Toys

Fine motor

Small, playful hand jobs that build the grip, strength and control little fingers use to feed, dress and draw.

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Compare the age ranges and time, then open a card for materials and instructions.

Age range: Up to 2 years · 5 min

Hold a clean washcloth so one corner dangles just within your baby's reach. When their fist closes around it, let them tug it free and wave it about.

Age range: 6 months–3 years · 10 min

Sit together and stack or nest a set of plastic cups into a little tower, then let your baby knock it down and start all over again.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Open a nursery rhyme book to a finger rhyme such as Where Is Thumbkin or Two Little Blackbirds. Say the words slowly and do the hand motions in front of your toddler, then help them copy with their own hands.

Age range: 1–3 years · 5 min

Sing the song and walk your fingers up your toddler's arm, then wiggle them down as the rain falls. Next time, let your toddler walk their own fingers up your arm.

Age range: 1–3 years · 5 min

Sing the Open Shut Them rhyme and let your hands open, shut, and clap. Slow down on the last line so your toddler has time to join in.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Loosen the edge of a few big stickers so your toddler can pull them off and press them onto a sheet of paper. Talk about where each one lands.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Set a bead maze toy on the floor and push one bead along its wire, up and over a loop. Hand the next bead to your toddler to slide along, then count the beads at the end together.

Age range: 1–3 years · 5 min

Offer a squeaky toy that fits two hands. Squeeze it yourself to make it squeak, then guide your toddler's hands to squeeze. Try soft and hard squeezes.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Set a ring stacker on the floor and give your toddler one ring at a time. Let them drop each ring over the post, take them off again, and start again.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Set out two bowls, one full of large pom-poms. Show your toddler how to move them one by one into the empty bowl, then swap back.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Hand your toddler a board book and let them turn the pages in whatever order they like. Talk about whichever picture they stop on, even if it is the same one five times, and read the words only if they seem curious.

Age range: 1–3 years · 5 min

Sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and wiggle your fingers in the air. Open your hands wide for \"how I wonder\", and point up for \"sky\".

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Wrap a familiar toy loosely in newspaper or tissue paper with one piece of tape. Hand it to your toddler, help them find the edge, and let them tear it open. Wrap it again and swap who unwraps.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Set a muffin tin on the floor and give your toddler large blocks or fabric balls. Show them how to place one in each hollow, then tip the tin and start again.

Age range: 1–4 years · 15 min

Fix a board with a latch, a hook and a door to the wall or floor. Open one together, peek at the picture behind it, then let your toddler open and close it.

Age range: 1–4 years · 15 min

Press two big toddler building bricks together and hand them to your toddler to pull apart. Once that is easy, help them line up two bricks and press them together, then build a short tower.

Age range: 1–4 years · 5 min

Give your toddler a cloth napkin and show them how to shake it open with both hands. Lay it flat on the table, then smooth it with their palms. Let them do one for each place.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Fill one bowl with a little water and leave another empty beside it on a towel. Show your toddler how to press the sponge into the water, lift it, and squeeze it over the empty bowl. Let them carry on until the water has moved across.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Pull the plastic windows, plastic cards, stickers and any staples out of a few envelopes and flyers. Show your toddler how to pinch the paper with both hands and pull, then let them tear it into big pieces and drop them in a paper bag for recycling.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Set out a pound-a-peg toy or a ball-and-hammer bench and show your toddler how to tap each peg down with the hammer. Flip the toy over and start again, naming the colors as they go.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Give your toddler a pouch with a large, chunky zipper and a soft toy inside. Show them how to hold the pouch with one hand and pull the zipper with the other, then let them open it to find the toy.

Age range: 2–4 years · 10 min

Give your child a spoon and two bowls, one holding dried beans. Let them scoop and carry beans across to the empty bowl at their own pace.

Age range: 3–5 years · 15 min

Knot one end of a shoelace and hand your child dry penne to slide on, one piece at a time, until they have a necklace.

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