Hobbies And Interests
Identify by Shape
Stimulate the sense of touch and get children thinking by playing the mystery box game. Decorate a shoe box with colors and question marks. Cut a hole in the lid large enough for a child to place his hand through to reach inside the box. Gather various objects to place in the box, one at a time, for the students to identify by touching and feeling the box. Prepare a list of questions to help students describe the object to the rest of the class. Is it hard or soft? Is the object long or short? When you squeeze it, what happens? Is it rough or smooth? Is it round or square? Students who are observing try to guess what the object is by its description and write down their guesses. The student who is touching and describing the object then makes a guess. After everyone has made a guess about the mystery object in the box, the object is revealed. Everyone who guessed correctly gets one point.
Identify by Smell
Collect 10 opaque containers like yogurt cups or empty film canisters. Place a small amount of a smelly substance in each container. Good substances are spices like garlic, cinnamon, vanilla, soaps, pine needles, distinctive smelling flowers like a rose, bacon bits, a lemon, an onion and an orange. Poke a few holes in the lids so the children can smell the contents without seeing what's inside. Alternatively, the teacher can lift the lid slightly so the student can smell the contents without seeing inside the container. Number each canister one through 10. Have the student smell the contents of each container. Next, the student should write down the canister number and his guess. The student who makes the most correct guesses wins the game.
Depth Perception
A stimulating game to play that demonstrates the importance of depth perception and using both of our eyes is the "Drop It!" game. Use paper cups or plastic yogurt cups and pennies. Students play in teams of two: one student drops the penny and the other student tells them when to drop it. The teams turn their desks to face each other when playing this game. Give each team 10 pennies. The student who will drop the penny places the cup on his desk. The student holds the penny between the thumb and forefinger and moves the penny slowly around about one to two feet above the cup. The other student covers one eye and when he thinks that the penny is directly above the cup, the student says "Drop it!" The student with the penny then drops the penny. The team with the most pennies in the cup after all the pennies have been dropped wins the game. Students can then switch sides and play again. Demonstrate the importance of depth perception in judging distance and spatial relationships by having students play again, but using both eyes. You may substitute paper clips or any other small objects for the pennies.