Top 15 Sensory Play Activities for Preschoolers to Explore and Learn

Sensory play includes activities that stimulate a child’s main senses:

• Sight: recognizing colors, shapes, and light
• Hearing: identifying sounds, tones, and rhythms
• Touch: feeling textures, temperatures, and shapes
• Smell: discovering familiar and new scents
• Taste: noticing sweet, salty, sour, or bitter flavors
• Movement and balance: helping children control their posture, coordination, and body awareness

Through these hands-on experiences, children learn about the world around them, strengthen focus and memory, and respond more confidently to new environments.

1. Stimulates the Brain and Thinking Skills

Sensory play helps children connect experiences, for example, linking the smell of an orange with freshness, or noticing that a rough surface feels different from a soft one. These simple discoveries form the basis for analytical and creative thinking later in life.

2. Develops Language and Emotional Expression

When children describe sensations (“this feels smooth,” “that smell is nice”), their vocabulary expands naturally. They also begin to express emotions through what they experience, a vital step in emotional intelligence.

3. Improves Focus and Memory

Sensory play encourages children to pay attention to details such as colors, sounds, and textures, helping build stronger focus and recall.

4. Strengthens Fine and Gross Motor Skills

As children pour, scoop, pick up, or move during play, they strengthen their hands, arms, and overall coordination, preparing them for daily tasks and future learning.

• What Are Fine Motor Skills?
• What Are Gross Motor Skills?

5. Builds Confidence and Social Skills

Free exploration helps children feel happy and independent. When playing together, they also learn to cooperate, share, and wait for their turn.

6. Prepares Children for Later Learning

Multisensory experiences lay the groundwork for future academic learning. By observing, comparing, and expressing ideas in different ways, children become more adaptable and curious learners.

1. Coloring Shapes

This simple yet effective sensory play activity helps children recognize colors and shapes while improving focus.

• Materials: Drawing paper, crayons or markers, simple shapes (circle, square, triangle).
• How to play: Let children choose a shape and color it freely. Encourage creative color combinations and patterns.
• Benefits:
  • Enhances visual development and hand–eye coordination.
  • Encourages self-expression and builds a sense of accomplishment.

2. Sorting by Colors

A fun and easy sensory activity that trains children’s observation skills.

• Materials: Small colorful items like bottle caps, LEGO blocks, or wooden pieces.
• How to play: Ask children to sort the objects by color, red, blue, yellow, and so on.
• Benefits:
  • Improves color recognition and visual differentiation.
  • Stimulates logical thinking and visual reflexes.

3. Bubble Play

A classic visual sensory play activity that combines movement and fun.

• Materials: Soap solution and bubble wands.
• How to play: Blow bubbles and let children chase and pop them. You can even make it a friendly race to see who pops the most!
• Benefits:
  • Strengthens concentration and hand–eye coordination.
  • Promotes agility and body control through movement.

1. Listen and Guess the Sound

A fun sensory play activity that helps children recognize and remember everyday sounds.

• Materials: Audio recordings of cars, rain, musical instruments, or nature sounds.
• How to play: Play each sound and ask children to guess its source. You can show pictures as clues to make it easier.
• Benefits:
  • Develops auditory perception and concentration.
  • Expands vocabulary and sound awareness.

2. Musical Rhythm Game

A great way to foster musical awareness and coordination through sound and movement.

• Materials: Small drums, shakers, or simply clapping hands.
• How to play: Tap or clap a simple rhythm, and have children repeat it accurately.
• Benefits:
  • Improves auditory memory and sound recognition.
  • Builds confidence in expressing emotions through music.

3. Sing and Freeze

A classic listening and reaction game often played in preschool classrooms.

• Materials: A cheerful song, speaker, or phone.
• How to play: Play music and let children dance freely. When the music stops, everyone must freeze in place!
• Benefits:
  • Strengthens listening skills and quick reaction time.
  • Encourages self-control and following group rules.

1. Mystery Box

A classic sensory play activity that helps children explore through touch and build curiosity.

• Materials: A closed box with a small hole, and items like a spoon, a ball, or a pebble.
• How to play: Let children reach into the box, feel the object, and guess what it is without looking.
• Benefits:
  • Enhances the ability to identify shapes and textures.
  • Encourages descriptive language and imagination.

2. Treasure Hunt in Sand

This tactile activity develops observation skills and fine motor control.

• Materials: A tray filled with sand, rice, or dried beans; hide small toys or objects inside.
• How to play: Children use their hands or small scoops to search and find hidden items.
• Benefits:
  • Stimulates fine tactile perception.
  • Builds patience and focus during exploration.

3. Sensory Texture Board

A creative sensory board allows children to explore different textures through touch.

• Materials: Velvet fabric, sandpaper, wool, plastic, wood, all attached to a board.
• How to play: Invite children to touch, describe the feeling, and compare textures.
• Benefits:
  • Develops tactile awareness and sensory vocabulary.
  • Encourages communication and emotional expression.

4. Barefoot Path Experience

A fun movement-based activity that helps children sense the world with their feet.

• Materials: A short path made of carpet, grass, cardboard, smooth pebbles, or soft fabric.
• How to play: Children walk barefoot along the path and describe how each surface feels.
• Benefits:
  • Improves balance and body coordination.
  • Stimulates tactile sensitivity in the feet.

1. Guess the Flavor

A simple and safe sensory play activity that helps children recognize different tastes.

• Materials: Small samples of food with sweet, salty, sour, and mild bitter flavors.
• How to play: Blindfold the child, let them taste each food, and guess the flavor.
• Benefits:
  • Develops taste recognition and sensory awareness.
  • Builds confidence in expressing feelings and preferences.

2. Mini Salad Making

A fun hands-on sensory activity that also introduces basic nutrition.

• Materials: Vegetables, fruits, boiled eggs, yoghurt, or cheese.
• How to play: Let children choose their ingredients, cut them into small pieces, and mix their own salad.
• Benefits:
  • Improves fine motor skills such as cutting and mixing.
  • Encourages children to explore new flavors and enjoy healthy foods.

1. Mystery Scents Game

A fun group sensory play activity that strengthens children’s sense of smell.

• Materials: Small jars containing essential oils, orange peel, cinnamon, mint, or vanilla.
• How to play: Children smell each jar and try to guess the scent. You can turn it into a friendly guessing competition.
• Benefits:
  • Enhances scent recognition and memory.
  • Stimulates brain activity and imagination.

2. Kitchen Smell Exploration

Encourages children to discover natural scents through everyday ingredients.

• Materials: Onions, garlic, vanilla, herbs, chocolate, ground coffee, etc.
• How to play: Let children smell each ingredient and describe whether they like or dislike the scent.
• Benefits:
  • Develops olfactory awareness and emotional expression.
  • Builds curiosity and interest in cooking and food preparation.

Outdoor Discovery Walk

An outdoor adventure is one of the best multi-sensory play activities for young children. During a simple walk in the park, children can engage all their senses:

• Sight: observing trees, leaves, and colors of nature.
• Hearing: listening to birds, rustling leaves, or distant footsteps.
• Touch: feeling the texture of leaves, bark, or pebbles.
• Smell: noticing the scent of flowers or fresh grass.

This kind of activity helps children connect with nature, spark curiosity, and respond more confidently to their surroundings. It also supports overall sensory development in a calm, joyful, and natural way.

Sensory development can begin right from birth. Even the youngest babies are already exploring their world through light, sound, scent, and touch.

The golden stage for sensory growth

From 0 to 6 years old, a child’s brain and emotional development progress at an incredible pace. Sensory play activities during this stage stimulate curiosity, observation, and concentration. Parents can easily adapt each activity to suit their child’s age and abilities.

Children are natural explorers, they observe, touch, and experiment with everything around them. For example, a simple bubble-blowing activity can be adjusted for different stages:

• Infants: Feel the soft bubbles pop on their skin, enhancing tactile awareness.
• Toddlers: Chase and pop bubbles to develop coordination and gross motor skills.
• Older children: Mix their own bubble solution, encouraging creativity and hand-eye coordination.

Sensory play grows with your child, supporting learning and emotional development at every step.

At La Petite Ecole Ho Chi Minh city, sensory play activities are naturally integrated into each day’s learning. The school offers an environment where children learn through experience, curiosity, and gentle exploration.

1. A space that awakens the senses

• Classrooms are designed with soft colors, natural light, and child-friendly materials to create a calm and safe atmosphere.
• Outdoor areas invite children to touch, smell, observe, and explore nature every day, turning every moment into a sensory learning opportunity.

2. Enriching hands-on experiences

• Children take part in sensory-motor activities such as playing with water, moulding clay, exploring sand, or painting with their hands.
• Older children join project-based activities that encourage them to observe, discuss, and express feelings in creative ways.

3. Teachers as gentle guides

• Teachers at La Petite Ecole Ho Chi Minh city observe, encourage, and accompany children in every discovery.
• The goal is to help each child develop their senses naturally, through joy, curiosity, and meaningful play.

Sensory play is more than just fun; it’s a foundation for thinking, emotional growth, and social connection.

At La Petite Ecole Ho Chi Minh city, every activity is designed to nurture the senses and foster positive emotions, helping children grow in a multi-sensory, caring, and joyful environment.

Parents are welcome to learn more about the preschool program at La Petite Ecole Ho Chi Minh city and join their children in a journey of natural and holistic sensory development.

• Phone: 028 3519 1521
• Email: contact@lpehochiminh.com
• Address: 172 – 180 Nguyen Van Huong, An Khanh Ward, Ho Chi Minh city