Early Childhood Education Commons^™

Piaget's Sensorimotor Stage: Activities To Enhance The Cognitive Development Of Infants And Toddlers, Candice York

Graduate Research Papers

Sensory play is an effective way to encourage experimentation, even with children as young as infants and toddlers. Early childhood is the developmentally appropriate age for acquiring sensory awareness. One of the leading theorists on infant cognitive development is Jean Piaget. He referred to the first two years of life as the sensorimotor stage because at that age infants are primarily involved in explorations involving their movements and senses. Early childhood educators should analyze Piaget's work when designing a stimulating environment containing sensory-rich materials to enhance cognitive development consistent with developmental stages. This article addresses the six sub-stages of sensorimotor …