Strider Balance Bikes encourage balance, motor planning, and core strengthening. Motor planning is the ability to think about what you want to do, make a plan, and carry it out motorically. For most of us, motor planning comes easily; we don't have to consciously think about what we want to do. However, for some of our kiddos, it can be difficult. Engaging in novel motor games and activities helps us to improve our motor planning ability. Strider Balance Bikes are a wonderful option for many reasons, but especially because kids are able to have their feet on the ground to propel the bike instead of having to motor plan moving both sides of their body simultaneously, in the opposite direction to gain momentum; all while taking in visual & auditory stimuli & maintaining their balance! (That's a lot to think about, right?)
Pretend play is so much fun with this toy! The Velcro holds the fruit together-use the wooden knife to "cut" the fruit into pieces. This toy helps build fine motor skills, visual motor skills, & motor planning. You can also begin the activity by taking the pieces apart, and have your child match the colors to put the fruit back together!
The water table I had in my last post can double as a sensory table! Clean out the water table, and put some Kinetic Sand inside. If you don't have a water table, you can use any large bin you have around the house!Kinetic Sand is one of my go-to sensory play activities. I love the kits because they encourage pretend play, sensory play, and work on those fine motor skills!
Simple is best and this toy is proof of that. Your little one will learn color recognition, eye-hand coordination, and how to grade their force (how much strength to use when trying to accomplish a task.) Your little one can use the hammer to push the pegs down, or use their hands. After they push the pegs down, they can flip the toy over and begin again..facilitating independent play!
Around this age, little ones are very active. Vestibular based activities such as balance provide movement in a more structured way. To work on motor planning, change the lay out of the Turtle Steps after your child walks across to create a novel experience each time! Your little one will also begin to learn spatial awareness and body awareness during this activity!
Two foot jumps (getting both feet off of the ground) begins around age 2. The Stomp Rocket is a great way to practice that skill! I love toys that foster independent play; your child has the skills around this age to jump, visually track the rocket as it soars in the air, follow a one step direction to find the rocket, and use their fine motor & visual motor skills to place it back on the base. Activities that incorporate a learning opportunity along with movement are so important at this age- this toy is made for just that!