Really good tactile books can be hard to find, especially if you are looking for tactile books that teach a simple concept like shapes or sizes.
So why not make your own?
There’s lots of tips out there on how to make your own tactile books encouraging the use of differing textures, high-contrast colors and non-cluttered pages.
Here’s a book my son made in school that teaches the concept of BIG and little in just six pages. Ivan helped make the book and his teacher added braille labels when it was done.
It’s become one of his favorite books, probably in part because he helped create it himself!
It’s really nice to have your child involved in making their own book. The first thing you can do to get started is create a couple of “coloring pages” with puffy paint. Just draw a BIG circle and a little circle and let the paint dry. Label the circles “big” and “little” in print and braille. When the puffy paint is dry help your child color in the circle. If your child has vision, choose bright colors they are more likely to see. If your child is totally blind, use crayons and show them how the page feels different where they have colored.
Big foam stickers are also fun to use in a tactile book. Pick out foam stickers that come in different sizes and help your child stick them to a page. Talk about how one star is big and one is little. Michael’s Crafts sells some nice flower foam stickers and star foam stickers. Try to use high-contrast colors so that your stickers really stand out on the page you stick them to. After your child is done, label the stickers “big” and “little” in print and braille.
Ivan’s book is really simple – just a cover page and a few pages with stickers and shapes to color, but you can add whatever you want to your book! What other items do you have in your house that would make a good page? How about big and little circles made out of pipecleaners? A big leaf and a little leaf that you found in your yard? You’re only limited by your imagination!
To finish up and turn your pages into a real book, just create a cover page (ours says “Ivan’s Book of BIG and Little”) in print and braille, punch holes in your pages and hold the whole thing together with key rings. You can read your book together and talk about how much fun you had making it!
Handi Exceller was born from a simple idea: learning braille should be both fun and accessible. The company creates interactive and gamified ways to teach braille.
It’s really nice to have your child involved in making their own book. The first thing you can do to get started is create a couple of “coloring pages” with puffy paint. Just draw a BIG circle and a little circle and let the paint dry. Label the circles “big” and “little” in print and braille. When the puffy paint is dry help your child color in the circle. If your child has vision, choose bright colors they are more likely to see. If your child is totally blind, use crayons and show them how the page feels different where they have colored.
