Backyard Barbeque™ Get Out 'n' Grill

Product Description

Cognitive 4

Skills

• Children practice imagination skills when pretending to have a cookout.
• Sequencing steps can be encouraged as children execute the steps in sequential order to take an order, cook the food and serve it.
• Memory and recall skills can be enhanced as children play by remembering such things as when someone orders a hamburger, recalling what a hamburger looks like, remembering who ordered it, and serving it to the right person when it is done. 

Play Ideas

• Let children host a “cookout” for their friends at the same time their parents are hosting a real cookout.
• Let the children cut out squares of yellow, green and red construction paper to use as cheese, lettuce and tomatoes on the pretend hamburgers. 

Adaptation Ideas

• Lessen the number of items given to a child if the accessories are overwhelming (there are eight accessories in all).

Physical 3

Skills

• Grasping, reaching and wrist rotation is practiced a children use the utensils to grab, pick up, and flip the foods.
• Fine motor skills are used as children grab, hold and place the individual food items on the grill and serve the food to their guests.
• Bilateral coordination can be encouraged as children steady the burger with one hand and pretend to squirt ketchup on it with the other. 

Play Ideas

• Place all the food in the bottom of the grill cabinet to encourage children to squat down to retrieve them.

Adaptation Ideas

• Fill tube socks full of dried beans and place them in the grill cabinet to help weigh down the grill and reduce the likelihood of it falling over when leaned on.
• Use the grill top separate from the grill base unit. The grill top can fit nicely on a tabletop where the lip of the grill top (that contains the knobs) naturally hangs over the edge of the table. This can bring play to an optimum height for some children who require different positioning during play.
• Add a small amount of Velcro on the accessories and on the grill top to help maintain their position during play.

Social/Emotional 4

Skills

• Children can practice social skills as they cook for and serve each other foods.
• Because the set is small, children can practice turn taking and patience during play.

Play Ideas

• Children can create invitations using crayons and paper to invite family members and friends to a cookout.
• Let the children help create a grocery list for a real cookout.
• Have children take orders by verbally asking each person what he would like to eat. Having children write down or draw what each person orders can increase written communication.

Adaptation Ideas

• Lessen the number of items given to a child if the accessories are overwhelming (there are eight accessories in all).