Feel & Find

Fell & Find - match with or without sight.

Feel & Find is a bag that comes with 20 wooden pieces and 20 wooden tiles with matching cut out shapes. In the image above, there is a red triangle and to the left of it is the tile with the triangle cut out. 

The objects are brightly painted and smooth. They fit into the wooden matching tiles but they are loose enough that they would fall out if you tipped the tile. In other words, it is not a tight fit so it will not take hand strength to put the pieces in or pull them out. About half of the wooden shapes are geometric shapes (circle, triangle, square, etc.) and half are more detailed shapes such as animals, trees, and people. The bag is made of a non-see-through cloth and should last a long time. It has a draw string that can be tied so all pieces can be stored and carried inside.

Object:
Match each object to its cut-out tile.

Set up:
Put all the objects into the bag.

Play 1:
Lay all the tiles on the table top within reach. Put your hand in the bag, pick up and feel one piece. Without looking at the piece, look over the shapes on the tiles on the table and guess what object you have in your hand. Pull your hand out and see if you're right. If so, place it on the tile. If not, put it back in the bag and try another piece.

Play 2:
Place one tile on the table. Ask the person to feel the pieces in the bag until they can find the one that matches the tile. You may want to work with fewer sets than 20.

Try this:

• Start with deep pressure to the hands.
• Spend time concentrating on how to feel, practice carefully feeling the item for clues. Ask the individual to close his eyes and put one piece in his hand. Ask him to use two hands and tell you about the piece. Cue him to use words to describe characteristics of the pieces such as bumpy, pointed, round, corner, square, legs, head. Then try using just one hand.
• Close your eyes as above and let the individual put a piece in your palm. Model what you want him to do.
• Put the pieces in the bag one at a time, allowing the individual to feel each one. Talk about the shape and describe how it feels.
• If you want a more challenging activity, don't allow the person to see or feel the pieces beforehand. Lay the cut-out tiles on the table in plain view. Have him put his hand in the bag, pick up a piece, and without seeing the piece, find the matching tile on the table.
• Start slow by putting just one piece in the bag and placing two tiles in front of the individual. Ask him to put his hand in the bag and feel the piece without looking. If they are capable, ask if it will fit the right tile or the left tile. Then place it on the matching tile. Increase the difficulty by adding more pieces in the bag and more tiles on the table.
• Use as a simple matching game. Put out several or all of the tiles and give the individual the wood pieces to match to the tiles.
• Put one tile on the table. Give the individual 2, 3, or 4 pieces and ask him to find the piece that matches the tile.
• Scatter all the wooden pieces on the table. Give the individual one tile and ask him to scan the pieces to find the matching object. Tell them the color and ask them to only stop and look at the pieces that are the correct color.
• Scatter the pieces on the table when setting up the game, but make sure that some of them are upside-down, sideways, standing on their edge, partially covered, or in other incorrect orientations. Present the tiles and do the matching.
• Ask the individual to choose a tile and hold it in his non-dominant hand. Search for the matching piece, pick it up with your dominant hand, and then place it on the tile.
• Place a wooden tile in front of the player. Place the matching shaped piece in the player's palm. Ask him to bring it to his fingertips and rotate it in-hand to orient it correctly for placement. Make sure you turn some of the pieces into incorrect orientations before placing them into the palm.
• Work on tactile discrimination, visual discrimination, visual form constancy, figure ground, spatial relations, eye-hand coordination, in-hand manipulation, manual dexterity, coordinated use of both hands, executive functioning skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box: 20 wood pieces, 20 tiles with matching shapes cut out, cloth bag

For more information, click on the image below.