What's Inside? Toy Box

Product Description

Sensory 4

Skills

• Simple positional concepts can be taught as children place objects in or take them out of the box or when they place objects on the box.  This makes the concepts more concrete to understand.
• Children can work on tactile identification as they determine what each object is by touch.
• Use the objects to practice eye tracking.  Have the caregiver slowly move one object from one side to the other of a child with a visual impairment and have that child follow the object with his eyes.

Play Ideas

• Play a guessing game.  Have the child reach in and guess what object they grabbed before they take it out and look at it.

Adaptation Ideas

• Play with this set on a dark surface to heighten the visual contrast with the objects.
• For children who are easily over-stimulated, reduce the number of objects you present.  Gradually increase the number as a child’s ability and frustration levels permit.

Physical 4

Skills

• Reaching in the box and retrieving objects can help children with arm extension and muscle movement.  This can help children with range of motion for their bodies and lessen muscle contraction.
• Whole hand grasp is used as children grab individual objects.  The soft sculpted objects conform easily in a child’s hand and help with successful grasping.
• Pincer grasp (grasp using thumb and forefinger) can be used to hold/feel the lion’s mane, the wings of the butterfly and the ribbons on the box as well as the individual objects.

Play Ideas

• Play catch using either the objects or the box.  The box may be easier to start with because it is a larger target to see and catch.  Midline play can begin with this because it is large.  Additionally, because the box is square, it will not roll out of reach of a child like a ball would.  The objects are small and would require more control and refined midline play to catch.
• To encourage eye-hand coordination, grasp and appropriate timed release, have the child toss the objects individually into a large laundry basket.  The laundry basket has a large opening and increases successful play.  Gradually replace the laundry basket with smaller baskets, buckets or plastic bowls to help a child hone precision skills.
• Siblings or other children can hide the objects around the room and have the child can look for it.  Once a piece is found it can be placed in the Toy Box. 

Adaptation Ideas

• For children who are easily over-stimulated, reduce the number of objects you present.  Gradually increase the number as a child’s ability and frustration levels permit.
• For children who have difficulty reaching or arm weakness, use the objects without the Toy Box.

Cognitive 4

Skills

• Object recognition and identification can take place as they learn the eight objects: boat, house, octopus, sun, lion, rocket ship, dog and monkey.
• Memory and recall are used as children determine what the objects are once they are hidden in the box.
• Children will gain problem-solving skills as they attempt to place the objects into the box and then figure out how to retrieve it.

Play Ideas

• Place other items in the What’s Inside? Toy Box, such as magnetic letters or small toys to identify by touch.
• Place all eight objects in a row and have the child study them.  Then take one away when her eyes are closed.  Have the child identify the missing object.  This can be played using only two shapes and slowly introduce more to play as a child’s ability and frustration levels permit.

Adaptation Ideas

• For children who are easily over-stimulated, reduce the number of objects you present.  Gradually increase the number as a child’s ability and frustration levels permit.