Race Dragons Over Braille
On your mark, get ready, go!
Join the race where your child imagines their fingers are a dragon, and they lead their dragon through a maze.
This maze is braille and it's a fun way to practice tracking a line of braille print from left to right and top to bottom.
Follow along below, or
Challenge 1
- a. Pick any page in the book. Pretend your fingers are one of your favorite dragons in the story. But don't shoot fire out of them!
- b. Curve both your hands so the pads of your dragon fingertips rest on the braille in the book.
- c. Now how fast can your dragon run to the end of the braille line, without falling off the line? Remember to keep your hands moving together.
Did you meet Challenge 1? Now, you're ready for Challenge 2!
Challenge 2
- a. Again, pretend the fingers on both of your hands are one of the dragons in the story.
- b. Put your dragon (your fingers) on the braille again. Run your dragon to the end of the line.
- c. Then run your dragon (that's right, your fingers) back to the beginning of the line.
You got Challenge 2? Move on to Challenge 3!
Challenge 3
- a. Pretend the fingers on both of your hands are one of the dragons in the story. Place your dragon (your fingers) on the braille at the beginning of the first line at the top of the page.
- b. Your dragon has to run through the braille maze on this page all the way to the end of the page.
- c. Run your dragon to the end of each line and then back to the beginning. Find the next line and run again.
- d. Can you make it all the way to the end of the last line?
You found the end of the maze. Whoopee, your dragon is a dynamo and expert dragon racer!
Hints to Help Keep Fingers on the Braille Line
1. Is the book stable and flat?
2. Can your child comfortably put both hands on the book?
3. Play Ride-the-Dragon
- a. Place both your hands on the braille as described in the challenges above. Your fingers are a dragon and your child rides on your dragon.
- b. Have your child place their fingers on top of your fingers.
- c. Move along the braille as described in the challenges above with your child's fingers "riding" on top of yours.
4. Play Braille Follow-the-Leader
- a. Place both your hands on the braille as described in the challenges above.
- b. Have your child place their fingers to the left of yours so your pinkies touch.
- c. Your hands are the dragon. First, tell your child to follow your dragon to the end of the line.
- d. Then, your child's dragon leads, and your fingers follow.
This activity was created by Wendy Sapp for Great Expectations
