Scented Balloons

What you need

• 5 balloons or spray-bottles
• vanilla essence, rose oil, banana essence, lemon essence, peppermint oil
• ice-cream container, flower, banana, lemon, mint lolly or mint plant

What to do

Squirt a couple of drops of each type of oil into separate balloons or spray bottles. Blow up the balloons and tie them off or fill the spray bottles with water. Place the related objects in a random fashion on the table and ask your child to smell the balloons or spray and find the matching object. Try this activity with a blindfold and ask your child to smell the balloon/spray and the objects to match the smell. For older children try this activity with the objects hidden around the room, so that the child must search all the entire room.

What they learn

Young children are still learning how to use their senses. With this activity they can explore their sense of smell and use their memory to relate that smell to a visual image. Using the blindfold helps them hone in their sense of smell and match it to similar smells.

Encouragement questions

• What does it smell like?
• Can you find the smell that matches?
• What are some other smelly things in the room?