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Activity and strategy

Tactile Fun Bucket

Make your own tactile fun bucket for young children who are blind or visually impaired to develop tactile discrimination skills and basic concepts.

Leer en español: Cubeta Táctil Divertida.

Mabel came to our family in September of 2016. She is two years old and is fully blind from left side Microphthalmia and Anophthalmia.  She is catching up quickly and really getting the hang of tactile discrimination. It’s so much fun to watch her blossom!

Materials

I used:

  • A cheap painting bucket from Home Depot (It gives great auditory feedback!)
  • Big bells from a craft store
  • Big pom poms from the craft store 
  • Sound ping pong balls from APH (You could use shaker eggs or regular ping pong balls, which still give auditory feedback when they hit the side of the bucket.)

Procedure

I just place it in her lap and let her go to town! We talk about smooth, fuzzy, hard, jingle, shake, and I enjoy watching her find her favorites. Right now it’s the pom poms!

Young girl playing with ball and metal bucket
Young girl playing with ball and metal bucket
Young girl playing with items in metal bucket
Young girl playing with items in metal bucket
Collage of tactile fun bucket
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