Child Development Psychology: Sensory Play Aids in the Learning Process

Early Childhood Development: Learn with Sensory Play

The psychology behind a child's ability to focus academically or follow rules can be positively influenced by the environment. Parents and caregivers can help children with ADHD, sensory processing disorders or developmental issues ease into everyday activities with simple games and activities. 

(This post contains affiliate links.)

In the past, we co-hosted a play based learning linky party with Nikki at Spectrum Psychological. Sensory play is a sneaky tool to help your child learn important motor skills, early literacy skills, and cognitive thinking skills.

Play Based Learning: Building block play is beneficial to the brain.

If your child suffers from a child development disorder, you may want to consider alternative education options such as Montessori or Online Public School.  If one option doesn't work, keep trying until you find the right fit or your family.

Keeping a tower from toppling is a lesson in patience.

We have been fairly successful with Online Public School. I have two very different gifted children. One enjoys learning, the other one does not. As she approached second grade, she struggled with what was once only considered age appropriate hurdles. Her continued transposing of b's, d's, g's, 5's , and 3's was being considered as a form of Dyslexia. Compound words are transposed, numbers and letters reversed, and she read from right to left.

She has now been diagnosed with ADHD, Visual Processing Disorder, and within the Autism Spectrum. The public online school aided in the diagnoses with an evaluation with various specialist including a school psychologist, a speech pathologist, and special ed teachers. To my surprise, she was evaluated as gifted in several subjects and learning disabled in mathematics. We were given an IEP (Individualized Education Plan,) and she has special accommodations when testing.

In this case, we struggle with everyday writing tasks. As the learning coach, it is my responsibility to find ways to make school work fun. The easiest way is to avoid writing anything down on paper. Of course this isn't always realistic, so we supplement with less frightening activities. 

Using a dry erase board can make the daunting task of writing seem like a privilege. Alphabet magnets on a door turn the chore of spelling tests into a game. Just changing the media alleviates some of the stress making it easier to get started on school projects. 

Magnetic Alphabet Letters add a sensory element to writing lessons.

Gifted children face child developmental issues too. While one struggles with learning, the other faces many different challenges. The brain is busy soaking up knowledge, but gross and fine motor skills seem less important- think absent minded professor. His need for perfection not only stifles his creativity, it also frustrates him to the point of melt downs.

Read more about it in Jake's Journey in Art

So, what is child development psychology? It is a combination of child development and development psychology meaning the study of physical, cognitive, and social changes throughout our life cycle or in this case throughout childhood. Piaget describes Early Childhood Development as children behaving as little scientists. 

Children focus all of their time and attention on learning, be it through play or studying and mimicking others. Sensory play is essential to child development. Children play to learn- Let them!

Aid your child's development by encouraging sensory play with homemade play dough, oversize blocks, a costume trunk and mirror, and educational sensory bins filled with colored sand or rice embedded with fabric or block letters. 

Teach them it's okay to get messy with edible finger paint or let them make mud pies. Turn your no into yes, and forget about the mess. Focus on can-do to build self-esteem and positive emotional development.

List of Discipline Alternatives

Recommended Reading:

Autism Awareness Programs

Early Intervention Games: Fun, Joyful Ways to Develop Social and Motor Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum or Sensory Processing Disorders

Early Childhood Development

Emotional Development

Edible Art: Sensory Play Paint with Spaghetti with Toddlers and Preschoolers

From our Sensory Play Messy Class for Preschoolers and Toddlers: Worm Painting with Spaghetti and Edible Paint Art

Sensory Play is a great way to help preschoolers learn. It also helps with disorders of the Autism spectrum when the child is allowed to explore the subject matter on their own without being pushed. This activity is messy, squishy, fun, and even edible! Enjoy!

Getting Started with Cooked Spaghetti

Inspired Modern Art. Worm Painting?

Spaghetti Painting for Edible Art and Sensory Play feels like worms.

How to Make Spaghetti for Sensory Paint Play

• Cook up a batch of Spaghetti
• Strain it and pat it dry
• Mix some Edible Paint (Vanilla Pudding Paint with Gel food coloring works best with the Noodles but you can also try kool-aid paint and  milk paint for other projects.)
• Prepare to get Messy!
• Swirl the Spaghetti in the paint, then onto your paper.

Since most in the class are toddlers, I paraphrase the words to get thru it quickly, paying a lot of attention to the photos and asking, "What is that?".  We paired this with the Children's Book, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Books about Spaghetti.

Next, I gave each child a spaghetti noodle to study. Then, we stood up pretending we were squigly spaghetti noodles. Oops, spaghetti can't stand up, so we fell to the floor and squirmed like worms. We finished up with a game of Duck, Duck, Goose but why not try Worm, Worm, Catepillar?

Painting was a huge success. The sticky spaghetti is so fun, enjoy!

Recommended Reading:

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Worm Birthday Party Favors

Healthy Spaghetti Recipe

Worm Birthday Party Activity

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss - Daisy-Head Mayzie Activities and Craft

Daisy Head Mayzie Crafts and Activities

Today's Companion Craft and Story is themed on Dr. Seuss' book, Daisy-Head Mayzie not Maisy. We have lots of Dr. Seuss activities. You might Also like Dr. Seuss's Sue Snue and a fake cake messy play craft to celebrate his birthday! This is a fun project to do with Daisy Girl Scouts. Enjoy!

Cute Monster Paperbag Puppets: Video, Monster Trouble: First in our KCC Kid's Creative Play Series for Kids

Make your own paper bag monster puppets for Halloween

In honor of my favorite holiday (Halloween) we explore Monsters. Special thanks to Alex Toys for providing the crafts and toys in this post. These Paper Bag Monster Puppets came in a kit but you could make your own with construction paper shapes and lunch or colorful party bags. Play a Monster Game too.

 Paper Bag Monster Puppets are fun for a 
Preschool or Toddler Birthday Party.

More Paperbag Puppets for Teaching (Presidents)

Creative Play allows children to forget about stress and school work and let their imaginations run wild. 

I'm a huge fan! The Play Connection, Inc. offers many opportunities through our Sensory Messy Classes, Costumes/Puppets and Kiddie Play Productions.

First, we made Paper Bag Monster Puppets. The kits includes 5 colorful paper bags but with the leftover supplies you can make even more with white or brown paper lunch sacks.

Paperbag Monster Puppets.

After monster making, we went on a CREATIVE PLAY adventure and filmed it for you! The monster in the video is wearing the Face Paint Kit by Alex Toys and his weapons of choice are the Connect a Giant Monster discs. 

We hope you'll join us over the next few weeks as I find my inner videographer and the kiddos explore their improvisational skills in our first video production, The KCC Kids Creative Play Series Videos. 

The KCC Detective Agency presents MONSTER TROUBLE.



Find the Undercover Spy Gear here. After tracking monsters, you can get some much needed target practice when you clean up in the bath with this Screaming Monster Tub Target.

Monster Bath Tub Toys.

Each month, we'll go on a fun adventure and share it with you. Stay tuned next month for our tribute to Thanksgiving and the Wampanoag Indians.

We'd love to hear from you! Do you have ideas for future KCC adventures? Do you want to join in the fun? Leave a comment below or subscribe to our posts.

Recommended Reading:

Monster Toilet Paper Roll Cardboard Tubes

Birthday Party Game Kids Love

Monster Birthday Book by Boynton

Car Covers for Backseat: Bench Seat Cover with Split

Split Rearseat Cover for Car

Messy Kids? Ready for a big Chaotic Confession? We've got one super messy child dubbed, Mayhem. We needed car covers for the backseat for the past year. So, when Versa Via asked if we'd like to do a review, we jumped at the chance. The Versa Via split rearseat cover for car worked like magic, alas for our car, it was too late. Maybe, it isn't too late for your car? Keep scrolling for our car seat cover giveaway. Enjoy!

This post contains Amazon and other affiliate links.

Easy to install rear seat cover for car.

So, the Car Covers for Backseat were a necessity for us. We've had the car for almost 2 years now, so it is practically a new car, right? Not so much. Here goes... You might want to avert your eyes.

We desperately needed a Split Rearseat Cover for our Car.

What is that stuff? Well, there's some purple putty, blue candy, maple syrup, ketchup, chocolate milk, Florida sand, and maybe even some duck or chicken poo remnants. Yes, that's a big confession.

One day, after some Nerds (the candy) entered into the backseat, the seatbelt clicker broke. We tried to vacuum them out, but it was too late. RIP seatbelt.

Messy backseats. This fabric is unforgiving.

Another confession, we did attempt to clean the seat before installing the VersaVia Car Cover. We spent $5 sweeping it out and sprayed lots of vinegar and peroxide on it, but it was to no avail.

A bit of good news, we found lots of change and a few Nintendo DS games! Bad news, we even clogged the industrial vac at the carwash.

Mommy refused to sit in the backseat, so did Jake. Daddy would sit on a towel or chair pad. Sigh.

Then, our Split Rearseat Cover for Car arrived. It sat in the front entry for a week. We knew prepping the car was going to take some time. We also worried that the rear seat cover would be difficult to install. Wrong!

This installs in under 5 minutes. Super easy. It adjusts to the size of your seat, and it stays in position even when Mayhem is climbing around back there. If only, we had one BEFORE the mess.

Since we've installed it, The Littlest Pet Shop tiny bits don't fall between the fold or get stuck in the seat belt clicker...




Recommended:

Family Road Trip Tips

Learn to Declutter

Messy Play Activities

Dr. Seuss Sue Snue: Celebrate Theodore Geisel's Birthday with this April Fool's Joke Cake Activity Trick for Kids

When is Dr. Seuss's Birthday? Celebrate with Sue Snue Birthday Party Activities

I bet Dr. Seuss, Theodore Geisel, liked to celebrate April Fool's Day. Why not celebrate his birthday with this joke shaving cream cake trick activity and read Sue Snue. Dr. Seuss's Birthday is March 2, 1904. Remember, it is Seuss, not Suess. Enjoy!

Theodore Geisel: Dr. Seuss.

Shaving Cream is Versatile. Mix up one batch and enjoy three fun, messy activities for kids. This is a fun way to celebrate a kids' birthday party!

Shaving Cream Sensory Play Ideas.

You will need:

1 can of Shaving Cream

Gel Food Coloring

Plastic Spoons

Cake Decorating Sprinkles

Birthday Candles

Recycle Plastic Containers

Paint Brush

Read "Who Are You, Sue Snue?" From Jim Henson's Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss. Sue has a birthday and everyone in town wonders what she will do to celebrate. 

Who Are You, Sue Snue?
From Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss.

Fun Kid's Activity #1

Mix up some shaving cream with a few drops of your favorite color of gel food coloring. Grab a clean, empty, cream cheese container, turn it upside down, and ice it like a cake. Add a candle on top. This is a great idea for Sensory Play!

Fake Shaving Cream Birthday Cake for playing 
an April Fool's Joke on your kids.

Cool Craft for Kids #1 Variation
The cake looks good enough to eat. Why not play a fun April Fool's Joke on a friend?

Trick your children with this fake joke cake for April Fool's.

You might also like our Daisy Head Maizy (Maisy) Activities

Kiddie Version of  Shaving Cream Cake. 
Let your kids make a cake to play a trick on Dad.

Activity #2 

Grab a paint brush and paint the sidewalk with your leftover shaving cream mixture.

Summer Camp Shaving Cream Fun

Activity #3
After the kids have made a sufficient mess, use your left-over shaving cream "icing" in the bathtub.  It works great and cleans up easily. (They are going to need a bath!)

Recommended Reading:

Who Are You, Sue Snue? Birthday Book*

Daisy Head Mayzie Activities


*Special Thanks to Momto2PoshLilDivas for the cake idea.















ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

How to make your own DIY Edible Face paint Ideas & Recipes & Build Self-Esteem: The Thing About Monsters is

How to make edible face paint and recipes for Toddlers and Kids of all Ages

Remember, You Can do it with Creative Play and a Can-do Attitude. Recently, we did a post about Monster Trouble (Our first KCC Kids Video) check out the fun here. SCROLL DOWN to see DIY Face Paint Recipes for face paint/makeup, lip gloss, sensory play and Witchy Me.

Monster Trouble?

Face Paint Kit by Alex Toys.

In the video in the post, a sneaky monster is made with items from our costume trunk/creative play stash and Alex Toys Face Paint Studio. Not once, have we posted pictures or recipes of our homemade and edible face paints. During our creative play and messy classes playing with face paint has been a staple. So, read on to discover many ways to create self-esteem, a fun day of creative play, how to make less of a mess, and enjoy the little time you have with your littles and not so little ones.

Sneaky Monster peeks out of the brush.

I see you and your Monster Face paint.

It's hard to see, but he was modeled after the Connect a giant Monster kits above from Alex Toys. The Monster has a purple and green nose and red and orange eyes. This is a great kit for your older kids. Give them a mirror and a book of silly face ideas and let them go wild! Creative Play is a great self-esteem builder. Let them try out different faces, remove the paint with a little water or vaseline on a cotton ball, and be sure to tell them how great it looks. No buts or maybe ifs allowed.

Homemade face paint.

What's that you say? You don't want to have to clean up the mess? Put them in an empty tub the mess will clean itself, but make sure your little Max Factor helps. They might complain, but cleaning up after themselves teaches responsibility and independence. I can do it! Yes, you might have to tidy up- just don't complain about it.  You don't want your child thinking they can't do anything. If they can't even clean up after themselves they'll stop trying! So, count to 10, take a deep breath, and then say, I love how you are learning to clean up after yourself; it makes me so proud!

Do you want to be remembered as the Mom with the spotless house or the Mom who was so fun and positive? Your choice, you decide.

Crazy Blue Face Paint Fairy.

How to Make your own Face Paint (Recipe):

Cold cream, Food coloring, Cornstarch, Egg Carton.

Start with 1 C. of cold cream (Noxzema type)

Slowly mix in 1/2 to 1 C. cornstarch until it is a smooth, creamy consistency.

Divide into an egg carton or muffin tin.

Add 1-2 drops of food coloring. Experiment with more or less and color combinations.

Use cotton balls or paint brushes to paint a masterpiece on your face.

Most colors will wear off quickly or wipe off easily with water due to the cold cream. Sometimes, yellow requires a little petroleum jelly to remove all the residue. 

With experimentation you can get professional results with these ingredients. It does dry and get crackly. Some kids don't like this sensation others think it's cool.

Homemade Face paint and makeup recipes.

Make your own Edible Face Paint for Preschoolers and Toddlers:

Caregivers, do you need 20 minutes of me time? This is AMAZING. If you don't want to leave the little alone in the bathroom spread an old, white sheet or vinyl tablecloth on the floor. Cornstarch, food coloring or colored drink mix, water, white flour, big spoons, and mixing bowls.

Start with 1/4 C. of flour

Mix in 1/2 C. of cornstarch or powdered sugar (think icing)

1/2 to 1 C. Cool Whip (Readiwhip doesn't work.)

Sift with fingers to mix and enjoy the sensory aspects.

Slowly add 1/4 to 1/2 C. water stir with spatula

Water and cornstarch make an interesting science experiment so make sure to add the flour and Cool Whip first. Mix to a creamy icing consistency ~ Spreadable.

Divide into egg carton and add food coloring or Drink Mix powder (Kool-Aid) works best.

The little will have a blast studying their face and admiring their handiwork  Let them remove their shirt and paint tattoos on their belly or  bugs on their hands. This is a fun way to teach babies eyes, nose, mouth, etc.

The ingredient measurements are guidelines. Warm water vs. cold, warm house vs. cool all of these can affect the makeup- experimentation is key.

Mixing paint is great for fine motor skills and sensory learning.

Make your own EASY FACEPAINT / MAKEUP

Kid’s Yummy Lipstick Recipe:

Petroleum jelly, honey, maple syrup, or non-imitation vanilla, unsweetened drink powder for color and flavor.

Put Petroleum jelly into microwave safe dish

Microwave the petroleum jelly for 30 seconds to one minute until 

warm, remove and stir.

Add Kool Aid and Honey

Mix well
Spoon into gift containers, refrigerate.

Changing Hair Color:

Experiment with Conditioner or Petroleum Jelly and unsweetened drink powder, & Baby Powder. Spray Aqua Net to set the color. May take several washings to wash out. We found a YouTube Video here.

Happy Halloween and Haunting  or Go break a leg!

Recommended Reading:

Fun Face Painting Ideas for Kids

More fun things to do with Marshmallows Activities

Fun Games to Play with Marshmallows for Quiet Time

Here are three children's activities using Marshmallows that are oh so fun for children. Marshmallows are a quick way to steal a few second of quiet time. Kids love them with all their puffy squishy goodness they are fantastic for sensory play. Want to add an element of Messy Play? Just add water or edible paint and make marshmallow prints. 

Marshmallows are the perfect companion for kids quiet time.

Recommended Reading:

Marshmallow Fun for Advent

Gingerbread Marshmallow Man

Marshmallow Game

Marshmallow Mystery (Candy Fairies)

Vlog Tutorial Easy Preschool Torn Paper OWL Craft

Easy Fall Craft Activity for Kids Torn Paper Owl

We made a Vlog Tutorial with our Messy Play Class. This Torn Paper Owl Craft is an easy activity for preschoolers. The kids had a blast tearing their construction paper.  Enjoy!

Tearing the paper gives the activity a sensory play element. The glue is sticky and messy too. Make note if your child is especially upset with the sticky glue on their hands, they may have sensory issues.

Recommended: Little Owl's Night Early Childhood Development*

School Lunch Bag Ideas

Fun Ideas for a Cool School Lunch Bag

Pack a lunch for school everyday? What to pack in the school lunch bag is tricky. Will they eat it? Do they need something for bartering? Is a fancy lunch box necessary? Sometimes, like field trip days or summer camp days, you need to pack a sack lunch rather than a lunch box. We're sharing fun ideas for the coolest sack lunch ever. Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.*

Fun School Lunch Bag Ideas with Pepperidge Farm® Goldfish Crackers.

We headed to Walmart for a great value on pack-able lunch items. All good school lunches deserve Pepperidge Farm® Goldfish Crackers! These are always are go to snack for after school snacks. Their back-to-school bins are full of things you'll need from school supplies to fun snacks to hand sanitizers. So, we grabbed some Wet Ones® Individual packs too. They make it easy for kids to clean their hands after messy food, and they kill 99.9% of germs.

Shopping at Walmart for our lunch items.

As a fun surprise, we like to draw games on the lunch bags. This week, we played Fish Tac Toe and Jumping Jellyfish with our Pepperidge Farm® Goldfish Crackers (Cheddar and Pretzel). You can also play with the multi-color crackers, you only need two different colors and a friend. To play Jumping Jellyfish download the free printable instructions, and pop them in your child's lunch bag with their favorite lunch item and Wet Ones® Individuals.

Lunch Bag Ideas: Draw Fish Tac Toe or Jumping Jellyfish on your child's lunch bag.

Print out these instructions for how to play Jumping Jellyfish, and place them in the lunch bag with a fun note.

Go here for the free printable instructions for the game.

We found this fun idea to print images or notes on your lunch bag at Cottage Hill. They even share a fun way to make an egg basket.

Print images or notes on school lunch bags.

You might also like these Peanut-free school lunch ideas or Creative Lunch Ideas for kids.

Quick Breakfast on the way to School:
If you are in need of Fast Food before school, but don't have the time or money to make a run to a restaurant- make your own! If you are running late or heading on a road trip, pack a fast breakfast.

We grabbed a lunch bag and filled it with individual Wet Ones, a banana, fruit snacks, juice pack, and a pancake on a stick (you can also use corn dogs). The corn dog or walking pancake microwaves in less than a minute. Wrap it it a paper towel, and toss it in the lunch bag. The kids can enjoy "breakfast" on the way to school.


Recommended:

Lunch Bag Crafts

Pinkalicious: School Lunch*

Paper Bag President Puppets

The Best Homemade Kids' Lunches on the Planet*



This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Wet Ones® + Pepperidge Farm® . The opinions and text are all mine.

ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)