Ask Ollie
Touch-Only Texture Match
Here's one to try together!
Can your fingers find the matching pair without a single peek? Ollie bets they can!
Reviewed by our team.
Safety first
- scissors are sharp when cutting cardboard
- sandpaper is rough on skin
- glue should not be eaten
- cotton balls and small scraps are small parts that could be a choking risk for young children
- playing with eyes closed risks bumping into things or tripping
What you need
- Cardboard box, 12 same-size squares
- Kid scissors
- Glue stick
- Rolled socks, 2 pieces of felt or old sock
- Sandpaper, 2 pieces
- Aluminum foil, 2 pieces
- Bubble wrap, 2 pieces
- Cotton balls, 2
How to do it
Grown-up prep: Gather everything and clear a floor or table space so no one trips during the eyes-closed round. Keep cotton balls and small scraps away from little siblings.
- Cut twelve same-size squares from the cardboard.
- Glue one texture onto each square to make six matching pairs.
- Let the glue dry.
- Feel every card with your eyes open and name how it feels. Ask: Which card feels the roughest, and which one feels the softest?
- Take turns closing your eyes and flipping two cards.
- Feel both cards and say if they match, before you look. Ask: Do you think these two match? How can you tell?
- Open your eyes and check. Keep the pairs you win!
- Play again with your eyes shut the whole time.
- Now challenge a friend, or make new cards! What other textures could you add? Ask: Which texture was the hardest to match with your eyes closed, and why?
Play it again
- Memory mix: play with eyes open and flip two cards at a time, remembering where each texture is.
- Mystery pile: a friend hands you one card at a time, and you sort them into pairs with your eyes closed.
- Describe it: one player feels a card and describes it in words, and the others guess which texture it is.
Kids loved this? There are more where it came from.
Get 3 free ideas a dayTurn "I'm bored" into "let's do something together!" 3 free ideas a day, picked for your kids.