Why Multisensory Learning Is the Best Way to Teach Kids Math and Reading

There are lots of different methods that we can use to teach our children fundamental skills including math and reading. Each has their own benefits, but one type of learning that has a lot of evidence behind it is multisensory learning.

This method of learning involves engaging all children’s senses in order to cement key educational concepts. Learning can be visual, auditory and kinesthetic, and sometimes we can even involve the senses of taste and smell.

Multisensory learning means we can also match children’s learning styles. Some children learn better visually, while others take in more information when it is delivered aurally. Meanwhile, some kids find hands-on activities the most stimulating. Incorporating these experiences into math and reading classes for kids improves learning outcomes.

Here, we’re going to discuss the benefits of multisensory learning for reading and math, and the science behind it.

Improving engagement with diverse activities

When children have the opportunity to engage multiple senses, it helps hold their attention in class. Rather than teachers reading out instructions and children carrying them out, the use of videos and multisensory activities can help learning feel more fun. 

Visual learning can help children express their creativity. For example, they can read a passage from a book and draw a picture that represents what is happening. Similarly, coloring in numbers can help cement number sense in an exciting way.

Bringing learning into the real world

For subjects like math in particular, showing children how it translates to the real world not only improves their comprehension but also their appreciation of it. It goes from an abstract concept to something that contributes meaningfully to their life. Studies show that as well as improving children’s understanding, it enhances their critical thinking skills and prepares them for real-life challenges.

Going shopping is one of the activities that brings learning into the real world and engages multiple senses. As you go around the grocery store, encourage your child to mentally tally your shopping costs based on the prices they see on the shelves. Then, they can use cash to pay for it at the end. This visual, auditory and tactile experience helps them understand counting and money and prepares them for the real-life challenges of budgeting.

Equally, baking can bring measurements to life, with the added bonus of incorporating smell and taste. Weighing out ingredients helps kids appreciate how important these measurements are, and at the end they can enjoy the outcome of their work. Baking can also bring reading to life — for example, if your child is reading a story that features food, you can bring it to life by recreating those recipes.

Building excitement with objects and toys

It’s not exactly news that children love to play with toys and manipulate objects. Play is a key method of learning, and in particular, multisensory play offers a host of benefits. When it comes to reading, research shows that multisensory techniques for teaching reading help children build better word learning and recognition skills when vocabulary is linked to objects.

Math offers many opportunities to use toys and materials to build understanding, too. Dominoes cover lots of fun games, from fraction games to practicing operations like addition and subtraction. Classic learning tools like abacuses can also build learning skills. Using toys is a kinesthetic method of learning, incorporating children’s favorite pastime!

How Brighterly helps kids learn through multisensory approaches

Brighterly understands the value of learning via a multisensory approach, incorporating it into all learning. Here are some of the ways Brighterly uses multisensory learning to improve children’s math and reading education.

Interactive, personalized online lessons

Brighterly tutors deliver learning via online lessons to pupils, using a range of auditory, visual and kinesthetic methods. Tutors use videos, visuals and real-life demonstrations to illustrate mathematical concepts to children instead of just talking through concepts. This brings them to life for students and helps them understand them more deeply.

Each Brighterly tutoring session is personalized to children’s needs and their learning styles. For example, if your child is more of a visual learner, tutors will use this and incorporate more visual elements into their lessons. This not only helps them reap the rewards of multisensory learning, but it also helps them learn in the way that suits them best.

Encouraging kinesthetic learning

One core element of Brighterly math and reading program is the way tutors and students complete activities collaboratively. One of these activities is Brighterly’s interactive worksheets, which contain a range of puzzles and games that engage children’s senses.

When children complete these physical worksheets, they are taking part in a hands-on activity that cements the knowledge in their minds. The worksheets contain activities that require different kinesthetic methods, from measuring shapes and objects to coloring in.

Incorporating visual and aural education

Brighterly tutors use a range of tools and resources to make their lessons more engaging and multisensory. From videos to visual explanations of math concepts or stories, they have the skills to bring math and reading to life. 

These animated explanations encourage children to think outside the box and visualize key math and literacy concepts. It goes far beyond simple auditory explanations to engage multiple senses and make learning feel more tangible for children.

Break through the noise with multisensory learning

Children’s progression in key subjects like math and literacy has been slipping since 2020 and reports also highlight the fact that 7 in 10 children are bored in the classroom. To improve learning outcomes and maintain children’s attention, educators need tactics that not only improve kids’ knowledge and skills but also hold their attention.

The best way to teach kids in a way that addresses both of these problems is multisensory education. Many scientific studies show that it has tangible benefits on learning outcomes in math and reading. The addition of visual and kinesthetic stimuli keeps children hooked as it helps them explore new, more interesting methods of learning, as well as bringing key educational concepts into the real world.