In early years education, the most profound and lasting learning does not come only from what children hear or see, but especially from what they feel, explore, and experience with all their senses. At Avenor, we believe that these multisensory experiences form the foundation of authentic learning, helping children to make sense of the world they are growing up in.

Tania Răduță, Deputy Head of Nursery (Greenfield) and Academic Learning Lead Nursery, shares more with us about the importance of these sensory experiences and how we integrate them into our daily activities at the nursery.

 

A few years ago, I took part in a workshop that began with a simple yet well-thought-out exercise. My colleagues and I were invited to reflect on a single word: orange. First, we thought about what came to mind when hearing it. Then we looked at an actual orange. Finally, we tasted it.

The words flowed easily: orange, sphere, juice, zest, bright. But soon, deeper and more personal ones emerged: memories, Christmas, family, tradition. What began as a sensory prompt evolved into a powerful exercise in memory, imagination, and connection. A simple orange became a doorway — to feeling, to remembering, to meaning.

This moment strengthened my belief in how powerful sensorial experiences are — not only for us as adults, but especially for the young children we work with every day.

Throughout my years at university, I learned about Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, which helped me understand why sensory experiences are so foundational to early learning. In the Sensorimotor Stage (birth to age 2), children construct knowledge through physical action and sensory exploration. As they enter the Preoperational Stage (ages 2–7), they begin to use language and symbols; however, these abstract ideas are still grounded in concrete, sensory-rich experiences.

According to Piaget, children build schemas — mental frameworks for understanding — by interacting directly with real materials and the physical world. In short, they learn by doing, feeling, and sensing.

Neuroscientists have shown that sensory input — especially smell and taste — is directly linked to the brain’s emotional and memory centres. That’s why the scent of an orange can suddenly transport us to a holiday morning from years ago.

For children, this means that sensorial activities don’t just stimulate the senses — they also shape how they feel, remember, and understand. Multisensory learning activates more of the brain, leading to stronger and longer-lasting learning.

In other words, sensorial experiences are not a supplement to learning — they are the foundation of how learning takes root.

At Avenor, our aim is to create memorable, meaningful learning experiences that connect the sensory with the emotional, and the physical with the cognitive. We believe these are the kinds of moments that stick — that shape understanding and build the deep, lasting learning Piaget described.

When a child rolls dough between their fingers, watches rain splash in puddles, or listens to the rhythm of a story, they are actively wiring their brain for learning. These aren’t just play moments — they are purposeful, educational experiences that support:

  • Language development, as they describe textures, tastes, and colours;
  • Emotional growth, as they connect experiences with feelings;
  • Memory formation, through multisensory encoding;
  • Cognitive skills, like reasoning and problem-solving, as they explore, combine, and test ideas.

Here are just a few of the ways we intentionally nurture sensorial learning at Avenor:

  • Nature trays filled with seasonal items to explore by touch and smell;
  • Cooking club, where children measure, mix, and taste ingredients;
  • Listening walks to develop auditory awareness and descriptive vocabulary;
  • Texture and collage art to build fine motor skills and visual discrimination;
  • Scented playdough and malleable materials for calming, tactile exploration;
  • Sand and water play to investigate volume, flow, and cause-and-effect through touch.

These activities may look simple, but they are thoughtfully designed to align with children’s developmental needs — and to offer meaningful, memorable learning opportunities.

As educators, our role is not only to teach children about the world, but to help them experience it — fully, vividly, and with joy. That means making sure they are not only hearing about new ideas, but tasting them, smelling them, holding them, and feeling them.

At Avenor, we believe that when learning begins with the senses, it becomes personal, emotional, and lasting. These are the experiences that stay with a child for life — and that’s what meaningful education is about.