Making a sensory story

These activities are suitable for children aged 15-24 months and align with stage 3 of the Developmental Journal Babies Visual Impairment (DJVI).

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Safety first

These activities are designed for children who are blind or partially sighted.

Please supervise your child at all times during the activity.

Please ensure the floor is clean and clutter free, checking the room for trip, slip or fall hazards.

Please ensure you have adequate space to carry out the activities.

Please regularly check any equipment used for wear and tear and follow manufactures instruction.

Please use materials, equipment or toys as per manufacturers guidelines.

Please be aware that any items named in the activities are suggestions only and if you deem these items not suitable for your child’s age, stage or safety, then do not use it.

Please stop any activity if your child becomes unwell, upset or you’re unsure whether the activity is being completed correctly.

For additional advice on making your home safer for your child, please see our home safety advice.

What you'll need

Books with textured pages, toys and objects from each story

Tips

Use the Guiding Hands approach, try placing your hands on your child’s upper arms, elbows, lower arms, or wrists to guide them to any item you would like them to touch. Once you’ve located the item together, maintain gentle contact to show them that you’re there. For support, try placing your hands under your child’s hand while you touch the texture together. Talk about your shared experience; making this a calm but fun activity! By exploring new textures in this way, your child can stop and pull their hand away if they’re not comfortable. Re-introduce the texture again next time you play. Remember, it takes many opportunities to become familiar and comfortable with new textures, tastes and situations.

Find out more details on the Guiding Hands approach.

Activity

Explore a range of sensory books together using hand-under-hand and guiding hands techniques as you introduce new textures.

Use toys and real objects to support your child’s understanding of the story. For example, if the story is about a donkey, find a toy donkey and explore its legs, ears and nose as you read the book together.

Using stories such as The Hungry Caterpillar can provide opportunities to introduce your child to new tastes and smells. For example, explore new fruits as you progress through the story. Talk about the foods you’re sharing and make this an enjoyable experience for you both to share in.

Please supervise your child at all times while completing any of these activities.