A new after-school feature at my library is our maker-cart which has fun and engaging activities that rotate every week. This has been an experimental project and some activities are a hit, while others are a miss. The Braille maker cart was definitely a hit!
Supplies:
- A large poster with the letters of the alphabet in Braille
- Small stic
kers - Colored bookmarks that kids can decorate with their names in Braille
- Informational Books about Louis Braille and Braille
- Braille books or other texts
Instructions:
We advertised this as an educational way to learn about Braille and how to create a bookmark with their own name in Braille.
Kids used the giant Braille alphabet as a guide to the letters of the alphabet. They then would place stickers on the bookmark to outline their own names.
It was helpful to have six empty dots as a template when kids were creating their bookmarks.
We also put out some circulating Braille books in our collection and kids really enjoyed feeling the raised texture and trying to read the text. This was a fun activity that helped kids engage with a different type of communication.