Gather your class to the rug for a "feely box" activity. Place objects with different textures in a box one at a time and pass the box around to each child. Build science skills by asking children to guess or "hypothesize" about the identity of the object they feel. Enhance the students' vocabulary by helping them find words to describe the different textures. The art table also provides many opportunities for children to explore the sense of touch. Give them chances to paint with their hands and feet or collage with contrasting materials such as sticks and feathers.
After reviewing the four types of taste -- sour, sweet, salty and bitter -- invite the class to have a blindfolded taste test. Serve the children a variety of foods, such as crackers, oranges, pickles and popcorn and allow them to guess the item. Encourage the students to describe the taste and texture of each food and put it in a category. Chart the results as a class by making a graph.
Introduce smells in the art center by letting preschoolers paint with jello or make a potpourri collage. Make playdough as a class and add vanilla, orange and mint extracts to experiment with different scents. Introduce a range of smells, such as dog food, licorice, popcorn, soap and rubber to the kids and let them decide which smells they like or dislike.
Experiment with the sense of sound by introducing different styles of music to the class. Ask the children to notice different instruments they hear while listening to songs. Practice making high and low sounds with your voices at circle time to introduce a range of sound. Explain that some people don't have the sense of sound, and teach the children about sign language.
Teach students about blindness and encourage them to try walking while wearing a blindfold. Children can take turns guiding each other throughout the classroom while gaining a sense of trust and empathy. Tell the children how blind people use guide dogs to move around and braille to read. For an art activity, children can decorate their names with small buttons to create their own braille.