Teaching ideas and activities to celebrate the month of May including Vesak, World Bee Day, Hedgehog Awareness Day, Whitsun, National Sun Awareness Week and more!
Featured
May 2 Space Day
May 4-10 Hedgehog Awareness Week
May 5 African World Heritage Day
May 10 World Migratory Bird Day
May 12 Vesak Day
May 12 Florence Nightingale’s Birthday
May 12-18 Sun Awareness Week
May 20 World Bee Day
National Walking Month
National Share a Story Month
National Smile Month
This Day in Sensory History:
May 24 1844 The first Morse Code Message was sent.
The April Sensory Garden
- Plant fast-growing seeds; cress, carrots, peas, and sunflowers.
- Sow wildflower seeds.
- Pick dandelions, daisies, leaves and buttercups and make a May Day crown.
- Join National Children’s Gardening Week (May 24 –June 1).
- Tidy and pull up any weeds.
What to Look for in Nature
Flora and Fauna
- Comfrey, beech, dandelion leaves, gorse, hawthorn tips, marigolds, primulas, violets, wild garlic, wood sorrel.
The April Kitchen
- Asparagus, peas, radish, cauliflower, lettuce, sping onions, spinach, spring greens, chives and parsley.
What to Look for in Nature
Mayflies, ducklings, cygnets, moorhens.
Bird of the Month: Nightingale
A small songbird with its powerful, melodious song often heard at night and celebrated in literature and folklore for its enchanting, flute-like notes.
- Listen to a recording of a nightingale
- Re-create the birdsong by playing a flutes or recorders.
- Explore feathers; brown for the body, a red tail and cream belly and chest.
May 2 – Space Day
Get creative with this constellation art activity.
…or explore moon dust.
Moon Dust Recipe
You will need
- 8 Tablespoons of Cornflour
- 1 Tablespoon of Vegetable Oil
- Vanilla Essence
Method
Ratio 8:1
- Combine the vegetable oil and cornflour until you reach a powdered yet mouldable texture.
- Option to add flavoured essence to stimulate the senses.
- Press the footprint of a shoe to spark curiosity (the astronaut’s footprint)
Suggested Resource
‘Journey into Space – A Multisensory Exploration of the Solar System’
‘Mars has red rocks and a bright red sky,
the volcanoes reach my rocket they are so high
This planet is cold, at night, minus 80 degrees
If I stay here much longer, I’m going to freeze!’
‘Journey into Space’
Table of Contents
Buckle Up!
Story Props Checklist
How to Tell a Multisensory Story
Journey Into Space A Multisensory Story
Developing Comprehension & Understanding
Story Map
Space Sounds (Listening Game)
How to Make a Space Themed Sensory Bag
How to Make a Space Themed Sensory Bin
Space Relaxation – A Guided Relaxation Space Adventure!
Create an Astronaut Role Play Area
Galaxy Art
The Space Lab
Space Design & Technology
May 4-10 Hedgehog Awareness Week
Build Understanding of Animal Habitats and Develop Creative Thinking Through the Use of Different Materials
Hedgerows are a hedgehog’s natural habitat, and our gardens also make a good habitat.
Explore a Hedge
Mark a section 1m x 1m and count how many species of plants you can find in that area.
Make a Hedgehog Habitat
Layer a container (tuff-tray or cardboard box) with fern/bracken, dried grass, straw, and leaves. (Alternatively, find a patch in an outdoor area amongst shrubbery, or in leaf/wood piles) Hedgehogs roll the leaves and grass into balls, can the student roll the leaves and grasses into balls?
Explore Hedgehog Food
A hedgehog’s main diet consists of beetles, along with caterpillars and earthworms. Head outdoors. Lift plant pots, stones and logs and see if you can find any of these insects. Use a magnifying glass to see more detail
Make a Hedgehog Sensory Box
Line a shoebox with leaves (I used vine leaves, rosemary leaves, curry leaves and bay leaves for an extra sensory element)
Add a SSCD with a recording of a hedgehog snuffle.
Add hedgehogs (Spiky pom poms, pinecones and a nail brush represent the spikiness of a hedgehog or make hedgehogs by rolling Playdoh into a ball then create the spikes using dried spaghetti)
Simplify
Place a few items in the box for sensory exploration.
Remove the items the student doesn’t interact with, replace them with other items.
Keep changing the items to keep the activity interesting and motivating
Excerpt from ‘Autumn – A Multisensory Exploration’
May 12-18 National Sun Awareness Week
‘Sensory Sun’ by Sparrow’s Class at Hebden Green School, Winsford, Cheshire
Create a Sensory Sun
Class teacher Vicky Ormerod-Jordan explains how the Sparrow Class Hebden Green School in Winsford, Cheshire, celebrated the sun!
‘We danced with a yellow stretchy band which is the centre of our sun.
We added oranges and lemons, having smelt, touched, and tasted them.
We explored sweetcorn, peeling off the leaves.
We smelt yellow marigolds and added them to the sun centre.
We bounced, tennis balls and rolled them down a ramp.
We enjoyed a song I wrote called ‘The Sun will Shine,’ where we shone a torch on various body parts.
The best part of the picture was making hand and footprints in yellow paint for the sun’s rays. Very messy!’
Thank you to Vicky, the team, and the students.
Other Ideas
Discuss the importance of staying safe in the sun (link to skin cancer Awareness Month)
Make a sun safety box and place sun protection items inside for exploration
- Sunscreen
- Hats
- Sunglasses
- Protective clothing (round neck cotton t-shirts)
- Bottle of water
- Sunshade
Suggested Resource ‘Summer – A Multisensory Exploration’ £3.98
May 5
African World Heritage Day
Celebrate of the culture of the Continent of Africa. Explore the importance of Africa and its vulnerability due to climate change and poaching.
Explore animal ‘skins’
This presents an opportunity for students to explore and express their likes, dislikes and sensory preferences and can help in everyday life such as clothing.
– Faux fur
– Faux leather (fake leather belts, handbags)
– Fabric craft feathers
– Faux suede
Extend Learning
Animal Match Game
Print out an African Animals picture grid (see example below)
Print and cut out the animal skin patterns below.
Can the students match the animal pattern to the animal?
VE Day Teaching Pack
May 10th – World Migratory Bird Day
Raise awareness for the conservation of birds and their habitats.
Explore a Variety of Different Shapes, Sizes and Colours of Feathers
Feed the Birds: Birds need to prepare for migration by eating food.
Bird Song Sound Bingo
- Print out a picture card with the pictures of migratory birds: Cuckoo, Dove, Goose, Flamingo, Heron, Hummingbird, Starling.
- Play the sound effect of the birdsong/call
- Can the student identify the bird that makes that sound?
- The students may not know all the sounds, so this is a good exercise in listening to new sounds. You can repeat the activity later in the day (week) and see if the student(s) remember any new sounds they have learnt.
Simplify the Activity
Although not all of these birds are not migratory, this activity will teach sound discrimination.
Make a Bird Nesting Material Feeder
You will need
- Wire Bird Feeder/Suet Cage
- Materials for Nesting: Cotton Wool, Feathers, Fluff, Grass Clippings, Dried Grasses, Hair, Leaves, Moss, Mud, Pine Needles, Plant Stems, Shredded Paper, Sticks, Straw, String*, Wool* and Yarn*. *Use only natural fibres (not plastic or acrylic.)
Activity
1. Ensure the nesting materials are broken/cut into small pieces/lengths as they are a potential choking hazard for birds.
2. Mix the materials.
3. Loosely push the nesting materials into the bird feeder (option to open the top to create a wider opening) Hand the feeder in a place safe from predators.
May 12th
Vesak Day/Buddha Day
Vesak is the celebration of the life and teachings of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.
Mark the Day the Sensory Way
Meditate: Dim the lights in the room and close the blinds, switch on an LED candle or play footage of a candle burning on your interactive whiteboard.
People traditionally wear white clothes.
Explore white clothes or white fabrics
Provide a selection of white fabrics of different textures for the student to explore their likes, dislikes and sensory preferences: Acrylic, Aertex, Chenille, Corduroy, Cotton, Crepe, Crinoline, Fake Fur, Felt, Flannel, Fleece, Hessian, Jersey, Lace, Linen, Mesh, Net, Percale, Polyester, Polycotton, Satin, Silk, Terry, Velour, Velvet, Viscose, Wool.
Family & Friends decorate temples with flowers and exchange cards.
Make a Vesak Day Flower Card
You will need
- A piece of card
- Double sided tape
- Daisies and dandelions
Activity
- Cover one side of the card with double-sided sticky tape or a layer of PVA glue (if using PVA, leave until it is almost dry but tacky enough to stick the flowers and grass on.
- Take the learning outdoors
- Show the students the flowers and grasses that are safe to pick (dandelions and daisies)
- Invite the students to pick the flowers then stick them onto their card.
- Option to place a photo of the student on the card.
Hands Free Alternative
- Cut a wide band of card and secure into a bracelet
- Apply a thin layer of PVA glue or cover one side of the card with double-sided sticky tape
- Place the band on the student’s wrist.
- The student will have both hands free to explore, pick and place their items onto their band
May 12th
Florence Nightingale’s Birthday
Explore the contents of a first aid bag/box
This activity will raise awareness of the contents of a first aid box* and reduce the anxiety some students may have around first aid.
*I have included extra items that may not be in your box
- Sterile plasters of assorted sizes
- Large and medium-sized sterile, individually wrapped, unmedicated wound dressings
- Sterile eye pads
- Triangular bandage
- Disposable gloves
- Foil Blanket
- Sterile wound wipes
- Finger dressing
- Burns gel dressings
- Adhesive tape to secure dressings
- An updated first aid guidance leaflet.
- Practice simple first aid; bandaging “wounds”, wrapping foil blankets around casualties, taking pulses and listening to breathing. Gently press the ‘patient’s’ nail and notice how the colour changes from pink to white, see how quickly the colour changes, the quicker the better the circulation. Assess level of consciousness by speaking to casualty; Encourage participants to swap roles between being patients and medics. ‘Hello are you ok? Can you hear me?’ ‘What is your injury?’
- Discuss how to raise the alarm in an emergency.
May 20th
World Bee Day
A day to appreciate and raise awareness of bees.
National Smile Month
The aim is to make someone smile. This could be through a compliment, telling a joke or an act of kindness.
- Explore Mirrors
Exploring mirrors teaching an awareness of your own reflection and how we convey emotion. (Point out safety when using mirrors)
Explore a range of different shaped, sized and colours of mirrors. - Pull funny faces
- Model wearing hats, wigs, glasses, and clothes so the student can change their look.
Encourage the student to observe how their mouth changes shape as they talk. - Draw funny faces on balloons.
- Smile:)
May 24th 1844
On this Day the First Morse Code Message was Sent
Dots and Dashes Artwork
Create artwork using different tools and materials to make dots and dashes
Dots: Bingo dabbers, cotton wool bud, fingerprints, paint brushes, pipettes, pom poms, sponges, stickers, vegetable printing, paint bubble wrap
Dashes: Chopsticks, cinnamon sticks, dried spaghetti, feather quill, pipe cleaners, rollers, roll balls/toy cars through paint, ribbon, rubber bands, straws, string
Other ideas:
- Spray paint through card templates/stencils
- Colour through the hole in an old cd
- Play dot-to-dot
This Month is National Walking Month
- Enjoy a listening walk outdoors.
- Enjoy a listening walk around your school/setting.
- Make a sensory pathway. Use different textured materials and natural items to form a pathway (sand/gravel/carpet/water/leaves/wood/foam etc) Would the students like to walk barefoot to stimulate their senses?
Share a Story Month
For me, the best part of storytelling is the bond shared between the storyteller and story explorer as you share your adventures.
For anyone new to multisensory storytelling you can watch free training videos here:
The videos will talk you through how to source story props and using the props/resources as a tool to promote communication skills, independence, areas of learning and for students to explore and express their likes, dislikes and sensory preferences providing opportunities for them to make choices and rejections.
There are FREE stories to download here
Other Resources
Book Day – A Sensory Story & Teaching Pack
Join your favourite fictional book characters and explore the world of non-fiction with this fully resourced, step-by-step sensory story perfect for celebrating Share a Story Month, World Book Day, World Poetry Day, International Literacy Day, National Library Week and other book festivals and awareness days. Includes 70 Plus activity idea for sensory learners of all ages and ideas for students extending their learning.
