Sensory Exploration Takes Center Stage on Day Three of the OGEM Summer School

The third day of the summer school, held as part of the “Rhythm of Nature and Sensory Exploration Project,” continued with activities bringing together movement, sensory exploration, creativity, and interaction with nature.

In the first part of the day, children with special needs participated in sports and music activities, gaining experience in gross motor skills, postural control, balance, and bilateral coordination. This was followed by the Treasure Box-Making Activity, in which the children designed their own boxes and used their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, bilateral hand use, object manipulation, and praxis skills. Once the boxes were completed, the children participated in a stereognosis activity, in which they were asked to identify a requested object among items of different types and textures by relying on its tactile properties without visual cues. After finding an object in the box, the children were asked to name it and place it on the corresponding picture card in front of them. The activity addressed skills such as stereognosis, tactile discrimination, object recognition, tactile perception, visual matching, naming, and object-name association. Distinguishing the tactile properties of objects, identifying the correct item, and matching it with the appropriate picture card also contributed to attention, sensory discrimination, perceptual organization, object-feature association, and problem-solving processes.

In the afternoon's aromatherapy and candle-making workshop, children had the opportunity to experience different scents, distinguish olfactory stimuli, identify scents, and express their preferences. The candle-making process addressed skills such as following sequential steps, following instructions, maintaining attention, making choices, making decisions, planning, measuring, establishing cause-and-effect relationships, and taking responsibility for completing the task. Children's participation in the design process by making choices regarding the color, scent, and shape of the candle provided a meaningful experience in terms of original expression, self-efficacy, and active participation in the production process. Using different materials in a specific sequence and completing the final product also required sequencing, cognitive flexibility, task organization, and motor planning. During the nature walk and photography activity at the end of the day, the children continued to explore the natural surroundings of the campus while using their visual attention, visual perception, environmental awareness, and spatial orientation skills.

Activities for children with special needs were conducted with the guidance of volunteer undergraduate students, while educational and experience-sharing sessions for families continued throughout the day. The third day thus concluded with activities integrating sensory processing, stereognosis, cognitive processes, praxis, problem-solving, self-efficacy, social participation, and environmental participation.