1. Textures to Chew

You’ll need: a one-piece teething ring with different textures moulded in

2. Wet and Dry

Fill a tray with a little water on one side and lay a dry cloth on the other. Let your child dip their hands in the water, “wet, cold”, then move to the dry cloth, “dry, soft”. Moving back and forth between the two builds a vocabulary of opposites they can feel rather than see.

You’ll need: a shallow tray, water, a sponge, a dry cloth, a floating toy

3. Touch the Story

Guide your child’s hand over a textured shape as you tell the story: “this is the cat, feel the soft fur, the cat says meow”. Move to the next texture on each page, letting their hand lead a little more each time you repeat the book. If you make your own board, check every glued piece is stuck down firmly before your child touches it, since a loose scrap could come free.

You’ll need: a tactile board book, or a poster board with textures glued on

4. Pour and Listen

Pour from the jug into a big cup and let your child hear the long splash, then pour into a small cup for a quicker sound. Ask “big splash or small splash this time?” before each pour so they start predicting from sound alone. Adding a metal bowl for a third, sharper sound extends the game nicely.

You’ll need: a small jug of water, two cups of different sizes, a tray

5. Where Did It Go?

Let them squeeze the toy a few times, then hide it under a blanket right in front of them and squeeze it again so the sound comes through. Ask “where did it go?” and let them reach under to find it once they’ve located the sound. This teaches that things still exist once they’re out of reach, using sound as the proof rather than sight.

You’ll need: a squeaky toy, a soft blanket

6. Find the Tap

Tap your own chest clearly and say “I tapped my chest”, then guide your child’s hand to find where you tapped. Move to your leg, your arm, your head, each time naming the spot before they search. This builds a working map of a body, yours first and then, over time, their own.

You’ll need: nothing but your hands

7. The Same Box, Every Day

Keep a discovery box in exactly the same spot every day, with a different small item inside each time. Say “box time” and let your child head towards the familiar spot themselves rather than being led there. Over weeks, many children start moving towards the box before you’ve finished the sentence, which is spatial memory doing real work.

You’ll need: a small box with a lid, a rotating small toy inside

8. The Scented Story

Tell a simple story and pause at each “scene” to introduce a matching scent: “we’re in the lemon orchard, smell the lemons, tangy and sour”. Keep cinnamon in a covered bowl or on a damp cotton ball rather than loose, and let your child smell rather than taste from any bowl. Retelling a favourite part with its scent a few days later often shows the memory has stuck.

You’ll need: a few safe scents such as lemon, cinnamon, vanilla, mint

9. Meet the Puppet

Give the puppet its own voice and let it ask your child questions, tell a small joke, or simply say hello. There’s no visual performance to follow here, just voice and touch, which suits a child who is building the whole scene from sound and feel alone. Let them hold and “answer” for the puppet if they want to.

You’ll need: a soft hand puppet or stuffed animal

10. Reach and Find

Place a toy just within reach and say “there’s a toy, reach”, celebrating any movement towards it, however partial. Once they’ve grasped it a few times, move it slightly further and repeat. Every reach, successful or not, is worth a genuine “good reach”, since the trying is what builds the motor pathway.

You’ll need: a soft toy or rattle