Create a natural sensory experience
Can you smell as well as you think? This fun smell test for children will encourage them to use their sense of smell to identify each item.
Published:
Teach children to develop their sense of smell and learn how to identify plants in the home and garden by scent.
You Will Need
- empty jam jars or containers
- Cinnamon sticks
- Orange peel
- Cloves
- sprig of rosemary
- couple of basil leaves
- Lavender stem
- Fresh mint
- fresh thyme
Step 1
Create a smell test for your children by putting different scented items in different containers.
Step 2
Keeping their eyes closed or if they can’t resist peeking a blindfold, ask them to smell the object in the jar to see if they recognise or can they identify any of the smells.
Step 3
Then, let them create one for you using ingredients you have selected previously to avoid the cupboards being raided!
Step 4
When your smell receptors have warmed up, see if they can find natural objects outside and encourage them to test their noses against these. A good place to start is lavender or rosemary.
Step 5
To finish off the sensory game, create a drawing of each item with a facial expression next to each object to rate whether you found it a pleasant or unpleasant smell.
Authors
Maria is a Bristol-based forager and herbalist who shares her expertise in wild medicinal plants on foraging walks and workshops around the city.