Multi-sensory books
Every child is special and learns in a different way. Being an educator and now a mom to a toddler has shown me how important it is to have a multisensory approach to learning!
Multisensory books are a great way to activate the senses and keep them highly engaged at the same time! Common features of multisensory books are: touchy feely parts with different textures, peek through holes, finger trails, lift the flaps, 3D pop ups, and sound.
Every time they engaged in a multisensory book, their neurons are making connections and growing stronger as they learn more about the world around them. This helps them retain concepts more, having a better memory of that skill as more than one area of the brain is being activated in that experience. Later on, learning will be made easier through these early, strong connections. Multisensory features help to bring books to life as children enjoy them over and over again!
Here are some great examples of different sensory features in books. Click the image to see the book!
Touch
They are learning about how something feels, developing vocabulary as they learn the words associated with those textures, how something feels in comparison to something else in a similar category. The sense of touch also helps them learn about the world around them and develop the means to bond with others.
Finger Trails
When they follow their finger along the finger trails, they are learning fine motor skills while they manipulate their finger along the straight or curvy trails. They are also learning pre-reading skills as it shows them a pattern for reading that later on, they can transfer to putting their finger underneath each word to practice sounding them out.
Peek through holes/Lift the flaps
They are learning to make predictions and see if those predictions are correct every time they lift a flap or peek through a hole. They are also learning object permanence as they search for the object and find it under the flap or through a hole on the next page.
3D Pop-ups
They are learning visualization skills when they engage in a pop-up book. For literacy, having them see a 3D picture showing a scene in a story can help them visualize similar scenes in their mind when they read higher level chapter books. For math, practicing visualizing when they are young, can help them become better mental math problem solvers.
Sound
They are learning listening skills when they hear a sounds on a page you are reading to them, trying to look for where the sound came from. It helps them learn fine motor skills by moving their finger to the sound button and pressing it. I love the look of sheer joy on their faces when it works! In addition, it helps them develop language skills because it encourages them to try to copy the sounds they are hearing, learn new words, and recognize pictures that the sounds make.
