Exploring our Senses: Touch and Feel Box

I never thought my Touch and Feel Box would be such a big hit. While I'm staying home by myself with both kids three days a week (both will go back to daycare full time when I go back to work in February) my goal is to have at least one activity, big or small, planned for each day. Not just to keep Noah active and engaged, but also for my own peace of mind - I can only read books and draw for so long. 

My favorite projects are those that are cheap (or free!) and need minimal planning and preparation. My touch and feel box is the perfect example. It's nothing fancy and I only used things I already had at home. 

feeling what distinguishes an apple from a ball

All you need is: 

- a box, either small enough so your child can reach around it and put their hands in both holes, or large enough to fit two holes for their hands next to each other. If you're like me and receive Amazon boxes multiple times a week, this shouldn't be a problem. One side will have to be open. 

- scissors to cut holes

- wrapping paper and glue to make your box prettier and to make it seem more special to your child (optional)

- toys, utensils, fruit, fabric,... anything you can find around your house really. We used a fork, a spoon, rubber animals, an apple, a banana, a plastic cup, matchbox cars, a small book, a mini pumpkin, a toy motorcycle, a diaper, my cell phone, a puzzle piece, crayons, wood blocks, etc. 

If you chose to do so, prettify your box. This could of course be a project by itself - make it as fancy as you and your kid like. We simply glued some wrapping paper on it. Then cut two holes for your child's arms, next to each other or on the sides. Just make sure they can comfortably put their little hands through and hold on to objects in the box with both hands. Then all you need to do is give items you collected to your child in the box and let them figure out what it is. 

Once we got past the initial stage of Noah being way too excited and wanting to pull everything out of the box immediately to see what it was before exploring it with his hands, he really loved feeling everything and guessing what it might be. We played multiple rounds and I had to make a few trips around the house to collect more items to explore. 

This first time we used it it was all about recognizing items just by touching and feeling them, but it's also a great way to talk about textures. Does it feel soft or hard? Does it have a smooth or rough surface? Is it round or does it have edges? Warm or cold? 

I'm sure we'll be using this again, maybe talking in more detail about textures and how things feel. I'm wondering if this may also be a good way to teach Noah what things we can't feel with our hands (I'm thinking colors). 

What other objects should I use next time?