Isabelle is very like me in many ways...including her uncertainty of certain textures. For a while, this was frustrating when we tried to take part in sensory play as it meant she often refused to touch the materials! However, I soon learnt that sensory play was actually the best way of developing her sense of touch by giving her lots of opportunities to touch a wide variety of materials and therefore allow her to become comfortable with textures on her terms.
Isabelle's biggest 'touch' dislike seems to be any material which appears wet. She is happy to play all day with dry materials, but if it seems wet or sticky she isn't happy. With that in mind, I have set up lots of different activities geared towards her sense of touch to help her....to varying degrees of success! Here is a quick round up of some of our favourites.
Sticky, stretchy playdoughIt was with this play dough that I first really worked out that the reason Isabelle balked at some play activities was the texture - she cried ON SIGHT at the play dough! However, it was also the first time I realised how important it was to continue to offer her these play opportunities as, by the end of the play session, she has become a total dough addict and it is now one of her favorite things! This play dough is different than normal dough, as it uses a special ingredient to become super stretchy and oh so silky.
Magic gloopThis gloop (or goop) was always a big risk to take with Isabelle. She had actually played with a similar material before and loved it, but when faced with this cornflour and water mix she was having none of it! She did deign to touch the mixture after some play time which I took as a huge success, but other than that she was not interested. Simon and I, on the other hand, adore this stuff! It has the weirdest texture ever - both solid and liquid! One of my absolute favorite 'touch' materials.
Glitter mudAnother big risk was our clean glitter mud mixture. This has a soapy, slimy, soft feel to it which is very different to anything else we have played with. It was mouldable and sloppy all at the same time! Isabelle was happy to use the tools to squish and mix it and even let it on her feet, but she wasn't thrilled with the idea of touching it at all. She did, once or twice, and decided it wasn't for her at all.
Mouldable foam soapThis mouldable foam soap is one of very few sensory materials we buy 'ready made'. It came from Poundland and has provided us with endless entertainment. Thicker than shaving foam, mouldable, and totally delicious smelling, this mouldable foam soap was initially met with tears. However, Isabelle soon came round after prodding it with her finger a few times and getting used to it's unique texture. It also expands straight after being sprayed from the can which is loads of fun!
Sensory balloonsA 'safe' way for Isabelle to explore different textures is to offer them to her in through the medium of a sensory balloon - balloons filled with a variety of materials which give a real workout to her sense of touch. She can poke, squash, squeeze and even throw the different materials when they are in this form in a way she feels more comfortable. Our sensory balloons were a big hit - filled with a mix of wet and dry materials they allowed Isabelle the chance to explore while still feeling safe and happy.
These are just some of our favorite activities to challenge the sense of touch and help little people explore the world around them with their hands to help them become comfortable with the huge number of sensations we all deal with every day.
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