Touch the Fabrics
MATERIAL:
- There are
several boxes containing two of each of a variety of fabrics
- cut in the same sized squares. Include all the basic fibers - silk, linen,
- velvet, muslin, satin, wool, and cotton. Also include some man made
- materials. There should be six pairs of materials per box. There are so
- many materials that more than one box will be needed. Each pair of
- fabrics is a different color or pattern.
- cut in the same sized squares. Include all the basic fibers - silk, linen,
PURPOSE:
- 1) Development
and refinement of the tactile sense.
- 2) An awareness and appreciation of fabrics and observation of
- fabrics used by man.
- 2) An awareness and appreciation of fabrics and observation of
APPROXIMATE AGE:
- 2 1/2 to 5 years
CONTROL OF ERROR:
- Visual, by color and pattern
PRESENTATION:
- The teacher
selects two or three of the most contrasting fabrics
- from the point of view of touch. Linen and cotton, for example,
- are too much alike and therefore would be too difficult to begin
- with. Velvet, book muslin and serge are very different. The
- teacher takes two to three pairs to the child's table, leaving the
- other pairs in the box and mixes the chosen pairs on the table.
- The teacher shows the child how to feel the fabric lightly with his
- finger tips and between his finger and thumb, as one usually feels
- materials. The teacher allows him to feel each piece and lets him
- pair them by feel, placing the matched pieces together one piece
- on top of another.
- Next the teacher encourages him to feel and pair them with his
- eyes shut or with a blindfold over his eyes. After he has done 3
- pairs the teacher gives the child the whole box.
- from the point of view of touch. Linen and cotton, for example,
EXERCISE:
The child pairs the fabrics by touch. When the child has paired the materials, he takes the blindfold off. He can see by the color if he has matched the pairs correctly, as two of the same color are always the same material.
VOCABULARY:
The names of the fabrics
