The “Theraplay” Easter basket
With Easter approaching I decided to come up with a list of basket ideas that do double duty! Not only are they fun, but they provide a purpose. I am always searching for toys that also help our son in his development. He is much harder to buy for since we cannot simply look through the toy section and pick age appropriate toys, or grab a box of Peeps (yum!) and a chocolate bunny. I always need to put so much more thought into what we purchase for him.
- Pop Toobs – These are great at getting two hands/arms to work together! They help work on arm strength, while making a fun sound too.
- Theraputty – This putty is similar to good ‘ol Silly Putty, but comes in different strengths to help strengthen grip and grasp. Our little guy is still playing with the lowest resistance, but I could play with this all day!
- Maraca Eggs – Because they’re eggs!
- Cheerios Play Book – Our son loves books but strongly dislikes food. He also needs quite a bit of help with his fine motor skills. This book has small indents where your child can place a cheerio. This one does two jobs for us! He has to touch food AND work on his pincer grasp.
- Color Sorting Toy – We aren’t sure if our son can differentiate between his colors, but we also have no reason to believe he can’t. Toys like this one can help with taking items out, putting them back in, and sorting them. Our little guy has a hard time with accuracy as well, so having a target area to put items back is something we continually work on.
- Bubble Machine – Bubbles are so fun to watch and even more fun to try and pop! Again, this helps our son reach out and find the bubble he wants to pop. It’s great for hand-eye coordination.
- Water Beads – These are a little wet and slimy; great item for kiddos with sensory processing disorder. We keep ours in a Rubbermaid bin to play with year round. Our son doesn’t like new textures or many things on his hands so these are great to play with along with other sensory items. *these are small, so be sure to watch your child if he/she puts things in her/his mouth.
- Suction Cup Balls – We love these! We suction these onto our mirror and he has to reach to grab and pull the suction ball off of the mirror. As you can see, we are working on strength and coordination. We are also working on standing, so when we suction the balls higher he needs to push to stand to get them!
- Flashcards – I punch a hole in the corner of flashcards and put them on a clasping ring. He loves books so this is almost like a mini book for him and also helps him associate a word with a picture.
- Poke-A-Dot Book – These tactile books have raised buttons that are so fun to “pop!” Our son usually uses 3 fingers when pushing a button so this book is extremely helpful in trying to teach him to use just his pointer finger.
I hope this list has been helpful for anyone struggling to find functional items to fill an Easter basket! I know that I am always searching for items that we will actually USE.
Comment below if you have any other “must haves” for a ‘Theraplay” Easter basket!
