Nearly any topic lends itself to exploration through various multi-sensory activities. This week the focus is on the family, with examples of ways to engage in tactile, visual, sound, taste, smell, literacy and numeracy activities.
Tactile
Tactile/visual book to represent each member of the child’s family.
Role play the activity that represents each family member:
Brother – bouncing ball (likes football). Use bright coloured, glittery balls, to roll on child’s table.
Dad: Likes cars: sound of car, play with toy cars.
Mum: Likes clothes: things worn by mum – feel bright coloured, different textured fabrics, and silky, woolly scarves, look in mirror, brush hair, put on chunky necklaces and bracelets.
Pet families – Cats, Dogs, Horses, etc.
Make Duplo house, create home area for role play.
Visual
Some of these ideas would also be used in the tactile section also.
Photographs of family members – make photo album
Family photo album
Sound
Favorite music played at home
Sound of door bell at home
Sound of family chatting together
Sound of mum and dad or brother and sister saying hello to child
Taste
Favorite food of the family
Smell
Favorite food of the family
Mum’s perfume, dad’s aftershave
Favorite bubble bath, shampoo etc.
Bottles of perfume
Literacy
Names of family members
Family – a Fingerplay
This is a family hold up one hand, fingers spread
Let’s count them and see,
How many there are,
And who they can be count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
This is the mother touch pointer finger
Who loves everyone
And this is the father touch big finger
Who is lots of fun.
This is my sister touch ring finger
She helps and she plays,
And this is the baby touch little finger
He’s growing each day.
But who is this one? touch thumb
He’s out there alone,
Why it’s Jackie, the dog,
And he’s chewing a bone. wiggle thumb
Numeracy
Count number of bedrooms, number of people
Example Family Sensory Book
My family; Here is my mum and Rosie my sister, This is Huggs my teddy bear.
My family; Here is Charlie my dog. This is Patch and Jaws my fish.
My family; This is my dad. This is my bugs. I ride my bike. This is my slide.