Emotional textures: Exploring children’s emotional and haptic play

The paper details the process of Design Based Research (DBR) conducted in a Danish Early Childhood Education (ECE) setting. It explores how relating haptics in tandem with play can provide an angle and a space for addressing and sharing emotional experiences. The research is centered around two iterations of the DBR model and the two subsequent interventions, and finds that using generative toolkit workshop formats as DBR interventions generate rich amounts of data that can be sensitive to interpretation by the researcher. It finds trends within applying meaning to textures and materials, and preferences of material selection. The paper discusses the merits of applied DBR methods and playful learning within the ECE curriculum.