Many of the families that I work with shop almost exclusively online. Here are a few of my favorite sites to visit for toys and some of my favorite toys from each site:
Amazon
Amazon has everything that you could possibly want as far as toys, books, sensory items, and health products.
Melissa & Doug
Pull-Back Vehicles
I bought these and love them because the fabric part is removable and washable! They are great for little hands to grasp and push. No bells and whistles here so you and your children can make all of the vehicle sounds yourself! You can use the pull-back feature or roll them the traditional way as well.
Dress Up Activities
I recommend dressing activities because I am always working on functional language with families, and this includes clothing and body part vocabulary.
Bug Jug Fill & Spill
I love these bugs for little ones just learning to put things into a container. They are great for grasping and releasing into someone’s hand or into the container. Fun for fine motor and sensory play. Sing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and have the butterfly “fly away and come back to play”!
Soft Rainbow Stacker and Soft Blocks
Beginner Pattern Blocks
I have this set and use them on a weekly basis. These are great for practicing fine motor skills, communication, and engagement tasks.
Lacing Cards
I use lacing cards not only to focus on fine motor skills, but also for following directions and encouraging communication (such as asking for help, labeling, and imitation).
Jumbo Knob Puzzles
Puzzles are a must and these are a great start for little hands.
Chunky Puzzles
I like the chunky puzzles without knobs too.
Small Knob Puzzles
The small knobbed puzzles are great for practicing fine motor skills. Find what interests your child: numbers, dinosaurs, animals, or bugs. Find a few new ones too in order to broaden your child’s vocabulary.
Alphabet Letter Puzzle
I have these and love them for general hands-on play tasks. Again, good for vocabulary/communication building and social engagement.
Building Blocks
Everyone needs blocks! If your child is not interested in blocks by themselves, you can always get out the dinosaurs or tigers and make them a den or hiding place. Get creative, and build a garage for your cars, or a house for your little people.
Rainbow Stacker
This stacker is great because you can stack them in any order that you wish. For many children this will encourage play with less frustration.
Shape Sorting Cube
Shape-sorters are a staple. You can use them for social play tasks and are also great for problem-solving.
Puzzles
I have “mommy and baby” puzzles and I love them. You can also use words “big/large” and “small/little”. I also work on having kiddos put two words together using these kinds of puzzle: mommy lion, baby zebra, little elephant, or big giraffe.
Magnetic Fishing
This one is just lots of fun! Sometimes it takes several times of working together to get it going. I use this task for following directions and sequencing. We start out just picking up the pieces and then we work up to picking them up, taking them off with our “helper” hand and then placing them in a container. I don’t use a spinner with the little ones, and would advise using this as a social task with adults because of the long string and magnets.
Bag of Bugs
I have these bugs and actually need to order more because I have misplaced a few! I sing little songs with the kids and work on body part labeling and imitation for little ones that aren’t yet consistently imitating or engaging. “I have a bug on my leg, on my leg! I have a bug on my head, on my head!” Trust me, these little guys always get their attention! I also use these for placing in the “froggy’s mouth”. Some kiddos don’t want to put them on their bodies, but will tolerate placing them in the container (frog).
Vehicle Sets
I like vehicles that don’t have batteries. I encourage kids to make their own sounds when playing with cars and trucks.
Tool Kit
Construction Set
I have this set and like to use it for beginning construction. It takes a little practice, so this is best for children with good fine motor skills and some tolerance for hand-over-hand, if needed.
Water Wow! Sets
These sets are fun for all ages! I like to use these for the “then” in a first/then scenario. Sometimes a child can tolerate a few more turns of something when they know this activity is next!
Play Food
Any play food sets are great! Some families prefer the plastic sets and some like the wooden ones. The Velcro sets are fun for children who are able to use both hands to either pull the pieces apart or cut them with the play knife. Play food is great for pretend play and functional language as well as social and fine motor skills. Melissa and Doug have several different kinds of sets.
To be honest, I love almost everything from Melissa & Doug!
The toys that I have are so well made and endure lots of engagement on a daily basis!
Fat Brain Toys
So Fat Brain Toys is now one of my favorite sites! Everything they sell is great for hands-on learning and engagement, not just for keeping your kids entertained. Items I ordered where sent out in less than 24 hours!
Squigz
I have used these many times and are great fidgets and for social play.
Squishy Soft Discovery Books
I like the fact that these books are so multi-sensory.
pipSquigz
I like the larger pieces for little ones.
Lego Duplo Sets
I like the combination of Legos with functional pieces like people, animals, and home furnishings. You can do a lot of language modeling while playing with these fun sets. There are several different varieties too.
Bath Play Sets
Don’t forget that bath time is also play time and can be a great learning time as well.
Sky Nook (swing/hammock)
I personally don’t have one of these but I know a lot of kiddos who would absolutely love this!
Teeter Popper (movement)
I love the suction cups on the bottom!
Sensory Rollers
I appreciate anything sensory. These are great for little hands.
Timber Blocks
For beginners, I usually suggest using 6-10 blocks at a time (or fewer) if the whole bag is too overwhelming. We then add a few more at a time as the child can tolerate.
Gears Building Set
What’s not to love about gears? They are so much fun.
For Siblings and Adults:
Bananagrams
Rubik’s Square
Crankity Brainteaser
Smarty Blocks
Magna-Tiles
Worm Tower
Discount School Supply
Grip & Stay Blocks
I have these blocks and really love them for pulling apart (encouraging using both hands) and beginning building.
They are hard plastic and easy to wash.
Excellerations Fabric Photo Album
These fabric photo albums are one of my favorite things. I often suggest parents make some sort of photo album for their child in order to work on labeling family members and pets.
Soft Squeak Blocks
These are classic plastic blocks for beginner builders.
FantaColor Junior
Kids love this activity. I’ve had mine for many years now. I laminated the cards so they have held up to a lot of use on a weekly basis!
This is good for matching, following directions, fine motor, labeling, social play, and joint attention.
The Grommet
The Grommet is an amazing place to shop ! I love all of the fun gadgets and inventive toys. This is where you want to shop for that person who has everything!
Here are a few fun toys and items that are worth checking out:
Happy Mat One Piece Placemat
This is great for keeping foods separate and secure on a table or tray.
Eco Trucks
I love the fact that they are made from recycled materials.
Removable Tile Building Surface Kit
These can be attached to a wall for standing activities. Good for reaching and stand to sit tasks as well.
Worry Eater
I included this little guy in my top picks because I thought this would be a great benefit for some siblings that I know and love!