Preparing Your Lesson Plans For The New Year? 4 Reasons You Should Have Sensory Toys In Your Classroom
Posted on: 9 September 2019
If you're a teacher, you owe it to yourself – and your students – to maintain a collection of sensory toys in your classroom. You may be thinking that sensory toys are only necessary when you're working with special needs students, but that's not the case. Sensory toys can actually help all your students stay focused and ready to learn. Here are just four of the reasons you need to have sensory toys in the classroom.
Keeps the Brain Alert
When it comes to teaching children, the most important thing you can do is keep their brains alert. Your students may be awake, but if their brains aren't alert, they're not going to learn as well as they should. Children may awaken for the day, but that doesn't mean that their brain will remain in a state of alertness. In fact, if the brain stem isn't engaged, your students may have a difficult time remaining alert, which is where the sensory toys come into the picture. Sensory toys help keep the brain active and alert, which increases your students' ability to learn and retain the information they receive during class.
Provides Emotional Support
School can be emotionally taxing for students, especially when you consider things like grades, bullying, and the need to try and fit into a diverse social setting. Unfortunately, students won't always verbalize when they're dealing with emotional issues. When you provide sensory toys in your classroom, you're providing them with access to emotional support. Manipulating a sensory toy stimulates the hand muscles, which helps provide a calming effect for your students.
Increases Tactile Stimulation
When you teach a classroom filled with students, it's important to understand their learning patterns. Some students are visual learners, which means they learn through sight. Other students are auditory learners, which means they learn through hearing. Still others are tactile learners, which means they learn through touch. Sensory toys increase tactile stimulation, which enhances a student's ability to learn and comprehend.
Allows Focused Release of Energy
It's not uncommon for young students to experience episodes of increased energy. When students have increased energy, they need to release it. Unfortunately, when students don't have an outlet, they may release that energy through disruptive outbursts. One of the benefits of keeping sensory toys on hand is that they allow for a focused release of energy. Through the use of sensory toys, your students can burn off that increased energy while remaining calm, focused, and ready to learn.
For more information, reach out to a company like Kontu.
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