars (with lids) if you have any. I don’t, so I bought some bottled water which I will be drinking and saving the bottles for this activity next week. Yay for hydration!
Keep in mind that the water beads take a few hours to expand. I plan on making these rainbow sensory bottles the night before (by myself), and just get the boys to play with them the next day.
Water dropper art
I feel like the first “activity” of observing and playing with the sensory bottles won’t take too long. So, we will be doing a second activity today.
I will be mixing up some liquid watercolor and using droppers to create some colorful art!
Day 3: Tasting
Blind Taste Test
Muhahaha I feel a liiiittle bad that I’m so excited for this blind taste test haha! But not too bad since there will be mostly yummy things, but then there will be the LEMON 😉
I plan on doing maybe 5 or 6 things. I think I’ll do graham crackers, cheese, lemon, chocolate, cashews, and Cheerios.
I might use a handkerchief to cover my son’s eyes, or maybe considering using a beanie and pulling it down over his eyes.
Day 4: Feeling
Blind Feeling Test
Similar to the taste test, I will blindfold my son and then get him to touch different objects and guess what they are. I plan on using rice, rocks, shaving cream, and oobleck.
I will use oobleck as the last object, since I know my son will want to play with it afterwards 🙂
For those of you who don’t know what oobleck is, it’s AMAZING. The texture is so unique! If you touch it gently, it’s a liquid and it’s easy to run your fingers through it, but if you tap it, it feels like a solid.
What’s in this magical substance, you ask? It’s actually just corn starch and water. And food coloring, if you want it colored. It’s about a 1 to 1 ratio.
I usually put about a cup of corn starch into a container, and slowly add in water a little bit at a time while mixing it. I just use my fingers to mix it together. You’ll know when it’s ready when you reach the texture that I described earlier. Thick liquidy when you move your fingers slowly through it, and almost like a solid when you tap it quickly.
Day 5: Smelling
Popcorn Activity
My boys always get so excited every time we make popcorn. It’s something about popping it fresh in the microwave that gets my 3 year-old so excited.
We’ll be making popcorn and then writing down our observations in a five senses mini book. I will be using this free download from I Heart Crafty Things for this popcorn activity. Super cute!
Books
Here are some books that we will be reading throughout this week. Feel free to pick and choose the books that will work best for you and your kids.
The series of books by Rebecca Olien are more advanced, so we will probably be looking more at the pictures rather than actually reading them.
I Hear a Pickle (and smell, see, touch, and taste it, too!) by Rachel Isadora
If there’s just one book I would recommend for this unit for preschoolers, it would be this one! I think it’s informative and relatable for young kids and a great way to introduce the five senses without getting too complicated.
Look, Listen, Taste, Touch, and Smell by Pamela Hill Nettleton
This is a great book to introduce the five senses.
Cold, Crunchy, Colorful by Jane Brocket
Another great book to introduce the five senses.
Too Pickley! by Jean Reidy
My son loved this book for some reason. Like, he made me read it multiple times in one sitting. It’s really silly and simple, but the descriptive words are enjoyable and humorous.
Tony Baroni Loves Macaroni by Marilyn Sadler
Super relatable for little kids!
The Listening Walk by Paul Showers
Read this and then go on a listening walk with your kiddos!
Too Much Noise by Ann McGovern
Listen, Buddy by Helen Lester
Even with his big ears, buddy has a difficult time listening!
Horton Hears a Who! by Dr. Seuss
A classic!
Bark, George by Jules Feiffer
It Is A Tree by Susan Batori
Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Caralyn Buehner & Mark Buehner
Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Tom Lichtenheld
Farley Follows His Nose by Lynn Johnston
Gladys Goes Out to Lunch by Derek Anderson
The Magic School Bus Explores the Senses by Joanna Cole
Hearing by Rebecca Olien
This series is very informative, but quite lengthy and goes into lots of details. It’s great for older kids, but a little too complex for littles. We will probably be reading a bit of the introduction and then looking through the pictures in the rest of the book.
Smelling by Rebecca Olien
Tasting by Rebecca Olien
Touching by Rebecca Olien
Seeing by Rebecca Olien
Bible Verse
Here is our new Bible verse for the next two weeks! The printable is included with the lesson plan download.
“Ears that hear and eyes that see—the Lord has made them both.” -Proverbs 20:12
My Five Senses Lesson Plans
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I’m so glad it’s been a helpful resource, Sylvia! So encouraging to hear!