Ten Educational and Sensory Toys for Young Kids

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The majority of our school day is spent at home this year, like so many of you. To emulate some of the toy exploration found at my kids’ schools, I recently organized and added to our collection of sensory toys. Anything engaging and skill-building that doesn’t involve a screen gets an A+ in my book!

What Are Sensory Toys?

Sensory toys activate the senses and help kids explore different feels, sounds and smells. The experts confirm, the benefits of sensory toys are numerous.

“Sensory toys are beneficial to all ages and abilities and not limited in use,” Dr. Dry says “They may be used to activate or to calm, to encourage engagement and hand-eye coordination, and to increase participation and turn-taking.”

– Shelli Dry, ODT, a pediatric therapist

Ten Sensory Toys We Currently Love

My kids are all in different stages right now – two, five and seven – but without a doubt they can play together nicely with any of these sensory toys. Here are the ten sensory toys we use and love every day.

Wooden Pattern Blocks

Shapes Puzzle

Encourages imagination, spatial awareness, hand/eye coordination, fine motor development, color recognition, logical ability and creativity.

(Amazon, $15.99)

Impressa Monkey Noodle

Encourages sensory and tactile stimulation that can help create a sense of calm, reduce stress / anxiety and can increase focus and attention.

(Amazon, $9.99)

Coogam Wooden Geoboard with Bands

Encourages shape/letter/design building, fine motor and visual motor skills. (Amazon, $21.99)

Colorations Incredible Foam

Encourages sensory learning experience for developing & fine-tuning kids’ fine motor skills & tactile senses. (Amazon, $37.58)

Bristle Blocks

 The round edges and bristles provide tactile sensory activity. Block play improves concentration, attention span and hand-eye coordination. (Amazon, $14.95)

Antsy Pants Stepping Stones

Encourages gross motor skills, coordination and imaginative play.

(Target, $19.99) (A similar stepping stones set, available on Amazon, offers larger sizes which may suit older kids, too!)

Foam Flybar

An active toy that can help train hand eye coordination and gross motor skills. (Amazon, $16.99)

Squigz Suction Cup Builders

Encourages creativity and fine motor skills (Amazon, $25.95). Bonus: You can clean them in the dishwasher. Makes for a great bath time activity, too!

Playmags 3D Magnetic Blocks

Encourages problem solving, motor skills and shape recognition. (Amazon, $49.99 for a set of 100)

Color Change Nee Doh

Encourages fine motor control, hand strengthening and can help to self regulate or de-stress. Hint: Buy a couple extra for you! (Amazon, $19.95 for a set of 3)

These are our favorite sensory toys that help keep my kids engaged and inspire creativity when playing at home. Do you have sensory toys your kids adore?

XOXO,

Emily