Day 3 of our Holiday Shopping Guide is here, and this one is for the preschoolers. This age group is developing so many new skills, and they bring a lot of fun toys with them!
Play-Doh
Therapists love play-doh! We use it all the time in our therapy sessions because it addresses so many different skills. Get this handy kit, or grab a few things from your kitchen and start playing! A rolling pin, some cookie cutters, and even toothpicks are a great place to start! You can also cut the play-doh to help develop pre cutting skills.
Best for ages: 2 - 6 years
Skills addressed:
Fine Motor Skills
Hand Strength
Grasping
Bilateral Coordination
Sensory Exploration
Pretend Play
Cutting Skills
Green Toys Tool Set
Everybody loves to build! This 15 piece tool set includes everything your child needs for pretend play and comes in blue AND pink! Hand strengthening and manual dexterity skills will be developed as children use the screw driver, hammer, pliers, bolts and nuts.
Best for Ages: 24 months - 6 years
Skills Addressed:
Hand strength
Manipulation
Manual Dexterity Skills
Fine Motor skills
Pretend Play
Where to buy: Find it here, on Amazon
Chasin Cheeky Ring Toss
This game is a fun twist to the classic ring toss game. In this version, kids are on the move, chasing the funny little monkey and trying to toss their rings onto his tail! So awesome for visual motor integration and coordination!
Best for Ages: 3 years +
Skills Addressed:
Visual Motor Integration
Motor Coordination
Cooperative Play Skills
Where to buy: Find it here, on Amazon
Elefun
This is such a fun firefly-chasing game! Use your net to catch as many as you can to win! You can even play in the dark, as some of the fireflies glow in the dark! Tons of fun while developing a lot of great skills!
Best for Ages: 3 years +
Skills Addressed:
Gross Motor Skills
Motor Planning
Visual Motor Integration
Cooperative Play
Color Identification
Where to buy: Find it here, on Amazon
Greta’s Garden Lodge Threading Game
Lacing cards are great for helping kids develop their fine motor and bilateral coordination skills. This set is great because it allows kids to make a playful scene by threading pictures wherever they want them to go! The possibilities are endless and the benefits are amazing!
Best for Ages: 36 months - 5 years
Skills Addressed:
Bilateral Coordination
Visual Perceptual Skills
Following Directions
Fine Motor Skills
Where to buy: Find it here, on Amazon
BRIO Builder Construction Set
With 135 wooden blocks and plastic pieces, kids can build anything their imagination can dream up! At the same time, they are developing so many important developmental skills. Fine motor and manual dexterity to manage the screwdrivers, nuts and bolts, and visual perceptual skills by following the example, just to name a few. Everyone wins!
Best for Ages: 3 years+
Skills Addressed:
Fine Motor Skills
Manual Dexterity Skills
Hand Strength
Following Directions
Visual Perceptual Skills
Where to buy: Find it here, on Fat Brain Toy
Wooden Play Food
Play food is another example of a toy that children remain interested in as they age. There are many great brands on the market, but this one allows children to cut the food, creating greater language opportunities and fine motor practice. This is a great toy for developing play skills, and allows for numerous language opportunities including naming food items, color identification, part/whole concepts, sequencing, following directions and many more. The wooden toys are colorful, durable, and easy to clean.
Best for Ages: 3 years +
Skills Addressed:
Vocabulary
Identification
Sequencing
Following Directions
Part/Whole Concepts
Following Directions
Pretend Play
Where to buy: Find it here, on Melissa and Doug.com
12 Piece Puzzles
Puzzles are a great activity for kids of any age. Twelve pieces seems to be just the right number for it to be a challenge, but not too much of a challenge for this age group. You can find many different themes out there, but this set of vehicle puzzles is a great set and are usually a hit among boys and girls. Another great thing about this puzzle is that the backs of the pieces have shapes on them to help the sets stay together. This is great for sorting and organizing!
Best for ages: 3-6 years
Skills addressed:
• Fine Motor Skills
• Hand Eye Coordination
• Visual Perceptual Skills
• Sorting
• Matching
Where to buy: Find it here, on Amazon
Bead Sequencing
In this simple toy, you stack the brightly colored beads on five dowels to match the pattern cards! It includes more than 45 brightly colored wooden beads and 5 double-sided wooden pattern cards. The 10 patterns increase in difficulty to build matching, sequencing, and fine motor skills. Simple and easy, but with great results!
Best for Ages: 4 years +
Skills Addressed:
Fine Motor Skills
Visual Motor Skills
Reaching
Sequencing
Matching
Where to buy: Find it here, on Melissa and Doug’s website
Alex Monkey Balance Board
This adorable balance board is a great way for kids to work on weight-shifting, balance, and leg strength which all help to develop gross motor skills. Its also a great activity for vestibular input!
Best for ages: 36 months - 7 years
Skills addressed:
Balance
Trunk Strength
Weight shifting
Gross motor skills
Leg strength
Vestibular InPut
Where to buy: Find it here, on Amazon
Weplay Green Rocking Bowl
Your kids will want to climb over, hide under and rock in this kid-sized bowl! Great for weight shifting, balance, and vestibular input. So much fun, we wish they made an adult sized one!
Best for Ages: 3 years and up
Skills Addressed:
Weight Shifting
Balance
Vestibular Input
Trunk Strength
Where to buy: Find it here, on Amazon
EverEarth Workbench
This is a great toy for the beginner carpenter in your family! Build the workbench with the various sizes of the wooden screws and bolts to increase hand strength and manual dexterity skills. There is a slotted organizer to keep all the tools handy and a storage tray on the bottom.
Best for Ages: 36 months - 15 years
Skills Addressed:
Hand Strength
Reaching
Manual Dexterity
Pretend Play
Where to buy: Find it here, on Amazon
Be sure to check out our recommendations for toddlers here and babies here. Check back the rest of the week for toys for school age kids, and then some toys for family fun! Also, be sure to share our page and page with your friends for a chance to win a Visa Gift Card!