Holiday Gifts Promote Smiles and Skills!
Holiday gift giving can elevate much more than your child’s spirit. In fact, you can use the holidays as an opportunity to stock up on toys and games that will facilitate your child’s development. A bean bag chair isn’t just cozy and fun; it also provides deep pressure during movie night or bedtime reading. Beads provide not only a creative craft project but a chance to promote fine motor skills. Clearly, these examples and more-such as Wii Fit, which fosters gross motor development-indicate items that may already be on your child’s holiday wish list!
Sensory Games For Children
- Weighted objects: blankets, lap pad, vests, cap
- Squeeze animals
- Bean bag chair
- Move ‘n’ sit cushion
- Clay, play-doh, gak, floam, silly putty, etc.
- Spin around or Sit ‘n’ Spin
- Pin art
- Feel and Find puzzle
- Oral motor: Bubbles, whistles, horns, chewy tube, chewy jewelry
- Sand/water table
- Play tunnel
- Slide
Gross Motor Games For Children
- Scooter board
- Therapy ball (or peanut ball)
- Hippity Hop
- Big foot stilts or pogo stick
- Balls or sports equipment
- Lacrosse sticks
- Zoom ball
- Mini trampoline
- Twister
- Bosu ball
- Balance beam or balance board
- Wii Fit
Fine Motor Toys For Children
- Wikki Stix
- Squiggle Wiggle Writer
- Coloring and activity books
- Slant board for writing
- Beads (pop beads, jewelry beads)
- Games with small pieces (Mancala, dice games, clothespins, pegs, Lite Brite)
- Tricky Fingers game
- Friendship bracelet kit
- Weaving loom
- Dressing boards
- Lacing games
Visual Motor/Visual Perceptual Toys For Children
- Mazes, dot-to-dot, and hidden pictures books
- “I Spy” games
- Pictureka
- Speedy Match
- Blocks Rock
- Tangoes
- Jump-a-peg or Hoppers
- Thataway!
- Space Faces
- Set or Blink
- Kanoodle-Lonpos
- Rush Hour Jr.
- Simon
- Drill and Design
- Hyperslide