Leaves Crushing!
Date: July 27, 2022
Time: Sensory Play
Facilitators: Jasmine, Raveena and Sifat
Props used
Leaves, three mortar pestle, and three trays.
What was the activity?
This activity was another highly sensorial in nature. It was a continuation to the flower play in respect to connecting with the nature. Today, we invited them to first touch and sense the texture of the leaves, followed by tearing them into smaller pieces and finally crushing them into a paste using a mortar pestle.
Why did we plan this activity?
Tactile Experience: It involved inviting the children to determine leaves’ texture (was it smooth, rough, soft or crunchy?), tearing the leaves into pieces that informs them about the grip they need to use to do that action and then how much pressure to put when crushing the leaves using the mortar pestle, all leading to a tactile exposure.
Body Movements: Fine and gross motor skills developed while tearing and crushing along with throwing the leaves in the air or on the floor, all strengthening different body movements and sensory systems.
Learning about Science: The kids noticed the power of transformation, where a solid item, leaves in this case, transformed into a paste-like consistency.
Mindfulness: The act of crushing and connecting with things found in nature can be mindful for some people. The kids were totally engaged in the process of rolling or dabbing the pestle to crush the leaves.
The Series of Steps engaged in?
Leaves were collected and put into three separate trays in the morning. Three Mortar pestles were placed in the trays itself. The trays were presented in front of the kids and prompts were given in a sequence, beginning from touching the leaves, tearing it into smaller pieces and finally using the mortar pestles to crush. Little water was added into the mixture to facilitate the process of creating the paste.
How did it go? (Finally!)
The kids seemed eager to play with the leaves and their excitement seemed to spur when they noticed the mortar pestle. Initially their first response towards the leaves was to spread it into the air like they did with the flowers, but then they were invited to sense the texture and then tear them into pieces. When it was the time to use the mortar pestle, some kids wanted to hold it independently while others agreed to share it with others. They were given the prompts to pace the dabbing of the pestle either slow or fast. Taksh used to put his fingers inside the mortar and show the facilitator how his fingers are wet by touching the paste. Aayansh improvised on the activity on his own by bringing mini containers from the shelf and asked the facilitator to use it as well. As a precaution, the facilitators were highly conscious with the usage of the mortar pestle so that no kids get harmed. Jasvi’s whole face moved in sync with the movement of the pestle. Many kids ran towards the play area by the end of the activity but still those who were playing here showed interest in spreading the leaves here and there.
