In PHQP 0006 Don’t Neglect Sensory Integration, Jeff delves into why sensory play is essential before academics. From running and jumping to twisting and climbing, Jeff explains why early learning settins should focus more on wiring children’s sensory systems. He also explores the eight sensory systems and discusses distinguishing playful aggression from violence. Episode Video Watch Now: PHQP_0006 Don't Neglect Sensory Integration Episode Notes Sensory Integration Auditory System Gustatory System Interoceptive System Olfactory System Proprioceptive System Tactile System Vestibular System Visual System Tactile Discrimination Visual Discrimination 8 Sensory Systems That Drive Playful Learning 6 Critical Aspects That Clearly Distinguish Playful Aggression From Violence Podcast Archives The Don't Neglect Sensory Integration Transcript Hey, welcome to the Playvolution HQ podcast. I'm Jeff Johnson. Thanks for pushing play on with the show. So a couple of neighborhood kids were playing a game they invented. I love self-invented kid games. I think we need to provide kids with more time to get bored and have to figure out their own games. So there's about four or five of them hanging around the neighborhood playground. Mostly boys. There was a couple of girls there, it was probably, you know, mid-afternoon, after school kind of stuff. And they had a water bottle about half full of water. And the game was, you hold the water bottle out in front of you with your fingers, and then you let go of it and you try to punch it before it hits the ground. And it was, I mean, everybody takes turns and cheers if you got it, you know, moans and groans if you didn't. A lot of them, if they missed the punch, they tried to get it with a kick. And it was, I mean, it's a form of power play, right? They're showing their physical prowess or lack thereof. And lots of laughs, lots of fun, lots of good times with a simple water bottle. We talked about defining loose parts a while ago. And this is one of the wonders of loose parts, this wonderful game using nothing but their imaginations and a half full plastic bottle of water. Yay for play. Moving on, topic one for this episode. We've got core value part six, which is sensory integration should not be neglected. And I think sometimes the whole takeaway here I want you to have is that we rush through the process of sensory integration onto academics before kids are physically ready for it. And slowing that down would actually help them learn the academic stuff more efficiently when they were physiologically ready for that. So sensory integration should not be neglected. And we do neglect it when we prevent rough and tumble play, when we don't provide enough time for kids to run and jump and twist and spin and move their body in interesting and complex ways. We are neglecting their sensory integration. Human children have never been more sedentary than they are right now in 2025. And it's a problem. It impacts their development. And so early learning programs should be looking for more opportunities, more ways to put kids into motion so that their eight primary sensory systems, which we'll get to in a bit, have a chance to wire to the brain. The sensory systems are the only way their little brains can connect with information. The only way the brain gets information is through those systems. And if those systems aren't fully wired and integrated and automated, it's hard for their little brains to collect the information they need to survive and thrive in the world. Kids are driven to wire these systems. And the way they do it is by moving and touching and interacting and engaging. And so the more sedentary you're asking kids to be in your early learning setting, the more you're actually slowing this sensory integration. The more you're doing to prevent a lot of the up and active, hands-on, engaging,
