Modeling with Shells

This material is suitable for children of all school ages. Shells are a natural material that can be used to develop tactile perception and fine motor skills. Using unconventional natural materials helps develop a child’s imagination, perseverance, and memory. The process of creating art with shells also helps children learn how to work with glue and shells, enabling them to create various compositions.

For sighted children, visual aids are crucial in understanding the world. Similarly, children with visual impairments are eager to explore their surroundings, relying more on hearing, smell, and touch. In many cases, tactile perception becomes an effective means of understanding the world for children with vision impairments.

However, developing fine motor skills and tactile sensitivity requires regular training of the hands and fingers.

Materials Needed: A sheet of cardboard, glue, and shells.

At the beginning of the activity, you might ask the children what they hear when they press a shell to their ear. They might say they hear the sound of waves, hissing, rustling, or the ocean’s roar.

You can hold an unusual stone in your hands, shaped like a smiling face by nature. How did nature create such a thing? Perhaps the marks on the stone are due to weathering. Some shells may look like cheese with large holes.

With shells, you can immerse children in the world of underwater adventures.

During the activity, you can ask children to close their eyes and sort the shells by surface texture: rough and smooth, large and small. They will experience fascinating sensations on their fingertips. It’s important to verbalize everything during the lesson. Children should describe the qualities of the surfaces.

Carefully glue the shells to the cardboard to create a scene of the ocean floor or seashore. This imaginative process forms new images in the children’s minds, making them eager to wander along the shore and listen to the waves. The child creates images independently, not relying on pre-existing descriptions but through sensory exploration of reality.

You can use not only small shells but also large shells, starfish, and coral in the activity.

Safety Note: When working with glue, ensure the room is well-ventilated.