Kits will be available at the Youth Services Reference Desk while supplies last. The activity ideas are also posted below if you prefer to use materials from home.
Texture Stepping Stones
Materials: cardboard coasters or cardboard from a frozen pizza, glue stick, different textured materials (cotton balls, sand paper, corrugated cardboard, feathers, foam, felt, etc.)
*Come to the Youth Services Reference Desk to pick up a kit with materials (while supplies last).*
What: Glue the materials onto your cardboard discs. Use only one material for each. Place the discs into a path and step barefoot (or crawl!) from one to the next. If you are doing this with babies, supervise while they touch the different textures and use materials that are harder to pull off the coaster and put in their mouth.
Why: This is a great way to try out some new vocabulary. How does it feel? Prickly? Smooth? Fluffy? Usually we feel textures with only our hands, but making these into a path is a fun way to add more movement and gross motor skills into your sensory play.
Extra ideas:
*Set the discs out and turn on some music. Skip, gallop, walk, or dance around the room until the music stops. When the music stops, run to a texture stepping stone! Which one did you land on? Try again! If you want to make it competitive, you can take one away every time-- as you would for musical chairs.
*Stick the stepping stones to a wall and create a texture wall.
*The floor is lava! Create a balance beam from the stones and don't fall off! Try spacing them out so that you have to take big steps to get to the next one.
I would love to see you busy playing! Please send a picture to clewis@egvpl.org if you would like to share.