The Sights, Sounds, and Smells of the Classroom

Life is experienced through the five senses. They’re the sight and smell of lemons, the taste of a fresh lemonade, the tinkling of sound boxes being sorted and matched, and the soothing hug from a friend. Our sense give us the ability to perceive our surroundings on five different levels and beyond, something grown-ups tend to take for granted. It is a joy to explicitly teach young children to explore their world.

These past few weeks we have been exploring our five senses. One of their favorite activities was to make their own lemonade. Students listened closely to follow the directions. They enjoyed squeezing their own lemons. They found them to feel juicy and sticky. Then we smelled the peelings. Students tasted pieces of lemon and discovered the reason lemonade needs some sugar. This simple cooking activity combined all the five senses and created a wonderful memory.