Following on from a few cooking experiences last week, Making Burgers and Allergy-Friendly Cupcakes, it was a good time to capitalise on this interest and offer a Fruit & Vegetable Invitation to Play table.
This Invitation to Play table incorporates a variety of sizes of fruit and vegetables, sensory elements, and encourages fine motor skills and imaginative play
This fruit sorting activity is a great way to reinforce colours and the names of the objects.
The positioning of the tray encourages crossing the midline.
Crossing the midline has been proven to be helpful in creating neural pathways across both hemispheres of the brain.
When you look at the fruit sorting activity above you may just see a toy. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for the educational benefits of colour sorting and naming the objects, but what I like to think about when creating opportunities for play is what the underpinning developmental skills are that we can work on. This way, my kids are having fun playing, and in reality we are getting in opportunities for continued development and strength to build a solid foundation.
Crossing the midline is a really important skill, and provides a solid developmental foundation for skills like reading, writing and self-dressing. If you imagine that there is a line down the middle of your body, crossing the midline looks at the ability to cross this line. If you have a young toddler who hasn’t yet developed a dominant hand, you may notice that they reach for objects with whichever hand is closest to the object; or they transfer an object from hand to hand in the middle; or they rotate their torso/trunk as a compensating movement.
Most developmental experts agree that children should have mastered crossing the midline by the age of 3 or 4. If your child’s not quite there yet and you have any concerns, I highly recommend seeing an Occupational Therapist (OT).
This small sensory box includes wild orange essential oil, cotton balls, tweezers, small plastic fruit and vegetables and a wooden tree
Miss S was drawn to the sensory box but didn’t like the feel of the cotton balls, so only wanted to interact with the tweezers
I chose doTERRA Wild Orange oil as it fitted in with the theme, and one of its benefits is that it is uplifting to the mind and body. Other oils that might be worth considering, in line with the theme are:
- grapefruit – provides an uplifting aroma
- lemon – promotes feelings of clarity and invigoration
- lime – promotes feeling of balance and emotional wellbeing
If you are interested in purchasing any of these oils for future activities, they can be found here.
The kids chose to sort by the type of fruit in this example
This fruit pie sorting activity can be used in multiple ways and encourages fine motor skills and hand strength, among other developmental skills
Here it has been used with a colour sorting base
I bought this toy a couple of years ago now and the kids still really enjoy it. It has made many an appearance during hospital stays, extended doctor appointments, play dates or quiet time. By rotating toys it makes them feel brand new again. Everything on this invitation to play table was something that I already had.
This large wooden fruit and vegetable lacing activity was chosen because they really enjoyed the lacing alphabet last week
This chopping activity is great for keeping them safe, while practising their knife skills.
The book was one that the kids had chosen a few days earlier during our library visit and I thought it would be fun to include the kitchen scales and containers.
By incorporating different elements it encourages your child to chose the way in which they would like to play and learn.
I enjoyed this fruit salad that Miss S worked so hard on.
Pressing the tare button, adding in more fruit and watching the numbers climb was a favourite
Mr L displays a different cutting style to his sister
Mr L showing off his bi-lateral coordination with the lacing/threading activity
I encouraged Miss S to do her lacing/threading while in a deep squat as this is an area of strength development we’ve been working on for some time now
Here’s an insight into the different ways that their brains work. Miss S wanted to have like with like, while Mr L was more interested in the process of threading to be concerned with any particular order or pattern
They came up with this idea of measuring themselves against the string of fruit and vegetables themselves.
Regardless of whether you have specific developmental goals in mind, or you are just interested in having a few minutes of peace as the kids entertain themselves, an Invitation to Play table might be just what you, and your kids need.
Invitation to Play tables spark imagination and creativity. They offer multiple developmental skills in a fun, no-pressure manner. They are fun to play with, and easy to set up. So, what’s stopping you?
Recent Comments