Over the past year, we’ve been writing about all of the different sensory systems. We’ve written about sensory processing, what it means, why it’s such an important part of child development, and how you can promote healthy development of the sensory systems in your child.
Up next is the sense of smell – or the olfactory system!
What is the Olfactory Sense?
The sensory receptors in the nose pick up information about the odors around us and pass that information along a channel of nerves where it eventually reaches the brain. The olfactory system can discriminate between thousands of different odors.
The olfactory system does more than just process smells. It is also related to our limbic system, which is a part of our nervous system that is responsible for emotions and memory. The olfactory system is also associated with the sense of taste, helping to create the flavors that we taste in food. This is why nothing seems to taste quite right when you have a bad cold.
Today, we’ve rounded up 20 great activities for kids that will put those little sniffers right to work!
ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS: 20 FUN WAYS TO EXPLORE THE SENSE OF SMELL
Scented Doughs
Rainbow Scented Cloud Dough from Lemon Lime Adventures
Scented Cloud Dough from Learn Play Imagine
Calming Lavender Playdough Recipe from The Art Kit Blog
Homemade Herb and Spice Play Dough from Craftulate
No Cook Apple Play Dough from The Imagination Tree
Scented Sensory Bins
Pumpkin Scented Rice Sensory Bin from Hands on : as we grow
Summer Lemon Scented Rice Sensory Bin from Little Bins for Little Hands
Scented Water Sensory Bin for Spring from Fun-A-Day
Smelling Bottles
DIY Sensory Smelling Bottles from Carrots are Orange
Smelling Sensory Bottles from Things to Share & Remember
Sense of smell: Fun with smelling bottles from Gift of Curiosity
DIY Smelling Bottles from Counting Coconuts
Other Olfactory Fun
Scratch-N-Sniff Watercolor Paint from Learn Create Love
Sensory Cooking from Meaningful Mama
Scented Ice Lab from Lemon Lime Adventures
Scented Chalk Paint from Munchkin and Bean
Sense of smell Mr. Sketch marker work! from Montessori Design
Scented Color Mixing Activity from Fun A Day
Sense of Smell Game from Learn Play Imagine
Sensory Smell Cards from The Chaos and the Clutter
So what are you waiting for? Round up the kids and start exploring the sense of smell! Be sure to sign up to receive our newsletter, a weekly roundup of our favorite posts delivered right to your inbox! Simply enter your email address in the box in the sidebar and click “Subscribe”!
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aishling says
im just signing up for your mailing list. thanks
Cortney says
Hi Claire,
Thank you for posting new ways to explore the olfactory sense – I feel it is one that is often neglected. I am an OT who works with medically complex children, all who also have a visual diagnosis. I am looking to ways to incorporate the use of smell to help either elevate, or calm some children. Because it is so closely related to the limbic system, I am a little hesitant to move forward with these strategies because I don’t want any negative associations to be made with an activity (obviously that would never be my intention, but you never know how a child might react to something – especially those who are so medically fragile), nor would I ever use at the same time as feeding therapy. Anyhow, I was wondering if you’ve had any success incorporating the use of a lavender for example, while linearly swinging to produce a calming effect, or citrus in conjunction with an alerting activity to produce an alerting response in those who might be hypo-responsive? Any insight you have would be greatly appreciated – It can be somewhat difficult to find strong evidence based research to help support some sensory strategies and would truly appreciate your professional opinion. Thank you so much for your time! I hope to hear from you!
Cortney
PS – I have no idea why this site will only post capitals – I am not “shouting,” I promise : )
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