Mom Hacks

How to Trick You Child into Great Fine Motor Skills (or 15 Great Toys for Fine Motor Skill Development)

March 8, 2020 By Laura Epstein 3 Comments

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you I may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Thank you for supporting my blog.

Fine motor skills are important to develop. From cutting with scissors, using utensils or learning to write these skills take time and patience to develop but they can also be fun. I have three children. I have a six year old with autism and twin neurotypical three year olds. These are some of their favorite toys that are also secretly helping with fine Motor skills.

Pop Beads

Pop beads are a fun way to build hand strength and coordination. These colorful beads were hard for my little ones at first but they quickly got the hang of them and started making necklaces, snakes, dragons and other monsters.

Discovery Putty

Discovery Putty is a type of therapy putty with objects hidden inside. There are lots of different types with different objects hidden: animals, dinosaurs, trains, etc. so there is something for every kids interest. In addition to being a great way to grow grip strength and dexterity this type of activity can also be very regulating.

Scissor Skills

My kids love this scissor skills workbook (yes, they actually love what is really a workbook). It is full of fun pictures to cut. Because I have three kids I also got a fun set of extra scissors which led to lots more great scissor skills practice.

Tape Activity Book

The Tape Activity book was a huge hit with my six year old starting when he was about four. He loved it so much we had to buy more wiki tape for it (an easy buy from Michaels or sometimes the dollar store). It is pretty simple in design. It has various pictures and youR child tapes over them. When Ross started using the book he still needed my assistance to help rip the tape but by the second roll he had figured it out.

Play-Doh

This classic toy has lots of fine motor benefits. It builds hand strength and dexterity plus you can add in scissors and other tools to practice with those as well. My twins currently love to play pretend kitchen with their playdough.

Play Foam

Playfoam is a fun alternative to play dough (with the advantage that it doesn’t dry out). You can often find single color packages, perfect for small gifts, at the dollar store or bullseye section of Target. My kids also love the number and letter sets (picture/link below).

Fine Motor Tool Set

The Learning Resources Fine Motor Tool Set includes four tools; a tweezers, a baller, a scooper and a syring (those definitely aren’t their titles, just ours). We use this set with kinetic sand, play foam, water, and water beads.

Kinetic Sand

My kids love kinetic sand! It is a very regulating activity to most children as well as being a great way to build hand strength and coordination. We pour the kinetic sand into plastic boxes and use it in conjunction with the fine motor set. They also make portable boxes of kinetic sand and colored sand as well.

Water Beads

Water beads are another great toy to use with the fine motor tools. They are little beads that get bigger and squishy when the are placed in water. My three year old twins love to place them in water, monitor them growing and then play with them!

Wiki-Stix

Wiki-Stix are fun, flexible sticks of wax. They are great stocking stuffers or small hanukkah gifts (I’ve actually used them in goodie bags too). They build dexterity and also hand strength and endurance.

Magnatabs

We were handed down the A to Z Magnatab and it has been a huge hit. It is a portable board with a magnetic pen. Users trace the letters and the pen brings up the magnetic balls. It’s great for in the car or quite solo play.

Magna Tiles

Magna Tiles are semi-transparent, colorful magnetic blocks. They require fine motor skills and control to properly put them together and they are so much fun to build towers, castles and more!

Wacky Links

We were given a small tube of Wacky Links as a gift and they have been a hit with all three boys. They are flexible sticks that connect to fun shaped connectors. My kids build crowns, jewelry and of course, swords (because I have all boys and everything is a sword).

Plus Plus Blocks

My oldest is obsessed with LEGOS but I’ve tried to find him a few other alternative blocks. Plus Plus blocks have been a fun alternative for creative block play (while working on motor skills). They come in two sizes. The basic size is great for my six year old and the larger size (“duplo” size) is suitable for my twins.

Those are my 15 favorite toys for fine motor skill development. What toys do you love? What did I miss? Tell me in the comments. Please contact me if you have any questions and I would love to have you on my newsletter. I also have a list of great basement toys and sensory tools you might be interested in and tips for surviving the holidays with your special needs child.

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How To Trick Your Child Into Great Fine Motor Skills

The Top Gear for Twin Parents

January 24, 2020 By Laura Epstein 3 Comments

For Your Home

Lots of Bouncers

I am not advocating putting your kids in there for long (in other words: do not start a fight with me in the comment section about container babies just because bouncers allowed me to cook dinner, sometimes). Your babies obviously should not sit in a bouncer all day and you will want to be snuggling them so you won’t want them to sit in one either BUT you only have two hands, and two babies. We lived in a townhome when my twins were little and we had a place to set them both down on each floor. In the basement we had two swings and on the second and third floors we had some adorable bouncers. You have to get dressed and make bottles and maybe breath by yourself for a minute so you will be happy to have functional and fun places to set them down.

Before you ask, we did not use the MamaRoo. I know it is super popular and parents swear by it but the price tag for a swing my children may or may not like was too big, and so was the MamaRoo. I wanted bouncers that were little enough to fit everywhere without getting in the way. I really did not need that many bells and whistles just some toys on top to look and bat at. I know people love it but it was not going to work for us.

Twin Z Pillow

The Twin Z Pillow is technically a breastfeeding pillow but that is just one of its purposes. It works for bottle feeding, tummy time or just a place for your twins to hang out and check out their world. It comes in a ton of adorable colors and fabrics (the minky is SO soft)

Feeding

The Kiinde Twist Pouch Breast Milk Feeding System

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A Mom’s Review: Kiwi Crate

January 10, 2020 By Laura Epstein Leave a Comment

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you I may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Thank you for supporting my blog.

This week we got our first Kiwi Crate! It was a holiday present to my 4.5 year old twin boys. But before we get into the details of the box let’s talk a little about Kiwi Boxes in case you are new to them. They are boxes full of fun STEAM activities! They come in different age levels (ages 0-104) that have different focuses. You can purchase a monthly subscription or just a box. We decided to go with the Kiwi Box. This is for ages 5-8. My twins are a little young for them but we got a one year subscription so they will be 5 halfway through.

What Is In the Box

Well first I was surprised by how small the box was. Once we opened it up I did realize that there was enough materials to have a lot of fun! The box included a manual for the project. We got the arcade project. All the materials to make the project. An “explore” magazing that had related projects we could also do and, because this was our first box we also received a mini poster where we could put stickers on every time we got a box!

What We Did

The Arcade box project was to make a claw game. This is the game you see at arcades where a claw comes down and you try to pick up a stuffed animal or other prize. We started with claw itself and spent about 30 minutes piecing it together. I was impressed by the design and even though they were young for the box they were able to help. EVERYTHING was included in the box which was nice. We didn’t need to find the right glue or any other supply.

Next up was making the prizes. These were two little “monsters” (complete with googly eyes) that were made out of string and a pipe cleaner. It was super clever and easy for them to understand the simple instructions. At this point my twins completely took over wrapping the string around the guide. It was a great fine motor activity in itself and had an adorable finished product. Because the twins did this part of the project 100% by itself this took another half an hour bringing the project total to 60 minutes.

What My Kids Loved

The biggest thing my kids love was really being able to do it themselves. Despite being on the young end of the age range for this box they could, with me reading the directions and a bit of hands on help, do the project themselves. It also made a cool physical product.

koala kiwi crate — **Playing With The Finished Claw**

What I Loved

First off, it was exciting. It related to something they see in real life (or Buffalo Wild Wings has a crane machine) so they were immediately excited to do it themselves.

I also really loved that the project had the right number of steps. It was divided into separate parts with natural breaking points (perfect for a snack or run around break) and each part only had a handful, or less, of instructions. The instructions were easy for the twins to understand so they didn’t get lost or skip ahead.

The Explore! Magazine was also great! The twins are excited to build a crate for the crane game using the instructions in the booklet and they loved the cartoon at the front. It was a fun extra and adds additional value to the crate.

Overall, I would highly recommend the Kiwi Crate to anyone looking for a great STEM activity that is hands on and fun. They are $14.95-$19.95 per month (depending on how many months you sign up for) and they are now 30% off with code SHARE30 I hope you found our Kiwi Crate review helpful! Let me know if you have any questions and be sure to check out our basement toys review too!

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The Best Lunch Boxes for Back To School

July 25, 2019 By Laura Epstein Leave a Comment

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you I may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase on one of these back to school essentials for special needs children. Thank you for supporting my blog.

Back to school time is so fun! While many supplies are dictated by the school and teacher lunch boxes are not. That makes picking out the perfect lunch box a great place to show your child’s personality while still having a functional lunch box. These are my favorites:

Best Bento Box

Bento Boxes are a great way to portion food while avoiding unnecessary packaging (that is not only wasteful but also sometimes frustrating for children) My favorite on is the Bentgo Box. It has large enough compartments to fit a normal amount of food, it is well insulated and comes in fun colors and patterns that kids will actually like.

Best Stainless Steel Box

For those that don’t like plastic there is an awesome steel bento box for you. It’s from LunchBots and is available in several colors and with different numbers of compartments depending on your needs.

Best Lunch Box Price

This one was also in the running for cutest! But, this Skip Hop lunch bag is also affordably priced at less than $9.00 and it is super durable and well insulated. While we have never had this exact version (none of my boys wanted something with unicorns) we had the monkey version for several years and it never showed any wear and tear. It is not huge and as my son got bigger he needed a bigger lunch box. While this is solidly a preschool lunchbox and not an elementary school lunchbox it is a great, affordable option.

Cutest Lunch Box

Want something unique and adorable? This one’s for you. This donut lunch box is well insulated and big enough to fit a full lunch and thermos even though it doesn’t have a middle!

Best Minecraft Box

Yes, this is a category. I have a seven year old boy who NEEDS minecraft everything including everything at lunch… of course we have a minecraft thermos too. Some of them I have found to be a little too flimsy but I love his Thermos creeper soft lunch box. It is also well insulated and easily cleanable when everything spills (because it will eventually)

Best Soft Lunch Box

If space is limited or you just prefer a soft container for your child’s lunch then my pick is the Goprene insulated lunch box. This pack stay cools, is easily cleaned and is cute too.

Don’t Forget to Label!

My oldest was not the only one in his class with that minecraft lunch box and of course my twins insist on having the same lunchbox so we definitely label all their lunch boxes and everything in it. For the box itself we find Mabel’s Label’s Small Rectangle Labels work well and for the stuff inside (water bottles, etc). the Tag Mates work well. While the tag mates are technically for clothes tags they definitely stick to the kid’s small stuff too (yay for multitasking products!)

I hope you found a lunch box your little one will love! For more back to school info check out my essentials for special needs children and IEP tips.

How to Get Through Witching Hour with Your Sanity

July 23, 2019 By Laura Epstein Leave a Comment

The Messy Bun Life is excited to have Felicity Frankish of The Baby Vine share her wisdom on the dreaded witching hour with our community today as a guest blogger.

When it comes to welcoming a new baby into your lives and your home, there is this little thing most people don’t tell you about. It’s called Witching Hour.

Your baby is born and you have the sleepiest, cuddliest and best behaved little one in the world (and you aren’t biased, of course). They sleep, they feed, they repeat, and you are sent home from hospital feeling nervous, yet excited, and ready to tackle this parenting thing head on.

Then, without warning, it is like your little one decides one day to just wake up. And from that day forward, at the same time, witching hour will commence.

Don’t let the name mislead you. Witching hour often goes on for much longer than an hour. It is a period in your day where your baby won’t be put down. They want to be cuddle, they want to cluster feed, they want to fall asleep in your arms and they want to cry – a lot.

It often falls at the end of the day when your baby is tired and just can’t settle themselves and your boobs often produce less. It’s a time where you are trying to get dinner of the table, clothes folded and put away, washing older siblings and getting them to bed and so on. Witching hour is hard enough when you have one kid, let alone more.

Here are some tips to make witching hour that little less stressful and to help you maintain your sanity through it.

Be Organised

The best way to beat witching hour is to be prepared for it. Bring in those clothes off the line early, have dinner prepped and ready to go, make sure those bottles are washed and sterilized. The more you can get done in the earlier hours of the day, will take the stress off you when witching hour begins. While it would be nice if we could just avoid this time altogether, being prepared for it does help.

Babywear

If your baby doesn’t want to be put down, instead of confining yourself to the couch, giving babywearing a go. There are plenty of different carrier options out there from ring slings to baby wraps, which are nice and comfortable for a newborn, while leaving your hands free to get things done.

Invest In Devices

While you don’t want your home to become overload with baby things, a good bouncer, swing or swaying machine really is invaluable. Sometimes a gentle rock that can come from an electronic bouncer is all your little one needs to help them settle during witching hour. If anything, it’s a great place to pop them while you run about getting things done. You can keep them in the thick of things so they know you haven’t gone anywhere and you can pick them up and comfort them when you get the chance.

Take a Break

If it all becomes a bit too much for you, don’t be afraid to step away. Put your baby somewhere safe and remove yourself from the situation. This gives you a chance to cool down, catch your breath and head back in to tackle everything. You need to be able to put yourself first.

Call for Backup

If the option is there, call in reinforcements! If your Mother in Law wants to visit, feel free to ask her to come during witching hour to be another set of hands. Guests love to be helpful, so put them to work!

Remember it’s a Phase

Like everything in parenting, it’s important to remember that this is a phase and it too shall pass. As hard as it can be when you are right in the thick of it, it can be useful to realise that this will end some day and there is light at the end of the tunnel.

About Our Guest Blogger

Felicity is mum to her two daughters, Cassandra (3.5) and Vivienne (22 months) and her son Elliot (3 months). Her passion is the parenting industry and creating a community where everyone feels welcome no matter how they choose to parent. It is this passion that led to the creation of The Baby Vine. You can also find The Baby Vine on Facebook and on Instagram

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