Arielle (mommy): Day 1
My kids love touching things, in stores they want to touch everything, especially if it's breakable! This week they will be happy as we explore the sense of touch.
After discussing that we use our skin to experience the sense of touch I introduced the kids to an unfamiliar sensory bin: water beads. I got clear water beads from Michaels. They come in a small bag and are about the sites of small seeds when you buy them.
I soaked them in water the previous night until they reached the size of marbles. These are nontoxic gel balls, and I must say they are very therapeutic. I put my hand in the bin of beads and dug around a few times and it was a cool sensation.
I put some blue and green colored glass stones in with the beads for the added wetexture and color.
We all had a great time digging in the bin, the kids put their feet in, they picked up beads and put them in a bottle, they squished them between their fingers, and chased them as they bounced across the floor. We also discussed how the beads felt; squishy, slippery, soft.
Even though they are nontoxic, water beads definitely shouldn't be injested so I gave the kids very clear instructions not to put them in their mouths, watched O like a hawk, and made sure there were no beads left on the floor when we were finished.
Day 2
I started our lesson today with a sense of touch song I found on youtube. The video had some basic adjectives for touch.
I prepared some touch cards the day before by hot gluing a variety of small items; paper clips, stickers, Pom poms, pipe cleaners, ribbons, fabric, paper, a cotton ball, yarn, thread, etc. I labeled the cards for print awareness as well. I used a pencil case to store the cards. Many of the cards had pairs of like objects that had different textures (sparkly pipe cleaner vs. regular pipe cleaner, plastic bandaid vs. fabric band aid, paper dot stickers vs. felt dot stickers, etc). We used the cards to expand our vocabulary of describing words (smooth, rough, scratchy, prickly, slippery, soft, hard, squishy, fluffy, sticky, etc) and to make comparison statements (the red pipe cleaner is soft but the purple one is scratchy). We also made comparisons to objects not on the card. Ex. The pipe cleaner is prickly just like daddy's beard.
O enjoyed feeling the cards too but was very rough and wanted to pull the items off the cards. I gave him some touch and feel board books to explore instead.
Day 3
Today we did more sensory exploration. I got out the water beads agan for Lil, this time adding water and sparkly foam stickers that have a rough texture.
I gave O colored sparkly and regular pop poms (the have very differnt textures) in a wipes container. I also gave him a spoon and an egg carton to put the pop poms into to work on transferring and also because it is fun.
Day 4:
Cooking is an awesome way to explore the five senses. Making bread, cookies, pretzels, bagels, or anything that requires kneading is a great way to explore the sense of touch and discover new adjectives.
While I made big bagels I had Lil follow along with me as she made her own tiny versions. We boiled her dough and even baked them, she thought it was very fun to eat them at the end. I really like this idea of letting her make her own small versions of what I'm cooking.
This is a recipe I adapted from a pretzel dog recipe. I have made it many times and it's always a hit!
Cheddar cheese pretzel Bagels:
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 cup Baking soda
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons water
Cheese
In a small bowl combine water, sugar, and yeast, let sit for a few minutes.
In large bowl or bread machine combine flour, salt, butter, and water mixture. Knead or turn on bread machine to dough setting.
After dough is kneaded cover and place in warm area to rise for 1 hr.
Boil water and baking soda in a big pot on the stove.
Preheat oven to 425.
Break off some dough for the kids so they can make their own small bagels as they do what you do.
Knead dough into long log and cut in half, cut those halves in half and continue doing this until you have between 12 and 16 dough pieces. Mold each piece into a ball, then put a whole through the center of each and stretch to make bagel shape.
Drop about 5 bagels at a time into boiling water. After 30 seconds flip them, wait another 30 seconds, and remove with a slotted spoon. Place the puffed up bagels into a plate with paper towels to dry.
Place bagels on a cookie sheet.
Make a shine mixture using the egg yolk and 2 tbsp water, brush over the bagels.
Sprinkle a bit of salt over bagels.
Sprinkle a generous amount of cheddar cheese on each bagel.
Cook in the oven 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Cynthia(Nanny): Day 1
To explore touch, I first reviewed the other three senses we've learned so far. Then I explained we use our hands and skin to touch. We talked about how some things can feel soft, hard, cold, and hot. I asked the girls to find examples of soft and hard toys in their playroom. Some of the items they chose were teddy bears, dolls, books and shoes. Then, I laid out some index cards and cups with a few different food items that had different textures. They started out by feeling the materials in the cups first. Then, I explained we were going to play a guessing game only using our sense of touch. I gave them balloons filed with water, rice, sugar, beans, and popcorn kernels. They squeezed the balloons and said each one was rice.
Guru moment: To make the game more appropriate for the girls, I divided the cups into two groups. Then had them decide which balloon went where. They were much more successful with this adjustment. They reminded me that learning needs to be flexible.
Day 2
Today was going to be a water day, but the rain or city got had other plans. We desperately need rain, so in the mean time we had rotating stations between play doh and the rice bin. So while one was playing with play doh, the other had they rice bin. Then after about 10 minutes they switched activities. To connect what we're learning about touch, I asked what their materials felt like and what they could do with them. Little sister said "play doh soft. Squeeze it." So after a while we were going to attempt to go out again for our water sensory lab, but another passing stormcloud kept us in. Lots of times plans never go as planned, but dont panic. Rely on familiar activities your kids love to fill your time.
Day 3
Today we were able to get outside and explore our sense of touch through water. I put in cups, plastic toys, and water balloons. The girls had a great time playing in the new pool they got from their grandparents. While they played I asked them how the water felt and what they could do in the water. They told me it was warm, they could kick, splash, and swim. As they played, I noticed they were pouring water and seeing what toys would sink or float. So, what looked like "playing" was a learning experience.
Day 4:
To wrap up our week on learning about our sense of touch, we created another easy to read patterned book called I Can Touch.
We also played a guessing game using a sensory box, or sometimes it's called a Feely box. I wrapped up a big container of goldfish crackers you usually get at Sam's or CostCo.
Then I threw in some familiar toys and craft tools we use. I modeled how to keep my hand inside as I talked about what the object felt like. I also made a point to remind them about not peeking to really activate their sense of touch and to try to expand their vocabulary.
They thought it was so fun. Little sister was cracking up because the first item she chose was a sock. She said "feels soft like a sock." When she revealed her item, they thought it was the most hilarious thing ever!
This is definitely a game I want to revisit because of the enjoyment and to work on getting them to use other words besides hard and soft.
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