Over the years we’ve shared a lot of hands-on ways to learn about the five senses. A while ago I saw this great literacy activity from Fun-A-Day, and I’ve wanted to try scratch and sniff art ever since. Here we’re using stencils to guide our creations, but you could also do this as a process art activity by eliminating the stencils.

Materials

Jello-powder in a variety of scents and colors (placed in open shallow containers)
White school glue
White cardstock
Cookie cutters

Make Your Own Scratch and Sniff Five Senses Art

Started by using your senses of smell and sight to investigate the jello-powder. Tinker did her best to identify the flavors in each small container.

Next place cookie cutters on the paper where you want the pictures to go. We found that placing them upside down worked best for keeping them stable. Squeeze glue into the space inside the cookie cutter. You can either create the outline only, or fill in the whole shape. It’s up to you!

Sprinkle jell-o powder inside of the stencil to completely cover the glue. It’s neat to see the colors become more vivid as they get wet from the glue.

We worked on one stencil at a time, and left them all in place to avoid mixing the jell-o powder. Once the stencils were finished Tinker used the glue without stencils to add details to her picture. She added grass, the sky, antennae for the butterfly, and a stem for her flower.

Once the picture is finished remove the cookie cutters so they don’t get stuck to the paper. Leave the powder in place to dry overnight.

The next day sprinkle the extra powder off of the picture and gently wipe away any remaining powder on the picture.

Don’t forget to gently scratch the picture in different spots and then smell the scented masterpiece!

A Full Week of 5 Senses Lesson Plans

Continue learning about the five senses with our printable lesson plan set. Each set includes over 30 playful learning activities related to the theme, and we’ve provide different versions for home preschool families and classroom teachers so all activities are geared directly toward your needs.