Lilac Season: A Sensory Walk

I was walking a few days ago and the moment I’d been awaiting happened - the sweet, spontaneous scent of lilac came to me.

My uncle recently shared a beautiful story with me, of remembering the lilacs blooming at Lake Tahoe just after he married my aunt decades ago.

Do you have a story about lilacs, or any other spring sense memory? I hope you’ll share it with your child, or the children in your life.

Meanwhile, there are many hours to pass in a day, and I want to suggest a sensory walk during this fragrant time of year.

As a parent, you are constantly confronted with so many options for ways to spend time with your child, and ways for them to be entertained. Apps, shows, classes. Parties, gyms, sports, crafts.

Learning is in the daily living.

Slow down.

Get out of the house.

Take a walk with a specific focus, which will help your child develop qualities of attention.

Spring Sensory Walk

• Let your child know that you are going to go on a walk. This could be down your block, at the park, around your neighborhood, around a parking lot, at a botanical garden, anywhere.

• Let them know you are going to have a focus. “Today, as we walk, let’s focus on what we can see and smell.”

  • Right now, in the Northeast, many things have come up. There is the earthy smell of grass and wet soil. There is the light fragrance of pear trees. And the sweeter, more notable scent of lilacs. Small narcissus are popping up that are also very fragrant. Some blossoms can be seen but are not scented; note that too.

• You can also bring in other senses.

  • What you hear (birdsong, cars, wind), what you feel (the cool breeze, the warm sun, the damp grass sinking into your shoes).

  • For young children, focusing on just one sense, in the midst of so much sensory input, is overly challenging. So it is alright if you go back and forth between different types of sensory observation.

  • Do try to be clear in your words - don’t talk the whole time. Take the world in quietly, and describe it in a simple but accurate way.

This walk can take five minutes or twenty. Don’t force your child into it; keep it brief to begin - especially for very young children - and convey a sense of wonder and appreciation as you take note of your senses.

Enjoy!