How to Create Sensory Collages
Collaging is a great way to help your child learn and become aware of textures and colors. It allows children to express themselves through a simple art and craft activity. Collaging is a fun way to practice fine motor skills with children and language development. In this blog, we will explain how to create a sensory friendly collaging activity and provide examples of what they might look like.
What skills can children develop from collaging?
Collaging supports children with development of functional fine motor skills.Fine motor skills involve those small muscles that allow us to grasp a pencil, write legibly, and even tie shoes! The task of collaging also fuels a child's creativity. Playing with different objects, textures, and colors challenges them to be creative while enhancing tactile exploration. Finally, collaging encourages language development and expression. Collaging sparks an interesting conversation of new textures, colors, shapes, feathers, and sparkles. This is a great way to encourage children to use descriptive language while collaging.
Before we get started on making a sensory friendly collage, let's go over what you will need first.
Workplace environment recommendations:
Clean and quiet, free of distractions
Table big enough for the materials
Chair comfortable enough to sit for long periods of time. Collages can be time consuming once you really start to get into it!
Materials recommended:
Blank papers
Glue stick or paste
Kid friendly scissors
Magazines you don’t need
Objects in various textures, shapes, sizes, and colors.
Ex: beads, sequins, jewels, feathers, googly eyes.
Tips when creating sensory collages with children:
Before you begin collaging, organize the table. Use pre-cut magazines and keep them in a Ziplock bag. Keep the other objects into their designated bins/bowls.
Follow the child’s lead and allow them to make the first move. Give your child as much autonomy as you can. This will increase their confidence and they will be more likely to
Provide an appropriate amount of verbal praise. This can be encouraging and validating for them. Use descriptive language when describing how well they are doing with their work. For example “I love that you used feathers on the sheep.”
Here examples of sensory collages that you can make at home with your child:
Rainbow collage
Have fun making these sensory stimulating collages with your child. We hope you found this week's blog on sensory collaging useful! If you implemented any of the tips or strategies discussed, let us know in the comments!