Sensory Areas: Holiday on the Farm

By Gwyn McCormack

Many skills can be taught through theme-based learning. These multi-sensory activities focus on visiting a farm, where all of the senses can be engaged to help students with visual impairments to develop basic concepts. Since many of these concepts are difficult for a child who is blind to grasp without direct experience, a trip to a real farm is an ideal way to help to deepen their understanding of tractors, various farm animals, and other things that many children do not encounter in their daily lives. Visits to a farm are a perfect way to spend the summer holidays!

Tactile

Seaside holiday – as for journeys
Holiday on a farm
Model of Farm, soft animal toys, feel fur, feel feathers, leather
Make collages of animals using textures
Make balloon animal shapes
Make animal shaped biscuits
Play with toy tractor
Feel straw, grass
Feel texture of cheese – grated, feel texture of cream (squirty cream)
Make milk shake, custard
Make mud pies, or consistency similar to mud pie, e.g. playdoh, plasticine or cornflour mixed with water, but quite thick consistency
Use cutters to make shapes in playdoh

Visual

(some of these ideas would be used in the tactile section also)

Make big sheep shape, add balls of cotton wool to make fluffy sheep.
Make large farmhouse and add 2D bricks made in different textures, children to each stick a brick to the house.