Sensory bags can be used to increase tactile exploration, hand strength & finger coordination, as well as cognitive concepts with kids who are blind or visually impaired & also multiple disabilities.
Written by:Liz Eagan
Sensory bags are a fun way to include students with or without additional disabilities in pre-reading activities. The ones pictured here were created for a student with additional disabilities. His OT and I got together to create these bags to be used in conjunction with his mini lightbox. The idea is for him to move the objects from the left to the right or from top to bottom. I created some similar ones for my student in Kindergarten learning braille. His speech therapist asked me to add items that were different in size as well, since “small”, “medium”, and “large” were concepts they were working on in their sessions.
Materials
- Gallon ziplock bags / APH bags
- Hair gel
- Items to put in bags
Procedure
I use gallon Ziploc bags, as they are a nice size. Or I use the bags that APH sends stickers and such in as those bags are a tad thicker and a nice quality. Once I have the items in the bags, I try to remove as much air as possible before closing the bag. Once closed, I fold the top over a couple of times and then tape it closed. This helps with accidental openings…it’s a mess you don’t want to clean up!
As you can see, I use a variety of items in the bag. The liquid is hair gel. For this size, I use about a half a bottle of 20 oz bottle of hair gel. I like the dollar stores for my supply of this! I also add a splash of water to loosen the gel up a bit.
I’ve used oil and water, but I’ve found these bags don’t have a very long life expectancy and the kids don’t really react to them like the ones with the hair gel.
