Halloween is such a fun time of year, and we love combining our love of crafts with sweet treats during therapy! This year as many of our children continue to receive therapy virtually, our therapists have been getting creative with incorporating cooking into virtual sessions to take advantage of the home environment. Check out this fun “Boo Bark” activity that one of our OTs put together for a virtual session! Following step by step recipes is such a fun way for children increase independence with ADLs (activities of daily living) needed in the kitchen. We also love using following recipes as a tool to challenge task sequencing and problem solving skills. A great bonus about this activity is it can all be done using the microwave.
Materials Needed:
Semi-Sweet Chocolate (we used chocolate candy coating from Good & Gather for easy melting)
White Chocolate (we used vanilla candy coating from Good & Gather for easy melting)
Sprinkles and toppings of choice (we decided on Halloween themed sprinkles with mini-M&Ms)
2 microwave safe bowls
Parchment paper
Step 1: Break white and semi-sweet chocolate into pieces and place in separate microwave safe bowls.
*Therapy tip: Have your child help with breaking the chocolate to work on strengthening hands.
Step 2: Melt semi-sweet chocolate and white chocolate in microwave. We did 20 seconds at a time stirring in between to help ensure that the chocolate did not burn.
*Therapy tip: Let your child practice independence with this step. Pressing buttons on the microwave can be great practice for isolation of pointer finger, and works on number recognition. Keeping track of timing and stirring steps is a great way to challenge task sequencing and attention. We always love stirring in a bowl to challenge bilateral upper extremity coordination by using one hand to stir and one hand to stabilize the bowl (just make sure to check that the temperature of the bowl is not too hot).
Step 3: Pour semi-sweet chocolate onto large piece of parchment paper. Spread chocolate out into a large rectangle shape.
*Therapy tip: Pouring is such an important everyday skill to learn. Pouring not only takes strength and bilateral upper extremity use to lift the bowl, but children also have to use hand/eye coordination and visual/spatial awareness in order to hit desired target. It is so important to let children practice pouring independently! If the bowl is too big for them at this point then try giving them a small cup so they can help scoop and pour.
Step 4: Drizzle white chocolate across the top of your semi-sweet chocolate rectangle. For extra flare you can use a toothpick to make swirls mixing the white and semi-sweet chocolate together.
*Therapy tip: Swirling is an excellent chance to work on that pincer grip strength. For children who are unable to grip a toothpick try giving them a thicker object to swirl with like a straw or small spoon.
Step 5: Sprinkle desired toppings across top of chocolate. Let cool at room temperature until hardened. Break into pieces and enjoy!!
