FREE Resources for Learning About Smelling and Tasting

Published:
March 3, 2021

Sarah Shelton

Contributor:
Sarah Shelton

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Are you learning about the five senses in your homeschool? Smelling and Tasting are two of the five senses. Since these two senses work together to help us smell and taste things it makes sense to teach about them together.

FREE Resources for Learning About Smelling and Tasting text with image of a little girl trying something from her finger

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It is a lot of fun to explain the sense of taste and smell with your children. I love seeing them connect the idea that if you can’t smell, you can’t taste anything. It is odd to think about, but they will learn very quickly as you begin to teach this concept. Without our sense of smell, food doesn’t really taste like much of anything. A great way to explore this is through some fun science experiments.

When your children do hands on activities that use their senses, they get immersed in what they are learning. My children always seem to remember our science projects that involved fun things like eating and trying out new things. Especially when food is involved! I think you will have a lot of fun with these different hands on activities and experiments.

Learn about taste and smell with these hands on activities:

7 Science Experiments for the Taste of Smell – I Game Mom

Taste Test Without Your Sense of Smell – Science Kids

Lemon Foods Taste Test Science Investigation – Fantastic Fun and Learning

Sense of Taste Fun with Tasting Bottles – Gift of Curiosity

Exploring the sense of taste using tasting bottles. Post includes books about the sense of taste and three activities to help kids learn about the four basic tastes and develop their sense of taste || Gift of Curiosity

Exploring How Taste and Smell Work Together – Mum in the Mad House

Tasting Cooking Games for Kids – Eating Richly

Exploring the Sense of Taste – Learn Play Imagine

Does Smell Affect Taste? – Gluesticks Blog

Sense of Smell Science Experiment – Ducksters

The Smell Detective – Housing a Forest

Let’s dig deeper with learning about the nose and the tongue and how it works in our bodies:

To learn more about smelling you may want to study the nose and what it does.

The sense of smell is called olfaction. This is a special sense that helps us to understand what it is that we are smelling. Our brain automatically knows when something smells good or when something smells bad like rotten foods. Olfaction also effects how we taste things. 

Nose Anatomy, Function and Diagrams – Healthline

Human Anatomy Nose Worksheet – Education.com

Sense of Smell Worksheet – Education.com

Nose and Nose Parts for Kids – Kids Health

Interesting Nose Facts for Kids – Cool Kid Facts

Curious Kids – How Do We Smell?

Fun Nose Facts for Kids – Science Kids

Smell Science Spice Activity – Education.com

Sense of Smell Activity and free printable – No Time for Flashcards

5 senses activity for preschool

To learn more about tasting you will want to learn about the tongue.

The sense of taste comes from a combination of the gustatory system and the olfactory system. The gustatory system is the system that is responsible for the perception of what we taste when food hits our taste buds. This includes our throat and our mouth, as well as what we are smelling as we are tasting something.

Learn about Taste and Smell with this lesson plan and diagrams of the tongue – Lumen Learning

Hands On Learning About Taste Buds – Look We’re Learning!

Hands-On Learning about Taste Buds

Curious Kids: How Do Tongues Taste Food?

Tasting and the Tongue – Kid Cyber

Taste Facts for Kids – Kids Kiddle

Tongue Facts for Kids – Cool Kid Facts

What is Your Tongue? Worksheet – Education.com

Activity Taste Tracker – Kids Health

Tongue Mapping Taste Bud Activity – Raising the Cameron Clan

Taste Bud Map Cards – Little School House in the Suburbs

DIY Montessori Tasting Bottles plus free printables – Mamas Happy Hive

If you are learning about the different body systems, you may also be interested in these resources:

FREE Human Body Systems Labeling with Answer Sheets

Human Body Systems Vocabulary Copywork

Reading Comprehension Unit on the Human Body Systems

FREE Resources for Learning About Smelling and Tasting text with image of a little girl trying something from her finger

 

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