“So Close You Can Feel It”
MATERIALS:
You will need: a shoe box or another box that is closed on all sides. A variety of small objects that are in your child’s everyday environment (small ball, spoon, sock, pencil, doll, paperclip, etc.).
- Cut out a small circle on the side of the box, big enough for your child’s hand to fit through.
- Show your child all the items visually. Ask him to name each item, making sure that your child can identify each one. If your child knows the item but cannot name it, you name it for him.
- Put all the objects into the box.
- Now, ask your child to put a hand in the box and then put the hand around one object. Ask him to feel it well, making sure to touch all parts of it.
- Tell your child to guess what the object is that it held.
- After your child guesses, say “Take it out to see if you are right”.
- Keep track of how many of the objects your child can guess correctly (e.g., 8 out of 10). See if he can get them all right!
- To vary this game, here are some suggestions:
1) Have a picture of each item (either a photo or a picture from a magazine). Let your child pick a picture and then put a hand in the box to “guess” and find the object that matches the picture.
2) Put objects into the box that are different textures or are different shapes. Ask your child to find something “round” or “square”, “hard” or “soft”. “wet” or “dry”.
3) If your child cannot name the object in the box independently, give names of things in the box and let your child choose (e.g., “Do you think you are holding a ball or a spoon?”, “Do you think you are holding a pencil or cup?”). This should make the game easier for children with word retrieval difficulties.
