Core Routines: Expanding the Senses
Skills Practiced: Tactile exploration, sensory discernment, memory
Ecological Indicators: Mammals
Qualities Fostered: Sensitivity, Curiosity, Confidence in the Unknown
Directions (Shields): South (Activate), Northwest (Reflect)
Suggested Age Range: 6+ (great for mixed-age groups and groups needing grounding)
Timing & Energy Level: Calming game; best after Wandering or storytelling (Southwest or Northwest)
Set-Up & Materials:
- Blindfolds
- Small natural objects (feathers, bark, shells, cones, bones)
- Quiet area for focused exploration
Description:
Participants are blindfolded and given natural objects to explore with only their hands—no peeking. Like raccoons feeling their way through the dark with sensitive paws, players must identify or describe textures, shapes, temperature, and patterns. Some objects may be familiar; others strange or surprising. Raccoon Touch awakens touch, builds comfort with ambiguity, and supports embodied curiosity. It's also a grounding practice for groups that are too "in their heads."
Coyote Mentoring Tips:
- Invite the group to “see with your hands.”
- Let younger children guess; older ones can describe first, then guess.
- Include a “mystery object” that no one is expected to identify.
Variations:
- Ask participants to draw or journal about the texture afterward
- Hide the same object outdoors and challenge them to find it by touch later
- Use warm and cool natural items to explore temperature awareness
Debrief Prompts:
- “What did you notice through your hands that surprised you?”
- “How is touching without sight different?”
- “Did you trust your sense of touch?”
Story Seeds:
- Raccoon trickster tales
- Stories of feeling one’s way through the dark
- Personal stories of finding something by touch alone