Cutting Food - Wooden Play Food 3+ YEARS Item # : 487 This wooden play food set is perfect for young chefs looking to explore a little mealtime fun--without the mess! It includes eight pieces of wooden food, a cutting board, and a wooden knife. Cutting the food makes a satisfying "crunch"--and provides a playful introduction to concepts of "whole," "part," and fractions. Top Pick For Special Needs Children will love "cutting" and then reassembling these wooden food items over and over. Great for fine motor skills and discussions about healthy eating! Set includes a wooden knife and cutting board so kids can learn about knife safety and proper handling. Also allows for play cooking to more specific recipes, since kids can add just a "bit" of something. Pulling the food apart by hand provides nice resistance for strengthening fine muscles too! Also available: Cutting Fruit.   Extension Activities: More Ways to Play and Learn: Ask the child to identify each food and categorize it as a fruit, vegetable, or grain. Place the food items in a row. Ask the child to count the number of food items. Repeat the activity until the child is able to count them independently. Ask the child to place the apple on the cutting board and cut it apart with the wooden knife. Explain that the apple has been cut into two equally sized pieces, or halves. Ask the child to find another piece of food that could be cut in half (the pepper). Ask the child to put together the sandwich-bread slices on the cutting board and to use the wooden knife to cut them into individual slices. Explain that the bread was cut into three equal slices, or thirds. (Do not use the loaf for this activity--it works best with the sandwich slices.) Ask the child to place the watermelon slice on the cutting board and to cut it apart with the wooden knife. Explain that the watermelon slice has been cut into four pieces, or fourths.   Child Magazine: Top 36 Toys of the Year 2002 Dimensions: 2.8" x 12" x 11" Packaged