Favorite Developmental Toys.

Maggie was so far behind developmentally when she came home.  I remember sitting in the hotel in China and wanting to help her so bad.  When we started speech therapy and occupational therapy I was introduced to some great toys to help Maggie developmentally. She has been home six months now and has just about caught up with her peers except for language which is to be expected.  Here are some of my favorite toys that have helped Maggie grow and develop.

I call this the "Piggy Bank".  I used an empty large yogurt container and cut a slit in the top.  We use checker pieces, quarters or bingo chips to put in the slot.  This is great for hand eye coordination and fine motor skills and Maggie loves to "play" with her  bank.

Crayons are so classic !  Maggie has really improved her fine motor skills by coloring and scribbling.

Another home made toy that helps with fine motor and hand eye coordination is the Bucket and Bean Bags Toy.  I sewed the bean bags with some scrap fabric and filled them with dry pinto beans.  Maggie loves to throw them into the bucket and take them out over and over again.

A Magnet/Marker Board has really helped Maggie's grasping, fine motor and hand eye coordination too.  When she first got the  magnets, Maggie couldn't  even pick them up.  Now, it is her favorite thing to do and she has gotten very good at picking them up and putting them on the board.  

The Car has helped Maggie's gross motor skills.  She loves to push and pull it around the house or sit and scoot around her room.  We are working on making the brrr car noise too.

Blocks are her new favorite toy.  At first she would have nothing to do with them and now they really hold her attention.  She has learned to bang two blocks together,  build a tower and then crash it down !

And then there are her Books.  We sit in the rocker and read books together all day.  It is her favorite thing to do and she really pays attention and loves her books.