How Children Use Their Senses to Learn About Objects: A Parent’s Guide 

How Children Use Their Senses to Learn About Objects: A Parent’s Guide 

 When your child holds a teddy bear, they look at it first, then press it, shake it, or smell it. Every small action gives them information. This is how children learn. They are using their senses to learn about an object to build a full idea of what the teddy bear is. A soft toy is not just “soft” — it has shape, sound, smell, and weight. These early moments are the foundation for learning, thinking, and confidence. 

Our senses are powerful learning tools. For children, these tools help them discover objects, understand their properties, and build memory — even before they can speak. When you let your child explore objects with their senses, you help them build a strong foundation for thinking, learning, and creativity. 

This blog post explains why using the senses matters, how each sense helps, how the brain responds, and how you, as a parent, can support sensory learning at home. By the end, you’ll know how to turn everyday objects into powerful learning tools. 

What Is Sensory Learning — And Why It Matters 

Sensory learning means using the five senses — sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. It also includes movement and body awareness, to learn about the world. From the moment babies are born, they use their senses to explore. 

Why does this matter? Because sensory learning helps children: 

• Recognize objects. 

• Understand how objects feel, look, or behave. 

• Build memory and mental models for objects. 

• Learn concepts such as soft/hard, heavy/light, rough/smooth, and loud/quiet. 

When children use their senses, their brains form strong neural connections. These connections support later skills: language, thinking, memory, and creativity. Every moment of using your senses to learn about an object strengthens these pathways. 

Sensory learning is the first and most important step in how children understand the world, well before formal schooling begins. 

Also Read: Essential Basic Science Resources for Class 5 Children

How Each Sense Helps Kids Understand Objects 

Sight: The First Clue 

Sight is usually the first sense children use. They look before they touch. Their eyes send quick information to the brain. When a child sees an object, they learn: 

• Color 

• Shape 

• Size 

• Patterns 

• How it sits in space 

For example, showing a round orange ball helps a child understand “round,” “orange,” and “ball.” Vision offers quick, broad information. It helps children organize objects into categories. 

Sight alone is limited — it can’t reveal if something is soft or heavy, which is where other senses help.

Touch: Feeling the World

Children often reach out to feel objects. Touch tells them what something is really like. Sight alone cannot do this. This builds real understanding. Through touch, children learn:

• Texture (rough, smooth, fuzzy, slick) 

• Hardness or softness 

• Weight (light, heavy) 

• Temperature (warm, cool) 

When a child squeezes a sponge, holds a rock, or rubs a leaf, they feel how each object behaves. This sense helps them build mental pictures of what objects are like. It goes beyond just how they look and supports using your senses to learn about an object in a complete way. 

Touch supports fine motor skills too: grasping, picking up, and squeezing.

Also Read: Online Tuition for Kids – Fun, Easy & Effective Learning at Home

Hearing: Sounds and Materials

Objects make sounds when children shake, tap, or drop them. These sounds help them learn about materials, actions, and cause and effect. For instance: 

• A metal spoon clinks. 

• Beads rattle in a container. 

• Water splashes as it pours. 

These sounds give clues about material and behavior. Metal sounds different from wood. Water sloshing feels different from dry sand. Hearing helps children learn cause and effect. When they drop or shake an object, they predict the sound it will make and understand how objects react. 

Hearing, when combined with touch and sight, makes learning more memorable. 

Smell: Memories and Associations 

Smell helps children instantly recognize objects and moments. Even a small scent can trigger a strong memory or feeling. Children learn strong associations by smell: 

• The scent of rain, soil, or flowers 

• The smell of fruit, food, or soap 

• Natural scents outdoors (grass, wood, leaves) 

Smell helps them link objects to experiences, such as garden play, cooking time, or bath time. It builds awareness of the environment. It also boosts curiosity about surroundings and plays a role in using your senses to learn about an object, because scents help children identify and remember.

Also Read: Why Online Tuition for Class 5 Kids Is the Future of Learning

Taste: Learning About Edible Objects 

Taste helps children understand flavor, texture, and safety. It teaches them what is good to eat and what they should avoid. Through taste, they learn: 

• Sweet, sour, salty, bitter flavors 

• Texture in the mouth — smooth, crunchy, soft 

• Temperature when eating — warm soup, cold fruit 

Taste helps children understand food and build healthy eating habits. It also helps them differentiate between safe and non-edible items. 

A couple of tastes, smells, and looks, and a child forms a full picture of food items. 

Movement / Body Awareness: Interaction and Learning 

Children learn by moving, lifting, climbing, and balancing. Their body teaches them how objects behave. It also teaches how much force is needed. Beyond classic senses, children learn through movement and body awareness: 

• Picking objects, lifting, and balancing 

• Pouring water, mixing sand 

• Crawling, climbing, pushing, pulling 

These actions teach coordination and spatial awareness. They also show how objects behave under movement. 

For example, lifting a heavy pot shows weight and stability. Pouring water shows flow. Building with blocks shows balance and structure. 

Why Multi-Sensory Learning Is More Effective Than Single-Sense 

Using a single sense alone provides only partial information. But when children use multiple senses together — say, sight, touch, and sound — their understanding becomes deeper and stronger. 

Research on early childhood learning shows that multi-sensory materials and activities lead to: 

• Higher engagement 

• Better memory retention 

• Improved cognitive flexibility 

• Stronger neural connections 

In simple words, multi-sensory learning helps children understand, remember, and apply what they learn. This happens through using your senses to learn about an object in a hands-on way. 

If a child only sees a picture of an apple, they know what it looks like. If they hold a real apple, feel its smooth skin, smell it, and taste it, they truly know “apple.” That deep, real-world knowledge sticks with them. 

What Happens in the Brain During Sensory Learning 

Every time children use their senses, their brain builds networks. Multiple senses give multiple signals — sound, sight, touch. The brain integrates them. This integration creates strong memories and a deeper understanding. 

When children repeat sensory exploration — over days and months — those networks become more permanent. That’s how they build lasting knowledge about objects and the world. 

These brain connections later support learning in school: reading, writing, problem-solving, and creative thinking. 

Sensory learning is essential, not just play. It’s the foundation for lifelong growth and for using your senses to learn about an object every day. 

Real-Life Examples: Everyday Sensory Learning 

Children learn through simple activities at home and outside. These everyday moments give them a chance to use their senses. They explore objects naturally. 

Here are simple, everyday ways children learn about objects — and how you can help. 

• Playing with household objects — spoons, pots, boxes, fabric pieces: 
  Children hold them, feel the weight, and hear the sound when tapping. They learn about materials, shapes, and sizes. 

• Water play — pouring in cups, splashing, mixing: 
  Children feel flow, hear splashes, and see water move. Great for understanding volume, cause & effect, fluidity. 

• Nature walks and outdoor play — leaves, stones, soil, flowers: 
  Children touch bark, smell the earth after rain, and feel pebbles. They explore texture, smell, and shape. 

• Cooking and food prep — dough, dough balls, fruit, vegetables: 
  Kids smell spices, feel dough, taste raw fruit, and see colors. This helps them understand food, texture, and safe handling. 

• Sorting and grouping games — beads, buttons, blocks: 
  Kids sort by size, shape, color, and texture. This builds early math and categorization skills. 

• Creative activities — painting, clay, sand play: 
  These engage the senses of sight, touch, and sometimes smell (like clay). Great for imagination, experimentation, and sensory learning. 

• Sound exploration — pots, pans, wooden spoons, rattles: 
  Children explore how materials react — metal vs wood, empty vs filled containers. They learn about cause and effect, material properties. 

Even simple routines — folding clothes, feeling fabric, stacking books, turning pages — offer learning opportunities. We can guide children’s attention during these times. 

How Sensory Learning Supports Important Child Skills 

Sensory learning isn’t just about “playing.” It builds key skills for life.

Thinking, Understanding, Problem-Solving

Sensory play encourages children to explore and experiment. They learn cause and effect: What happens if I drop this block? Or why does water flow when I tilt the cup? Over time, they build an understanding of volume, weight, structure, and more. These are early math and science skills.

Language and Vocabulary

As children explore, they try to describe what they see, feel, hear, taste, or smell. Words like “rough,” “smooth,” “heavy,” “light,” “loud,” and “soft” all come from sensory play. When parents name and describe alongside children, they boost vocabulary and language skills.

Motor Skills — Fine and Gross

Manipulating small objects — beads, blocks, dough — builds fine motor skills: grasping, pinching, pouring. Larger movements — such as climbing, pouring water, and lifting — build gross motor skills, balance, coordination, and body awareness.

Emotion, Social Skills, and Behavior

Sensory activities help children calm down. Soft dough or water play can soothe. Sharing blocks or playing together builds cooperation, sharing, and communication. Kids learn patience, waiting, and taking turns.

Memory, Creativity, and Long-Term Learning

Because sensory learning involves many senses, memories become richer and more lasting. Objects and experiences become part of their internal world model. This supports creativity, imagination, and future learning. 

Sensory Learning Through the Lens of Child Development Theory 

The idea behind sensory learning is rooted in classic child development theory. In the early years, children go through a stage where they learn by sensing and acting. They explore with hands, seeing, mouthing, and listening. 

At this stage, children build an understanding of what objects are, how they behave, and how they connect to actions — even when objects are hidden or changed. 

Modern research supports this: children who play with sensory-rich materials — not just pictures or passive toys — show stronger engagement and better learning outcomes. Sensory learning is not just “fun.” It is foundational because it involves using your senses to learn about an object in real environments. 

How Parents Can Encourage Sensory Learning at Home 

You don’t need fancy toys or expensive gear. Every day life offers many sensory opportunities. Here’s how you can support sensory learning: 

• Use household items — spoons, pots, fabric, boxes. Let children touch, tap, and stack. Talk about how things feel or sound. 

• Create sensory bins — fill containers with rice, beans, sand, water, and pebbles. Let children pour, mix, and feel. 

• Have water-play sessions — pouring, splashing, mixing. Talk about flow, volume, wet vs dry. 

• Use cooking and kitchen time — involve children in stirring dough, feeling dough textures, smelling spices, tasting mild, safe foods. 

• Go outdoors — collect leaves, sticks, stones; explore textures, smells, shapes. 

• Use sound and rhythm — tap pots, bang spoons, shake containers. Compare wood vs metal, empty vs full. 

• Encourage movement — lifting light boxes, climbing, balancing, walking on different textures (grass, sand, floor). 

• Describe everything you do — put into words what they touch, see, and hear. Use simple but descriptive language. 

• Ask questions — “How does this feel?”, “What sound did you hear?” “What do you think will happen?” 

• Let exploration be child-driven — let them pick what to explore. Offer guidance, not control. 

These small, everyday efforts help build a deep understanding of objects and nurture curiosity and confidence. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) 

What do you call the skill when you use your five senses to learn something

This is generally called sensory learning or sensory play. When children use multiple senses at once — sight, touch, hearing, smell, taste — it is often called multi-sensory learning.

At what age should sensory learning begin?

From birth. Babies explore the world through their senses: sight, touch, and hearing. As they grow, sensory exploration becomes richer and more intentional. 

Can sensory learning help language development?

Yes. Sensory learning encourages children to describe what they feel or see. This builds vocabulary around texture, shape, sound, material, and actions. 

Does sensory learning only benefit toddlers or preschoolers?

No. While sensory learning is especially powerful in early years, even older children benefit. Multi-sensory learning supports creativity, problem-solving, emotion control, and deeper learning.

Can children with learning or attention challenges benefit from sensory learning?

Yes. Sensory-rich, hands-on learning often helps children who don’t thrive in traditional classroom settings. It can improve focus, engagement, and understanding. 

About Wise Croc — A Great Tool for Sensory-Based and Holistic Learning 

Wise Croc is an educational app built for children from preschool to early teenage years. It combines interactive books, educational games, quizzes, and events to make learning fun and engaging. 

Here are some of its features: 

• A wide library of e-books covering science, life skills, mathematics, and general knowledge — ideal for school-aged children. 

• Educational games that follow curricula for grades 1 through 6, helping reinforce concepts and build curiosity. 

• Progress tracking: Parents can monitor their child’s learning—what books they read, what games they play, and their achievements. 

• Ability for parents to assign tasks to children, support them at their own pace, and help build good learning habits. 

• Fun, interactive, and safe environment designed to blend learning with play — a modern extension of sensory-rich learning in digital form. 

If you want a balanced learning tool that combines sensory-based learning ideas with educational content, Wise Croc is a worthy option. It adds structure and motivation while respecting a child’s natural curiosity. 

Conclusion

Our senses are the first tools children use to explore and learn about the world. Through touch, sight, sound, smell, taste, and movement, children build a strong understanding of objects, their properties, and how they behave. This sensory learning supports memory, language, motor skills, creativity, and future academic success. Every moment of using your senses to learn about an object helps build knowledge. 

As a parent, you can turn everyday life into a learning adventure. Simple activities like playing with water, sorting household items, going for outdoor walks, and cooking together all invite sensory exploration. By describing, encouraging, and gently guiding your child, you help them build a rich, sensory-grounded understanding of their world. 

For a more structured, engaging, and child-friendly approach, consider using Wise Croc. It offers interactive books, games, and learning paths that align well with sensory-rich learning and school curricula. With Wise Croc, learning becomes fun, flexible, and meaningful. 

Give your child the chance to learn with all their senses. Watch them explore, understand, and grow.