I've been hearing lots about sensory activities for children and have been pondering where it all fits in my interactions with our Blossoms.
We took a walk down the road to the fish hatchery and creek today in the beautiful spring-like weather. My girls were ecstatic to be in nature - up close and personal. We talked about run-off, pollution and water always taking the path of least resistance. (It's always learning time in Mommy's school.) It was a good little science lesson. But beyond that, I noticed how they interacted with everything they saw.
They had to touch it.
Everything.
Whether a puddle, a stream or a fragment of quartz, they just HAD to touch it. That may not seem like news to you, but it really sunk in to my brain. If kids aren't outside, just playing, exploring, discovering, they aren't learning about the world around them. So many kids aren't and so their teachers are bringing nature-esque things to them via sensory tables. And I applaud that. But, we've made the sacrifices for our children to be here, with me, every day. It's up to me to foster the exploration of the Great Outdoors, ie God's Sensory Table. I gotta let them touch stuff. They have to check it all out, see how it feels, see what it does, see how it works. Good, old-fashioned play has long been under-rated and those of us that built forts, dug holes, played in sandboxes and hung from trees should repeat those things with our children. Almost every mom I know has access to God's Sensory Table, in some form or another. Today was really just a reminder how important it is to get out and get dirty in our world.
