Sensory Path
Turtle Trekkers Sensory Pathway
The Turtle Trekkers Sensory Pathway project has been completed! This amazing resource has transformed the area near the Kindergarten entrance and we love seeing the SES community utilize this space! This was an enormous undertaking that spanned over a year from conception to completion and would not have been possible but for the support, generosity, time, and labor of dozens of school and community members. PTA would like to extend special thanks to our principal, Kristin Murphy, for conceptualizing the project and working to make it happen; the 5th grade class of 2022, whose donations funded much of the project; artist, Sheetal Seth, whose imagination and talent brought the area to life; and Lorrie Peeters, who led the planning, coordination, and execution for the many installation pieces.
The work on this wall truly transformed the space and is the most visible portion of the path from the adjacent roads. We wanted to create a beautiful, warm entrance that would invite children to join the space and provide them with a number of sensory experiences. Sheetal, along with several student and community volunteers, freehanded and painted colorful wings where kids can stand and imagine themselves taking off. These also look great in pictures, and we love seeing parents walk into the space to capture beautiful moments. In the middle of the wall is a large chalkboard section and a bucket of colorful chalk. The kids love to leave their mark, and we thank the parent volunteers who clean this slate so that new creations can be made on a daily basis. On either side of the chalkboard we have several musical items that the kids can rattle, shake, tap and bang. We especially love to hear the little songs they play with the xylophone! Hanging from the posts we have colorful wooden flags displaying our "Saratoga" pride. This colorful wall took weeks of planning and background preparation, including conceptual planning, structural work, priming/painting/installing the horizontal slats, art execution, and aesthetic placement. Volunteers provided essential materials, and worked over two days to put everything into place
Jump like a frog and wiggle like a bug! The colorful lily pads and winding pathways painted along our main sidewalk entrance have become a beloved element of the Sensory Pathway. We love to see the kids leaping along the green pads and zooming in a zigzag formation as they go to and from their classrooms. It is so important for little minds to stay creative and have an outlet for expression.
We all need to take time to pause, stretch, breathe, and relax. These yoga circles remind kids to stop and mimic some poses found in nature, keeping their bodies strong and their minds at peace.
The Fifth Grade Class of 2022 donated its hard-earned dollars towards the Sensory Path installation. To show our gratitude, we wanted to display their Science Camp nature names in a beautiful trellis at the entrance of the Sensory Path. The 2022 graduates each decorated small wooden discs, which were hung during the first path installation weekend. Sadly, the rough and wet winter ruined the discs and we had to replace these one-of-a-kind tokens. Visitors to the Sensory Path are now invited to examine beautiful gemstones and polished rocks glinting in the light.
Keeping with our nature theme, we have three tic-tac-toe stations. The tables are huge redwood stumps, and bug-themed rocks painted by student volunteers battle atop smooth wooden boards.
We wanted to provide a place for kids to gather and use their imaginations. What could be more fun than a campfire? We have loved watching the kids roast S'mores, make leaf stew, and prepare hotdogs while chatting and playing around the flames.
These sweet hotels were donated by parent volunteers. We hope that little critters soon make their homes here, to be studied and enjoyed by all the nature lovers at Saratoga Elementary.
This innovative scale challenges the kids to balance a variety of materials. Everything slows down as they choose their items, place them in the baskets, and wait for the scale to balance. What weighs more, a smooth rock or the rough contours of a piece of redwood bark?
Inspired by a similar wall at the Tech Interactive, this magnetic installation allows the children to arrange pipes in countless formations and then trace the path of wooden balls as they fall from top to bottom. This colorful, tactile wall was created almost entirely from found materials and leftover pieces. It is one of the most exciting and stimulating elements in the Sensory Path playground.