Five Senses Check-In — What Do You Notice Right Now?
Child pauses and works through a sensory grounding exercise: name 5 things you see, 4 you hear, 3 you can touch, 2 you smell, and 1 you taste. The agent guides the parent to observe present-moment awareness, sensory vocabulary, and the child's ability to sustain focused attention. Builds mindfulness, body awareness, and the foundational skill of pausing to notice.
Opens a guided voice session in TogetherTime.
What you'll need
Find a comfortable spot with sensory variety — near a window, in a garden, at a park, or even in a busy kitchen. No materials needed. A calm, unhurried pace is important. Parent should do the activity alongside the child, modeling thoughtful noticing.
How it works
- 1~45s
Let's start with eyes and ears! Tell your child: 'Look around slowly. Can you name 5 things you can see right now? Not just big, obvious things — look for small things, interesting things, things you might normally walk past without noticing.' After the 5 things, switch to ears: 'Now close your eyes. Stay really still and listen. Can you name 4 things you can hear?' you, watch how your child does this. Does they rush through naming obvious things, or does they actually pause and notice? Does closing eyes help with hearing? Tell me the 5 things and 4 sounds!
Watch for: Child's ability to slow down, direct attention to the present moment, and notice sensory details in their environment
- 2~40s
Now the hands and nose! Tell your child: 'Without moving from where you are, reach out and touch 3 different things. Don't just touch them — really FEEL them. Is it smooth or rough? Warm or cool? Hard or soft? Describe what your fingers feel.' Then: 'Now use your nose. Take a big slow breath in through your nose. Can you name 2 things you can smell? Even if the smell is faint!' you, the touching part is fascinating — watch whether your child just pokes things or really explores the texture. And smell is the hardest sense for kids to tune into. Tell me about the 3 textures and 2 smells!
Watch for: Child's vocabulary for describing sensory experiences — texture, temperature, sound quality, smell
- 3~35s
Last sense — taste! This one is creative because we're not eating anything right now (unless you are!). Tell your child: 'What's 1 thing you can taste right now? Move your tongue around your mouth. Is there a taste left over from something you ate? Can you taste the air?' It might be 'nothing' and that's okay — noticing nothing is still noticing! Then the big reflection: 'Of all the things you noticed with your five senses, which one was the most surprising? Which sense was easiest for you? Which was hardest?' you, tell me the taste answer and the reflections!
Watch for: Child's ability to sustain focused, contemplative attention throughout the full five-senses exercise without losing engagement