When we think of studying the five senses, we often think of preschool and/or early elementary school. While this age is probably the most common time for learning about the senses, there are many occasions when a scent-focused/smelling activity comes in handy for older kids as well. This post contains activity ideas for sense of smell activities for kids from preschool, elementary, and older kids ages 9 and up. They work great for special needs students too!
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Why smell is important
Have you ever heard of olfactory memory? This is when a certain scent triggers a memory. I have this happen to me often. I will smell something, and immediately my mind goes back to my grandmother’s house, a certain event like Christmas, or even a summer camp experience.
This post contains multiple activity ideas for exploring our sense of smell for preschool, elementary, and older kids. I have tried these activities with my own kids and am sharing them here with you. These smell activities for kids go great with your Holy Week study (see the post on Holy Week activities here), school time, or just as something fun to do with your kids.
Create-a-Scent
I have done this sense of smell activity with kids ranging from 2 to 12. It has been a hit with all of them!
Supplies Needed
- Cotton balls
- Essential oils (A tested-pure, affordable, non-MLM brand I recommend is Aura Cacia.)
- A tight sealing container or ziplock bag
Instructions
Give each child a cotton ball. Be sure to give them time to enjoy feeling its softness and playing with it. We’re not in a hurry!
Take your essential oils and let them smell each one. I would recommend an adult or trustworthy older child do the holding while the young ones smell.
I let my kids each pick three scents they think would mix well together. You can let them choose as many as you like.
Then, put one or two drops of each oil they chose onto the cotton ball. They will enjoy smelling the scent they created!
Place the cotton ball in a sealed container or baggie so the scent will stay. My kids loved opening up their containers and smelling their scents for a long time to come! Some even took their scented cottonballs to their rooms to keep and enjoy until the smell wore off.
Such an easy activity for learning about smell and see which scents go well together or not!
Lava Bead Bracelet
This sense of smell activity will definitely be a hit with your kids! Because the beads are so small and on the more pricey side, I would recommend this lava bead jewelry activity for older elementary, middle schoolers, and teens. The good thing is that you can’t be too old for it, though! I have made lava bead jewelry in a moms’ group. Everyone loved it!
Supplies Needed
- Lava beads like the ones pictured above. (They come in many colors; though sometimes the non-black ones bleed when wet.)
- Essential oils (such as Aura Cacia as mentioned above)
- String, twine, or chain of your choice
Instructions
The instructions for this activity are pretty straightforward. Make the bracelet or necklace of your choice. Fasten the string, twine, or chain. Then put one drop of essential oil on about every other bead. I love Sweet Orange and Lavender together. The smell should last 2-3 days before you need to reapply the oils. The best part is getting to take the benefits of the oils with while also looking fashionable.
Scenting
This activity would be most effective for preschool, younger elementary schoolers, and special needs kids. Older kids would enjoy it too. I would just use different and harder to recognize scents depending on the age group.
Supplies Needed
- Items of miscellaneous scents. Make sure they are very recognizable for younger students. Some examples of easily recognized scents would be:
-
- chocolate
- flower
- cinnamon
- onion
- orange
- soap
- peppermint
- etc.
-
- Blindfold(s)
Instructions
Blindfold one child (or even all the children at once). For special needs kiddos, you may leave off the blindfold if they prefer.
Hold each scent to their nose and let them guess what it is.
Pretty simple! And your kids will love this fun sense of smell activity.
Stovetop Potpourri
Another great sense of smell activity for kids, especially for the middle school and older set, is stovetop potpourri. I do not have my own recipe for this activity. But you can find some great scent options and full instructions from The Pioneer Woman and Instrupix. (I get no compensation for referrals to these sites. I just found their recipes and instructions very good and wanted to share. The ideas expressed on these sites do not reflect my own.)
You can even have the students come up with their own ingredient combinations. If you find a successful scent combo, I’d love for you to share it in the comments!
If you loved these sense of smell activities for kids, check out my other activities posts under the Activities tab! I also have lots of printables, fully scripted lessons, and other resources available in the Chasing Those Moments Shop. I’d love for you to check them out!
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