The feely box (or bag); A sensory activity

Children love discovering and problem solving so it's no wonder babies, toddlers, preschoolers and even older kids love this game. The feely box, or bag, is a great tool for encouraging thinking skills, including perception, prediction, analysis, and synthesis. While doing this activity, children will be using important expressive and descriptive language, too!

This sensory activity is so simple and so easy to do, there's no excuse not to try it. You can use a colorful pillow case, a small brown bag, a box, or anything else your child can reach into to feel what's inside. I got a little carried away with my shoe box (shown above) but you don't have to make it that complicated. Just grab a bag, throw something (or multiple things) inside and let your child reach into the bag and guess what's in there by feeling the object/s.

If you're doing this activity with a baby, start with one toy. Let him reach inside and ask, "Do you feel something soft?", "Are you holding something small?", etc. Then let him pull it out of the bag and tell him, "Wow, you have a cotton ball. It's round and small and it feels soft and pliable." Then let him play with it and pull it apart. You get the idea.

Toddlers who can speak have a great time with the activity, too. You can put one toy inside at a time or a few differently textured objects and let him reach inside. Ask him what he feels. Also ask him if it feels like something that it doesn't. Encourage yes and no answers, sentences with adjectives to describe what they feel, and overall to think outside the box! Or bag... :)

You can also use differently textured bags to encourage multi-sensory learning. Canvas bags, cotton or satin pillow cases, paper bags, boxes etc. Remember to encourage your child and have fun! The picture below is a little snapshot of some of the things I've used. Of course we've also used a lot of random household objects, too, I just wanted to give you all some ideas. Happy learning!