Southport Kindergarten: Learning through sensory play

Sensory play helps your child explore the world at Southport Kindergarten. It’s a part of everyday learning. The hands-on approach builds motor skills naturally. Children touch, pour, squeeze and move. Their brains grow with each new texture and action.

 

The impact of sensory play

 

• Handling small objects strengthens the hand muscles. It’s important for motor development. It prepares children for writing and self-care tasks like buttoning.

 

•  Sensory activities like sand or water play help children feel grounded. They learn to concentrate for longer periods and remain focused and calm.

 

•  New experiences allow children’s words to describe textures, temperatures and actions. Squishy, gritty, slippery become real. It enhances their language growth.

 

•  Figuring out how to scope without spilling or balancing objects builds thinking skills. It leads to better problem-solving skills in the long run.

 

 Tactile play

• Textured exploration is simple but powerful. The teachers use materials you can find anywhere.

 

•  They make nature trays comprising leaves, bark, smooth stones and Moss. These connect children to the local coastal environment.

 

•  Sensory bins are filled with dried beans, rice or sand with scoops, cups and small toys.

 

•  Play-Doh stations encourage rolling, cutting and moulding. These build hand strength. Add a natural scent like lavender.

 

Kinesthetic play

• Gross motor activities help with balance and coordination. At Southport Kindergarten outdoor spaces are used to create obstacles. Logs, low beams or chalk paths allow children to jump, crawl and learn to balance.

 

•  Nature walks. Collecting sticks and stones encourages bending and careful stepping.

 

•  Moving to music with ribbons or scarves improves rhythm and arm control.

 

•  Digging the garden, shovelling the soil and carrying watering cans work large muscles.

 

 Auditory play

• Listening activity sharpens attention. Sound jars are filled with marbles, rice or bells. Children get excited by shaking.

 

•  Outdoor sound hunts help them identify birds, wind, or distant traffic during outdoor time.

 

•  By tapping sticks together or drumming on the buckets, children learn about rhythm. They learn to copy simple patterns.

 

•  Children are given headphones with gentle music for calming breaks in quiet corners.

 

 Visual play

• Sorting and tracking activities support early math and reading. Colour sorting uses painted stones or buttons. Children group these by shade or size.

 

•  Shadow Play Use sunlight or lamps to make hand shadows or  Silhouette drawings.

 

How does Southport Kindergarten support these activities?

•  The classrooms are set for exploration. Children choose activities that interest them. This play-based learning method encourages different skills.

 

•  The pine cones, shells and wood pieces replace plastic. They feel and behave more authentically.

 

•  Local beaches and parks inspired nature-based play. It connects children to the South Port’s environment.

 

•  Southport kindergarten is a child-led pace. Teachers observe rather than direct. They add materials when children show curiosity.

 

Southport’s kindergarten programs provide a sensory play-based foundation for young children to learn through doing, coordination, focus and curiosity. It turns everyday movements into brain-building opportunities. Children flourish in an environment where they feel safe to take risks in intellectual, social and physical challenges.