"Cooking Set" during every session? Is that a waste of money for therapy?

"Fruit cutting set" appears to be a must-have set at homes and also therapy rooms. Our kids play with them over and over again, and therapist may also use them extensively. However, are we using them to fullest potential to help with children's speech and language development?

“If it’s not fun, you’re not doing it right.” ~ Bob Basso

Below are several key reasons why "fruit/food sets" prove beneficial in therapy:

Recall the communication pyramid discussed in our earlier publication?

Let's delve into it further.

Play Skills

Functional Play

Pretend Play

Symbolic Play

Receptive Language Skills (Understanding)

Increase vocabulary

Following instructions

Expressive Language Skills

Single word production

Commenting 2-3 word combination

Give instructions

Answering "wh-" questions

Sequencing (Tell stories/steps)

Social Skills

Sharing

Giving ideas

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1. Play Skills

   a. Functional Play

   - Learning to use a "toy knife" (Not a real one haaaah...) helps children to improve their motor skills, eye-hand coordination and also attention.

   - If child have difficulty to use the toy knife, they may show signs of "holding the knife upside-down/pulling your hands to cut/ using their bare hands to separate the velcro-ed fruits"

Cutting with a toy knife

Peeling off the velcro using hands alone

b. Pretend Play

• We can prepare "plates, cups, spoons" during our play!

• Children will pretend pouring teas into cups, eating the food they cooked, stirring the cups (Here comes their imaginations!)

Pouring water into cups

Pretend to drink from bottle

Stirring cup with a spoon

c. Symbolic Play

• This stage you will be very very busy attending to their 5-star hospitality service! Serving you with all kinds of food and drinks

• You may also invite a teddy bear or their favourite "dinosaurs" to join the table.

Parents being their best "masak-masak" kaki

Playing "masak-masak" with their dolls

2. Receptive Language Skills (Understanding)

   1. Increase vocabulary

      - By playing with the fruit cutting sets, children will have the opportunities to understand alot of vocabulary!

      1. fruits: banana, apple, kiwi, etc

      2. food: carrot, bread, ham, sausage, broccoli, corn, etc

      3. Verbs: cut, eat, pour, give, etc

      4. Adjectives: "mmmmm" - yummy, colours (yellow banana), wet, let's wipe, etc

      5. Feelings: Hungry, Full

   2. Following instructions

      - Difficulty of the instructions that a child is able to comprehend will increase in difficulty as they progress.

      1. One-Step: Take "apple"

      2. Two-item: Can you give me the "apple" and "banana?"

      3. Two-step: Can you find the broccoli and give to mummy?

      4. More complex instructions: "Let's wash the egg first, then crack it on the pan."

3. Expressive Language Skills (Speaking)

   1. Labeling using single word

      - The usual question as Asians parents will be "Baby, what's this?" Here comes the "chili, cake, tomato, corn"

   2. Commenting using 2-3 words (+verbs)

      - Instead of just sticking to "What's this?" questions, encourage yourself to use more commenting (e.g. yummy donuts, purple grapes, let's cook carrot, turn on the gas" (One word ahead of what your child is able to do)

      *If your child is using single words, you May model with 2 words

      *If your child is commenting using 3 words, you May model with 4 words or try introducing more variety of sentence structure.

   3. Giving instructions

      - Allow your child to take the lead "Mummy, try this!, Mummy your turn!"

      *Model if your child always respond but dont initiate

   4. Answering "Wh-" questions

      - We can even work on "wh- questions during fruit cutting set activity!

      1. Where is the tomato? -------> HERE

      2. Who is eating the chili (daddy pretend to eat) ---------> DADDY!!!! (Shouts spicy!!!)

      3. Oh no, what does daddy need? -----------------> Give daddy water

      4. Ok, cookie is ready. Where should we put them? ----------------> IN THE OVEN

4. Sequencing

   - Steps of cooking

   
   

Peel the leaves	Wash the corns	Cook the corns
Wash the apples	Cut the apples	Eat apples

2. Social Skills

   - Sharing the toys with friend (Provide only ONE knife when your child is playing with 1 sibling/friend/parent)

   - Give ideas or instructions to others

   1. Let's cook the apple now

   2. Don't touch, it's hot!

   3. It's mine! Give it back (When someone snatch their toys)

*Your creative therapist will definitely introduce more fun ways to play with the fruit cutting set. Don't limit yourself with how the toys are "traditionally-played"