Mystery Touch Box Guessing Game

A cardboard box

Scissors (for adult use)

An old sock (optional, for covering the hole)

Tape

5-8 familiar objects with distinct textures: pinecone, rubber ball, sponge, wooden block, cotton ball, plastic spoon

Cut a hand-sized hole in the side of a cardboard box.

Tape a sock over the hole if you want to prevent peeking — the child reaches through the sock.

Choose objects with obvious textures your child will recognize by touch.

Place one object inside without letting your child see.

Ask them to reach in, feel carefully, and guess: "Is it smooth? Bumpy? Soft? What do you think it is?"

Let them pull it out and celebrate whether they guessed correctly.

Replace and repeat with each new object.

Start with easy, very different objects (sponge vs. rock). Increase difficulty by choosing more similar items.

The descriptive language your child uses — rough, smooth, squishy, hard — is vocabulary gold. Encourage it.

For an extra challenge, put two objects in at once and ask them to find a specific one by feel.

This game builds stereognosis — the ability to identify objects by touch — which is important for buttoning clothes and finding things in a bag without looking.

Let your child take a turn hiding objects for you to guess. They love being the one in charge.