Exploring The 5 Senses in Early Childhood will help young children identify and discover the body parts that are used to gain sensory information: Eyes, Ears, Nose, Mouth, and Hands.
The Braille Alphabet Chart activities suggested below will offer opportunities for hands-on play with the sense of TOUCH. Through play and experimentation, the children will develop an awareness of how the sense of TOUCH is used to gain knowledge about their world.
BRAILLE ALPHABET NAMES – Braille Alphabet Chart
Materials needed: Braille Alphabet Chart.pdf (linked above), dried beans (such as lentils), glue, heavy paper or pieces of cardboard, and a permanent marker.
After explaining to your students why some children use Braille and their fingertips to read, each child can create their own name in Braille letters using the beans. Refer to the Braille Alphabet Chart to spell out each child’s name using the permanent marker and making the appropriate amount and position of dots. (If you use a washable marker the glue will make the color bleed on the paper). Invite each child to use a glue bottle to make small glue dots on top of the marker dots (younger children will need assistance squeezing the glue from the bottle). Note: older children may wish to make the dots with the glue bottles only. Finally, place a small dried bean on top of the glue and let dry. When dry, the child can run their fingers across the tops of the beans to see what their name would feel like in Braille writing.
EXTENSION ACTIVITY:
BRAILLE PUSH PIN LETTERS
Materials needed: Braille Alphabet Chart.pdf (linked above) printed onto heavy paper such as cardstock (one per student), push pins, carpet scraps or squares.
Each child takes one of the Braille Alphabet Charts and places it on top of a carpet square that has been turned upside down. The child then uses the push pin and pushes it through each of the black dots. When finished, if you turn over the paper, the “dots” will be raised and the child can run their finger across the back of the paper to feel each of the letters they created.
For more activities to play and learn with all 5 Senses, see The 5 Senses Theme here on the blog! The theme includes activities and suggestions for learning about the senses of Taste, Touch, Sight, Hearing, and Smell. The activities are offered within the categories of LITERACY, MATH, SCIENCE, ARTS & CRAFTS, LARGE MOTOR, and DRAMATIC PLAY. The theme also includes an extensive book list for further explorations!