Help a child become more aware of her nose and its function by conducting a smell test. Choose a variety of items with odors with which the child is familiar. Black pepper, onion, toothpaste and baby powder are good choices, because they possess strong scents. Place a small portion of each item inside a small cup and hide it from the child’s view. Blindfold the child and have her guess what each item is by using only her nose. Afterward, talk about how the sense of smell can help us—for example, it helps warn us of a fire.
Use optical activities and illusions to teach a child how his eyes work (and why the eyes sometimes play tricks on us). For example, fold a dollar bill in front of the child. Have him prepare to catch it by standing with his hands outstretched in front of him. Let go of the dollar bill and let the child try to catch it before it hits the ground. Explain how the messages sent from the eyes to the brain and then to the hands may not always travel faster than the bill drops.
Perform a tasting experiment to teach about the tongue and different tastes. Place 1 tsp. of each ingredient in a small cup: sugar or honey (sweet), vinegar or lemon (sour), table salt (salty) and banana peel or grapefruit juice (bitter). Add a few drops of water to any dry ingredients. Dip a cotton swab in the first solution and have the child touch it to different areas of her tongue. Repeat this process for each of the taste samples, making sure the child rinses her mouth with water between each sample. Discuss how taste buds affect why she was only able to taste flavors on certain parts of the tongue.
Create a "touch bag" for a hands-on game that allows the child to explore his sense of touch. Fill a paper bag with familiar items that have varied textures, such as a pine cone, rubber band, sponge and coin. Hold the bag and have him reach inside the bag and feel around. Once he’s had the opportunity to explore every item with his hand, ask him to name the objects. Mention the different ways we use the sense of touch and how it helps us. For example, it alerts us when items are sharp or hot.
Create a hearing test to help the child focus on the sounds around her. Blindfold the child and carefully lead her through different rooms in the house. Pause in each new room for about five minutes. Instruct the child to listen to the surrounding sounds and guess the room in which she's standing. Give subtle sound clues to help the child, such as turning on the water faucet in the bathroom. Talk about why animals or people who have impaired eyesight often have a keener sense of hearing.