Welcome to the AblePlay Website ("AblePlay Site"). Please review the following rules that govern your use of the Lekotek Site (the "Agreement").
BY ACCESSING THE ABLE PLAY RATING SYSTEM ON THE ABLEPLAY SITE, YOU ARE INDICATING YOUR AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS AS SUCH TERMS
MAY BE MODIFIED FROM TIME TO TIME.
Authentic looking fire fighter costume made of 100% heavy gauge cotton. The pants have adjustable elastic suspenders and Velcro adjustable straps while the jackets includes thumb hole cuffs, zipper and buckle closures. The costume is complete with an adjustable plastic helmet. All pieces are adorned with high contrasting and reflective colors.
Approx. Price: 51.00-100.00 Box Age Range: 2+ yrs # of Pieces: 2-5 Washability: Machine Wash Storability: Easy Directions: Simple Play Locations: Indoor and Outdoor Adjustability: Strap Levels of Play: One Level Batteries: None needed
The costume provides a tangible tool to begin pretend play.
Skills
The costume encourages pretend play.
Self help skills such as zippering, connecting Velcro straps and buckling suspenders can be practiced. Note: the buckles on the jacket are facing inward and very difficult for a child to latch.
Memory and recall skills are used as children remember who a fire fighter is and what s/he does in order to pretend play.
Language skills are heightened as children act out a story they know, an encounter they have had or their own imagination.
Social skills can be incorporated into play as children take turns wearing the costume and being the person needing rescue. Negotiation skills and verbal communication also emerge.
Along with creativity and imagination, self esteem is heightened as children pretend to be a fire fighter. This helps children feel powerful and able to exert control over situations.
Problem solving skills and cognitive thought processing can be incorporated into play by giving the child a scenario that needs to be solved, such as a cat is high on the ledge and cannot get down. How can we get him down? Use your own stuffed animal to assist in acting it out.
Receptive language skills can be targeted. Using your own play phone or pretend play phone, call the fire fighter on the phone and tell him a brief story, such as “Please help. I’ve lost four animals in my house. I know two are in the living room and two are in the kitchen. Please help me find them.” The child needs to listen and process what has been said and then rely on memory and recall skills to help the person on the phone and locate the animals.
Play Ideas
Prior to trick or treating at Halloween, wear this costume and practice what happens to decrease anxiety level of a novel situation.
Act out elaborate stories of saving people from a burning building or rescuing a cat from high in a tree. Verbalize the story to work on sequencing of events and telling a story in order of occurrence.
Create an emergency plan for your home. Have the child act as the fire fighter to get everyone safely out. The caregiver can give the child guidance for what the fire fighters would do or say, where s/he would have the family go and how s/he would put out the fire. This exercise can help prepare a child should a fire actually happen.
The costume contains pants, coat and hat. Some children may need assistance to put it on.
Skills
Self help skills such as zippering, connecting Velcro straps and buckling suspenders can be practiced. Note: the buckles on the jacket are facing inward and very difficult for a child to latch.
The costume encourages pretend play.
Memory and recall skills are used as children remember who a fire fighter is and what s/he does in order to pretend play.
Fine motor skills are used to put on the costume, such as hook the suspenders and zip the coat. Children who have cognitive disabilities often also have motor delays.
Along with creativity and imagination, self esteem is heightened as children pretend to be a fire fighter. This helps children feel powerful and able to exert control over situations.
Problem solving skills and cognitive thought processing can be incorporated into play by giving the child a scenario that needs to be solved, such as a cat is high on the ledge and cannot get down. How can we get him down? Use your own stuffed animal to assist in acting it out.
Play Ideas
Get books from the library and act out the stories.
Rescue your own stuffed animals and dolls from a pretend fire.
Prior to trick or treating at Halloween, wear this costume and practice what happens to decrease anxiety level of a novel situation.
Draw a fire on a piece of paper then hide that paper somewhere in the house. Have the child search to find the fire and put it out.
Create an emergency plan for your home. Have the child act as the fire fighter to get everyone safely out. The caregiver can give the child guidance for what the fire fighters would do or say, where they would have the family go and how they would put out the fire. This exercise can help prepare a child should a fire actually happen.
The costume has slightly different textures such as the heavy cotton material of the suit, elastic suspenders, nylon webbing reflector straps, metal buckles, Velcro adjuster straps and hard plastic hat.
The colors of the costume are highly contrasting black, yellow and reflective silver.
The costume is made of 100% cotton.
The costume is machine washable.
Skills
The costume encourages pretend play.
Memory and recall skills are used as children remember who a fire fighter is and what s/he does in order to pretend play.
Self help skills such as zippering, connecting Velcro straps and buckling suspenders can be practiced. Note: the buckles on the jacket are facing inward and very difficult for a child to latch.
Along with creativity and imagination, self esteem is heightened as children pretend to be a fire fighter. This helps children feel powerful and able to exert control over situations.
Play Ideas
Read a story about fire fighting to a child who is visually impaired so he can become familiar with this suit and why it is special.
Create an emergency plan for your home. Have the child act as the fire fighter to get everyone safely out. The caregiver can give the child guidance for what the fire fighters would do or say, where s/he would have the family go and how s/he would put out the fire. This exercise can help prepare a child should a fire actually happen.
The material of the costume does not stretch and therefore may be difficult to put on a child who is wearing orthotics.
The costume has an extra layer of material on the knees and elbows.
The hat is slightly adjustable.
Skills
The costume encourages pretend play.
Memory and recall skills are used as children remember who a fire fighter is and what s/he does in order to pretend play.
Self help skills such as zippering, connecting Velcro straps and buckling suspenders can be practiced. Note: the buckles on the jacket are facing inward and very difficult for a child to latch.
Balance and weight shifting are used when children put on the pants one leg at a time.
Along with creativity and imagination, self esteem is heightened as children pretend to be a fire fighter. This helps children feel powerful and able to exert control over situations.
Fine motor skills are used to put on the costume, such as hook the suspenders and zip the coat.
As children move around and fight fires, they are practicing gross motor skills and increasing coordination.
Play Ideas
Rescue your own stuffed animals and dolls from the fire. Set them up on different levels for your child to reach up high and squat down low to retrieve them.
Create an emergency plan for your home. Have the child act as the fire fighter to get everyone safely out. The caregiver can give the child guidance for what the fire fighters would do or say, where s/he would have the family go and how s/he would put out the fire. This exercise can help prepare a child should a fire actually happen.
