Choosing a gift for a child during the holidays can be fun, but it can also be an overwhelming experience when you walk into the toy store and see so many different possibilities. You may often think, which toy is the best for my child? Toys can help a child explore the world, gain new knowledge, increase fine motor skills, and improve language and social skills. The American Occupational Therapy Association published a checklist about what to look for in a toy to further help develop skills.
http://www.aota.org/~/media/Corporate/Files/Practice/Children/Browse/Play/toy-shopping-checklist.PDF
Toy Ideas
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- Blocks- The possibilities are endless when using blocks. You can practice fine motor skills by stacking, engage in pretend play by building houses, castles, etc., discuss colors, and use prepositions to talk about
where you’re putting the blocks.
- Lacing Beads in a Box- By: Melissa and Doug- Practice fine motor skills by having your child string the beads on a string. You can also talk about the colors, numbers, and shapes of the beads, take turns putting the beads on the
string, and practice one to one correspondence while counting the items on the blocks.
- Band in a Box Drum! Click! Clack! By Melissa and Doug- Kids can pretend like they are in a band, play the instruments along to music,
dance.