Body & wellness activity
Super Senses Check-Up: Vision & Hearing
Play 'see and hear' games to notice when your eyes or ears need help. Learn when to ask a grown-up for a check-up.
Materials and setup
- household objects at varying distances (Pre-K)
- Snellen chart printout + paper cup (Kinder)
- anatomy diagrams + phone dB app (Early Elem)
- phone dB meter + headphones + myopia research (Upper Elem)
Parent note
This is NOT a medical screening — explain clearly that the pediatrician or optometrist is the real check-up. The value here is body-awareness: a child who notices 'I can't read the board' 6 months before a school screening saves a lot of headaches. Decibel and myopia content is a good gateway into a conversation about screen/headphone limits. Always frame glasses and hearing aids as normal — 1 in 4 kids will need glasses by high school.
How this changes by age
Pre-K (ages 3–4)
Play 'see and hear' games to notice when your eyes or ears need help. Learn when to ask a grown-up for a check-up.
Steps
- Near-far game: hold a book 1 foot away, then arm's length, then across the room. Can you see the pictures clearly each time?
- One-eye game: cover one eye with your hand, look at a picture. Now switch. Do both eyes see the same?
- Quiet-sound game: a grown-up stands across the room and whispers your name, a fruit, an animal. Turn and point to the sound.
- Ear-check song: close your eyes while your grown-up plays 3 familiar sounds (bell, clap, sink). Name each.
- Learn the 3 'tell a grown-up' signs: (1) tired eyes or headaches, (2) saying 'What?' a lot, (3) can't see the board or TV clearly.
Learning objectives
- Notice differences between near/far vision
- Compare vision between left and right eyes
- Notice if one ear hears better than the other
- Name 3 signs to report to a grown-up
Kindergarten (ages 5–6)
Run a home version of the eye-chart test, check color vision, and map how close you have to be to hear a whisper.
Steps
- Print or draw a Snellen chart (big E at top, progressively smaller letters down). Tape to a wall. Stand 10 feet away.
- Cover one eye with a paper cup. Read the smallest line you can. Switch eyes.
- Color check: look at an Ishihara-style test online (parent-supervised) — can you see the number in the dots?
- Whisper test: grown-up whispers a number from 1 foot, 5 feet, 10 feet, 20 feet. Find the line where you start to miss.
- Chart your results. These are NOT a medical test — but if you always miss an eye or an ear, tell a grown-up. Real screenings happen at the pediatrician.
- Learn about glasses and hearing aids — they're tools that help, like shoes help your feet.
Learning objectives
- Administer a Snellen-style vision check per eye
- Identify color-vision basics
- Measure hearing range with whisper test
- Recognize glasses + hearing aids as normal assistive tools
Early elementary (ages 6–8)
Learn how eyes + ears work at the anatomy level, run near/far/peripheral vision tests, and study how screens, noise, and distance affect our senses.
Steps
- Eye anatomy: label cornea, pupil, iris, lens, retina, optic nerve. Learn that the lens flips the image and your brain un-flips it.
- Ear anatomy: label outer ear, ear canal, eardrum, 3 tiny bones (hammer/anvil/stirrup), cochlea, auditory nerve. Learn sound = vibration.
- Near vision test: read small text at 14 inches. If blurry, may need reading help at the pediatrician.
- Far vision test: eye chart at 10 feet, both eyes.
- Peripheral vision test: have a partner move a pencil in from behind your head while you stare straight ahead. When do you see it?
- Screen-time study: how far are you from the screen right now? 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Try it for a week.
- Noise-exposure study: use a phone decibel app (parent-installed). Measure: whisper, normal talk, vacuum, blender, headphones at half volume, subway / loud music. Flag anything over 85 dB as 'hearing-damage risk with long exposure.'
- Design a family sense-care poster: 20-20-20 rule, reading light, volume <60%, yearly check-up.
Learning objectives
- Label eye and ear anatomy
- Run near / far / peripheral vision self-tests
- Explain the 20-20-20 rule for screen eye strain
- Measure and interpret decibel levels for hearing safety
Upper elementary (ages 8–10)
Full sensory-science investigation — phototransduction, audiogram basics, environmental risk factors (myopia, noise-induced hearing loss), and design a personal sense-health protocol.
Steps
- Phototransduction: research how photons hit the retina → rods (low light, b&w) and cones (color, 3 types: red/green/blue). Color blindness happens when 1 cone type is missing/weak.
- Myopia epidemic research: global near-sightedness has doubled since 1970. Leading theory: time indoors + screen time. Design a personal myopia-risk self-assessment.
- Audiogram basics: hearing is measured in Hz (pitch) and dB (loudness). The audiogram maps your hearing threshold at each frequency. Research the shape of noise-induced hearing loss ('notch' at 4000 Hz).
- Decibel study: use a phone dB meter on 15 real environments (school, road, bedroom, headphones at 3 volumes, concert clip, construction). Calculate safe-exposure time using the NIOSH 3 dB exchange rate (each +3 dB halves safe time; 85 dB = 8 hrs, 88 dB = 4 hrs, 91 dB = 2 hrs, etc.).
- Headphone audit: measure your own headphone output at max and at your usual listening level. Set a volume-lock if available.
- Design a 60-day Sense-Health Protocol: (1) 20-20-20 rule for screens, (2) 2+ hours outdoor light daily (myopia prevention), (3) headphone volume cap at 60% or 80 dB, (4) annual pediatric eye + ear check.
- Interview a family member who wears glasses about when they first noticed vision issues and what it was like getting glasses the first time.
- Extension: research how deaf / hard-of-hearing communities use ASL, cochlear implants, and the debate about whether deafness is a difference or a disability.
Learning objectives
- Explain phototransduction and color vision mechanics
- Interpret the global myopia-rise data and primary risk factors
- Read an audiogram and apply NIOSH dB safe-exposure rules
- Design an evidence-based personal sense-health protocol
- Engage with deaf-community perspectives as a cultural topic
Safety and evidence note
Read the full activity before beginning. An adult should supervise tools, heat, food, outdoor work, movement, and experiments as appropriate. Completion records that the activity was done; the child’s explanation, work sample, photo, or demonstration is stronger evidence of learning than a completion check alone.
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