New Activity

As a teacher, I know how important learning activities are for kids, and as a mother of a child with Down syndrome, I want to provide as many learning opportunities as I can so I've been working on an activity for  my daughter that helps her explore her world through tactile experiences.
G LOVES feeling things; she rolls across the floor to scratch the linoleum, finger strings endlessly, and pets Daddy's chin stubble.  The other day while feeding her, a big blob of oatmeal/mixed vegetable goo fell on her tray, and she had more fun playing in it.  I decided that I need to make sure I gave her plenty of "feeling" experiences since she seems to be a tactile learner.  I let her play in her food (yes, I know it was a bit of a waste of food, but it was only a spoonful) and talked to her about how it felt.  Then I wiped her hands off and gave her some dry baby oatmeal and let her play with that and talked to her about the differences (if you try this, make sure you are supervising so your child doesn't put a handful of dry oatmeal in his/her mouth).  I know she can't understand what I'm telling her yet, but it is a start in her being able to compare and contrast and tell similarities and differences which are skills tested all throughout the school years.  Besides, talking to your child is very beneficial to brain, social, and communication development.
I am also working on a bag of "feelies" for her to continue her exploration.  I am putting in velcro strips (both sides), fine grain sand paper, strings tied together, silky ribbon, bumpy ribbon, different fabrics, some plastic spoons, and some metal spoons (this is only an activity I'd do when an adult is beside the child so they stick something in their mouth and choke).  As she gets older, I'll stick in smaller items like marbles, rocks, grass, etc, and have her tell me how the item feels, how it feels like or different from the next item she pulls out.