35 Five Senses Activities for Pre-K & Kindergarten
July 6, 2025
Learning through the five senses is a common and effective classroom technique. When we engage our senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell, we tend to feel more connected to our environments. So, when students are engaged with their learning through their senses, outcomes are not only more enjoyable but also more memorable. Most of these 5 senses activities are hands-on. While this makes the activities more tactile, it may also require a bit more preparation to organize. For example, while you may have some materials at the ready in the classroom, other activities may require additional supplies. However, each of these activities is sure to be worth the effort! And, you can even reuse some of these projects for future classes.
In this article, we have organized the 5 senses activities as follows: 1) those that engage multiple senses and 2) those that focus on one sense at a time. You can choose to mix and match these activities as you see fit for your teaching purposes.
Let’s start with activities that engage multiple senses.
Five Senses Activities – Multiple Senses
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Popcorn Experiment
Students can engage their five senses in this fun and tasty activity. You’ll need to observe all steps of the popcorn-making process. From kernel to popcorn, overserve what the popcorn sounds like as it’s being popped, what it smells like as it cooks, and how it changes in shape and texture. And then, you can eat the finished product!
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Pop Rocks
Pop rocks also engage multiple senses and can make for fun classroom activities. First, examine what the pop rocks look like. Next, what do they sound and taste like as you eat them?
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Sensory Walk
Using multiple pieces of cardstock, attach different sensory items to the paper. For example, you can glue on Easter grass, leaves, feathers, pipe cleaners, etc. Then, have students interact with the pages. They can observe how the pages visually look and how they feel.
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Scavenger Hunt
Create a scavenger hunt for students to complete, which engages each of their senses. Students must explore the classroom, the school building, and/or the playground to find items that correspond to each of their senses.
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Five Senses Anchor Chart
Create an anchor chart to connect each of the senses to where it’s located on the body.
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Five Senses Booklet
Have students create a 5 senses book. On each page, they name the sense and then illustrate what they use to engage with that sense. For example, drawing a nose on the page labeled “Smell.”
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Five Senses Sort
Give students a series of pictures with different items. For example, a skunk; a cactus; a TV. On a collection of five different mats, have students place the item on the mat that best corresponds to the sense they use when engaging with that item. For example, a skunk would go on the “Smell” mat.
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Five Senses List
Have students create a list of examples for each of their five senses. For example, have them five items they can see in the classroom. What are five foods they can taste? Five sounds they can hear, etc.
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Potato Head
Using a Mr. Potato Head toy is the perfect way to engage all the senses. Students can clearly see all parts of the face.
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Sorting Objects
In a 6-muffin tray, place a variety of items into one tin. In each of the other tins, place a card that says “I can see…” “I can hear…” etc. Have students sort the items into the tin that best represents the sense they would use when engaging with that item.
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Five Senses Stations
In 5 separate containers, organize items by senses. Students can engage with the items in each container. They can move at their own pace through each station.
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Salt v. Sugar
Have students try to figure out which container holds salt and which holds sugar. However, they need to engage all of their senses, not just taste.
Five Senses Activities – Touch
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Mystery Bag
Provide a bag filled with mystery items that are relatively easy to identify just by their sense of touch. (Popsicle sticks, dice, Lego blocks). Have students reach into the bag and try to guess the items using only their sense of touch. As a bonus to guessing the item, have students write down descriptive words they would use to describe the feeling of the item.
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Textured Books
Certain children’s books are designed to introduce different sensory textures to children. On the pages, there might be bumpy, furry, or smooth surfaces. Use these fun books as a way to introduce texture to your students.
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Sensory Bags
Fill clear, Ziploc bags with hair gel, liquid watercolor, and glitter to create a fun sensory bag. With their finger, students can trace letters into the gel to feel a unique texture while they write.
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Making Oobleck
For a fun tactile activity, create Oobleck by mixing cornstarch with water. The result? A type of play dough that isn’t exactly liquid but isn’t exactly fluid either. It’s fun to play with and engages a unique sense of touch.
- Paper Hands
Let students trace their hands on a piece of paper and then cut it out. On each finger of the hand, have students glue a different item with a different texture. So, they should end up with 5 different objects with five different textures.
Smell
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Smelly Science Table
Place smelly items into separate, unmarked containers. Students will take turns smelling each container and attempting to identify what item is inside the container. On the science table, instructors can provide a key of the different items. After interacting with the item, students can use the key to make their guesses.
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Scented Markers
Using scented markers is a great way to engage your student’s sense of smell. Have them write or draw with the scented markers, taking note of how to describe each scent.
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Scented Paints
Did you know that you can make your own scented paint? Simply add liquid extracts from the baking aisle into your paints. Then, have students engage their creative side by spending the class period making art with the scented paints.
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Scented Play Dough
Just like the paints, you can create scented Play Dough by adding Kool-Aid mixture to your homemade Play Dough.
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Flowers
Bring in a variety of flowers for students to smell. Have students rank which flower smells the best.
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Scent Hunt
Douse cotton balls in various essential oils. Hide the cotton balls around the classroom and see if your students can smell their way to the hidden location.
Five Senses Activities – Hearing
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Listening Walk
Have students take a walk throughout the school building. Or, if it’s a nice day, take the class outside. Instruct students to keep a record of the different people or things they hear as they walk around school.
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Musical Instruments
You don’t need any real musical ability to engage with this activity. Bring instruments into the classroom and let students either play these instruments or listen to others use them. Examples of musical instruments to bring are maracas, sleigh bells, or drums.
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Sound Shakers
Maybe you’re looking to create your own musical instruments. Now you can, as you pair a fun activity with your sense of hearing. To make your own sound shakers, fill plastic Easter eggs with different objects, such as dried beans, to create different sounds. Make sure to tape the eggs shut!
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Sound Containers
Similar to the sound shakers, these containers can be filled with larger objects. Make sure the objects have a distinct sound when shaken. These items can be concealed to make for a fun guessing game, or they can be visible.
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Telephone
Create “telephones” using plastic solo cups and string. Connect the string between the two cups, and make sure to stand far apart (ensuring the string is tight), before you test this one out. Have one student whisper into the cup, and have another student put the cup to their ear to see if they can hear what their classmate says.
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How sounds relate to understanding
Pair critical thinking with hearing in this activity. Have students come up with a list of different sounds. Then, have them describe what they’re thinking when they hear that sound. What inferences do they make based on the sound? For example, a ringing telephone, a school bell, etc.
Five Senses Activities – Sight
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I Spy Bottles
Create your own I Spy bottles by filling a plastic tube with filling and a variety of different objects. Students will have a blast attempting to find each item, as they shake and roll the tube.
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I Spy Books
For even more I Spy fun, use the I Spy book series. These books require attention to detail, making them a great activity for engaging both the sense of sight and for developing critical thinking skills.
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Memorizing Objects
Place a series of objects on a tray. Let students observe the objects for one minute. Then, remove the tray from sight. Have students draw all the items that they can remember.
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Magnifying Glass
Provide students with a magnifying glass and let them explore the classroom or outdoor area. Encourage them to get up close and zoom in on all the little details.
Five Senses Activities – Taste
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Taste test
Be aware of any food allergies before bringing food into the classroom. Once cleared, try to choose foods with distinct tastes. For example, pretzels for saltiness, animal crackers for sweetness, or lemon slices for sourness. Have students sample the snacks and describe the flavors.
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Jelly Bean Taste test
Have your students complete a blind taste test with jelly beans. Since the flavors of jelly beans are known for being realistic, have students try and guess which flavors they have just eaten.
In Review
A lot of these activities are creative in nature, letting students approach their tasks in different ways. Creative students will enjoy engaging with these activities and feel motivated to keep up their work when exploring with their senses.
However, this isn’t to say that students interested in the sciences can’t be creative, too. There are plenty of interactive, hands-on science activities for students. And, they can even start early on in their education. We hope that you have enjoyed this article detailing 5 senses activities. They are sure to help bring both entertainment and dedicated learning into your classroom!
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