Exploring Stories Through Sensory and Fine Motor
by Tina Page
Children instinctively love books and stories as they are introduced to wonderful ideas, places, and creatures. Sometimes stories themselves arouse curiosity for them to know more about something, but when you add sensory components and personal creativity to a story, students immerse themselves into the tale being told!
During the first RTI group, preschool classroom students catch a glimpse of the story during fine motor activities. Students learned proper formation of the letter “M”, cut out a moon shape and made magical bracelets created out of pipe cleaners and beads. These activities benefited all students addressing cutting skills, fine motor grasp and bilateral coordination to name a few.
During the second RTI group, preschool students engaged in the sensory story Whatever Next!.
As the story goes, a little bear decides that he wants to visit the moon. Students took turns climbing into a big box as it wiggled and moved while taking flight to the moon. Students felt fluffy cotton balls as they passed clouds and waved hello to friends on an airplane. Once in space they gazed at stars through a peak hole of a box filled with glow in the dark stars and noticed that their magical bracelets were glowing bright like the stars in space!
When the little bear decided to have a picnic on the moon with his friend the owl, students sat beside the bear on a picnic blanket while experiencing different foods such as sweet, sour and salty. The students made choices to taste and/or smell, or so “no thank you” to the foods. After a long journey back to earth, students engaged in bubble play as mama bear gave the little bear his bath.
Sensory stories are appropriate for all learners and enable children to access the stories other than just the use of their audio system. Sensory stories such as this example blends a typical narrative into a sensory experience that helps bring the story to life for the students!
Link to the power point of the story Whatever Next!