Books
Handa's Surprise by Eileen Browne (Walker Books, 4.99; dual language editions, Mantra Publishing, 6.99) is a good starting point for fruit tasting activities.
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? written by Bill Martin Jr and illustrated by Eric Carle (Puffin Books, 4.99) and Noisy Farm by Rod Campbell (Puffin Books, 4.99) both explore animal sounds.
In Peace at Last by Jill Murphy (Macmillan Children's Books, 4.99), Mr Bear just can't find a quiet place to sleep anywhere in his house.
All sorts of smells are included in Babette Cole's The Smelly Book (Red Fox, 5.99) - children will be amused and disgusted!
Multi-sensory
Adventure pyramid (above, Asco, 305, tel: 0113 2707070) includes a mirror, wooden wheel, bell, glockenspiel and materials offering a range of sensory experiences to children.
Hearing
Calabash (Galt, 32.95, tel: 08702 424 477) is made from a dried gourd, and the sound comes from wooden beads swishing against the shell.
Wooden drum (below, Galt, 14.95) plays different sounds depending on where it is hit.
Wave drum (NES Arnold, 9.99, tel: 0845 120 4525) recreates the sounds of the sea or use with a beater a to create a snare drum effect.
Pre-school shaker set (Galt, 39.99) contains a castanet, a rainstick, two shakers, a clatterpillar, a tambourine, two sets of bendy bells, a sleigh bell and a set of mini maracas.
Funky footprints (Early Learning Centre, 15, tel: 08705 352 352) makes a different sound as you step on each footprint.
Funky keyboard (right, Early Learning Centre, 15) lets users press musical pads and follow the lights to play tunes, animal and instrument sounds.
Transport children into another world with nature recordings 'The Sea' and 'The Rainforest' (Global Journey, CD 10.99, cassette 7.99 each, tel: 0870 264 7484).
Seeing and hearing
Rainbow sound blocks (NES Arnold, 25.95) show the world in different colours when you look through the blocks, and make a variety of sounds when you shake them.
Carousel bells (NES Arnold, 18.95) spins to create a rainbow and a series of beautiful sounds.
Seeing
Triangle mirror (NES Arnold 749.95), inspired by the Reggio Emilia school of thought, allows children to crawl into the triangle and observe themselves from above, below and the sides.
Unbreakable mirrors (Galt, pack of ten, 9cm x 6.5cm, 3.99) are flexible mirrors that can be cut with scissors.
Kaleidoscope (Galt, 4.99) shows a myriad of patterns and colour (length 18cm).
Torch (Galt, 2.99) is an all-purpose torch made from durable plastic.
Coloured acetate sheets (Philip and Tacey, 4.99, tel: 01264 332 171) come in a pack of six sheets in a variety of colours.
Fine cut glitter (Hope, 22.95) comes in six 250g jars in sparkling colours.
Touching
Tactile dominoes (Wesco, 26.50, tel: 01376 503 590) offer seven different fabrics.
Tactile tiles (24 x 30cm, Galt, 64.95) have a wooden, non-slip base.
Texture blocks (NES Arnold, 42.95) have nine different textures and curved edges for easy handling.
Curved sensory balance beams (NES Arnold, 37.95) include eight curved pieces that form a circle, 'S' shape or curved path for children to walk on barefoot.
Koosh balls (below, Hope, 16.25, tel:08451 202 055) are five balls made from bundles of rubber tendrils.
Jingle trainer (NES Arnold, 16.95) is a lightweight hand-stitched leather ball 27.3cm in diameter with metal bells suspended inside.
Spordas sensation ball (NES Arnold, 5.45) is a pliable ball with two harder balls inside.
Spordas sensi ball (NES Arnold, 4.95) is a supersoft, lightweight ball 9cm in diameter with a bumpy surface.
Seeing and touching
Sand drawing box (right, Asco, large, 65; small, 32.95) has a beech frame and shatterproof safety glass base and comes with a rake, serrated tools and 1kg of fine sand, with which children can create their own sand drawings.
Sand drawing accessories (Asco, large, 33.50; small, 18.95) to enhance sand play is a large selection including window cleaner, sand pen, spiky ball, ladybird magnets and four leg supports. Accessories for small box include scraper, spiky ball, flat brush and rakes.
Collage centre mega set (Galt, 39.99) includes feathers, ribbons, confetti, lace, tinsel, foam and beads.
Glitter pom poms (Philip and Tacey, 3.30) come in a pack of 96 pom poms in five sizes and nine colours.
Smelling
Scentissimo is a scented lotto game using smell to identify 20 perfumes (Asco, 32.50). A Scent Lotto is also available from Wesco, priced Pounds 20.80.
Inlays and scents (Wesco, 23.70) challenge users to identify the fruit wooden cut-outs (in wooden board) and find the matching smell.
Special needs
Paletto Sounds and Music (Asco, table top, 350, wall board, 450) was designed for children and adults with physical, hearing and visual difficulties, but can be enjoyed by all children. Touch the large sensitive keys to hear a range of 64 sounds in eight groups: human, animal, outdoor, indoor, forest, musical (oboe and piano), and exotic (with longer snatches of tunes).
* Best buy * reader offer
We have ten wooden drums (Galt, 14.95) to give away to Nursery World readers. Send your name and address on the back of a postcard or envelope, marked 'wooden drum', to the address on page 3. Winners will be the first ten names drawn on 3 October.
* Best buy * reader offer
We have ten packs of fine-cut glitter (Hope, 22.95) to give away to Nursery World readers. Send your name and address on the back of a postcard or envelope, marked 'glitter', to the address on page 3. Winners will be the first ten names drawn on 3 October.
* Best buy * reader offer
We have an Asco sand tray kit worth a total of 66.85 to give away to Nursery World readers. The kit includes a sand drawing box (32.95), sand tray accessories (18.95) and a set of sand rollers (14.95). Send your name and address on the back of a postcard or envelope, marked 'sand tray kit', to the address on page 3. The winner will be the first name drawn on 3 October.
* Best buy * reader offer
We have ten sets of Koosh balls (Hope, pounds 16.25, pictured below) to give away to Nursery World readers. Send your name and address on the back of a postcard or envelope, marked 'koosh balls', to the address on page 3. Winners will be the first ten names drawn on 3 October.
