Home Teaching Tips and Strategies Engaging All Senses: The Power of Multi-Sensory Learning in Preschool

Teaching Tips and Strategies, Early Identification and Intervention

Engaging All Senses: The Power of Multi-Sensory Learning in Preschool

Is your child learning the alphabet by singing songs and tracing letters in the sand? Your child is benefiting from multi-sensory learning!

Multi-sensory learning engages more than one of the child’s senses simultaneously. Instead of just looking at a word using their sight or just hearing it being spoken, a multi-sensory activity might involve:

Sight: Seeing the letter “A” on a flashcard.

Sound: Hearing the teacher say the sound /a/.

Touch (tactile): Tracing the letter with their finger on sand letters or a tray of sand.

Movement (Kinesthetic): Forming the letter with their body 

When a child sings the alphabet song, he sees the letters on the wall. Next, he uses playdough to form those same letters. This helps create more connections between what they see and what they create.

Multi-sensory activities are hands-on and fun. This keeps little bodies and minds engaged, making it easier for them to focus and remember what they learn. 

It helps preschoolers link concepts (e.g., letter ‘c’) with concrete actions (e.g., curl up like a caterpillar).

Examples in the Preschool Classroom:

Foundational Skill

Multi-Sensory Technique

Senses Engaged

Letter Formation

Tracing letters in trays of salt, sand, or shaving cream.

Touch, Sight

Phonological Awareness

Clapping syllables in a word or singing action songs.

Sound, Movement

You do not need to buy special toys to bring multisensory learning into your home. Here are some quick ideas for parents:

  • “Writing” in the bathroom: Spread a thin layer of shaving foam on a tray. Have your child practice writing letters with their finger.
  • Sound Hunt: Create a set of alphabet cards. When you say the sound, have your child find an object in the house that starts with the beginning sound (e.g., fridge for the /f/ sound)
  • Counting: Instead of just pointing at numbers in a book, have them hop, skip, or clap the number of times 

By using your child’s hands, eyes, ears, and whole body, you are helping to make learning fun, engaging and making it stick!

Want to find out how DAS Preschool Programme uses multi sensory methods to support our preschoolers with early literacy challenges? Sign up for our free online screening today!

Click here to register for the screening.
Click here to find out more about the Preschool Programme.

Weng Yiyao
DAS Preschool Programme Manager and Lead Educational Therapist

About The Author

Weng Yiyao is the Lead Educational Therapist and Preschool Programme Manager at the Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS). With over a decade of experience, she specialises in supporting preschoolers with dyslexia through targeted literacy interventions. Passionate about empowering young learners, Yiyao is also a fellow of the Register of Educational Therapists Asia (RETA) and holds a Master of Arts in Special Educational Needs.

Other Post

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.