27/08/2026
The Importance of Our Five Senses in Experiential Learning
From the moment we are born, we learn through our senses. We hear the voices of our parents and siblings, feel the loving touch of those who care for us, and taste different foods as we begin to discover what we like and dislike. Our world is built around sensory experiences.
As toddlers, our curiosity and sense of adventure grow. We play in piles of leaves and listen to them crunch beneath our feet. We stomp in puddles, run in the rain, roll in freshly cut grass and marvel at beetles, earthworms and puppies. Everything we experience helps us make sense of the world around us.
Sadly, as children get older, we often see that wonder begin to disappear. Children spend more time indoors, on devices or gaming, and less time experiencing the simple joys of the world around them. They forget what it feels like to ride a bicycle with the wind blowing through their hair or to stop and admire the delicate wings of a butterfly. I do not know about you, but I find this incredibly sad.
We can see the impact of this in children's creative writing. Their imagination, vocabulary and ability to describe settings can be limited because they are no longer experiencing their environment through all five senses. They see, but are they really feeling, hearing, smelling and tasting the world around them?
This is why sensory and experiential learning is so important. We cannot expect children to write meaningfully about experiences they have never had. If we ask them to write about A Day at the Beach, have all our children actually experienced a day at the beach? Is it fair to expect them to write about it if they have not?
A sensory lesson allows every child to experience the topic before they write. Sand between their toes, the smell of suntan lotion, the taste of ice cream, the feel of a swimsuit and the sound of waves crashing on the shore give children real experiences to draw from. Suddenly, they have something to say because they have felt it, heard it, smelled it, tasted it and seen it.
If we want our children to continue finding enjoyment in the ordinary, then we need to do the same. Let them run in the rain, play in the mud, smell freshly baked muffins, jump into piles of leaves, get sticky and get dirty. Let them find wonder in a rainbow and joy in the simplest things. And while we are encouraging them to do this, why not join them? It might just give us a lot of laughs and some beautiful memories along the way.
When children learn to use their senses, they have richer experiences to draw on when they write and when they lose themselves in the pages of a wonderful book. Encourage them to talk, to describe, to use interesting words and to express how things feel. Instead of simply saying something is hot, help them discover words like balmy or sultry. Instead of always using said, encourage words such as whispered, chortled, bellowed or suggested. Talk about emotions and help them find the words to describe what it feels like to be tired, thirsty, angry, safe, loved and part of a family.
Sensory learning creates such rich experiences for children. When we engage their senses, we are not simply teaching them what something is — we are helping them experience it, understand it, remember it and eventually put it into words.
These are the special times. Our children deserve the opportunity to see, feel and experience the world through their eyes and not ours.
By Caroline Correia
