For Mother’s Day this year, my second grade braille student wanted to make a picture of flowers in a vase for his mom. Upon further questioning, I learned he wanted “fake flowers” in a “vase of texture”. I brought in a tub of flowers that had been cut off the bunch that they are sold in. He explored the flowers choosing ones that appealed to him.
For the vase, I went online and found several different color sheets for vases. Choosing one style, I traced it on the textured side of a gift bag. The gift bag had a unique texture…the slick mixed in with the rough strips. My student liked it too.
My fourth grade student chose to draw a picture of herself and her mother, and add in texture to make it look “3D-ish”. She had a blast creating the picture, adding cotton balls for clouds, outdoor carpet for grass, sticker flowers, and then a texture from APH’s Carousel of Textures.
My other fourth grade student also created the flowers in the vase for her mother. She then created a card for her mom, as did the other two students, but this was her first card ever! She has only been learning braille a short time. Making a card was a new concept and one we both found enjoyable. After lots of exploring of stickers and textures, she opted for butterflies.
I added a frame as the pages were heavy and needed support. Once the frame was added the pictures just popped!
