Last Wednesday, I wrote Part One of the series of blogs entitled Holiday Gift Guide 2015 featuring 8 auditory gift ideas. As promised, throughout the next few weeks, I will be providing different lists of gift ideas for loved ones with (or without!) special needs. This week’s list focuses on toys to help develop fine and gross motor skills.
Since we live in such a connected world where a majority of our time is spent staring at screens, I wanted to provide affordable toy options to help get the kiddos away from screens! I hope these lists help reduce your stress this holiday season so you can enjoy the holidays! And just in case you were wondering…
36 days until Christmas!
6 Holiday Gift Ideas $30 and Under:
Motor Skill Development
1. Shelby’s Snack Shack Game, $21.99
Ages 4+
Overview:
Shelby the adorable pug took a day trip to the beach. While on her trip, she buried bones in the sand and needs your help gathering them! In this number counting game, children will have fun taking turns using the Shelby Squeezer to fill their dog bowl with bones. 
Whoever digs up the most bones wins!
Benefits:
- Exercises fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination
- Visual lesson in number recognition, counting, and basic adding and subtracting
- Simple to play and understand
- Quick, fun game that can be played over and over in short time span
- Easy setup and cleanup
2. Pancake Pile-Up! $19.99
Ages 4+
Overview:
In the exciting game of Pancake Pile-Up, children have fun pretend-working in a diner. They help customers by racing the other servers to the grill, relay-style, to stack and serve the pile of pancakes matching their menu cards.
Benefits:
- Develops gross motor skills, balance, and coordination
- Teaches sequencing, a basic math skill
- Encourages social skills from teamwork to being a good sport
- Fun and physical–great energy outlet!
3. Puppet-on-a-Stick, $26.99
Ages 4+
Overview:
Puppets-on-a-Stick inspire imaginative play with colorful durable puppets! While the name hints at a simple toy, it is actually an award winning product. The original, award-winning trio features: Lex (Orange), Kai (Green), and Fez (Purple)! Children will have fun with this trio creating puppet shows, YouTube videos, and more.
Benefits:
- Encourages self-expression
- Inspires peer interactions while boosting confidence and self-esteem
- Inspires dramatic and creative play
- Develops communication skills
4. Space Spinners Game, $24.99
Ages 6+
Overview:
“It’s not rocket science–it’s centrifugal force!” In this frantically-paced space race, players spin their saucers fast enough to lift and transport their fuel balls from the launch pad to the Mother Ship.
Benefits:
- Develops hand-eye coordination
- Enhances fine motor skills
- Introduces scientific concept of centrifugal force
- Fun for the whole family!
5. Crazy Cereal Electronic Game, $24.99
Ages 4+
Overview:
Crazy Cereal is a new electronic game where two players grab a spoon and watch the scoop of the spoon magically change colors! Then, they will have fun digging into a cereal-bowl and scoop up pieces of that color. If it flashes quickly, the player has to pick up any 2 pieces simultaneously. This game is fast paced and whoever collects the most cereal pieces wins!
Benefits:
- Practice color recognition
- Build fine motor skills
- Develops hand-eye coordination
- Promotes sportsmanship and social skills
- Game components can also be used for pretend play
6. Playfoam Classic 4-Pack, $4.99
Ages 3+
Overview:
Searching for a more tactile toy for your kiddo? Playfoam offers just 
that! Children will have loads of fun squishing, squashing, and shaping the Playfoam–and starting all over again! Since the formula never dries out, the creativity never ends!
Benefits:
- Develops visual artistic talent
- Encourages creative play
- Great sensory learning tool
- Non-toxic
- Easy to store and clean up
Today’s toy ideas were brought to you by Educational Insights.