Introducing children to sensory play at an early age can help with development and improve cognitive and fine motor skills. As an occupational therapist (OT) and mother of three children, Franklin resident Kristin Ciorra embraced this concept and created a fun way for children to play and learn.
While living in New York, Kristin started SENSE-sational FUN-damentals to teach sensory-based classes to preschool-aged children. There, the children would make and play with safe, non-toxic substances. When Kristen and her family moved to Franklin in 2020, she saw a need for sensory bins, so she created some with the recipes she had used in her classes and then began selling them. “I like to focus on the littles (ages 3-5) because exposing them at a young age helps their brain development,” says Kristin.
The bins' contents contain many different textures. For instance, a dinosaur bin might have a taste-safe dirt texture made with cocoa powder, while the cooking bin may have non-toxic scented play dough. The bins, which come in three sizes, also contain additional theme-based sensory objects such as measuring spoons and mini pans to help children build, sort, and organize “I like to mix it up based on the theme,” says Kristin. All contents help children use their five main senses and provide input to the muscles and joints.
Kristin, who currently works for Williamson County Schools as a district occupational therapist, recently started adding a complementary book with the larger bins to help boost literacy skills. The bins are not only educational, they also make great gifts or party favors.
“Kids are spending more time inside in front of a screen these days, and it is affecting their development in a negative way,” says Kristin. Her advice to parents is “messy play is ok.” Some parents may be uncomfortable with a mess, but it has shown to help brain development and promote creativity. Messy play with sensory bins can also be calming-and who doesn’t mind a calm child?
MrsKristinOt@gmail.com