DIY Tactile Bean Bag Match

Today I'm introducing a matching game I created for my 2-4 year olds.

 

 I made two sets of bean bags, and found a few items (different in touch/feel) around the home for filling.

 

 

How my bags are filled:

two bags filled with noodles

two with small pine cones

two bags with foam cubes

two bags with cotton balls

 

This can be played many different ways.

When my kids play independently, they simply feel and remove matches from the basket.

 

 When I set this up for my 2 yo and I to play together, I placed one set on the left and the other on the right.

 

As you can see in the picture above, she trying to explore these with all of her senses, including smell. We recently made smelling jars (post to come), and if we didn't have those, I would have been inspired to make her a set of bags to match by smell.

 

When she found a match, she placed them in the basket.

 

After playing with this activity for a few weeks, I found the way my daughter enjoys most:

1. I place one set on the table, and the other across the room.
2. We choose a bag for her to feel from the table set. We talk about how it feels.
3. I ask her to find the match that feels just like it.  
4. I hold the bag while she sets out to feel for the match across the room.
5. She brings the match back to the table to see if she's correct. 

Playing this way is a huge win as she asks to play over and over again. And I love the movement involved in her play.

 

Enjoy!