06/22/2021
Our friends at A Shared Vision shared this great idea: Make a Gardening Sensory Bin! Children who are blind or visually impaired need to experience nature. Even if your child can’t see a flower, they can touch the petals, smell its fragrance and listen to how it sounds swaying in the breeze. Gardening together is one way to help your child develop an understanding of the outside and how things grow.
Some children with blindness or visual impairments are easily overwhelmed by new textures or smells; others have limited mobility that makes getting outside more challenging.
You can still teach concepts about nature by making a gardening sensory bin, which is a storage tub, dish pan or other container filled with things you can touch, smell, listen to, or even taste with your kiddo.
To play with the bin, just pick up and experience the items. Talk about their color. Mention other things in your home or your yard that are the same color. Use other meaningful words to describe the object – its shape, texture or the sound it makes – so your child will recognize the object in other ways besides visually. If your child eats by mouth, talk about the foods your child is eating and maybe one of them is in the sensory bin!
As you explore the bin together, take turns between letting your child explore quietly on his own and talking to him about what he’s doing. “You found the shovel! The handle is smooth. Now, you’re digging. You’re holding a flower – it smells good. That rock is bumpy. Bang, bang, bang on the bowl – that’s loud! You put the rock back IN the bowl.”
Don’t forget to be sensitive to your child’s personality. For some children, introducing new items can feel a bit overwhelming. For children who are hesitant to touch new objects, try introducing new items one at a time or at their feet first to allow them to “warm up” to the idea.
