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Children learn through play. As an occupational therapist who works with children and youth, I use games and toys almost every day to help develop important cognitive, visual perceptual, motor, sensory, social, play and leisure skills. While many different types of activities can be used in therapy, this blog focuses on off-the-shelf games and toys that are accessible to most. Whether you are a therapist, parent, teacher, or a game lover like me, I hope you discover something useful while you are here. Learn a different way to play a game you already own or discover a new game for your next family game night. Either way, just go play. It's good for you!

The OT Magazine named The Playful Otter one of the Top 5 Pediatric OT Blogs.


Jun 30, 2016

Sandwich Stacking

Sandwich Stacking Game - 10 games and 20 pattern cards. Lots of options!

I have quite a few Melissa & Doug items, and Sandwich Stacking is probably one of my most used. Kids love making sandwiches with these colorful, large-sized sandwich ingredients. Make sandwiches according to the pattern cards, make your own "gross" sandwiches (pickles and jelly - yuck), play the 10 games from the game booklet, and make up your own games. The Sandwich Stacking game offers lots of options! 

The sandwich pieces are big, made of soft cloth material (feels like felt), and have Velcro circles on them so the pieces will stick together as you build. 


Each piece of bread has an opening at the bottom for a child's hand so that he can slip the piece on like a glove to catch pieces that are thrown. I can only get four fingers into the opening. The pattern cards have patterns on one side only and do not increase in difficulty. Each pattern card shows a sandwich made of two pieces of bread (top and bottom) and four items which may include lettuce, tomato, cheese, peanut butter, jelly, pickles, and lunch meat. There are two of each ingredient, so you can build two sandwiches before you have to take them apart or you can build one as the individual follows your model. Comes with a game booklet with 10 games including the following:
  • Fast Food - Two people compete to quickly make the sandwich from a picture card. Faster player wins the round. Play three rounds.
  • Made to Order - Teams race to see who can assemble 5 sandwiches first.
  • Scatterwich - Players make a sandwich by layering the seven ingredients, one of each only, which have been scattered around the room.
  • A Balanced Meal - Players race through a card course while balancing an ever-growing sandwich on their heads.
  • Topping Toss - Players stand six feet away and toss the ingredients onto a piece of bread. Two points for each of the seven ingredients that stick.
  • Service on the Fly - Players catch sandwich ingredients without dropping them.
  • Bagged Lunch - Players make sandwiches from pattern cards by reaching into a pillow case and feeling for each piece.
  • What's for Lunch - Memorize and correctly make sandwiches from pattern cards.
  • Grab Lunch - Catch as many pieces as possible in an ever growing sandwich.
  • Picky Eater - Make a sandwich by catching only the pieces that are named.

Try this:
  • Cover everything on the card above the layer you are working on if the individual cannot keep track of where he is or loses his place when he looks away.
  • Ask the individual to point to each layer as he builds to keep track of his place.
  • Build a sandwich according to one of the cards. Then place several cards in front of the individual and ask him to choose the card that matches the sandwich.
  • Show the child the peanut butter and cheese together and explain that the peanut butter has the swirl marks on it (spreading marks). Children have confused those two pieces because they are both orange.
  • Name the ingredients out loud when memorizing the order for the What's For Lunch game.
  • Use the word "stack" if the individual always wants to start building from the top. I work with a child who does this and when I say "stack" he knows to start building from the bottom. Worked for him :) 
  • Work on manual dexterity, coordinated use of both hands, visual discrimination, visual memory, spatial relations, visual closure, visual tracking, eye-hand coordination, motor planning, sequencing, body awareness, tactile discrimination, process skills, executive functioning skills, social interaction skills, play exploration and participation, creative play
In the box: 4 bread gloves, 14 sandwich ingredients (2 identical sets of 7), 20 pattern cards (one-sided), game booklet
Ages 4+, 1-2 players

 If you are interested in purchasing this game or just want more information, click on the image below.

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