[Nfb-krafters-korner] Looking around

[Terrence van Ettinger]

Henrietta's comments make me think back to when I was this little guy's age.  Dad and I used to go walking and biking around town.  He would have me feeling and checking out all kinds of things.  He used to take me to garage sales with him (he loved to see what interesting things he could find there) and he would show me everything from fishing poles to figures of different people/animals/scenes to you name it.  Through this he taught me about textures, size/proportions, etc. Any time I was curious what something was, he would have me explore it.  I have a bit of vision, but I still am a very tactile person, as I don't get a lot of the fine details of stuff just by looking at it. And yes, we did the hardware store thing, too.  I felt all kinds of things there...nails, different parts for home repair, big letters and numbers for house addresses, I could go on and on if I thought my iPhone would forgive me.  '-)

Terrence.  

Twitter: www.twitter.com/terrencevane
Kingdoms Live Code: bgc5a6

On Aug 28, 2010, at 2:35 PM, Henrietta Brewer <gary.brewer at comcast.net> wrote:

> Hi Dick,
> Do you really think that sighted six year olds use the right amount of glue? lol  That wouldn't be a lot of fun.
> 
> One way to do glue as a blind person, wait, I did this with sighted children. Actually, adults do this too.  Place some glue that you squeeze out of the bottle on a jar lid or even a piece of paper and use your finger to apply.  A small paint brush will also work to apply.  But to much glue is a part of learning.
> 
> You are right, walks are a good choice.  Feeling free to stop and touch the roses is good too.  People are very willing to have blind people touch their plants and decor. Can you imagine how great someone would feel if a little boy who is blind came by and looked at their fountain or sun flower? You would make their day.
> 
> Be sure that your Nephew takes his cane on walks.  Good practice for the times he will need it at school or on his own and a good way to let the community know that this little guy needs them.
> 
> Can you imagine taking him to a hardware store? I love checking things out at a hardware store.  Even checking out the different types of materials on buildings downtown.  Does he know what the outside of Walmart looks like? I just realized that I don't know.  I guess I will have to investagate that. lol
> 
> What about checking tread on tires? We had a totally blind friend who could fix any car.  He totally rebuilt his Dad's Studabaker.  Yes, I mean the engine too.
> 
> Has he ever sat on a curb or does he know what a man hole cover is like?  Oh, this world has so much to explore.
> 
> Henrietta