KIDS Sensory Play Resource Sheets Playing with smell

KIDS Sensory Play Resource Sheets
Playing with smell
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INTRODUCTION
We use the sense of smell all the time without even realising it. Smells can instill a
feeling of hunger, a feeling of being at peace, a feeling of nostalgia and can evoke
strong memories. Supermarkets recognise that by filtering the smell of baking bread
through the air ducts as you come into the store, customers will automatically puchase
more because they get the sense of being hungry!
Smell is a very individual sense, people have strong opinions as to
whether something smells nice or nasty. Some people will smell
the same thing and to them it is strong smell or they can hardly
smell it at all. Keep this in mind when you are considering sensory
play for children using the sense of smell.
As you are reading this sniff the air, can you smell anything or
several things, can you identify them?
Consider your own home – what do you have around that has a scent? Some ideas
may include:
Hand soap, washing up liquid, washing powders, fabric conditioners
Candles, scented oils
Talcum powder, perfumes, deodorants
Now consider the less obvious…
What does blu tac smell like, plasticine, an apple, an orange,
newspaper? Our sense of smell is very limited in relation to other
creatures such as dogs, however everything has its own individual
scent which in turn means that there are endless ways to
incorporate the sense of smell into play activities. It may need
thinking about a little more but is really worthwhile.
All the activities outlined support this sense and are designed to be an ideas base
from which you build and experiment thinking creatively around how you can begin to
provide activities which stimulate this sense specifically looking at the likes/dislikes of
the child or young person in your care.
Be aware that some children and young people will certainly have
their own preferences or aversions and some may have allergies so
be sure you check beforehand (for instance some children may have
an allergy to certain types of soap).
The following activities may support more than just smell and if so will
have icons illustrating what other senses will be supported.
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CONTENT OF RESOURCE SHEET
1. Make your own Sensory Smell Play Bags or Pots
2. Creating a ‘smelly story’
3. Using smell alongside heat sources
4. Using smell when playing outdoors
5. Using smell when cooking
1a Making your own Sensory Smell Pots
There are two simple methods to undertake this activity:
Use several small plastic non see through pots with a plastic lids such as a plastic
container used for take away food, or an old ice cream carton. If the container is seethrough then cover it with wrapping paper or sticky back plastic. Make a series of
holes in the lid similar to a pepper pot. Ensure the items you are using are not
chemical based and will not cause problems when inhaled such as bleaches or
cleaning fluids.
Apply a range of different smells to cotton wool balls suggestions include:
a drip of perfume or essential oils,
vanilla, cinnamon or other types of flavouring used in baking,
try scratching the skin of an orange and rubbing the cotton wool over the wound
it will absorb the distinctive smell of the oil contained in the skin
a drip of natural scented soap or other naturally scented cosmetic
shake some pepper onto the cotton wool
use some herbs from the garden or dried herbs from a jar
sprinkle some coffee powder over the cotton wool, or replace the cotton wool
ball with a tea bag (remember you can get many flavours of tea, each with a
different aroma)
These are only suggestions – think of others for yourself.
Now play a guessing game with child or young person, guess the smell through the
holes in the lid of the pot. This can be enhanced by creating a matching game. Take
photos of the items that create the smell and ask the child to match the pot with the
photo. If you are using actual items in the pots such as pepper corns or bath salts
allow the child to shake the pot to hear the items in addition to smelling and seeing the
potential matched photograph. If the items are safe to touch then encourage the child
to touch and smell. Have you ever dripped shampoo onto your hands and let it
squeeze through your fingers feeling as well as seeing and smelling?
It may be appropriate in certain circumstances to allow the child or young
person to taste the smell – after he has guessed correctly i.e. pieces of
orange or apple. Ask the child how they feel about the smell, it may them
feel good or bad, it may make them want to sneeze, or may remind them
of something else.
Challenge – how could you enhance this activity using the child or young persons own
interests?
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1b Making Sensory Smell Bags
There is no need to sew to create your own bags, it is far easier to
make temporary smelly bag from a sock!
Have a look around the house and consider what could be used to put inside a sock
that has a strong smell. The child can both feel the sock and smell the sock to guess
the content. Tie a knot in the open end of the sock or tie the opening up with string or
an elastic band. The sock then becomes both a feely and smelly bag.
Using loose items such as moth balls allows the child to feel, smell and hear the items
rolling around allowing a greater depth of sensory play.
Suggested items for creating Sensory Smell Bags may include:
Potpourri, especially ones that contain large natural items
such as seed heads and grasses
Lavender and other herbs
Strong smelling sweets
Orange Peel
Popcorn
An onion
Grass from the garden
Be as diverse and creative as you like, the object of the game is similar
to that above. Consider how you can be imaginative in expanding the
game, try smelling first and then closing your eyes and putting your
hand into the sock to feel the item. Engage with the child or young
person and ask them to try the game out on other people. Try playing a
trick whereby the item you are feeling is not the same as the one you
are smelling. For instance rubbing a raw onion over a plum!
Do be sensitive when playing this game, children will have their own preferences and
some children will not want to join in.
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2. Creating a smelly story!
We have already said that smells remind us of things, an interesting idea is to take a
range of smells and consider how they could be used imaginatively to create a story
board. This suggestion is a one-off activity, the board will loose its scent very quickly
because the smells are open to the air and will dissipate. The example below is a
very simple illustration:
Going to the park
We went to the park, on our way we saw a
man cutting grass (glue some cut grass onto the
page)
We picked a lovely flower that smelt nice
(glue a flower onto the page)
I stroked a woolly dog
Jacky bought me some Jelly Babies
Challenge, how can you use this idea to enhance other sensory play, consider touch,
sight, hearing and even taste!
3. Using smell alongside heat sources
There are many types of aromatic lamps and candles that are good to
use in sensory play and activities. Don’t be frightened of using heat to
enhance smells. It is important to share your ideas with the
parent/carer of the child or young person you are working with and
ensure they are happy to use a heat source.
Scent can enhance moods, using scented candles as part of sensory experience
when massaging a child or young person’s hands can elevate their sensory
perception. Many children with complex impairments benefit from aromatic play.
Don’t bombard the child with too many fragrances all at once, it can become very
confusing and remember to ask the child or young person what their choices are, don’t
make the assumption that they will choose your own favourite smell!
Heat can increase the level of scent, for example there is a distinct
difference between the smell of rising dough and baking bread. A
cooked banana has a very different smell to a raw one. Consider
how you can use heat to change or enhance a smell. A simple idea
is to run a hairdryer over an object, warm it up and see if the smell
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changes, encourage the child or young person to experiment (safely!)
4. Using smell when playing outdoors
We have just spoken about the smell of freshly cut grass, but step outside – whether
you live in town, city or the middle of the country there will be a range identifiable
smells.
Encouraging the Disabled child or young person to sniff the air, decide what they can
smell and investigate where the smell is coming from, do they like it, is it nasty or
nice? Is there anything that can be collected from outdoors and bought in to
investigate the smell further? Can they see what smells? Can they taste the air? Can
they touch what smells? Can they hear what smells?
The following are some simple suggestions, but this guide is designed to give you
ideas and encourage imagination. What about trying this with older children….
Making Rose Water
Ingredients:
2-3 pints of fresh roses or rose petals
Water
Ice cubes or crushed ice
1. Use a large saucepan with an inverted lid (a rounded lid), place a brick or large
stone into the saucepan. On top of the brick place a glass or heat resistant bowl. Put
the roses in the saucepan (not in the bowl); add enough flowers to reach the top of the
brick or stone. Pour in just enough water to cover the roses.
2. Place the lid upside down on the pot. Turn on the stove and bring the water to a
rolling boil, then lower heat to a slow steady simmer. As soon as the water begins to
boil, toss two or three trays of ice cubes (or a bag of ice) on top of the lid.
3. You’ve now created a home still! As the water boils the steam rises, hits the top of
the cold lid, and condenses. As it condenses it flows to the center of the lid and drops
into the bowl. Every 20 minutes, quickly lift the lid and take out a tablespoon or two of
the rose water. It’s time to stop when you have about a pint of water that smells and
tastes strongly like roses.
Planting fragranced plants
Herbs are cheap and easy to grow and have strong
fragrances. Supermarkets offer pre-grown small pots
of herbs as well as offering seed packets. These can
be grown inside or outside, in tubs, dishes or directly
in the soil. Consider what other sensory experiences
a child may experience from getting their hands dirty
and from being able to taste the herbs once grown!
Making a smelly box
Take a box out with you to collect a range of items that have a smell, have
you ever picked up a piece of wood, each type of wood smells differently
and can be identified by smell alone. Oak is very different from Ash which
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is different again from Pine. Earth smells different when wet to dry, leaves each have
their own fragrance. Experiment for yourself, even an earth worm has a fragrance all
of its own!
5. Using smell when cooking
This tends to be many children’s favourite activity, anything that
involves eating at the end of the activity!
Cooking involves all of our senses, but emphasis is normally given to
the senses of taste and touch. When you are cooking consider how
you can encourage the child or young person to use their sense of
smell. For instance you could be baking a cake, offer the child a pot of
mustard and ask if he thinks it should be part of the ingredients. If he
say’s ‘yes’ then add some to a cup cake and see what happens when
he tastes it?
Be prepared to experiment and allow the children to use their
imaginations. Mix different ingredients together to see what happens
and encourage the children to smell as well as taste.
Consider how smells change between stages of cooking,
cake mixture smells differently to cakes cooking which in
turn smell differently to cooled cakes.
Think about the types of smells that you may find in the kitchen, cooked
eggs have a powerful aroma, curry powder and spices offer a different type of
experience to smelling burned marshmallows.
As always, we offer a reminder that some children may have allergies and you are
asked to consider their individual requirements when offering sensory play of any type.
A range of recipes are available from the KIDS Direct Short Break Resource Pages,
both using hot and cold methods of cooking.
Most importantly have fun!
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