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Large playhouse incorporates four different themes in play: firehouse or schoolhouse (decals for both are provided), gas station, market/bank and sports. It provides ample space for several children to play together.
Approx. Price: Over $100 Box Age Range: 2+ yrs # of Pieces: 2-5 Washability: Surface Wipe Storability: Bulky Directions: Simple Play Locations: Indoor and Outdoor Adjustability: None Levels of Play: Five or More Levels Batteries: None needed
Promotes Active Play
Provides Pretend Play Opportunities
One-Piece Unit
Durable
Tactilely Stimulating
Open-ended
Can Be Used Independently or w/Others
Connects/Assembles Securely
Fosters Imagination/Promotes Creativity
Versatile
Developmental processes promoted
Imagination/Pretend Play
Coordinated Movement
Core Strengthening, Trunk Strength, Stability
Social Interaction
Reaching/Arm Extension
Spatial Relationships e.g. Under, Over, On, Off
Eye-Hand Coordination
Action Concepts e.g. In/Out, Push/Pull, On/Off, Go/Stop
There is a small inside corner table that may help some children stabilize themselves inside the house.
Physical activity helps combat obesity. This house incorporates physical sports play.
Play in this house is open ended.
Skills
Gross motor skills are practiced when children maneuver their bodies through the various holes by crawling and/or walking.
There is a threshold to step over when walking in the house. Children who have gravitational insecurities may find holding on to the sides of the doorway helps them lift their feet up and over the threshold.
Motor planning, balance and weight shifting are all used when kicking ball into the mesh goal.
Eye-hand coordination is enhanced when children shoot baskets, hang up the gas nozzle or talk on the phone.
Two-handed play can be incorporated into play when children grasp and release basketball. One-handed grasp is used when holding the phone to talk or the gas nozzle to pump gas.
Reciprocal leg movements are used to walk/crawl through openings.
Wrist rotation is practiced to shoot baskets, fill car with gas, etc.
Enhance the understanding of action concepts by verbally labeling in/out, on/off, and open/close during appropriate times.
Children use fine motor skills to open the shutters, push the pretend buttons on the ATM machine (number pad is a flat decal; it does not really push).
Problem solving skills are practiced as children figure out how to put gas into their own car, how to make a basket or kick a goal into the net, how to hang up the phone, etc.
Reaching and arm extension are encouraged when children play basketball, reach to open the half-door or grab the pretend play phone.
Through play, children are developing core muscles in their bodies that help with balance, control, and gait in addition to promoting better breathing and digestion.
Play Ideas
Play a basketball game of horse with a friend.
Pretend to be a coach who is teaching a player how to kick the ball into the goal.
Give the child a bucket of soapy water and a sponge to wash their house. This is a great activity that excites children and provides wonderful whole body movement.
Give the child a ball and have her aim and throw it through the different holes in the house.
There are plenty of openings on the different sides of this activity house for unobtrusive supervision.
This provides a defined play space for children who are more comfortable playing in enclosed spaces.
Play in this house is open ended.
Skills
Turn taking and patience are practiced when sharing the one included ball to play basketball or soccer.
Social interaction is encouraged when children play together. There is ample room for several children to play in and around this house.
Pretend play is encouraged as children talk on the phone, put gas into their own car or shop at their market. This imagination is how children learn about and interact with the world around them.
The sports side has four target areas, each with a different number (from one to four). Number recognition and identification can be taught.
Problem solving skills are practiced as children figure out how to put gas into their own car, how to make a basket or kick a goal into the net, how to hang up the phone, etc.
Role playing can take place as children pretend to be the grocer, teacher or athlete. Role playing helps children learn about and socially interact with others.
Verbally label the actions of a child, “You are going IN the house”, “Crawl THROUGH the hole.”
Play Ideas
Play peek-a-boo through the various holes in this house.
Talk on the pretend phone to encourage language and conversational turn taking.
Play a basketball game of horse with a friend. In addition to the word horse, encourage children to use their own names, their street name or their school spelling words.
Have your child pretend to be a market owner and help their customers find what they are looking for.
Pretend to be a coach who is teaching a player how to kick the ball into the goal.
Have your child use the drive up window to pretend they are visiting a drive-through restaurant or going to the bank to deposit money.
Give the child a topic to act out in the house. This helps practice receptive and expressive language. To add to the fun, take turns and have the child give you a topic to act out!
Because the walls are all uniform in color, children who become over-stimulated during play can use this house to refocus and calm down.
Make a puppet show using your own puppets over the half-door or in the various windows and openings of the house.
There are plenty of openings on the different sides of this activity house for unobtrusive supervision.
This provides a defined play space for children who are more comfortable playing in enclosed spaces.
Play in this house is open ended.
Skills
Pretend play is encouraged as children talk on the phone, put gas into their own car or shop at their market. This imagination is how children learn about and interact with the world around them.
The sports side has four target areas, each with a different number (from one to four). Number recognition and identification can be taught.
Problem solving skills are practiced as children figure out how to put gas into their own car, how to make a basket or kick a goal into the net, how to hang up the phone, etc.
Role playing can take place as children pretend to be the grocer, teacher or athlete. Role playing helps children learn about and socially interact with others.
Fine and gross motor skills are enhanced during play. Children who have cognitive disabilities often have delays in motor development.
Children learn through imitation. This house gives ample opportunities for caregivers and other children to model play.
Negotiation, turn taking and patience can all be targeted during play.
Play Ideas
Play a basketball game of horse with a friend.
Embellish play in this house with pretend play food or dolls. This can enhance pretend play, verbal communication and motor skills.
Give the child a bucket of soapy water and a sponge to wash their house. This is a great activity that excites children and provides wonderful whole body movement.
Make a puppet show using your own puppets over the half-door or in the various windows and openings of the house.
Adaptation Ideas
Adding pretend play food to the market can help make play a bit more concrete for a child to understand.
The four numbered circles on the sports side are each a bright, bold color. They stand out from the gray background of the wall. The numbers are bold black.
The house is made of molded plastic and is embossed on each side with tactilely diverse items, such as fruits and vegetables in the market, tools inside, ATM buttons, and bricks. The mesh soccer net provides additional texture.
Children can use the moldings to differentiate each side of the house and play accordingly.
Play in this house is open ended.
Skills
Children who are blind or visually impaired often have delays in motor development. This house may help children practice gross motor skills, crawling, balance, weight shifting and movement.
The house is self contained and enables children who are visually impaired or blind to explore their environment in a confined “safe” area. Because of this confined space, they can also gain a sense of where their bodies are in space.
As children who are blind become more familiar with the house, they can become more independent in play and gain a sense of control.
The development of pretend play can be assisted when children are helped with a topic of play (such as the market in his play house) and items that can help represent real foods (your own play food, cups, plates, etc.).
Memory and recall skills are used as children feel the house and remember what side it is and what type of play it encourages.
Play Ideas
Place a carpet of bubble wrap or a flokati rug in the house for added appeal.
Add different tactilely pleasing objects (e.g. small toys, different textured balls, play food) in the house. By periodically changing them, you are adding renewed interest and excitement into play.
Because the walls are all uniform in color, children who become over-stimulated during play can use this house to refocus and calm down.
Adaptation Ideas
Verbally and physically walk the child around and through the house so they are familiar with the different aspects and are aware of potential difficulties, such as the raised threshold.
