Therapists and Early Interventionists are tasked with working on many goals for the children they serve and being able to use one toy to meet their needs is such a benefit to everyone. I found a toy that can be used for almost all areas of development. It is also small enough to be placed in your car if you conduct home visits. The legs of the table can be removed and it all fits in your passenger or back seat!

This toy is the Jungle Play and Train Table. This table will assist you in meeting so many of the goals you have for the children on your caseload.

Gross Motor Activity:

This table is such a great tool to help with improving gross motor skills. Reaching over to grab a train toy will require balance during this time of play.  If a child is walking independently, making their way around the table will encourage exploration and increase time they are on their feet. Each time a child is walking successfully or obtaining toys they are increasing muscle strength and coordination!

Fine Motor Skills:

The train tracks on this table are perfect if the goal is to increase hand strength for your patient. The grasp that is necessary to pick up a small train will also help children pick up small food items and feed themselves. The beads on the table will also help to increase fine motor skills because of the need to use fingers and thumb coordination to get the beads to move. This also aids in a child's ability to use a fork and spoon.

Expressive and Receptive Language:

This toy is so much fun that it will create excitement and increase communication. Work on the child's receptive language skills by asking questions to see if the child can follow directions. An example would be to ask the child to identify one of the many fun animals on the table. If the child attempts to respond you realize that they understand the question. You can work on expressive language with the child by reviewing animal names and sounds that they make. Children love to emulate animal sounds and this toy is a great way to get them excited about communication.

SmileMakers offers this and other toys that will help therapists reach each of your patients at varying levels of development. Be sure to visit the website for full assortment of items.