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.
“Two Tuba Switch” is a book and corresponding toys dedicated to the story of a boy who switches into objects due to his extreme shyness. When the main character turns into a tuba he must overcome his shyness when he is accidentally taken to an unfamiliar home. The toys match the book so that a child can act out the story as it was told or create his own story line.
Approx. Price: $19.95 Box Age Range: 4+ yrs # of Pieces: 2-5 Washability: Surface Wipe Storability: Easy Directions: Pictorial Play Locations: Indoor and Outdoor Adjustability: Levels of Play: Five or More Levels Batteries: None needed
Simple
Easy to Clean
Self-Contained
Inviting/Whimsical Characters
Easy to Grasp/Hold
Provides Pretend Play Opportunities
Includes Activity Guide to Expand Play
Hands-on Approach to Learning
Furniture Friendly
Can Be Used Independently or w/Others
Innovative
Open-ended
Fosters Imagination/Promotes Creativity
Lightweight
Tactilely Stimulating
Visually Stimulating
Wide Age Range
Inviting Due to Uniqueness
Developmental processes promoted
Motor Planning
Self Esteem
Visual Discrimination
Creativity
Turn Taking
Matching
Sequential Thought
Pointing, One Isolated Finger
Wrist Rotation
Tactile Discrimination
Finger and Hand Control and Dexterity
Problem Solving
Imagination/Pretend Play
Coordinated Movement
Social Interaction
Pre-Literacy
Life Skills
Reaching/Arm Extension
Eye-Hand Coordination
Hand and Finger Grasp
Fine Motor
Action Concepts e.g. In/Out, Push/Pull, On/Off, Go/Stop
The wide age range of this product encourages children of multiple age and cognitive levels to play together and learn language and appropriate interactions as they play.
This set can be used independently or with other people and toys to encourage comfortable play and vocabulary building opportunities.
Pretend play opportunities are available which encourages children to use self-talk and/or act out an individual’s ideas when a language delay may be present.
Open-endedness allows children to build vocabulary based on the therapist, parent or teacher’s set up. It also encourages a child to use and explore their available vocabulary and play to convey ideas and stories without fear of being “wrong”.
Skills
Memory and recollection are necessary when replaying and talking about the story. A child must be able to recall the characters, talk about the objects and verbalize emotional states that can be learned throughout the book.
Action concepts such as open, close, put in, take out, can be taught and reinforced through play and reading when the child opens the book or the tuba, puts the pieces into and takes them out of the tuba, puts the top on or takes it off of the tuba, and puts the characters on and off the chair.
Language development opportunities through the pictures in the book and the toy tuba, chair, boy and dad can be reinforced in a tangible way when the child reads, points to pictures and/or plays with the toys.
Social interaction opportunities can be set up when there is more than one child playing. Each person can take a role and play with the toy that fits that role. The children can work together to retell the story or create their own.
Object recognition and identification opportunities are available as the child plays with the toys, points to pictures in the book and makes the connections between items in his own environment and those he sees in the pictures.
Turn taking opportunities when playing, reading and talking can reinforce the back and forth turn-taking needed for appropriate communication with others.
Spatial relationships can be tactilely reinforced by putting the toys in or under the tuba, next to each other, or on the toy chair.
Play Ideas
Label toys with the word or beginning sound such as “t” for tuba.
Have two children each play with one character and encourage their characters to have a conversation.
Have children dictate a story about a “switch”.
Have children play out a story with or without a script to encourage language development and language understanding.
This product provides open-ended opportunities for play.
This is a hands-on approach to learning how to deal with social issues, especially in regards to shyness.
This product includes an activity guide to expand play so parents, teachers or therapists can help children use this toy and book to help them talk about and deal with their shyness.
The “Two Tuba Switch” provides pretend play opportunities with the two character toys, the chair, and the big durable tuba.
There are no rules or right or wrong way to play with this toy.
Simple game variations in play can be utilized to fit an individual child’s emotional needs.
This product is an innovative way to help children deal with issues of shyness sometimes seen in children with disabilities who are just learning how to deal with and talk to others about their disabilities.
This set can be used independently or with other people or toys in order to bring this story and toys into the child’s natural environment.
The “Two Tuba Switch” set fosters imagination so a child can come up with new ideas without being hindered by rules of a game.
Children are invited to come up with their own ideas at the end of the book and are not restricted to the original story.
Skills
Memory and recollection can be practiced when a child recalls the story and characters and plays out the situations or creates new ones on his own.
Early literacy opportunities abound with this set. For example children can begin: recognizing picture versus words in the story, understanding beginning, middle and end of a story, thinking about sequence, answering or asking open ended questions, recognizing some words, playing out or extending the story after the reading, and creating their own tuba switch page at the end.
Life skills, especially in regards to emotional development, such as what to do if you’re lost, how to deal with shyness, and understanding the feelings of others can be discussed and dealt with through reading this book and playing with the included toys.
Pre-literacy opportunities such as knowing the front versus the back of the book, holding the book in the correct position, attending to a story being read, and turning one page at a time are all presented during play.
Pretend play opportunities are abundant with the two people characters, the chair and the large tuba that they can fit into. Children can use these items to create their own stories or act out the story in the book.
Problem solving in terms of what to do when lost, figuring out how to help others, and dealing with shyness can be talked about and played out.
Self-esteem issues surrounding shyness, anxiety, fear, happiness, sadness, and hope can be talked about and played out using this toy.
Children are encouraged to use their own creativity at the end of the book when they are asked to draw their own two tuba switch scene.
Children can match the characters to the pictures in the book. Older children can act out or watch a scene played out with the toys and then find it in the book.
Sequential thought is necessary when reading, playing out the story, or putting the toys together so they fit into the tuba.
Play Ideas
Read the story and have the child act out different characters utilizing the toys or just pretending without the toys. Taking different roles will help the child understand different perspectives.
Allow children to come up with their own scenarios and telling their own Tuba switch story with the toys.
Hide the tuba and have the child pretend to be the dad searching for his son. Then allow the child to hide with the tuba and have another child or adult search for them.
Have children hold and identify the characters as they appear in the story while it is read to them. This will help the child later act out the story and recognize what a main character in a story is.
Encourage children to talk about their own shyness and recognize how it affects them like it does Mitch (the main character in the story).
Compare the stances and expressions of the people. Talk about how their stance lets others know how they are feeling.
Allow children to play with the characters in a dollhouse or with other toys to carry over the attributes of the characters into their own familiar territory.
Encourage children to draw and post their own tuba switch scenario on the page and website provided in the book.
Read this book to a group of children and have them talk about times they were shy and what they can do for themselves or others when they recognize shyness.
In a group of 2-4 children, each can take a role and play with the toy that fits that role. The children can work together to retell the story, create their own or act out the story like a play.
The bright yellow tuba and other toys as well as the pictures in the book are very visually stimulating.
The toys are easy to use in multiple ways and easy to clean for children who may drool.
The pieces store inside the tuba which allows them to be kept together and reachable for a child with a visual impairment.
Tactilely stimulating pieces are made with squeezable foam rubber that may be soothing to some children with sensory issues.
Skills
Visual discrimination between pictures of objects and the objects themselves can be practiced.
Visual attention is enhanced when reading the book and attending to the pictures.
Visual processing is necessary to discern the different items for play and the different objects pictured in the book.
Eye-hand coordination is practiced when putting the pieces into or taking them out of the tuba as well as placing them on the top which serves as a switching board to spin and make Mitch (the main character) switch.
Coordinated movement is necessary for the child to put the pieces in their slots, turn the pages in the book, and to put the pieces into and out of the tuba.
Play Ideas
Put the people in a rice, bean or sand table and have the child find the pieces before they use them.
Play with the set in the tub or water table.
Play on a dark background to make the pieces visually stand out.
Lightweight, foam rubber pieces are easy to hold and carry for children with low muscle tone.
The toys are easy to use in multiple ways and easy to clean for children who may drool.
This product can be played with independently or with others and may encourage peers to play with a child with special needs.
The pieces are made of lightweight foam rubber and are furniture friendly in case pieces are dropped or thrown.
The pieces are easy to grasp/hold for children with high muscle tone or who have issues with fine motor control.
The pieces are self-storing, making it easy to transport in a bag or backpack or to play with on a wheelchair tray or a table
Skills
Fine motor and grasp can be practiced as children pinch and turn the top of the tuba, take out the smaller pieces (approximately 5 inches), and play with the characters which are made of a foam rubber material and are a good size for small hands.
Finger/ hand control and dexterity is necessary when opening the tuba, taking out the pieces and then replacing them.
Two-handed play, midline focused play and transferring can be practiced with the pieces that fit neatly into small hands.
Precision is necessary when fitting the pieces into the stand, into the tuba and also putting the tuba top on and off.
Pointing can be practiced while reading the book and pointing to the pictures.
Motor planning is necessary during play with the characters, turning pages in the book, and putting the characters in their “correct” spots and also when placing them back into the tuba.
Cooperative hand movements are necessary when holding the tuba and taking the top off or taking out the pieces from the tuba.
Play Ideas
Lay the tuba on its side on a wheelchair tray to act as a cave and have the characters play on or inside it.
Have one child hold the tuba while another puts the pieces inside or takes them out.
Use the top to spin like a merry go round for the characters to ride on.
When handing a child a play piece, encourage him to use his non-dominant hand, to reach for the piece up high, down low or on either side.
