2020 Gift List for Kids 6 and Under (from your Occupational Therapist)

Whether it is a birthday, Chritsmas, milestone, special event, or any other time/holiday, shopping for your kids can be both fun and stressful. There are so many games and activities available to us at a variety of costs – but which is the best? Well we can’t answer that for your family, but as pediatric OTs and STs we do love to play games! Below we have compiled some of our favorite games to help steer you in the right direction. We have included a variety of engaging activities, games and books that encourage the development of specific skills. Many items can be purchased at toy stores, websites, or through catalogs. Happy Shopping!

OCCUPATIONAL GAMES & ACTIVITIES LIST

Games to Develop Coordination, Problem Solving and Visual Perception:

Acorn Soup
Ants in the Pants
Avalanche Fruit Stand
Barbecue Party
Busytown (by Richard Scarry)
Cat in the Hat I Can Do That!
Charades for Kids
Cootie
Crazy Cereal
Crocodile Hop
Don’t Break the Ice
Don’t Spill the Beans
Dream Cakes
Elefun
Elephant Balancing Game
Feed the Woozle
Frankie’s Food Truck Fiasco
Gobblet Gobblers
Gumball Grab (Lakeshore)
Hit the Hat
Honey Bee Tree
Hungry Hungry Hippos
I Spy Bingo and Memory Games
Journey Through Time Eye Found it! Game
Loopin’ Chewie/Loopin’ Louie
Monkeying Around
Mr. Mouth
Pancake Pile-Up
Pick a Brick
Pop the Pig
Pop up Pirate
Q-Bitz Jr
Shelby’s Snack Shack
Silly Street
Skippity
Sneaky Snacky Squirrel
Sorting Shapes Cupcakes
Spot It Jr
Sturdy Birdy
Thin Ice
Very Hungry Caterpillar Game
Zimbbos

Activities that Develop Eye-Hand Coordination and Visual-Spatial Planning:

Visual Control/ Eye-Hand Coordination:

Air Puck Hockey
Bathtime Fishing Fun
Beamo Flying Disc
Bounce-Off
Bucket Blast Game Set
Deluxe Archery Set with Target
Dilly Dally Turtle Target Game
Flip Flop Faces (Discovery Toys)
Giant Bowling Game
Glow-in-the-Dark Air Target Game (HearthSong)
Hopscotch Mat
Kids Croquet
Ladder Toss/ Ladder Golf
Nerf Basketball
Ogosport/ Mini Ogodisks
Remote Control Cars and Toys
Ring Toss Game/ Rubber Horseshoes
Safety Dart Board
Shufflezone
Sky Spin/ Whistling Whirler (Discovery Toys)
Snap-Bots
Spikeball
Super Swingball
Suspend Game
Toss Across
Trapp Ball
Zoom Ball

Constructional Creating and Building Activities:

Block Buddies
Design & Drill Activity Center
E-Z Build & Play
Gearjits (Mindware)
Georello
Gravity Maze
I Can Build It! Vehicle Set (Lakeshore Learning)
K’nex/ Legos/ Duplos/ Quatro Bucket
Light Stax
Lincoln Logs
Magz Construction Set
Magnatiles
Magnetic Mosaics
Make N‘ Break Challenge/ Make N‘ Break Junior
Potholder Loom Kit
Rainbow Loom
Remote Control Gear-Bot (Lakeshore Learning)
Playmobil
Pop Goes the Jewelry Party
Snap Circuits
Squigz
Take Apart Dino Toys
Zip Track (Discovery Toys)
Zoob

Activities to Support Fine Motor Development and Writing:

Pre-Writing Skills (Ages 3-5)

Aquadoodle Mats and Pens
Art Kits (crayons, crayon rocks, paints, etc.)/ Easels
Basic Skills Puzzle Board (Melissa & Doug)
Block Sets
Button Art (Alex Toys)
Colorforms Big Wall Playset
Cool Tool Activity Set
Create and Design Drill Kit (Lakeshore Learning)
Crayola Beginnings Color Me a Song
Crayola Color Explosion Glow Board
Crazy Car Maze Puzzle
Dot Art/ Dot Markers
Dressing Dolls/ Woodkins
Froggy Feeding Fun
Lacing Cards
Learn to Print Practice Books (Lakeshore Learning)
Lite Brite
Magnetic Pattern Block Set
Matching Eggs
Pig Popper
Playdoh/ Silly Putty/ Theraputty
Playful Patterns (Discovery Toys)
Squeeze and Brush Painters
Squiggle Writer Pen
Squigz
Velcro Cutting Foods
Water Wow
Willy’s Wiggly Web
Wipe Clean Pen Control Books
Zoo Sticks / Fish Sticks/ Farm Sticks

For Sensory Motor Development and Coordination:

Provides Organizing Sensory Input

Ball Pit
Blo-pens
Body Sox
Bop/Kick Bag
Chewy Tubes and Chewelry
Crash Pads/ Hot Dog Cuddler (Fun & Function/ Southpaw)
Cuddle Loop
Delta Sand/Moon Sand/Kinetic Sand/Floof
Foof Chair/Large Beanbag/ Yogibo
Gorilla Gym
Gymnic Rody Horse
Horse Tire Swing
Huggle Pod (Hearthsong)
Inside Out Balls
Jigglers (Abilitations)
Jump-o-lene
Kablooey Blocks (Young Explorers)
Massagers for Kids
My First Trampoline
Play Tents
Rock & Bounce Pony/ Rocking Horse
Sand Digger
Scooter Boards
Sensory Stepperz
Socker Boppers
Spring Horse
Ultimate Fort Builder (Lakeshore Learning)
Water Beads
Weighted Wearables/Blankets (Grandpa’s Garden, Fun & Function)
Whistles
Yoga Dice Game/ Yoga Spinner Game

More Skilled Coordination Needed

Air Kicks Boots
Air Pogo/Pogo Stick
Air Kicks Jumparoo
Balance Board/Monkey Balance Board
Balance Stilts
Bilibo Seat
Bungee Jumper
Disc Swing
Door Pong
EZ Steppers
Flying Turtle/ Roller Racer
Fun Ride/Night Riderz Zipline
Hippity Hop ball
Inflatable Hop ‘n Go Horses/Unicorns (HearthSong)
Jump Ropes
Krazy Car/ Radio Flyer Cyclone
Lightning Pedal Go-Kart/ Sirocco Pedal Go-Kart
Moon Bounce Shoes/ Bouncy Shoes (HearthSong)
Plasma Car
Razor Scooters
Rope Ladder
Sit & Spin
Skip It
Slackline (Beginners is suggested for most of our kids)
Sleds & Snow Tubes/ Fold and Stow Snow Scooter
Sports Boxing Child Punching Bag
Sumo Bumper Bopper
Super Skipper
Teeter Popper
Twister
Wheel Walker (HearthSong)

We know this list is long, but we just couldn’t cut it down any more. Don’t be afroad to ask your therapist which games are most appropriate for your child. And check back in soon for some of our featured favorites highlighted in upcoming posts!

We hope you found this post helpful. Click HERE to learn more about what services and supports South Shore Therapies has to offer. Results that make a difference.

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