Multisensory teaching materials are fun and engaging for preschoolers and kindergarten students. Students with learning disabilities often benefit from using various senses through hands-on teaching materials. These multisensory materials can help students learn to:
- Recognize shapes, letters, and numbers;
- Understand the similarities and differences among shapes, numbers, and letters; and
- Develop long-term memory.
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: Multisensory Materials - Make This Easy Multisensory Educational Craft in About 20 Minutes
Here's How:
- Using construction paper and markers, draw individual letters, numbers, or shapes on the paper. Depending on your needs, you can make big letters on individual sheets of paper or cut paper into fourths and place one letter on each piece.
- Open the liquid glue nozzle to allow a medium amount to flow. Trace over the letter, carefully following the marker line. Use the brush to lightly smooth the glue to make a wider, somewhat flatter strip of glue.
- Sprinkle your material of choice (sand, couscous, rice, or lentils) over the glue to fully cover the letter. Use a sufficient amount of your materials to make a clearly defined, raised letter or number.
- Set letters aside until completely dry.
- Store letters loosely in a box, or hang them on the wall.
Tips:
- Your child may enjoy helping you make the letters. As you make them, talk about the letters and use words that start with them. Help your child find pictures of objects that begin with the letter and paste them onto the paper beside the letter. Alternately, place the pictures on the back, and use the letters as flash cards for a memory game.
- When teaching individual letters, have your child lightly run his fingers over the letter, watching as he does so. He can also do this with his eyes closed. When he masters two or more letters, have him feel letters and guess what they are. Keep the activity fun, and never force a child to feel the letters.
- If your child is uncomfortable with the task, don't make him do it. Your child may be tactilely defensive, and it may be irritating to him.
- Experiment with a variety of materials for the letters. Make different letters using different materials to keep it interesting for the child.
What You Need:
- Construction Paper
- Non-toxic Markers
- Liquid Glue and Brush for Spreading
- One or More of the following:
- Small Box of Couscous or Rice (uncooked)
- Small Bag of Sand (colors or natural)
- Small Bag of Lentils
