Fun and Learning for Sense-ible Children

From the moment they are born and feel the air of the world against their tender skin, children begin to develop their senses.

Later, conveniently, kids will use their senses to learn about the senses--an important developmental stage of learning that leads to better understanding of their bodies and the world around them. Knowing how taste, touch, scent, sight and sound function should make it easier throughout life to learn about music, science, art and other subjects.

Two old favorites to get a young nose into the vast territory of the senses are Aliki’s “My Five Senses” (HarperCollins) and Rosemary Wells’ “Night Sounds, Morning Colors” (Dial Books).

When little readers’ senses have been piqued, adults can turn to “Sense-Abilities: Fun Ways to Explore the Senses,” by Michelle O’Brien-Palmer (Chicago Review Press, $12.95). In this guide, the more than 74 fun and educational science experiments are targeted to the abilities and funny bones of children ages 4 to 8, but require a lot of supportive interaction from an adult or older sibling.

Kids can make a scented magnet or eavesdrop on nature with a mini-megaphone. Some exercises demonstrate the importance of each sense by taking it away temporarily.

Many Washington state students from preschool through eighth grade are credited as contributors, which no doubt adds to this book’s sense of fun and adventure.

Silly songs, hands-on participation and the chance to snack between meals (several activities call for or produce small amounts of food) are the lure for youngsters. A journal page in each chapter lets young scientists record their findings.

Adults get help too: In addition to sense-related activities, each chapter includes a bibliography of related reading. Notes to adults with each exercise offer an activity goal, a sensory note, keys to success and helpful hints for pulling it all off.

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On the heels of “Antz” and “A Bug’s Life,” adults no doubt have been scrambling to feed kids’ curiosity. For new readers, “Bugs, Beetles and Butterflies,” by Harriet Ziefert (Viking, $13.89), is perfect, lightly touching on insects’ lives, rebirths and, sometimes, deaths:

“Bugs suck blood. Some smell bad. Watching bugs can make you sad.”

The caterpillar’s metamorphosis is covered in fun illustrations, and an insect legend helps identify the cast of characters.

Viking’s Science Easy-to-Read series builds confidence in reading and basic science. This book is from Level 1, intended for ages about 4 to 7. Level 2 is for beginning readers, ages 5-8. Level 3, for ages 6-9, is designed for children ready to read on their own.

Earliest readers will appreciate, even if they don’t know it, the brief sentences, repetition of simple vocabulary and visual clues in the colorful illustrations by Lisa Flather, all of which combine to make science fun and reading easy.

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“My Five Senses” (HarperCollins) and Rosemary Wells’ is another of Laura Rankin’s books celebrating the beauty and utility of American Sign Language. Rankin’s colored-pencil illustrations pair the sign for numbers 1-20, 25, 50, 75 and 100 with countable, colorful images of whimsical objects such as Mexican folk art masks and origami cranes (an index at the end catalogs the images).

Although it’s a little hard to tell against the grainy charcoal paper Rankin uses, the hands differ in size and color, and an introduction from the author guides readers in how to interpret the directions for making hand signs. Both the counting book and Rankin’s “Handmade Alphabet Book” have won numerous awards for their concept and execution.