During this month at RisingOaks Early Learning | Saint John Paul II, the preschoolers have been actively exploring their senses through a variety of sensory activities. These activities have included playdough, plasticine, clay, and even snow. To further enhance their sensory exploration, the preschoolers recently had the opportunity to engage in another exciting sensory experience: exploring the texture of green slime. To begin this activity, we discussed the ingredients required to make the slime. Once provided with the slime, the preschoolers eagerly used their senses of touch, sight, and sometimes even smell to explore its unique texture and consistency. They were excited by squishing, throwing, rolling, poking, and shaping the slime. One of the preschoolers, Parker, exclaimed, "It feels gummy and gooey!" as she stretched the slime. Naomi mentioned that it was sticky and experimented with stretching it in the air to make it longer. Dominic shared his creativity by making a skeleton hand using the slime, inspiring others to do the same. Nyra covered her hand with the slime, proudly declaring, "Look at my hand, it's PJ Mask." Eli joined in, saying, "Look at mine, it's a Hulk hand," and proceeded to manipulate the slime like dough to create a pizza. Meanwhile, Everly and Allie focused on creating their own version of Herman the worm. Even the preschoolers who were patiently waiting for their turn eagerly observed their peers' engagement with the activity. The children thoroughly enjoyed this sensory experience and spent a significant amount of time exploring and creating different forms and shapes by manipulating the slime in their own unique ways. Engaging in this slime activity helps the children promote creativity and imagination as they mold and shape the slime into various forms, encouraging them to think creatively during play. Moreover, this open-ended play fosters problem-solving skills as the children experiment with different techniques and explore cause-and-effect relationships. It also contributes to the development of fine motor skills and improves attention span as they manipulate the slime by squeezing, stretching, flattening, folding, and twisting it. Additionally, the tactile nature of slime can have a soothing effect, aiding in relaxation for stress management or sensory regulation.
