Hobbies And Interests
Feel the Number
For tactile learners, feeling a quantity helps connect the physical representation to the written number. In this game, blindfolded children guess the number of a particular object after touching the items in an enclosed but flat space. For example, students would take turns feeling eight uncooked kidney beans inside a tin casserole pan before guessing the number. Mild, smooth items, such as kidney beans and marbles, are less agitating than sticky or coarse objects for children with tactile or sensory issues.
Soft Sound, Hard Sound
This game helps children learn the pronunciation of letters through texture. A large game board depicts the alphabet where the texture of each letter corresponds to either a soft or hard sound. For example, soft-sounding letters like S, M and N would be cut from faux-fur fabric while K, T and D would be cut from linoleum. During the game, players are assigned a single letter which they must locate and trace with their finger before attempting the pronunciation.
Tactile Team
The tactile team game lets children practice communicating and processing verbal descriptions based the sensory characteristics of an object. The children break into teams of two and take turns reaching inside the mystery bag. Player 1 is blindfolded and describes the object to his partner using only tactile adjectives. After 30 seconds of hearing the description, his partner has an opportunity to guess the correct answer.
Match That Texture
Match that Texture helps children's tactile memory and reasoning skills. The students take turns feeling the contents of six large bowls that each contain differently textured items such as rice, raw kidney beans, ribbons and packing peanuts. After they've felt all the bowls, each student is blindfolded and presented individually with one of the bowls they just touched. After feeling the contents of the mystery bowl, each child has the opportunity to guess the contents. Simplify the game for younger children by using fewer bowls.