Project: Baby Tactile Board

I'm part of a group on Facebook for librarians -- Storytime Underground -- where we share ideas and discuss what happens at our libraries. A month or two ago, someone shared a baby tactile board they had created for their youngest members to touch and play with after their baby storytimes. 

What a BRILLIANT idea!

So, after some brainstorming with the materials we already had on-hand (and approval from my manager), I began piecing together my own tactile board to use with the babies at my storytimes. It took awhile to get certain pieces, but I used a tri-fold board that I could fold up and put away when it was not in use.

          

For each piece that I attached to the board, I had to find a way to attach in such a way that would be safe for the babies. I also wanted to use a variety of materials to give them plenty of diverse objects to feel and touch.

1. I interwove pieces of felt for this item on the board:

2. For this piece I hot glued pipe cleaners between hard pieces of felt:

3. I used foam shapes as a guide, and hot glued puff balls into the shape:

4. I hot glued Popsicle sticks down in a row:  

5. I put Insta-Snow in a bag with water. I double-bagged it to prevent leakage and duct-taped it to the board. When the board lays flat, the babies can smoosh the Insta-Snow around within the bag:

6. I glued a variety of fabrics to the board, including soft felt and burlap. I duct-taped the edges to protect them and add a barrier between objects:

7. I glued thick wooden dowels to the board. They are raised up quite a bit so it is very tactile for the babies to brush their hands across it:

8. This was an idea I stole directly from the member who posted on Storytime Underground (it was a fabulous idea!). I double-bagged plastic bags with hair gel inside and added smaller puff balls. The babies can squish the puff balls around within the liquid hair gel:

Now that my tactile board is finally complete, I can't wait to use it at the end of my baby storytimes! The mommies usually stick around to chat afterwards, so this is a great opportunity to incorporate the ECRR skills after the program -- especially with great ideas for them to take home with their babies to explore the world around them.