Tactile Sense

In Tactile sense child learns to perceive his world via touch. For young children, the sense of touch is a key to understanding the world around them. Encourage touch and exploration, discussing what your child is touching. Is it "rough" or "smooth"? Is it "bumpy" or "silky"? Use rich descriptive words that will teach your child the language to describe what he feels. It is to be remembered that these games are of the greatest importance in the method, because upon them, in union with the exercises for the movement of the hand, we base the acquisition of writing.

 

Tactile Exercises are divided into four classifications:

Sense	Classifications	Different Exercises
Tactile Sense	Exploring Textures:	Touch Board, Touch Tablets, Touch the Fabric
	Exploring Weight:	Baric Tablets
	Exploring Temperatures:	Thermic Bottles, Thermic Tablets
	Exercises of Stereognostic Sense:	Sorting Trays, Mystery Bags, Puzzle Maps, Sandpaper Globe

How Montessori program help to develop Tactile Sense:

In Montessori program, materials such as the Rough and Smooth (Touch) Boards, Touch Tablets, and Fabric Box are some of the first touch materials that child will use. Look for fabric, wood, different grades of sandpaper, different types of paper, and other materials that help your child learn about the language and explore the experience of touch.

Note: For all different exercises mention above the pre-requisite is to sensitize fingers. Below mention few exercises and how to do it.

Exploring Textures: Touch Tablets:

Materials: One box having five pairs of wooden tablets with gradations of roughness. A blindfold.

Procedure:

Ø  Take out two to three pairs with greater contrast and put it on the table.

Ø  Mix them and then pick one tablet at a time feel it in hand, lightly stroke it and then put aside.

Ø  Tell the child “I am going to find the one which is just like this”.

Ø  Find the other tablet and put it with previous one. Allow child to feel the similarity.

Ø  Repeat this exercise with all the rest tablets. Now again repeat this exercise while using blindfold. Now again mix the tablets and allow child to do this himself.

Here child learn a tactile sense to differentiate between rough and smooth. The blindfold will help the child to focus on his attention upon one sense. Children learn the vocabulary by three period-lesson. Vocabulary: rough and roughest

Directress plays five memory games with the child.

Exploring Weight: Baric Tablets:

Materials: Three separate boxes having six to eight wooden tablets. Each set is a different weight, color and wood from each other. Tablets are however same in shape and size. A blindfold.

Procedure: 

                

Ø  Bring two boxes on table which contains heaviest and lightest tablets.

Ø  Directress shows the child how to hold the tablet in palm of a hand.

Ø  Feel the heaviest tablet and also let the child to feel it. After that child can handle the tablet himself. Now again repeat this exercise while using blindfold.

Here child learn a tactile sense to differentiate between the weights and later on for mathematics. The blindfold will help the child to focus on his attention upon one sense. Children learn the vocabulary by three period-lesson. Vocabulary: Heaviest and lightest

Directress plays five memory games with the child.

Exploring Temperature: Thermic Bottles:

Materials: Four pairs of metal containers, each pair containing water at various temperatures.

Bottle Pair 1: 37°(Room temperature), Bottle Pair 2: 27°(tap water), Bottle Pair 3: 17°(Refrigerated water), Bottle Pair 4: 47°(warm water), Cool refrigerator water, tap water.

Procedure: Directress prepares bottles.

Ø  Take out first set of bottles have the child feel the bottles one at a time. Tell the child that “I am finding the bottle which has the same temperature”. Put bottles in a line and let the child take the bottles and feel it.

Ø  Repeat with second set, third and fourth. Mix them and line up and let the child do it by          

      himself under directress supervision.

Here child learn a tactile sense to differentiate between different temperatures. Children learn the vocabulary by three period-lesson. Vocabulary: Hot and cold. Directress plays five memory games with the child.

Three - Period Lesson & Memory games

Three period lessons are used throughout the Montessori environment to help introduce a new lesson or concept and lead the children along a path to understanding and mastery. However, in the area of language they are used to increase, enrich and broaden a child's vocabulary.

The Three Period Lesson is to be given after the child has had much experience with the material itself.

The Three Period-Lesson: The Three Period-Lesson are:

1.      Naming Period

2.      Recognition and Association Period

3.      Pronouncing Period

Begin this learning, by putting three contrasting objects on a table in front of a child. For example a block of, circle, square and triangle.

1.      Naming Period:

Ø  This period is overall rather short as it simply involves giving the object a name.

Ø  Directress point to the first object and say circle.

Ø  Repeat names several times clearly and slowly. Also make small sentences like “This is a circle”.

Ø   Child observed the object hold it in his hand feels it.

2.      Recognition and Association Period:

Ø  This period is much longer then the first one.

Ø  Rearrange the objects and ask the child to show you.

Ø  Ask child to “Show me the circle”, or “Put your finger on the triangle”.

Ø  Rearrange the objects and again ask these questions.

3.      Pronouncing Period:

Ø  When directress sure that child remember all the objects plus their names in to his long term memory, than this period starts. This is a testing period.

Ø  Directress challenges the child to name the object himself.

Ø  Point out to one object and ask “What is this?”

Ø  If child fails to tell any name, casually end the lesson without making the child feel as though he is failed. For this repeat second period.

There is the Three Period-Lesson for grading an object positively, comparatively, and superlatively. Here taking an adjective to explain these periods.

Grading	Positives	Comparatives	Superlatives
First Period	This is big book	This book is bigger than this.	This book is biggest.
Second Period	Show me the big book	Show me the book which is slightly bigger than this book.	Show me the biggest book.
Third Period	What is this?	Which book is bigger?	Which book is biggest?

Memory Games: Memory games are to be introduced to the child when the child’s interest in the materials is fading and to bring new interest to the material the child already know very well. These games could also be shown to bring the older to revisit the material and can be given before or after the three period-lesson is given, depending on the game itself.

Purposes of Memory Games:

1.   To prolong the activity with the material, this will assure a stronger absorption by the child.

2.   The games work as a motivation in discovering more variations of the material.

3.   To help directress verify the child’s language of the material.

4.   To bridge the work of quantity and to allow the child to discover the quality of the materials in the word around him.

Game 1: Matching at a Distance: Two different tables placed with a distance.

Ø  Take a pair of material and put one on each table.

Ø  Directress takes one of the objects from one table and offer child to feel it by holding in his hand.

Ø  Directress asks the child to bring the same object from the distant table. Repeat this until all pair of material matched correctly.

Game 2: Grading from a Distance: Two different tables placed with a distance. Placed a grading material like pink tower randomly on one table.

A)    From an Extreme:

Ø  Pick up one of the extremes like the largest one. Put it on the second table.

Ø  Ask the child to bring the slightly smallest of it and put it on the second table.

Ø  Complete this exercise after child put all the blocks on second table from largest to smallest.

B)    From Midpoint (For this game child must have the vocabulary)

Ø  Pick up one of the middle of the block from it. Put it on the second table.

Ø  Ask the child to bring the slightly smallest then largest of it and put it on the second table.

Ø  Complete this exercise after child put all the blocks on second table from largest to smallest.

Game 3: Stereognostic: Play this game with a group of children, who are sitting around a round table/ mat.

Ø  Directress gives Pink tower block to each child. Children hide them at their back while holding them in hand.

Ø  Directress asks for the largest block. Children feel them and put it on the table.

Ø  Repeat this until complete tower blocks placed from largest to smallest.

Game 4: Material to the Environment: In this game materials are related from environment. (Color tablets/ shades, geometric shapes/ solids etc.)

Ø  Place a mat, put the material on the mat e.g. color tablets.

Ø  Directress point to one of the color and ask children to find something from the environment which is of that color.

Ø  Repeat this for all the colors and shades.

Game 5: Environment to the Material: This is similar to the above game but opposite in directions.

Ø  Place a mat, put the material on the mat e.g. color tablets.

Ø  Directress point to one of the color from the environment and ask children to find the same color from the color tablets.

Ø  Repeat this for many of the colors and shades.

Stereognostic Sense

Stereognostic sense is the ability to perceive and understand the form and nature of objects by the sense of touch.

Stereognostic Sense: The stereognostic sense exercises enable the child to develop concepts by feeling objects and making recognition based on the feeling. The exercises include also movement of the hand and arm around the object, creating an impression of movement as added to the sense of touch, resulting in what is known as muscular memory. This is the knowledge derived from the recognition of the movements made. The Montessori materials and exercises used in the stereognostic sense are Geometric solids, Mystery bags, Sorting Trays, Puzzle maps, and Sandpaper Globe.

How to develop Stereognostic Sense: The development of the Stereognostic sense is an important part of the child’s work in the sensorial area. Just as important as any of the other of senses, the stereognostic sense allows the child to discriminate size and shape through the use of touch. The use of this sense allows the child to have a mental picture through the use of touch and movement. Once the child knows how to feel the object in the hand and is familiar with it, the objects are then used with the blindfold. In addition to using our sense of touch to determine texture and weight, our sense of touch can also provide information about size and shape.

Exercises for Stereognostic Sense: Below are few exercises that can be used to enhance this sense. The directress needs to do all these exercise in front of the child herself. The stereognostic activities are first done with eyes open and then by using blindfold. But try not to force children to use blindfold. By doing very simple but interesting exercises we can start developing strong stereognostic sense.

Mystery Bags:

Ø  A bag that has a drawstring to hide the contents.

Ø  Fill that bag with amazing contents such as tiny pebbles, glass marbles, soft feathers, wooden blocks, ribbon, spoons, key, small cars, etc. and anything else you find interesting.

Ø  Child look all these objects, feel them by touching via hands. Introduce names of each item.

Ø  Then closes his eyes or used blindfold, put his hand in the bag feel the object and named it and then takes it out from the bag.

Ø  Then open his eyes and sees what it is.

Sorting Trays:

Ø  A tray having four or more saucers.

Ø  Each saucer contains different kind of grains, seeds, beans, peas, rice, lentils etc. separately.

Ø  Another tray of same quantity of saucer but empty.

Ø  Child first checks all these things by their hands and feels them. And then put each item in the second tray’s saucer separately. Introduce names of each item.

Ø  Then child closes his eyes or used blindfold, again feel the items, named it, and then put it into the second tray.

Ø  Then open his eyes and sees how perfectly he done.

Ø  It can also be done by changing this exercise as by mixing all these items in one bowl and child needs to separate them in different saucers.

Puzzle Maps:

Ø  A puzzle map of Pakistan and a Globe.

Ø  Let’s take the puzzle map of Pakistan, where puzzles are divided in provinces.

Ø  Show the child a globe and the complete map of Pakistan. Show the child where is Pakistan in the Globe. After that put that globe aside.

Ø  Focus on puzzle.

Ø  Child point out the outline of each province and named the province.

Ø  Slowly and carefully put all pieces of puzzles one by one back into the puzzle.

Sandpaper Globe:

Ø  A world Globe with land areas covered with sandpaper and water are with blue paint.

Ø  Child holds the globe and calls its name.

Ø  Child point to the sandpaper area and says “This is land”, the point to blue area and say “This is water”.

Ø  Feel another area on the globe and repeat where land is and where water is.

These are great group and individual exercises that children can play anywhere.