Learning Through The Senses Series
Learning Through Smell & Taste
Welcome to the final article in our “Learning Through the Senses” series, where we have explored how each of the senses plays a role in children’s development and learning.
As children grow, their sensory experiences influence how they perceive, interact with, and learn from their environment. The way we perceive things can be categorized based on the type of sensory input that the brain is receiving:
- EXTERNAL SENSORY INPUT: Sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell
- INTERNAL SENSORY INPUT: Proprioception, vestibular, kinesis (movement)
In this article, we will be focusing on learning through smell & taste perception.
Nose - Smell
Olfactory/Smell Perception
Olfactory perception is the brain’s ability to recognize, interpret, and discriminate between various smells. Smell is processed through the olfactory bulbs, located near the region in our brains responsible for emotions and memory. This close connection explains why certain smells can evoke powerful memories or emotions.
Smell plays an important role in identifying dangers, such as spoiled food or fire, and building emotional bonding. For example, for babies, the mother’s scent can be comforting and contribute to a secure attachment.
Activities to encourage the development of olfactory perception:
- Make a collection of things that smell: Lavender, garlic, naartjie, curry, talcum powder, coffee, tea, cinnamon.
- Add aromatherapy oils to playdough.
- Make a smelly collage. Smear glue onto paper and sprinkle different things that smell over it. (cinnamon, ground cloves, etc.)
- Put someone’s perfume on cotton wool.
- Get cooking and encourage children to smell ingredients while preparing meals
Taste - The Tongue
Taste Perception
Taste perception is the brain’s ability to interpret and differentiate between flavours and textures detected by the tongue. Our taste buds perceive five primary tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. Taste is closely linked to smell and around 80% of what we perceive as taste is derived from our sense of smell.
Experiencing different tastes and textures encourages sensory development and helps children to embrace a variety of foods. Exposure to different tastes and textures in early childhood can influence food preferences and dietary habits later in life.
Activities to promote the development Taste Perception:
- Taste - sugar (sweet), lemon juice (sour), chips (salty), and ginger (spicy).
- Taste food/drink with different temperatures. Ice cream, yogurt, hot chocolate
- Taste and describe different textures. Porridge (smooth), Biscuits (crumbly), chips (crunchy).
- Taste fruit with different sweetness levels such as bananas, grapes and citrus fruits.
The Interplay Between Smell and Taste
Smell and taste work together to create a sensory experience known as flavour perception. For example, blocking the nose while eating often weakens the taste of food, which shows the interdependence of these senses. This is important for safety when determining if what we are tasting or smelling could be dangerous or have harmful ingredients.
Emotional and Developmental Importance
Both smell and taste are important for bonding and emotional security. A familiar scent, such as a mother’s perfume or a home-cooked meal, can evoke a sense of comfort and safety in children. Additionally, the sensory memories created through smell and taste can contribute to emotional resilience and identity development.
Why developing smell & taste is important:
- Survival and Safety: Smell and taste alert us to dangers, such as spoiled food or unsafe ingredients.
- Emotional Bonding: Familiar smells like home-cooked meals encourage bonding and create positive emotional associations for children.
- Memory Building: Smell and taste are powerful triggers for long-term memory formation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, our senses of smell and taste are for survival and to keep us safe. They are also very important in the bonding process, creating emotional security and building memories. By nurturing these senses, we can help children build a foundation for healthy development and meaningful connections with the world around them.
References:
- Compiled by Aletta Laing (H.OD.PP.) Owner & Teacher
- Play, Learn, Know, Metz Press, Dr. Melodie de Jager & Liz Victor
- Chu, V. W. T. (2016). Assessing Proprioception in Children: A Review. Journal of Motor Behavior, 49(4), 458-466.
- Logan, S. W., Robinson, L. E., Wilson, A. E., & Lucas, W. A. (2019). Getting the fundamentals of movement: A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of motor skill interventions in children. Paediatric Physical Therapy, 31(1), 1-12.
- Wiener-Vacher, S. R., Hamilton, D. A., & Wiener, S. I. (2018). Vestibular activity and cognitive development in children: Perspectives. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 60(1), 63-70.
