A box of textures

One box, five things

You do not need to buy anything. Gather five objects with very different surfaces in a shoebox and offer them one at a time, with you nearby the whole time. The game is the difference between them, not the quantity.

What to put in

• A piece of wool or a knitted scarf.
• A clean, dry sponge, one of the soft ones.
• Cellophane or tissue paper, for the noise.
• A wooden spoon and a metal one, to compare temperature and weight.
• A plastic tub with a lid, which also works for banging.

The safety rules, which here are not a detail

• Nothing that fits through a toilet roll tube: if it fits, it chokes.
• Nothing with glued-on parts, magnets, batteries or long string.
• Everything goes in the mouth, so everything has to be washable.
• You stay there the whole time. This is not a game to leave her alone with.

Keeping it

Photograph the box laid out, with the five objects, before you offer it. A few years from now, that silly photo will remind you exactly what was in your house that year.