Cheeky Hands acknowledges and pays respect to the past, present and future Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Sensory Play
Sensory play is a wonderful way for babies and toddlers to explore their world in a safe way through play. It stimulates their senses (vision, touch, smell, hearing and taste) through a variety of activities based on their interests and age.
Sensory play is crucial to brain development, it helps to build nerve connections in the brain pathways and helps with different learning tasks including language development and social interaction. It can also support their fine and gross motor skills, creativity and tolerance to frustration. It’s a great way to invite our children to play independently but always under our close supervision. It’s always about following your child and their interests.
Sensory play is a fun, learning experience through play where babies and children can experience life through each of their five senses: touch, smell, taste, sight and hearing. Sensory stimulation offers you an opportunity to create a library of experiences for your child to hold onto throughout their lifetime. Once they become adults, all these sensory memories will become part of their memories of childhood and are at the core of their overall development (cognitive, emotional and social aspect). Sensory games are crucial to brain development in children, they help to build nerve connections in the brain’s pathways.
Our Inspiration
All of us have little Cheeky Hands at home. We have wonderful little treasures who are curious and simply want to discover and touch everything they see. That’s how they feel inspired!
We are committed to connecting children in an organic way to their primary caregivers, to the planet and to nature through sensory and open ended play. We want them to learn to respect and value cultural diversity and the environment as we need these to live.
Advantages of sensory and open ended play in developing the whole child:
- Focuses on independent play
- Encourages creativity
- Strengthens language development
- Provides self-confidence and helps to build self-esteem
- Strengthens motor skills
- Allows conscious learning
- Encourages decision-making
- Strengthens tolerance to frustration
- Strengthens the child’s relationship with food
- Strengthens the bond between Mum/Dad and child
Our Story
I am Catalina and this little guy is my Cheeky Hands. Our roots are in Latin America but our feet are here in Australia. We are nature lovers and enjoy discovering all of nature’s little treasures. As a mum and Communicator and Community worker, I have the opportunity to serve families and the Community. This allows me to reinforce my love of sensory play and also, the importance of play in children and the learning experiences that emerge through play.
I truly believe that sensory play as a fundamental tool in the intellectual, emotional and social development of the child is critical. Inspired by learning through the senses and hands on learning, I am convinced that free and sensory exploration allows babies and children to build important connections with themselves, their environment and the way in which they know, understand and interact with the world.
This is why from my experience as a mother and community worker, I began to develop different sensory activities for babies and young children in two languages (Spanish and English) by using different non-toxic materials and objects that can provide children with different experiences. They can touch, smell, observe things and much more. The positive impact of these play experiences can help to create important bonds between little Cheeky Hands and their main caregivers.
