What the sense of touch is
Touch is how we feel things through our skin, such as texture, temperature, pressure and pain. Skin has many tiny nerve endings that send information to the brain. In preschool, touch is usually taught as one of the five senses alongside sight, hearing, smell and taste.
Why touch exploration matters
Young children learn a lot by handling things. Touch activities can:
- build descriptive vocabulary (soft, rough, bumpy, cold);
- encourage observation and comparison, which supports sorting;
- give hands practice with grasping, pinching and squeezing;
- offer calm, sensory-rich play that many children enjoy.
Safety first
Touch activities often use small or unusual materials, so plan ahead.
- Choking hazards: Beads, buttons, pom-poms, dried beans, small stones, marbles and rice can be choking hazards for toddlers and for children who mouth objects. For children under three, or for any child who still mouths things, use large, safe items and avoid small loose parts.
- Supervise at all times. Stay close to sensory bins and do not leave children alone with them.
- Allergies: Check for food allergies before using flour, pasta, oats, nuts or other foods. Wheat, nut and other allergens can be a concern in some materials.
- Temperature: Keep warm and cool items mild, for example slightly cool or lukewarm water. Never use hot water or very cold ice with young children. Test the temperature yourself first.
- Sharp, dirty or hazardous items: Do not use broken glass, pins, thorns, soil from areas with litter or animal waste, or anything that could scratch or contaminate. Supervise outdoor textures and wash hands afterward.
- Hygiene: Wash hands before and after, and clean or replace bin materials regularly.
- Do not include batteries, magnets, medicines or cleaning products.
- Respect hesitation. Never force a child to touch something.
Activities
Mystery bag or feely box
Put a familiar, safe item in a cloth bag or a box with a hole in the side, such as a soft toy, a wooden spoon or a large sponge. The child reaches in, describes how it feels, and guesses what it is. Keep items large enough that they cannot be swallowed, and choose items that have no sharp edges.
Texture sort
Collect pairs of materials such as sandpaper (fine grade), fabric, cotton balls, bubble wrap and cardboard. Ask children to match them or sort into soft and rough groups. This ties into why sorting is important in preschool.
Texture rubbings
Place paper over a textured surface such as a leaf, a coin-sized embossed tile, or corrugated card and rub with the side of a chunky crayon. Children see and feel the pattern.
Sensory bin
Use a shallow tub filled with an age-appropriate material. Options include large pasta shapes for older preschoolers, water with large toys, or crumpled paper. Hide big toys for a “find it” game. Keep to one material at a time and watch closely.
Texture walk
Walk outdoors in a supervised group and touch tree bark, smooth leaves and soft grass, using gentle touches. Avoid plants you cannot identify, because some can irritate skin or be toxic.
Playdough and clay
Squeezing, rolling and pinching dough gives a strong sense of pressure and resistance. Use non-toxic dough, and remember that homemade dough can contain wheat and salt. It is not for eating.
For water-based sensory ideas, see water-themed crafts for preschoolers; always keep water play closely supervised.
Warm and cool
Compare a cool damp cloth with a dry towel, or a lukewarm bowl with a cool one. Safe temperatures only.
Colorful touch collage
Glue scraps of fabric, felt and paper onto card in different colors. This works well with introducing colors in preschool.
Textured letters
Trace letters in a tray of shaving cream or on sandpaper letter cards while saying the sound. See initial sound activities for kindergarten for more phonics ideas. Keep shaving cream away from eyes and mouths.
Touch play starts in infancy; see sensory play for a 6-month-old for how it begins.
Touch vocabulary to model
Soft, hard, rough, smooth, bumpy, sticky, slippery, fluffy, wet, dry, warm, cool. Use sentences like “The blanket feels soft.” Let the child come up with their own descriptions.
Children who avoid or crave touch
Children differ in how they respond to textures. Some dislike messy hands or certain fabrics, and others seek out strong pressure and touch. This is often within the normal range. Offer choices, let a child use a tool such as a spoon or tongs if they do not want to touch something, and move at their pace. If sensitivities are strong, disrupt daily routines or worry you, talk to a pediatrician or an occupational therapist.
Tips for home and classroom
- Keep sessions short and predictable.
- Rotate materials weekly.
- Label activities with an age suitability note for caregivers.
- Always have an adult nearby, and put small materials away when finished.