1. Bean bucket, bury items in it.  Dig them out and identify them or count them.  We used this as a way to learn about letters as we used items that all began with “T”.
2. Make a collage with a variety of textured items that you can find (bolts, feathers, beans, dirt/sand, plastic wrap, etc.)
3. Imprint textures into plaster, play dough or into goop.
4. Finger paint – explore with textures in different colors of paint (glitter, oatmeal, cornstarch, salt, spices, shaving cream, glue, etc.).  Another variation:  paint with feet
5. Have a texture hunt & collect things that are smooth, slimy, dull, pointy, wet, hard, bumpy or soft, etc.
6. Learn about heavy and light objects by having your child accumulate some items from around the house and weighing them on a scale.  Have your child weigh themselves.
7. Sculpt with a sheet of aluminum foil.  Try making cups, balls, boxes, waves, etc.   After ward, paint the crinkled surface of the foil and make a print of your “texture”.
8. Test Textures. Lightly scratch your forearm with the following and talk about how they feel different: Q-tips, Fork, Icecube, feather, sandpaper or dish scrubbie.  Try a second round where they are blindfolded.  Can they guess what touched them?
9. Play with a felt shape board to create different patterns.  Try making one blindfolded.

more themes…