Olfactory Sensory Activity
In the post, we are sharing Olfactory Sensory Activity for Kids. Does your child or student have a sensitivity to certain smells? Maybe they may feel something that you may not feel, or they may not be in certain environments because of the smell. Today, I want to share a few of the best activities for the olfactory system, or our sense of smell. Also, effective in ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder).
The olfactory system, or our odor, travels through chemical receptors with direct neuronal connections to the limbic system (responsible for emotional memory). This is often why our emotions are linked with odors and food.
When one eats, one first feels something. If it stinks, we’re more likely to try it. If it smells bad that sends a warning that we can’t like it OR that it’s dangerous for us to eat.
Lemon Food Taste & Smell
I wanted to choose a food to study that would challenge your taste buds a bit, so I decided to explore lemon foods. Instead of choosing the foods to try alone, I decided to make a trip to the grocery store. I had a general idea of what we could come up with, but I challenged the kids to look closely at the store to find as much lemon-based food as they could find.
This was fun! I really didn’t realize how many lemon foods you have in the grocery store. I told the girls that we only buy five items (even though we ended up having six), So they spent a lot of time thinking about what should be purchased. It added another layer of learning to our business, and I loved it!
While we were there, we also discussed quantities and prices, predicted the total cost, and inspected how much change we received. They are subtle ways to include mathematics as well.
On my way home, I wrote a simple chart for Lovey to use as a record sheet. Download our free printable recording sheet.
Lovey predicted she’d like none of the food because she doesn’t like lemon. She thought they were all supposed to taste sour. Tinker loves fresh lemon, so she thought she’d love ’em all.
It was time for the investigation. We started with fresh lemon, which caused this reaction…
Then Lovey got a taste of lemon juice. Can you see, “Are you kidding me, Mommy? What are you letting me eat?” looks into her eyes? It was difficult not to laugh!
Eventually, we got to the cookie, and I think she was kind of relieved to find something she liked.
As we moved forward she recorded if she liked the food and a word to describe food. It was another attempt by me to integrate writing and vocabulary into what we do. If you’re working with young preschoolers, you could skip the recording sheet and discuss the vocabulary orally instead.
We enjoyed the tour and the scientific investigation. The girls decided that they loved these lemon cookies, so we also discover new foods along the way. I am sure it will be a survey that we will repeat in the future.
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