How Children Learn Through Their Senses, Feelings & Everyday Experiences
When we watch young children play, it can sometimes look so simple. 💛
They may be painting with their fingers, counting apples, stirring their snack, talking about whether they feel happy or sad, cutting paper, gluing noodles to their names, smelling something new, or listening carefully to a sound.
But inside those everyday moments, so much learning is happening.
Young children don’t separate their world into subjects the way adults do. To them, math, science, language, emotions, friendship, creativity, movement, and problem-solving can all happen at the same time.
That’s because young children learn best by experiencing the world around them. 🌈
👀 Learning Begins With the Senses
Before children understand many things with words, they often need to experience them first.
They look.
They touch.
They listen.
They smell.
They taste.
This month, our Preschool children are exploring the five senses through hands-on learning experiences. One of the fun highlights of September is our annual Five Senses Pie Day, where children get to compare apple and pumpkin pie by looking at the colors, smelling the scents, feeling the textures, tasting the flavors, and even listening to the crust crunch. 🥧👀👃✋👅👂
To a child, it may simply feel like fun. And that’s okay.
Because underneath all that fun, they are observing, comparing, describing, remembering, building vocabulary, and making connections. That is learning. 💡
❤️ Feelings Are Learning Too
Getting ready for school is not only about letters and numbers. Children are also learning how to understand themselves.
They are learning to ask:
How do I feel?
How can I tell someone what I’m feeling?
How might someone else be feeling?
What can I do when something feels too hard to complete?
Throughout September, our children will be talking about emotions while also practicing kindness, sharing, cooperation, and following directions.
These little conversations matter. They help children understand what is happening inside of them, while also learning to notice and care about the people around them. 💕
💪 Confidence Comes From Doing
As adults, it can be so tempting to step in and help right away. Sometimes it is faster to zip the jacket, cut the paper, stir the food, or finish the task for them.
But sometimes the best thing we can do is give them a little extra time to try.
This month, our children are practicing name recognition, pencil grip, cutting, gluing, introductions, stirring, following directions, and other independent classroom skills.
And every little “I did it!” 🎉 matters.
Because they are not only learning how to complete the task. They are learning:
I can try.
I can learn.
I can do hard things.
That confidence grows little by little, one experience at a time. 🌱
🎨 Play Has a Purpose
At Kids ‘N Colors, we believe childhood should still feel like childhood.
Children should laugh. They should create. They should explore. They should get a little messy sometimes. 😊
Learning can happen while painting an apple. 🍎
It can happen while turning the number eight into a spider. 🕷️
It can happen while tasting pie. 🥧
It can happen while talking about feelings. ❤️
It can happen while building a name with noodles. ✏️
And sometimes, the experiences that look the most like play are the ones children remember the longest.
That is why we believe play is not separate from learning. For young children, play is often where learning begins. 💙
Thank you for trusting us to be part of these little everyday moments. They may seem small now, but they are building something much bigger.
With love,
Ms. Monique
Founder & Director, Kids ‘N Colors Daycare