For the next series of Thursday Tips posts here at Learn To Love Food, we're going to focus on the senses. Our senses are how we experience everything in our world, including food. They're amazing access points to our brain full of rich, nuanced information that help kids learn about, become comfortable with and expand their diets to new foods.   We're all familiar with the 5 senses of sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste, but our vestibular and proprioceptive senses also directly impact eating and need to be addressed with seating, positioning and whole body strategies before our brains can even begin to think about exploring foods and learning about them with our '5 senses'.Over the next few weeks we're going to explore each sense, what it does for us, how it impacts eating, and strategies that can help kids use their senses to feel safe with and get excited about foods. I'm looking forward to delving into these topics and I hope you'll find the information helpful and inspiring, too!Thinking about how we use our senses to experience the world is a great way to prepare to expand on how we can help kids access and enjoy their own sensory experiences. As you explore food with your kids this week during food play, meal prep, at meals or at snacktimes, think about how you use your senses to talk about and experience food. You can pick activities from the drop-down menu on the right, think about the senses as you make or eat seasonal treats or start thinking about how your senses help you experience every activity throughout your day!Most importantly have fun and happy food play!