Our Top 10 Therapy Toys and Tools for Kids

Is anyone shopping for some last-minute Christmas gifts for either your children or your therapy closet? Here are our top therapy toys and tools for kids ($20 or LESS)– all approved and recommended by our team of pediatric therapists!

1.Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Smart Stages Piggy Bank: Toy piggy banks are great for working on color sorting, task completion, in/out concepts, fine motor dexterity (pre-AAC), etc. This is a definite winner amongst the toddler crowd! – Paul Rice, M.S., CF-SLP

2.Aitey Matching Egg, Toddler Educational Easter Egg Toys Shapes and Colors Learning Toys: Matching eggs are great for my early intervention kiddos. You can use this to work on shapes, colors, matching, and prepositions, just to name a few! – Lynde Blakely, M.A., CCC-SLP

3.Briarpatch I Spy Dig In Game: This game is sure to impress even those hard to motivate kiddos on your caseload! It can be used to work on visual skills, such as scanning to find the pieces in the container, and perceptual skills for identifying the piece when it may be turned around or upside down in the container. It’s also great for social skills, such as following directions! – Glenna Nave, OTR/L

4.Learning Resources Froggy Feeding Fun Activity Set: Kids love games with animals!Address taking turns, identifying colors, fine motor control, and joint attention with this game. – Melinda Brenneise, COTA/L

5.Infantino Sensory Balls Blocks & Buddies: It's a great set to begin stacking blocks with different colors and textures to address sensory issues as well! I love the different textured/shaped balls that can be used in so many ways. Plus, they're really easy to clean, so I can stick these toys into shaving cream or paint for messy play! – Megan Thilbert, COTA/L

6.Stomp Rocket - The Original Jr. Glow Rocket Launcher: What a fun way to practice single leg balance and jumping.– Whitney Castle, PT, DPT

7.SIERLIKY Hoola Hoop for Kids: So many options with this novel play prop! You can use this to help toddlers walk, jump, and balance. – Whitney Castle, PT, DPT

8.BMAG Counting Bears with Matching Sorting Cups: These are great for color matching, naming colors, quantity concepts (one, each, some, all), following 1-2 part commands, spatial concepts (on top, under, in between), complex commands and sentences, and so much more! – Jessica Lenden-Holt, M.A., CCC-SLP

9.Learning Resources Sorting Surprise Pirate Treasure: I love these treasure boxes! Functional language learners can work on basic concepts, sorting, vocabulary, categorization, etc. You can even target speech sounds while playing with this set. The best materials are the ones that can be used to address every goal! – Sara Lowczyk, M.S., CCC-SLP

10.Baby Crinkle Square Sensory Toys: Baby paper is helpful to improve sensory processing and prone play! – Kelli Morelock, OTR/L