Speechie Approved Toys
Every speechie tends to have most of the same reliable toys in their clinic, and for good reason! These are the "tried and tested" toys that help us "play" our way to optimising speech and language development. These toys are fun and effective whilst simultaneously being educational....a win win scenario.
We have put together a list of links to our favourite fun and educational toys below. The next time you need to buy a toddler a present, make it an educational one.....
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Good for :
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Turn Taking
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Play skills
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Joint attention
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Spatial awareness
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Hand eye coordination
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Fine motor skills
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Langauge skills
This toy never gets old. Children are able to roll, bounce and laugh their way through learning. The pieces should be big enough so that your child can easily stack it together. There are endless amounts of combinations they can make, guaranteed to keep them entertained for hours. 🗼⚽⚽
Good for:
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Hand eye coordindation
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Fine motor skills
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Language development
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Turn taking and sharing
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Sequencing
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Promotes play
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Sound Puzzles
Melissa and Doug "Sound Puzzles' are the holy grail of puzzles. They have all of the benefits of normal puzzles with the added multisensory benefits of each puzzle piece making realistic noises when a child slots them into place. Children love them and the audio feedback they recieve provides fun and education wrapped into one.
Good for :
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Vocabulary development
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Fine motor skills
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Matching skills
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Play skills
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Listening skills
Wooden Cutting Play Kitchen set
Good for:
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Vocabulary development
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Sorting skills
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Concepts (big/ little etc,)
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Colours
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Sharing and turn taking
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Fine motor skills
Nurse/ Doctor / Dentist set
Good for:
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Vocabulary development
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Fine motor skills
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Learning body parts
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Self care
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Play skills
Hand Puppets
Hand puppets and finger puppets make excellent, educational toys. Every speech therapist has at least a couple of good puppets tucked away in the clinic. Children love them in all shapes and sizes. You don't need the most expensive puppet in the shop. Hand made sock puppets are often the best puppets.
Good for :
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Language development
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Emotional development
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Fine motor development
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Listening skills
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Motor skills
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Creativity
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Story telling and sequencing
As you know, the messier the better when it comes to play. Playdough ticks that box without being messy enough for parents to ban it from the house🤣. Like puppets, any playdough will do. When we can, we like to make our own playdough with the child together. Homemade playdough. But if you dont have time for that, you can buy good quality playdough in most shops, or follow the link.
Good for:
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Motor skills
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Regulation
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Creativity
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Hand eye cooordination
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Supports literacy and numeracy development
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Langauge development
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Promotes play skills
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Bubbles
Like playdough, bubbles can be messy. Which means that children naturally love them!! Similarly to playdough, it is simple to make your own bubbes. Bubble Making Recipe. But if you dont have time for that, you can buy them in any store, or follow the link. There are sooo many benefits to the simple bubble wand that it would be too hard to list them all. We have given it a shot though 😊🫧🫧🫧
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Visual tracking skills
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Fine motor development
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Gross motor development
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Hand eye coordination
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Language development
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Turn taking skills
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Sharing
We are not fully sure that this is the correct name for these toys, but we think it works. Like all the toys on this page, there are several varieties that can be purchased in most childrens shops. We like the Melissa and Doug one as its wooden (durable and we like to avoid plastic where possible). Children love making their own towns. Inventing stories that go with the figurines. Constructing narratives around the vehicles they drive down busy streets etc. These sets provide endless hours of fun, while teaching your child countless lessons along the way.
If you want to ignite your childs imagination- look no further than building blocks. The structural possibilities are endless. From train tracks, to towns, to skyscrapers and back again, building blocks produce hours of endless, educational entertainment.
Good for:
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Language development
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Early concentration skills
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Shape recognition
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Fine motor skills
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Spatial Awareness
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Turn taking and sharing
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Problem solving skills
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Emerging numeracy skills
Great for :
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Language development
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Turn taking and sharing
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Pronouns
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Teaching vocab related to clothes, body parts, pronouns