How to Create a Touch and Feel Collage With Preschoolers

A touch and feel collage can help students master the concept of the sense of touch.

A touch and feel collage will teach a child about the sense of touch. A collage is a collection of objects arranged and glued onto paper or poster board. Children will enjoy expressing their creativity and touching their masterpieces. Creating a touch and feel collage is an enriching activity for lesson plans on the five senses and an educational craft for a rainy day or anytime that you need to keep children busy. These make colorful decorations for a refrigerator or office bulletin board.

Things You'll Need

• Construction Paper
• Glue
• Popsicle Sticks
• Sandpaper
• Cotton balls
• Nylon fabric scraps
• Velvet fabric scraps
• Fleece fabric scraps
• Small plastic combs
• Buttons
• Macaroni noodles
• Yarn
• Wax paper

Instructions

1. Cut pieces of sandpaper, scraps, tinfoil, yarn and wax paper into smaller pieces.

2. Hand the children pieces of construction paper and direct the students to select objects for their collages.

3. Pour about 1/4 cup of glue onto a piece of paper for each child. Instruct the children to dip Popsicle sticks into the glue to attach to the objects.

4. Tell the students to glue the items onto the paper using the Popsicle sticks. Help the children choose a variety of the objects so that there are soft, hard, scratchy and smooth objects in each collage. For an added effect, teach them to create the objects in a design, such as waves or a circle.

Tips & Warnings

• Let the collages dry for at least two hours.

• Discuss the sense of touch while creating the collages. Ask the children such questions as "What objects do you have at home that are soft? and "What items at the playground are smooth?"

• Buttons can be a choking hazard. If you are teaching children under 3, avoid using very small objects.

Resources

• First School: Holidays -- Preschool Activities and Crafts
• Enchanted Learning: Crafts for Preschoolers and Kindergartners