Mystery Feely Bag

What you need

• Rolled socks, 1 sock
• Pillowcase, 1
• Spoon, 1
• Toy block, 1
• Sponge, 1
• Pinecones, 1

How to do it

Grown-up prep: Out of sight, put a spoon, a sock, a block, a sponge and a pinecone into a pillowcase. Check that nothing is sharp and nothing is small enough to fit in a little mouth, since tiny items are a choking hazard. Run your hand over the pinecone first. If it feels very prickly, swap it for something gentler or warn your child to touch it softly.

1. Hunt for five safe objects to hide in your bag. Ask for help if you need it
2. Fill the pillowcase with the five secret objects and loosely twist the top.
3. Close your eyes, or look at the ceiling, and slide one hand in. No peeking!
   Ask: How many things do you think are in there?
4. Pick one object and feel it all over. Is it smooth, bumpy, soft or hard?
5. Feel its shape and size. Is it round, flat, long or pointy?
6. Say your guess out loud, then pull the object out to check.
   Ask: What's your guess, and which clue helped you most?
7. Keep going until all five mysteries are solved.
8. Swap roles! Secretly refill the bag for someone else to guess.
9. Now trade the bag around! What new mystery objects can you hide next?
   Ask: What is the sneakiest thing you can think of to hide in the bag?

Play it again

• Feeling words only: describe the object out loud without saying its name, and let a friend guess.
• Beat the clock: guess each object before a grown-up counts to ten.
• Theme bag: fill it with all kitchen things, or all soft things, and guess which they are.