World Braille Day is marked every year on 4th January. While braille is essential for people with impaired vision, for sighted children it can also be a useful skill to help them understand how different people process the world in different ways. It’s one way to teach them about the importance of inclusion and providing equal opportunities for all.
We’ve put together some simple ideas for sharing braille with your children and helping them to understand it better. At the bottom of this page, you’ll find four handy downloads to help them learn braille.
What is braille?
Braille was created in the 19th Century by Louis Braille as a way of reading for partially-sighted people. It is read by touch. You run your fingers along raised bumps to identify letters and words.
Braille can be used to display most languages in the world as it’s just a different way of reading.
Why can learning braille be helpful?
Learning braille is an important skill for children with vision impairments. When schools and companies provide braille options, a world of opportunity is open to children in education, adults looking for employment and for social inclusion.
For sighted children, it can also be a good skill to learn. Like all types of learning, it can help them think differently, improve their cognitive development, inspire thoughtful conversation, help with their concentration, give them new creative ideas and boost their self-confidence.
Where can I find braille books?
Nowadays, there are more and more resources in braille to help partially sighted or blind children and adults. Your local library may have a braille collection of popular fiction, non-fiction and reference books.
You will also find braille books plus toys and games from The Braille Superstore at www.braillebookstore.com.
Ways to share the beauty of braille with sighted children
For sighted children, there are a few simple ways to understand the concept of braille. At Not Bored Box, we’ve created some simple activities to help them understand the alphabet and use it to answer some questions.
Download the braille alphabet reference sheet
Download the braille memory game
If you have a child with a vision impairment, we’d love to hear from you to find out what you’d like to see from our Not Bored Box subscriptions. Get in touch with us via instagram @notboredbox