• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Messy Bun Life

Messy Bun, Get Parenting Done

  • Blog
    • Get Parenting Done
    • Mom Hacks
    • Special Needs Parenting
  • About The Messy Bun Life
    • Contact Laura
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Messy Bun Picks
    • Sign Up For My Newsletter!
    • Free IEP Worksheet
You are here: Home / Archives for gift guide

gift guide

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

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.

  • Why I Don’t Treat My Children Equally
  • 15 Great Toys for Fine Motor Skill Development
  • The Best Pants for Moms
  • 20 MORE Easy Activities For Fine Motor Skill Development
  • 22 Essentials for Summer With Your Toddler
How To Trick Your Child Into Great Fine Motor Skills

Filed Under: Mom Hacks Tagged With: fine motor, gift guide, Toys

The 2021 Mother’s Day Gift Guide

April 5, 2019 By Laura Epstein

The 2019 Mother's Day Gift Guide

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 and enjoy this Mother’s Day gift guide.

Mom’s are not always the easiest people to buy for.  Okay, at least I’m not.  I’m a little finicky about my clothes, I don’t wear much jewelry, and I don’t love house decorations.  So I created this Mother’s Day gift guide to hopefully give some more ideas than the usual earrings that I bought my mom for about a decade when I figured out maybe that wasn’t always the best gift.

For the Wine Lover

Grab your wine loving mom a fun mug that professes her love for the drink (and maybe hides it too!). I also stumbled across these amazing monogramed champagne flutes. They are gorgeous and personalized gifts are always fun.

Or maybe just get her some wine?  

For The Crafter

I’m not the craftiest person but if you were to get me a “crafty” gift I’d be super enthusiastic to get a cricut machine.  I’ve pinned hundred of things I could make with this amazing cutting machine.  I have so many things I would put on my coffee mugs if I was to make them myself and maybe the mom you are gifting to has a few projects in mind too.

For The Fashionista

I’m finicky about my clothes.  

For Your Mother In Law

Let’s face it mother in law’s are sometimes hard to buy for.  Make it simple and grab her a mug that professes how much you like her.

Or, maybe you don’t like her that much?  Let’s be honest not everyone loves their mother in law and if that present seems a little off then I love a gorgeous Erin Condren pouch. I have it in pink and it is perfect for pens, planning accessories and more.  Pair it with an Erin Condren notebook or guided vision journal and you have a great gift for that harder to buy for mother in law.

For the Well Caffeinated Mom

Are you looking for a gift for a coffee loving mom? (are there mom’s that aren’t needing a little coffee now and then?). 

For Yourself

My husband struggles looking for gifts for me in May.  It’s Mother’s Day, my birthday and our anniversary. Usually for my birthday he says pick something you like and the last few years I’ve gotten a Stitch Fix.  I usually get two to four boxes a year and love the great seasonal pieces, layering jackets and accessories that I get. If you aren’t familiar with stitch fix a box contains five items your stylist picks for you after you fill out your preferences on style, fit and price. You choose what you like and send back what you love.  I have a lot of shoes and Stitch Fix has some great ones including my favorite pair of Stitch Fix exclusive leopard print TOMS flats.  I also have some of my favorite sweaters and jackets from Stitch Fix including my new jacket I as wearing today.  Grab $25 off your first order here!

For the Mom Who Has Everything

What do you get the mom who has everything?  Pictures!  I love giving picture gifts and picture cards. Minted has some amazing cards you can personalize for mother’s day or you can create your own mother’s day photo gift.  I recently made grandma and grandpa a fun photo gift using a fairly basic frame and pictures from our backyard.  They loved it and it was so easy to make.  I also often make my husband photo mugs and simple photo books.  Both are super easy to make on Shutterfly or similar sites.

I hope I’ve helped you find a present for the moms in your life.  What are your favorite Mother’s Day presents?

Filed Under: Get Parenting Done Tagged With: coffee mug, gift guide, gifts, mother's day, parenting

Primary Sidebar

About Laura

Messy Bun Life

The Messy Bun Life is a parenting blog primarily authored by Laura Epstein. We are here to support all … ...read more about About The Messy Bun Life

Recent Posts

  • Why I Don’t Treat My Children Equally
  • 15 Great Toys for Fine Motor Skill Development
  • The Best Pants for Moms
  • 20 MORE Easy Activities For Fine Motor Skill Development
  • 22 Essentials for Summer With Your Toddler

Footer

Where You Can Find Me:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2023 · Laura Epstein, The Messy Bun Life

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
SAVE & ACCEPT