At her Early Intervention evaluation, Juliet’s fine and gross motor skills were both on the lower end for her age.  Since then she has certainly blossomed a lot, but I have been working with her more as well trying to help her along. I have been looking for more grasping toys to help her get more comfortable using her little fingers, as well as mastering skills with them such as picking things up, passing them from one hand to another, etc. I asked the evaluators for suggestions, as well as looked at the toys they had with them when they evaluated Juliet.  Here is my list:


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1)Put and Peek Birdhouse – I thought this toy was cute and would help later teach Juliet the concept of in and out.  Juliet enjoys munching on her birds currently and has no interest in placing them back into the birdhouse but has gotten the idea of removing them from it…so she can eat them.  I think they toy is sweet and might grow well with her.

2) Tobbles – I haven’t purchased this yet but am very keen about it. All the reviews say this is a great toy, and it looks like it might be somewhat easy for Juliet to grasp. Maybe if Drake or I started to stack them, she would get the idea and try herself. The material seems bright and inviting for a little one, and there isn’t a right or wrong way to build with them.

3) Winkle – The winkle is a toy I had with Drake that he never really cared for. I stashed it away for future babies and lo and behold Juliet loves it.  Even before she got evaluated she showed great interest in this toy and would often reach and grasp for it.  I think the fact that her hands can easily hold this toy helped keep her interest, especially since she was struggling in these motor skill developments. This was one toy she could actually somewhat hold and play with. Because of all the ways she can grab on to it, this was the first toy I ever saw her pass from one hand to another.

4) Sneaky Squirrel – I also looked at a couple of fine motor toys for Drake. I’ve seen this game a lot. The squirrel is a tweezer for picking up the different colored acorns. It looks like a fun family game for us to try as he gets more into games.

5) OBall –  Since I saw Juliet enjoy the Winkle so much I decided to look for toys with easy grasp ability for her like the Oball.  The open shape of the toy allows her to grab it easily, and the fact that it’s a ball allowed me to roll it, causing her to try to reach for it and crawl.  I saw her bang this toy for the first time as well since it jingles a little when shaken.

6) Latch Board – I loved Mrs. Pen’s DIY latch board.  It doesn’t look like a hard project for my handy husband and I can custom the little details for Juliet.  I am hoping Mr. Chocolate can try doing this over the summer.

7)  String a Farm – I think Drake might still be a little too young and uncoordinated to do a Lace and Trace toy, but I like this stringing farm since the pieces are chunkier and a little easier to grasp, and you only need to thread the string through a few holes rather than many. I also think he would enjoy lining up all the farm animals or just playing with the pieces themselves.

8) Zany Zoo Wooden Activity Cube – We got this for Juliet this past Christmas and it’s a hit with both my kids. The evaluators mentioned how good activity cubes are for developing fine motor skills. With all the different pieces to move and manipulate, it keeps the child interested and engaged as well as helps them master use of those small fingers. As a bonus Drake is also amused by it so they can play together. Juliet will often watch as Drake move things and will try to get in on the play, or imitate it after he has moved on.

9) House – I have seen many different varieties of these small house toys. Leapfrog (pictured above), Fisher Price, and V-Tech all make them. All the small little details like doors, switches, windows, etc. require small manipulations from little hands, and the lights and sounds might keep Juliet interested in learning how to create those effects. I’m leaning toward the Fisher Price one because of the two additional take along figures. Every kid likes little people to play with.

10) First Scissors – Drake is starting to use scissors at school, so I thought it would be good to keep up with that skill at home. I had been looking for a pair of kid-friendly scissors when I found this little kit.  Not only are the scissors good for little kids, but I think Drake would love the animal crafts. It might be a fun project to do together and when Juliet gets older, she can use those scissors as well.