Exploring Baby’s Sense of Touch with Sensory Boards

I’ve noticed that like most babies, Raeann is quite tactile. She enjoys exploring different textures beneath her fingers. For instance, we’ll be walking along a paved walkway when she’ll suddenly bend down and touch the ground because she noticed that there was a change in the paving material from concrete to pebble wash.

The first time we brought her to Marina Barrage, she kept running her fingers through the grass to feel it tickling her fingers.

When we brought her to West Coast Park, she was also more interested in playing with the sand than on the structures in the playground.

Hence, when I stumbled upon a post about DIY Sensory Boards from Fun At Home With Kids, I was inspired to make one of my own.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

I assembled some of the bits and bobs which I had lying around from previous craft projects. As you can see, I tried to use a variety of textures such as corrugated paper, velcro and felt.

Yes, that is a light switch! I thought it would be fun for her to press to help build up her finger strength. I later added stickers to the light switch (see above) to help her pinpoint which part of the switch to press.

I also included a flip-up mirror because she likes smiling at her own reflection and it helps to promote focus and awareness of her facial features and appearance.

For the backing, I used a corrugated plastic board which I covered with wrapping paper. To bear the weight of the board and to make it easier to remove the board without damaging the paint on the wall, I used 3M Picture hanging strips to affix the board to the wall at her sitting eye-level.

Here’s a video of Raeann in action!

This particular video doesn’t show her playing with everything on the board but I had a “My child is a genius!” proud mama moment when I watched her touching the tassel on the mandarin knot then walking over to touch the tassel on our curtains. She made the association that both tassels were similar! How cool and fascinating is that!

Have fun making your own unique sensory board for your child! 🙂