The Five Senses

Yesterday we tested Madeline's five senses to see how keen they are.  I set up ten stations, two for each sense.  Stations 1 & 2 were set up as 'touch' with a cotton ball in one brown bag and a screw in the other.  Madeline had to reach into the bag and guess the item without looking.  Stations 3 & 4 were 'sight' and I used an orange on a plate and some vinegar in a glass jar.  The next stations, 5 & 6, were 'smell'.  Again, I used vinegar and also some minced garlic.  I kept a washcloth on top so she couldn't see what the items were.  Does it make me an evil mom that I really enjoyed her reaction to the garlic?  hehe.  Next, there were another two brown bags set up for 'hearing' for stations 7 & 8, one containing a set of keys and the other some coins.  The last stations, 9 & 10, were 'taste'.  I understand her reluctance for me placing something in her mouth with her eyes closed after the good laugh I had when she smelled the garlic.  I assured her they were things she liked.  Station 9 was a piece of cantaloupe, and station 10 was some craisins, which apparently she no longer likes.











After making her rounds, I'd say she's pretty in tune with her senses. 8 out of 10. She got all correct except for station 4 being the vinegar in the jar for 'sight'.  She obviously guessed it to be water.  She also thought station 8 had another set of keys instead of the coins.

She filled out a lab sheet guessing which items were in each station and also stating which other sense she'd like to use instead of the sense given.  She answered that she would like to use her sense of sight most often, followed by her sense of taste.

We also read a few extra books about the five senses.  We had 2 books at home about Helen Keller and read through those as well.  I'm always amazed at what Helen Keller had accomplished in her life.  Things could have been *oh*so*different* for her without determination!