Sensory Activity – Set up a Smelling Station
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I remember that one of my favorite school activities was when our class collectively guessed at the smelling station. The teacher would place one chair in the front of the classroom, and each student had the opportunity to go to the front of the classroom, be blindfolded, and sniff away at the object the teacher would hold in front of their nose. It seemed so obvious to those of us watching what the item was but it was very difficult for the child blindfolded sometimes! It’s a great experiment for kids that involves one of their five senses!
Materials Needed:
- Fabric for a Blindfold
- Various strong smelling items (lemon, onion, pepper, etc.)
- Writing paper and pen/pencil
Directions:
- Your child can get started by making a list of his favorite smells. Encourage him to use lots of descriptive words to explain why he loves each smell. You’d be surprised how difficult it may be for them to actually pin point that smell with their eyes closed!
- Now you can do this one of two ways. You can have your child (especially if younger) find various items to smell so he/she knows what the items are, then have them close their eyes and sniff at each item you produce to see if they can match the correct item with their nose! The traditional way, of course, is for the child to have no idea what they will be smelling!
- Then let your child challenge their friends and family with the smelling station! He can give small sheets of paper and pencils to each participant and see if they guess correctly!
LOL I couldn't help but say I don't think I would want to smell anything my boys might think would be fun to put into something like this to trick unsuspecting participates.
What a cute idea! And fun for a baby shower too! Oh the possibilities – ha! I'm blog hopping and am your newest follower!