• Home
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Meet Sarah
  • Playful Days
  • Shop Resources
  • Search

How Wee Learn

Out of the box learning ideas, playful art, exploring nature, and simple living - that is How We Learn!

  • Quiet Time
  • Letters and Numbers
  • Art
  • Science
  • Get Outside
  • Shop

Five Senses Activities for Kids Outdoors!

January 17, 2014 by Sarah 29 Comments

I started this series of exploring five senses activities for kids outdoors a little while ago.  Now that we have explored all five senses I thought I would write a post to neatly tie up the series.

five senses activities for kids

Exploring the five senses is fun and important for kids to do.  And it is interesting as an adult to watch wee ones explore each of their senses.  Of course there are many ways to explore the senses, but since my kids love to be outside, we thought up creative ways for them to explore their sense of sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch.

Five Senses Activities for Kids

Part. 1 We began the five senses series with exploring the sense of sight.  By creating simple paper plate frames my kids were able to focus on smaller details in the environment.  It was really interesting to look at things I had seen so many times in such detail!  You can read the whole post right here: Sense of Sight

how we learn about the five senses activities for kids

Part 2: Next we explored the sense of sound.  There is always so much to listen to outside!  Whether you are in the forest or in a backyard, it is amazing what you can hear when you truly stop and listen.  We also made our own sounds – and lots of them!  Here are the activities we did to explore the sense of sound.

how we learn the five senses activities for kids

Part 3: Then we explored the sense of taste.  This was probably my favourite five senses activity of the whole series!  I was taken way out of my comfort zone as we tasted things we found in the forest.  You can read about this adventure, (and find a recipe for a tea that I bet you could make right now with a quick trip outside) right here: Exploring the Sense of Taste

how we learn the five senses activities for kids

Part 4: We put our noses to work outside with a simple twist on the game of hide and seek to explore the sense of taste.  This one was lots of fun and had the whole family playing!  Here is how we Explored the Sense of Smell outside.

how we learn the five senses activities for kids

Part 5: The last sense we explored in our five senses activities for kids was the sense of touch.  This was such a simple activity but had huge learning benefits!  We brought play dough outside and explored different textures and imprints.  This is how we explored the Sense of Touch outside.

five senses activities for kids

My kids really enjoyed simply and playfully learning about the five senses outside.  And, truthfully, I had a lot of fun joining them!  I find it very fascinating how different the same things can ‘look’ when you explore with different senses.

Please consider liking us on Facebook so we can share more creative learning activities with you and your wee ones!  Thank you!

Filed Under: Explore, Get Outside, Outside Play, Science, Science, Toddler, Toddlers

« A Clothespin Crown
5 Ways Kids Learn with Construction Paper Hearts »

Comments

  1. Coombemill says

    January 17, 2014 at 8:07 pm

    Some lovely ideas here for discovering your senses with kids. That play dough on the tree looks like lots of fun, altogether a great post of discovery and learning. Thank you for joining me on Country Kids.

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      January 18, 2014 at 8:08 pm

      Thank you so much for hosting! So glad you enjoyed the series!

      Reply
  2. Mumof2.com says

    January 18, 2014 at 3:35 am

    I love the idea for sense of touch idea with the playdough on the bark!! What a great way to help the kids learn. #CountryKids

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      January 18, 2014 at 8:07 pm

      Thank you for taking the time to comment! So glad you liked the series!

      Reply
  3. Kierna says

    January 18, 2014 at 11:07 am

    What great fun you have all had outdoors I loved the paper plate viewer idea but think the photo of the dough on the tree is my favourite! Thanks so much for supporting the Outdoor Play Party this week too.

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      January 18, 2014 at 8:06 pm

      Thank you Kierna! And thank you for hosting the Outdoor Play Party!

      Reply
  4. Sara (@mumturnedmom) says

    January 18, 2014 at 11:11 am

    Love this, some wonderful ideas. I’m going to use some of these the next time we go for a walk! #CountryKids

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      January 18, 2014 at 8:06 pm

      Thank you Sara!

      Reply
  5. Charlotte says

    January 18, 2014 at 11:41 am

    Great post with some lovely ideas for outdoor play 🙂 love the little viewing window you made to explore sight! x

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      January 18, 2014 at 8:05 pm

      Thank you Charlotte!

      Reply
  6. Fiona Martin says

    January 18, 2014 at 1:27 pm

    Love the idea of going through the senses, the playdough imprints look great fun – would never have thought of taking that outside!

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      January 18, 2014 at 8:05 pm

      Thank you very much Fiona!

      Reply
  7. Rosie @Eco-Gites of Lenault says

    January 18, 2014 at 2:07 pm

    I too love the play dough idea! Simple yet effective.

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      January 18, 2014 at 8:04 pm

      Thank you Rosie – time and again my wee ones remind me it is the simplest things in life that bring the most happiness!

      Reply
  8. The Monko says

    January 18, 2014 at 3:58 pm

    This is such a great post I shared it on my FB page – I love all the links to the activities.

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      January 18, 2014 at 8:02 pm

      Thank you so much for sharing Monko!

      Reply
  9. sarah says

    January 18, 2014 at 5:31 pm

    what a great post and lovely idea x

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      January 18, 2014 at 8:02 pm

      Thank you Sarah!

      Reply
  10. Kim Carberry says

    January 19, 2014 at 11:19 am

    What wonderful ideas! Lovely photos x

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      January 21, 2014 at 2:10 pm

      Thank you very much Kim!

      Reply
  11. Claire says

    January 19, 2014 at 12:44 pm

    Thanks so much for this great comprehensive post that incorporates ALL of the senses! With so many posts about tactile bins and activities, it’s awesome to see some creative ways to bring in visual, auditory, olfactory, and taste experiences too!

    Reply
  12. Kate Fever says

    January 19, 2014 at 2:33 pm

    What a great post, so many brilliant ideas for outdoor learning here – I love the sound exploration. #CountryKids

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      January 21, 2014 at 2:09 pm

      Thank you Kate! Yes – the sound exploration was lots of fun!

      Reply
  13. Sara Dennis says

    January 28, 2014 at 1:54 pm

    What fun ideas for exploring the senses and nature at the same time. I must admit that the thought of tasting things in the woods takes me out of my comfort zone as well. Thank you for the series.

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      January 28, 2014 at 9:34 pm

      Thank you Sara! Yes – but I must say – I am so glad I broke out of that zone! I bet you would be too 😉 Pine needle tea is a pretty safe place to start!

      Reply
  14. Betsy @ BPhotoArt.com says

    March 19, 2014 at 12:40 am

    Great idea on bringing the senses into outdoor learning. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  15. Rohan says

    April 21, 2014 at 1:36 am

    I was inspired by such five senses activities. Thank you so much for sharing.

    Rohan

    Reply
  16. JM says

    April 11, 2021 at 5:57 pm

    Great ideas but please use salt free dough when using it in nature. The residue left behind from play-doh and other salt doughs are toxic to wildlife and will kill them!

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      April 12, 2021 at 7:29 pm

      What a great tip Jana – thank you! I had not considered this.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The maximum upload file size: 512 MB. You can upload: image, audio, video, document, spreadsheet, interactive, other. Drop file here

Annual Sale Save $40 and Get FREE Shipping on the Kindergarten at Home Curriculum!
Did you know that 90% of a child's brain growth happens before age 6? Play into Kindergarten Readiness

Visit my Sponsor Oak Meadow

Follow How Wee Learn

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
For every step of your journey
  • For Ages 1.5-3
  • For Ages 3-5
  • For Ages 4-6
  • For Ages 6-8
  • For Ages 6-12

Shop Resources


Copyright © 2023 · How Wee Learn · Privacy Policy · designed by blogger boutique · Genesis Framework

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
2888 shares
  • 80