Skill: Visual Perception

How the brain makes sense of what the eyes see. This skill helps children solve puzzles, recognize shapes, and tell the difference between similar letters like ‘b’ and ‘d’ or ‘p’ and ‘q’.

Stereognosis Shape Finder

Shape Finder

Setup the Game

This activity is a game that you can play with the child, or have two children play together.

For this activity, you will need to use a shoebox with a lid.

Using scissors, cut open a circle on the side of the shoe box.

Make sure the hole you cut is wide enough for a child to put a hand through easily.

Insert different shaped blocks (i.e. triangle, circle, square, etc.) into the box, and tape down the lid to close the box.

Cut the construction paper to 8-10 squares, and draw shapes on them. The shapes should match the shapes of the blocks you put in the box. If you don’t have construction paper available, you can use any white piece of paper.

How To Play the Game

To play the game, pile the cards and place them in front of the child, facing down.

Let the child go first and flip a card. Then, instruct the child to put his hand in the box and find the block that has the shape that is shown on the card.

If the child pulls out the right block shape, he can keep the block and have another turn. If he pulls out a different shape, it’s your turn.

Grading

To grade the activity you can use a timer or a sand clock and have the child find the matching block shape in the allotted time.

Balance on the Web

Using the masking tape, create a large spider web shape on the floor or carpet. Place the container in the center of the web.

Place different objects to be picked up inside the spider web. Ping-pong balls and bean bags work well for this purpose.

Ask the child to walk and stay on the web lines while picking up all the objects along the way and putting the objects in the container. As the child picks up the object, encourage him to squat down, reach for the object while staying on the line, pick up the object, and return to a standing position.

For grading, ask the child to throw the objects into the container and use a point system where the child gets a point for scoring and loses a point if he falls off the spider web line.

You can also work on pincer grasp by using small objects, such as plastic bugs, and have the child use tongs or tweezers to pick up the items.

Fun Jar

Use a large, empty, and clean jar for this activity.

Provide the child with pipe cleaners and/or straws and instruct him to insert the items through the holes on the jar’s lid.

You can ask the child to sort the items by color or size before placing them in the jar.

If using a jar that has holes and a small opening on the lid, you can use additional items to place through the opening, such as pom-poms, buttons, large beads, coins, etc.

The child can use tongs or tweezers to catch the items before dropping them through the large opening.

If you cannot find a spice jar, you can use a regular container and poke holes in the lid, using a hole-puncher or cut holes with scissors.

Easter Eggs Match

Cut the construction paper or regular piece of white paper into 6 or more rectangles/cards.

On each card, draw an oval (egg shape) with a line in the middle, to represent the top part of the egg and the bottom part.

Using crayons and marker that match the color of the Easter eggs you are using, color the eggs on the cards, using one color at the top part and a different color at the bottom part.

Present the cards and the “cracked” easter eggs to the child and instruct the child to put the eggs together by matching the colors as shown on the cards.

If using an egg carton, you can ask the child to arrange the matched eggs in the same order the cards are laid on the table.