Many parents know that from an early age it is very important to develop fine motor skills in a child, since this is directly related to the development of speech. Special educational toys can be bought in the store, or you can make them yourself by reading our article today, in which we have collected interesting DIY ideas for creating such toys. All you need is a little time and some household items that you were probably going to throw away. In addition, your baby will definitely like a toy made by mother’s hands and will be a useful tool for him.
Sorter
A sorter is a box into which you put various figures. It helps develop attention and perseverance in a child. Inserting figures into holes of appropriate shape and size develops fine motor skills and trains the eye. In addition, during the game, the child becomes familiar with various geometric shapes, colors and sizes of objects. We liked the funny sorter in the shape of an elephant, which you can make yourself from what you have on hand.
Games with cereals
Suitable for toddlers from six months old, the main thing is to make sure that they don’t put them in their mouth. The little ones can simply sort out and pour buckwheat, rice, peas, and for older children you can come up with real didactic activities, during which they will become familiar with the concepts of “big - small”, “higher - lower”, names of animals, sorting rules, etc.
"Gather the Chickens"
Prepare a container or large box, cereal, tongs (spoon, clothespin).
Game options:
- bury small objects and ask the child to find them;
- place small elements on the chicks' rump that can be sorted according to some characteristic or fed;
- if there are no such toys, take animal figurines and let the baby find a cow (“Who says “Moo-oo”), a chicken (“Who says “Ko-ko-ko”), etc.;
- You can also write letters, numbers and shapes on the rump with your finger.
Drawing with rice
Coating rice with food coloring creates a unique painting medium. Apply glue to the paper and ask your child to sprinkle the cereal.
This activity will be useful for finger motor skills, color perception and imagination.
Volume book
For the early development of a baby, books are often used, with which you can play and develop various skills. Look what an amazing soft toy book Olga made with her own hands! A little imagination and creativity - and you too can do something similar.
Tactile bags
You can make several small fabric bags, filling them with various contents: cereals, beads, rice.
What you will need:
- textile;
- threads, needle;
- scissors;
- contents - cereals, rice, beads, beads.
Operating procedure:
- Cut out several small pillows and carefully stuff each one with cereal, just make sure the contents are different. For example, one will contain only rice, the other will contain oatmeal, etc.
- Sew an additional large fabric bag for them where you will store homemade toys.
- What to stuff? There are many options: shells, rice, cotton wool, pebbles, beads. The main thing is that the objects are smooth and safe.
Soft cube
Kids love to play with bright, colorful blocks. And if the cube is made of fabric and has all kinds of ribbons, pockets, jingles and rustles, then this is not just a toy, but an excellent educational aid! You will find a detailed master class on sewing such a cube here.
Toys made from lids
Little children are big fans of unscrewing bottle caps. It turns out that this is an incredibly useful activity for practicing motor skills!
In order to make an educational toy, you will need: a shoe box, cut off bottle necks with caps, colored paper.
Carefully cut holes in the lid. We insert parts of the bottle into them so that the necks remain inside the box and the caps remain outside. We decorate everything with colored paper.
Use your imagination or use our sample.
If you thread strings through the lids and secure them, they will not get lost during the game.
Mosaic
Materials: plastic lids, balloon holders, box and glue.
We glue the “holders” and plugs together so that we get chips on the legs. We use an awl to make holes in the top of the box. We get an excellent educational mosaic with large details that definitely won’t fit into the baby’s mouth! And interesting games will turn arranging chips into an exciting activity:
- "Track". Place two toys on the field and ask your baby to help them meet by connecting them with a path.
- "Stars in the sky." Prepare a figurine of a bunny and tell your little one a fairy tale: “The bunny got lost in the dark forest and won’t find his way home. We will help him if we light stars in the sky.” Lay out the yellow parts, and then let the morning come and the sun “rise.”
- "Hen and Chicks." Lay out with white counters the figure of a mother hen calling her children: “Chick-chick, my chickens!” Invite your child to arrange the chicks.
Developmental mat
Another teaching aid that helps make your baby’s fingers more dexterous and skillful is a soft developmental mat. It could be a themed rug, where an entire city is drawn as an appliqué, each house or tree has a different texture, and you can actively play with the figures. Olga has a great idea for such a rug on her blog. And at the Masters Fair we noticed some very cool rugs from master Galina. Filled with inspiration and ideas, you can make a truly unique rug for your child, with which he can not only play, but also develop.
Laces
These are book toys, cardboard figures or a set of objects that can be tied together with a cord. While playing, kids develop motor skills, logic, thinking, attention, and coordination.
Laces are made of cardboard and wood. Small holes are made in objects through which a thick thread is threaded. The order of action is not important at first. The main thing is that the child learns to put the lace into the hole, and then connect several objects on one thread.
Finger Theater
Finger theater is another exciting educational game that stimulates the development of fine motor skills and develops imagination. You can sew such funny animal toys from pieces of felt with your own hands. We found a great idea for sewing such toys on Natalya’s blog.
Baby sling beads and bracelets for babies
These toys are more suitable for babies to chew and feel. You can’t always trust the assortment in stores; there is no guarantee of the safety of the products. And at home you can make them yourself using step-by-step instructions.
These are the earliest toys that look like beads or bracelets. Mothers often wear them to distract the baby while he is in a sling or in his arms.
Important! This will require crocheting skills. The ability to tie objects (bracelets, beads) and knit individual elements (animal figures, soft balls).
What you will need:
- wood beads;
- cotton threads;
- hooks;
- waxed cord/ribbon (base);
- filler (silicone fiber, cotton wool);
- rustling or any rattling objects (if necessary).
Operating procedure:
Decide in advance whether it will be a small bracelet, full-fledged beads or a biting toy. The base is a wooden object.
Bracelet - toy
Option 1. Take a small wooden ring and carefully tie it so that the knitted fabric covers the entire surface. In a similar way, tie a small wooden bead - the “head” of the toy. Separately tie a pair of ears to it, decorate the muzzle. When finished, connect the parts.
Option 2. Here wooden balls alternate with soft, knitted ones. You can tie several wooden balls - beads or tie balls, stuffing them with cotton wool/foam rubber. Let soft balls alternate with ordinary wooden ones in the bracelet. Connect them by using a thick, cotton thread.
Option 3. A bracelet with different balls is complemented by a pair of wooden rings.
Option 4. Bracelet - hippo. Tie a wooden base bracelet with cotton thread, just tighter and secure the ends. Tie the 4 legs and head of the hippopotamus separately. Fill them with cotton wool or other soft filler.
Option 5. Multi-colored knitted balls are collected together, with a figurine of a small hippopotamus. Tie each ball separately. You can use multi-colored threads to make the toy brighter. When collecting ready-made balls, alternate them with small beads. Sew a knitted animal figurine in the center.
INTERESTING: How to make a lacing toy
Sling beads are made in a similar way, only they are larger. Mom wears such a practical aid for the baby, at the same time a distracting thing.
Such toys are also suitable for one-year-old children, 1-2, even 1-3 years old. Over time, you can complicate the structure of the beads or bracelet by explaining to your child exactly what elements it consists of.
