When it comes to early literacy and learning, we think of colors, shapes, letters, numbers, and… our five senses! Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling all help young ones learn about the world around them. And it makes a great hands-on story time!
Here at the library, we have plenty of books relating to the five senses! First, try a story about a little one who uses his senses as he follows his family during a busy day in Bear’s Busy Family by Stella Blackstone. Another great picture book about using the five senses to explore the world is Five for a Little One by Chris Raschka. If you are looking for a great fact-based title, try My Five Senses by Aliki or The Five Senses by Adele Ciboul.
And that’s not all! Look at these titles we have to offer!
Five Senses Book List (Word Document/.doc file)
Many rhymes incorporate the five senses. Here are a just a few of our favorites!
Use Your Eyes
(Can be sung to Frère Jacques)
Use your eyes, use your eyes.
You can look and see.
If you’re wearing socks
Point them out to me.
(Repeat with shoes, pants/skirt, shirt)
Did You Ever Hear…?
Did you ever hear a bell ring,
a bell ring, a bell ring?
Did you ever hear a bell ring?
Ding, dong, ding, dong, ding.
Did you ever hear the wind blow,
The wind blow, the wind blow?
Did you ever hear the wind blow?
Whooo, whooo, whooo, whooo, whooo.
Did you ever hear a clock tick,
A clock tick, a clock tick?
Did you ever hear a clock tick?
Tick, tock, tick, tick, tock, tick.
Did you ever hear a train whistle,
A train whistle, a train whistle?
Did you ever hear a train whistle?
Choo, choo, choo, choo, choo.
I Use My Five Senses
(Tune: The Farmer in the Dell)
Author Unknown
I use my eyes to see, I use my eyes to see,
And when I want to see a star, I use my eyes to see.
I use my nose to smell, I use my nose to smell,
And when I want to smell a flower, I use my nose to smell.
I use my tongue to taste, I use my tongue to taste,
And when I want to taste a peach, I use my tongue to taste.
I use my ears to hear, I use my ears to hear,
And when I want to hear a bird, I use my ears to hear.
I use my hands to touch, I use my hands to touch,
And when I want to touch a cat, I use my hands to touch.
You can add some cool tunes to your story time with these music selections!
How about some activities to teach little ones about their five senses? Fun With My 5 Senses: Activities to Build Learning Readiness by Sarah A. Williamson contains many activities focusing on the five senses and learning readiness. Sensory boxes are a fun option for trying out the sense of touch. Or try some sensory activity worksheets to familiarize your child with the world around them. Little Giraffes offers several five senses teaching theme ideas. If that’s not enough to choose from, Twiggle Magazine has even more activities to try!
Finally, here are some great craft ideas to wrap up your five senses story time!
- Five Senses Magazine Activity
- Preschool Five Senses Arts and Crafts
- Texture Flip Books
Provide materials such as cotton balls, sandpaper, plastic wrap, leaves, yarn, silk fabric and Velcro. Give each child a stack of half sheets of construction paper. Help the children glue or staple a different textured item onto each piece of paper. Have the children describe how each item feels and write their words on the page next to the item. Punch holes in the top or sides of the paper sheets and tie them together with strips of yarn to create a flip book. Ask the children to find different textures in their books and have them show you which item they turned to.
Enjoy!
