My Body & Senses (EYFS)

Inside My Body & Senses (EYFS)

naming body parts like head, shoulders, knees and elbows, our five senses — eyes see, ears hear, nose smells, tongue tastes and hands feel — a senses treasure hunt around your home, and keeping our bodies healthy with sleep, washing and fruit and veg. About 15 gentle minutes with a grown-up.

Learning objectives

• name body parts — head, shoulders, knees and elbows — by touching and moving each one;
• know the five senses and which body part does each job: eyes see, ears hear, nose smells, tongue tastes, hands feel;
• use their senses to explore the world on a treasure hunt around the home;
• talk about keeping their body healthy with sleep, washing and eating fruit and veg;
• build early science talk — noticing, describing and wondering out loud.

Activities in this book

1. Play 1 — My Amazing Body

   sing 'Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes' together first, touching each part as you sing. Then point and name each part slowly — wiggle it as you say it!

2. Play 2 — My Five Senses

   before each question, try the sense together — blink your eyes, cup your ears, sniff the air, wiggle your tongue and wriggle your fingers. Then choose the body part that does that job.

3. Play 3 — Senses Treasure Hunt

   walk slowly round one room together. Stop, look, listen, sniff and touch. For tasting, only taste food a grown-up gives you — never anything else!

4. Play 4 — Keeping My Body Healthy

   chat about your own bedtime, hand-washing and favourite fruit and veg while you play. Little everyday habits are the big idea here.

5. Play 5 — Body & Senses at Home

   bath time, meal times and walks outside are full of body and senses talk. Keep it playful — there is no wrong answer here.

Suggestions for teaching

• Move first, name second. Sing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and play Simon Says so each body part is felt before it is named.
• One sense at a time. Try each sense for real — blink, cup ears, sniff, taste a safe snack, stroke something soft — then link it to its body part.
• Hunt slowly. On the treasure hunt, pause in one room and give plenty of quiet time for looking, listening and sniffing.
• Taste safely. Be clear that we only taste food a grown-up gives us — this is a lovely early safety habit.
• Healthy habits are everyday habits. Link sleep, washing and fruit and veg to your child's own bedtime, bath time and meals rather than abstract rules.