5 Senses Coloring Pages

Add these free printable 5 senses coloring pages and 5 senses worksheets to your preschool unit on exploring the body’s senses! What are the 5 senses? They are sight, taste, touch, sound, and smell! It’s so easy to incorporate hands-on activities to explore the senses into everyday experiences. Preschool science activities should be playful, fun, and engaging! Discover the world together!

What are the 5 Senses?

If you are going to explore the 5 senses, you need to know what they are first! The 5 senses include touch, taste, sound, sight, and smell. These concepts are super easy to explore with junior scientists because we use our 5 senses every day in many ways.

The senses are how we explore and learn about the world around us. Textures and colors ignite our senses of touch and sight.

New foods and tasty goodies explore our sense of taste, even if they aren’t so tasty. Smells like peppermint or cinnamon bring back memories or make us feel more in tune with the season or holiday.

The wind rustling the leaves, the waves breaking on the shore, our footsteps walking along a wooded path, or the call of a bird overhead are fantastic opportunities for listening to our senses!

Take a look at our sensory science list to read more about combining science and sensory play as well engaging the 5 senses.

Why is Learning About the 5 Senses Important?

Learning about the five senses is important for preschoolers because it lays the foundation for their understanding of the world around them. The five senses — sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell — provide essential information that helps kids make sense of their environment, interact with others, and develop various cognitive, social, and emotional skills.

Here’s why learning about the five senses is important for preschoolers:

Understanding the World: The five senses allow preschoolers to explore and understand the world around them. They learn to differentiate between objects, people, and experiences based on how they look, sound, feel, taste, and smell.

Language Development: Learning about the five senses introduces children to new vocabulary and helps them express themselves more effectively. Describing sensory experiences enhances their language skills and enables them to communicate their thoughts and feelings.

Cognitive Development: Engaging with the five senses helps develop cognitive skills like observation, comparison, and categorization. Children learn to recognize patterns, similarities, and differences, which are essential cognitive processes.

Scientific Inquiry: Learning about the five senses provides a basic introduction to scientific inquiry. Preschoolers begin to ask questions about how things work, why they feel or taste a certain way, and how their senses help them understand the world.

Critical Thinking: Exploring their senses encourages preschoolers to think critically and make connections between their sensory experiences and the concepts they learn. They start to develop reasoning skills by asking questions like “Why does this smell different from that?” or “How come this tastes sour?”

Social and Emotional Development: The five senses play a role in social interactions. Children learn to read others’ emotions and intentions through facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice. They also develop empathy and consideration for others’ sensory preferences and sensitivities.

Safety Awareness: Understanding their senses helps preschoolers stay safe. They learn to identify potential dangers based on sensory cues, such as recognizing the smell of something burning or the sound of an approaching vehicle.

Fine and Gross Motor Skills: Engaging with their senses enhances both fine and gross motor skills. Activities like painting, drawing, building with blocks, and playing with different textures promote the development of hand-eye coordination and muscle control.

Creativity and Imagination: Learning about the five senses sparks creativity and imagination. Children can use their sensory experiences to invent stories, create art, and engage in imaginative play.

Healthy Habits: Developing an awareness of their senses can encourage healthy habits. Preschoolers can learn to make healthy food choices based on taste and smell, and they can develop good hygiene practices that involve touch and smell.

Free Printable 5 Senses Coloring Pages

Hands On 5 Senses Activities For Preschoolers

While you learn and color with our free printable 5 senses coloring pages, let’s look at some science-focused activities that tap into the five senses. These activities are designed to be hands-on, interactive, and age-appropriate for preschoolers, but can also be used with older toddlers and kindergarteners!

Check out our complete list of 5 Senses activities or choose from one below…

5 Senses Guess The Object Game

Set up a fun and simple Guess The Object game for early childhood learning and play that uses the sense of touch.

5 Senses Apple Activity

Kids will love examining, exploring, and of course tasting apples. Use our handy free 5 senses worksheet to extend the lesson for kids ready to journal their apple investigation to find out which variety of apple tastes the best.

5 Senses Sensory Station

Discover how to set up a wonderful and simple sensory station or science center that uses all 5 senses. Check out our list of items to include that make exploring with the 5 senses fun and easy!

5 Senses Pop Rocks Activity

Have you ever tried Pop Rocks candy? If you haven’t, they are an awesome experience for everyone! Kids will love describing Pop Rocks using their 5 senses. Extend the activity with journal pages to record their observations.

Also Check Out: Candy Taste Test

5 Senses Fall Activities

Fall is the perfect time of year to explore with the 5 senses. Check out this fun printable, somewhat crafty fall five senses activity you can use with kids right up to Thanksgiving.