We are learning our five senses and today’s activity focuses on the sense of smell!
Did you know, studies showed that the nose can smell at least one trillion distinct scents? When we breathe in, receptors in our nose send messages to our brain to interpret what we are smelling.
Here’s a simple activity to help your toddler become more aware of their sense of smell. Simply gather a few herbs and spices and place them in a jar or bowl. We kept it simple and put lemon, basil, cinnamon and star anise into some jars. Feel free to use whatever you have at home.
Have your little ones smell each and talk about what they are.
Next, try having them close their eyes or blindfold them and repeat the exercise. Can they still recognize the scent without looking? It makes it a little harder without using our sense of sight in combination but this allows them to learn to focus on their sense of smell.
After guessing the scents, I let her explore with all the items and she proceeded to mix all the items into a bowl to see what it would smell like. This activity allows for so much learning, communication and creativity. Plus, it is super simple to set up!
Besides being closely linked to taste, smell is also closely tied to memories! The smell of freshly baked goods reminds me of my grandma’s kitchen growing up. What about you?
Click here to download the flashcards we used!
