Free Time Activities for Children Who Are Blind

1. Free Time Activities for Children Who Are Blind

2. Introduction • Kids may not want parents to know this, but young children learn by playing. • This is true for sighted and blind children. • For parents who have a child who is visually impaired, it is important to encourage play that involves use of the other senses. • This will help them to quickly learn how to adapt to the world by exploring it with their hands, ears and even nose.

3. Play Dough • Working playdough with the fingers and using small tools like scissors, shape cutters and knives helps to build motor skills in the fingers. • This will help with learning Braille, as well as heightening the sense of touch.

4. Musical Instruments • As much as this may disturb your sense of peace in the house, letting a child who is blind pound away on drums or a keyboard teaches cause and effect. • It also enhances their sense of control in their own environment. • As much as your own ears may complain, let your blind child indulge in loud music play.

5. Reading • Blind children like to hear stories too. • Invest in children’s books on tape, or begin to teaching them how to read short stories in Braille. • Reading opens a whole new world for blind children and invites them to explore their own imaginations.

6. Braille Memory Game • Memory is a game which can be played alone or as a competition. • Using cards that are embossed with Braille, a blind child can use their sense of touch to build on their memory skills. • Play along with them and offer encouragement by making a big deal every time they are able to make a pair.

7. Taking Walk • Assist your child in learning about the outside world by going for walks outside in the yard or around the neighborhood. • Place flowers and leaves in their hand and have them explore it with their nose and fingers while you describe the way it looks and grows. Place their hands on the bark of different trees so that they can begin to understand the different types growing around them. • Build their sense of hearing by having them listen for birds, insects and even the sound of people and cars. This will help prepare them for the future when they will want to go outdoors on their own.

8. Cooking Together • Inviting your blind child into the kitchen may seem scary at first, but the sooner they learn how to navigate inside that space, the safer it will be for them. • Make simple desserts together like jell-o or pudding, or let them take part in dinner preparations by having them mix a salad or wash the vegetables. • The kitchen is full of new things to smell and touch, and the reward for helping a treat for the taste buds.

9. Conclusion • In our technology fueled world, it is easy to sit your child in front of a computer that has been equipped with enhancements for the blind, but that is not stimulating their entire mind. • With an assortment of engaging activities for your blind child, visit the Blind children school in Bangalore, for learning a myriad of important skills to help them in their development towards independence.