Nuts About Sorting

Nuts About Sorting by Lakeshore Learning

Nuts and bolts sets can be used to practice several hand skills at the same time, however it can be tedious work. Often made of wood, twisting the nuts on can take effort until you do it a few times and the threads become smoother. Then once all the bolts are turned on, you have to take them off. Kids can tire of it before you may want them to stop.

Nuts About Sorting is different. Made of brightly colored plastic, the nuts smoothly twist on and off. Hold it sideways, like in the image above, and screw/unscrew the nuts on and off. Or you can stand the bolt upright on the table top, start to twist a nut onto the bolt, let go and watch it quickly spin to the bottom. To remove the bolts just as quickly, pick up a bolt already loaded with nuts, hold it by the bottom and tip it upside down, then watch as the nuts quickly spin and drop off the bottom. Less hand skills involved in the last two, but fun for sorting, grasping, reaching, releasing, etc.

The Nuts About Sorting set includes eight colors, with one bolt and six nuts per color. The colors are very easy to tell apart. Sometimes sets with multiple colors have similar colors that may be hard to tell apart.

Nuts About Sorting by Lakeshore Learning also comes in a counting set with numbers on the nuts and a patterning set. There is a fun video on the site showing them being used.

Try this:

• Make this a patterning set by alternating colors. AB-AB-AB or ABC-ABC. The different between this set and the patterning set is that the bolts in the patterning set hold 9 nuts instead of 6.
• Stand two bolts in front of the individual. Push one at a time to the player and ask them to sort it onto the bolt of the same color.
• Mix all the bolts randomly on the table. Give the player one bolt and ask them to find and add all the nuts of that color to the bolt. Stack another bolt with nuts, keep going until you have sorted them all.
• Stack nuts on the bolt, random colors. Take a picture. Present the individual with the picture and ask them to build one just like it.
  
• Stand all six bolts in front of the player. Place the nuts in a bag. Pull them out one at a time, name the color, and add it to the same color bolt.
• Work on visual discrimination, eye-hand coordination, reach/grasp/release, manual dexterity, spatial relations, building a 2D model from a 3D model, visual closure, executive functioning skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation.
  

If you are interested in purchasing this item or just want more information, lick on the Lakeshore Learning link above.

Dinner Winner

Dinner Winner - A dinner tray in the shape of a game board.

Yes, I am sure there will be, or has been, controversy about Dinner Winner. There is much research about whether or not to reward kids for eating and, if so, what that reward should be. I will leave that research to you, if you are interested. I thought this tray was unique and would be fun to add to a blog about toys, since it is in the shape of a game board. It certainly does not have to be used on a regular basis, possibly once in a while for fun, maybe for a birthday or special holiday occasion, etc. So without further ado...

This is a kid's dinner tray with 9 small compartments. It measures 11-3/4" x 8-5/16" and is molded from thick melamine, food-safe and dishwasher-safe. The goal is to start eating in the compartment labeled START and eat your way along the path to the YOU WIN! compartment. In the top right corner of the tray, at the end of the path, you will see a piece that says FINISH!. This is actually a small lid that will cover the YOU WIN! compartment. This is where you will hide the prize that the child will receive once they have eaten their way along the path. Below is an image so you can get an idea of the size.

This tray comes in multiple themes, including dinosaurs, super heroes, enchanted forest and pirates.

The dinosaur version.

Try this:

• Encourage the child to finish the food in each compartment so that they can see the pictures or words under the food.
• Instead of food in the last compartment, put a small toy or a piece of paper with something written on it that they like to do. 
• Alternate the order of food. Start with something that is liked followed by something not liked as much, then something that is liked, etc. They can work their way through the less liked foods to get to the liked foods.

 In the box: Tray and small cover

If you would like to purchase this item, it can be found at www.genuinefred.com.