Help build your child’s fine motor and visual motor skills with these gift ideas by a Blue Bird Day occupational therapist.
Mess-free Painting
Not only is painting fun, it helps kids work on grip strength and bilateral integration. Try an Aqua Draw Doddle Mat for mess-free painting! Hang it up on a door to target upper extremity strengthening and wrist extension or lay it on the floor to encourage painting in prone for more tummy time. For something smaller and more portable, try mess-free Melissa & Doug On the Go Water Wow! Reusable Water-Reveal Activity Pads.
Stickers
You can target a variety of motor skills (e.g., pincer grasp, bilateral coordination, visual motor) with sticker play. There are many sticker books created for toddler that provides activity sheets you can use together. You may need to provide some support with their “helper hand” to hold the sheet while peeling off stickers. The Start Little Learn Big series offers 500+ stickers in a book that helps with learning ABCs, counting, colors, matching and more!
Tunnels
Crawling is very helpful for fine motor skill development and reflex integration. To support motivation to crawl through the tunnels, I like to set up tunnels when we play chase or tag with peers. The Kiddey Tunnel and Ball Pit Play Tent is easy to set-up, perfectly sized for indoor play and can be purchases with or without balls.
Snap & Design Monster Trucks
Trucks are always a huge hit in the clinic! One of the best “pull back” toy cars that I’ve used is the Snap & Design Monster Truck. This toy works on motor coordination, and emerging problem-solving to align pieces together properly. It also promotes crawling in our gym space, which is important to support fine motor skill development.
Easels
Easels: Using vertical surfaces (walls, easels, windows) promote wrist extension during drawing, which will help with handwriting and dexterity. There are quality options for for both table-top and standing easels, so consider your space and your child. For standing, Melissa & Doug Deluxe Double-Sided Wooden Standing Art Easel is sturdy won’t tumble over if it gets bumped. Learning Resources Double-Sided Tabletop Easel is a great choice for an easy-to-move tabletop easel.
Alpha-Bots and Number Bots
These little “Transformers” make great toys and fidgets, too! They are awesome for fine motor, bilateral coordination, and problem-solving skills. Available from Lakeshore learning as sets of Alpha Bots or Number Bots, these are great options for toys that combine occupational therapy work and learning.
Button Art Puzzles
This Button Art Mosaic Peg Board is one of my favorite puzzles since it comes with 24 insets/pictures. It is a 16-20 piece puzzle, so it is complex in terms of visual motor skills for the preschool age. However, it is great for fine motor skills and in-hand manipulation skills.
Marble Runs / Ball Tracks
Call them marble runs or ball tracks – these are great toys to work on bilateral coordination and manipulation. Even one-year olds can manipulate these larger balls to use the Rainbow Stack Ball Track. A favorite toy with our kindergartners is Lakeshore Learning’s Clear Marble Run. Though kids need some support to set this up as it requires problem solving skills. This toy challenges their bilateral coordination skills and is highly motivating with the cause-and-effect play idea! Other options that can be more challenging for kids as they get older are National Geographic Glow-in-the-Dark Marble Run and JOYIN 150Pcs Glowing Marble Run.
Bonus: More Craft Toys and Tools to Help with Fine Motor
Lastly, if you and your child enjoy completing crafts at home, I’ve listed some tools below that support fine motor skill development and independence during craft activities. The Loop (Easy Squeeze) Scissors help even the smallest hands build muscle control. HiMo 10 Pack Liquid Pipettes Droppers help build hand strength, finger dexterity needed for hand writing. These Melissa & Doug Spill-Proof Paint Cups help you avoid paint spills during crafts, while working on visual motor skills to place paintbrush into cup. For sensory play for preschoolers who love the sound these suction cups make when pulled off of the window, Fat Brain Toys Squigz Starter Set, 24 Piece Suction Bath Toys is something to keep their hands busy working.
Of course, this is only a short list of a few toys and crafts our therapists love to use during occupational therapy. Whether in a clinic or at home, keeping your child busy with anything that requires hand strength and manipulation can help assist with fine motor skills.
Visit our Gift Guide page to see our other gift guides, created by our Occupational, Speech, Behavior, Developmental, Physical, Feeding, and Social Work therapy teams!
Blue Bird Day—the first therapeutic preschool and kindergarten program in the nation—fosters socialization, sensory regulation, and pre-academic learning in children ages 2-6 years. Our compassionate therapists practice a relationship-based and family-centered approach, provide parent training, and collaborate on goals and individualized intensive treatment plans for your child.
We believe in a collaborative and multi-disciplinary team approach to therapy. A team of occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, dietitians, developmental therapists, behavioral therapists, physical therapists, and therapeutic assistants are created for each child to ensure child and family are fully supported and the best possible results are achieved.
Options for individualized, group and virtual therapy sessions are available as well.
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