• Mamas and Babies
Skill Application: Tactile discrimination: matching braille shapes.
Object: To correctly match “babies” to their “mamas” which have the same braille shape.

Materials:

• Bathtub appliqués or other cut outs. (I found some that had 6 little swans and 6 big swans that I could use as mamas and babies.)
• Folder
• Sets of dissimilar braille shapes brailled on clear labels. Place one set of labels on the babies and one set on the mamas. Peel the back off the mamas and arrange on an open folder.

To Play:

• Tell the student to examine the Braille shape on the “mamas”. Talk about the direction of the dots and other characteristics. For example, a mama with an “a” has just one dot.
• Place a “baby” on a non-slip mat and have the child examine the braille shape. In order to encourage a light touch, I tell students that the babies are sleeping and should be touched very lightly so that they don’t wake up.
• The child should use his/her other hand to find the mama that matches the baby. When all the babies have been matched, we clap our hands and say, “Wake up babies!”