In an ideal world, every playroom, classroom, and therapy space would be stocked with endless resources. In reality, many caregivers, educators, and therapists need tools that are practical, adaptable, and rich in developmental value.
This trio of thoughtfully selected PlanToys products shows how a small, portable kit can deliver meaningful impact. Each item supports growth across multiple developmental domains – from fine motor and communication to self-regulation and creative thinking. And each tool is designed to meet kids where they are, while offering new opportunities for exploration and engagement.
Whether you’re on the floor with a toddler, in a circle with students, or working one-on-one in a therapy session, this kit makes purposeful play both accessible and joyful.
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Hand Sign Alphabet A-Z: Supporting Communication, Fine Motor Skills, & Inclusion |
Developmental Focus:
Fine Motor Coordination | Communication & Language | Letter Recognition | Cognitive Flexibility | Social Engagement | Inclusive Learning | Tactile Tracing
The Hand Sign Alphabet is a tactile, language-rich resource that invites children to explore communication through gesture, movement, and visual symbol recognition. Each double-sided tile features an uppercase letter and its corresponding American Sign Language hand shape, with raised lines that encourage tracing for kinesthetic reinforcement. This hands-on experience supports letter formation, expressive language, and inclusive learning, especially for children who are non-speaking, neurodiverse, or developing early literacy skills.
Activity Highlights:
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Sign & Sculpt Studio – Create each letter and corresponding hand sign with clay or textured materials, then display them in a tactile alphabet gallery.
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Emotion Alphabet Mash-Up – Choose a letter and express an emotion that starts with that letter (like Happy "H") to blend language and emotional literacy.
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Sign the Story – Use letter signs to punctuate and retell a familiar story, inviting peers to sign along.
- Alphabet Seek & Find – Pick a letter tile and search the environment for items that start with that letter.
What the kids said!:
“Oh, I know how to make that letter! [When seeing the letter ‘O”].” 6-year old child.
“We are learning sign-language at school! Cool!” 6-year old child.
“Let’s hide them here and try to find them…I’ll close my eyes and hide them.” 4-year olds talking to each other.
“We can’t spell my name with these letters, BUT I can do my nickname!” 5-year old child.
“Can you show me how to do this one [needinghelp with ‘G’...Yes! I did it! [spelling “DIG”].
Each activity blends motor skill development, expressive language, and symbolic thinking in playful, inclusive ways. The sign cards can easily be adapted for circle time, social emotional learning (SEL) check-ins, or multi-sensory reading activities.
Why This Matters
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Strengthens hand coordination and bilateral skills
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Connects movement to language for multi-modal learning
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Offers inclusive ways to explore communication – valuable for all learners
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Builds confidence through physical expression and recognition
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Easily adapts to structured or creative environments
Download the printable here.
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Beehives:Enhancing Color Matching, Bilateral Coordination, Fine Motor Skills & Cooperative Play |
Developmental Focus:
Pincer Grasp | Bilateral Coordination | Color Matching & Sorting | Visual Discrimination | Early Math | Peer Interaction | Turn-Taking & Regulation | Sensorimotor Integration
Beehives combine precision, patterning, and shared exploration into a calming, hands-on play experience. Children use either their fingers or included tongs to return each bee to its color-matched hive – building fine motor control, tool use, and bilateral coordination. The hives can be stacked, sorted, and rearranged to encourage visual-spatial reasoning, categorization, and symbolic play. Whether used for solo sensory work or peer games, they help build attention, grasp, coordination, and early categorization skills.
Want to incorporate movement and regulation? Try placing bees and hives across the room or at different stations – encouraging cross-midline reaching, whole-body planning, and sensory input as children bring order to the hive.
Activity Highlights:
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Bee Architects – Stack and sort the hives while placing bees into position, blending storytelling and motor planning.
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Hive Rhythms – Tap the hives to create musical sequences; others repeat or remix to build auditory memory and shared rhythm.
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Busy Bees – Hide the bees and guide children through sensory-rich movement to locate and return each one.
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Roll, Grab & Go – Add a color die to introduce randomness and fun. Roll a color, pick a matching bee, and return it to its hive. Great in pairs or small groups.
What the kids said!
“I got all the bees back to their home!”
“Let’s make sure we got them all…1,2,3,4,5,6..yep they’re all here!”
“This is how you make a honey comb [as she rearranged the pieces].” child showing her father.
“I am going to do the purple bee first because purple is my favorite color.”
“Oooooh….buuuuuuuzzzzz…Here mama bee! I want bees please!”
From STEM learning to social-emotional practice, these bees do more than buzz – they build foundational skills, flexible thinking, and regulation strategies in every play setting.
Why This Matters
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Strengthens finger dexterity and control – foundations for everyday tasks
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Reinforces sorting and sequencing in a playful, non-pressured way
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Supports attention, turn-taking, and peer interaction
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Provides calming, focused play with built-in learning opportunities
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Flexible for solo exploration or social games
Download the printable here.
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Creative BoardEncouraging Design Thinking, Sequencing, Planning & Self-Expression |
Developmental Focus:
Visual-Motor Integration | Alphabet & Number Recognition | Executive Function | Symbolic Thinking | Sequencing | Goal-Directed Play | Design Thinking
The Creative Board invites children to explore, form, pattern, and sequence through hands-on design. Using color-coded rubber shapes and a pegboard, kids can recreate letters, numbers, or pictures – or build entirely new creations. This open-ended tool supports early literacy, math foundations, and creative confidence.
Activity Highlights:
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Card Creator Challenge – Choose a prompt card and recreate it with rubber shapes, then draw or write a short story to go with it.
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Pattern Relay – Add one shape at a time as a group to finish a pattern, practicing turn-taking and spatial planning.
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Shape Duplicator Lab – Memorize a peer’s design, then turn away and recreate it from memory to build visual sequencing and recall.
What the kids said!:
“I made a happy face…here look this is my happy face [child smiles].”
“I want to make a super challenge. Find me the hardest one!” Child talking to their older sibling.
“Can I create my own? I want to make a pterodactyl like this [lifting their dino figure and making a roaring sound].”
One child: “This is a little hard” and then the other child approaches: "I can help you if you want!” Both together: We did it!
“Look I made an L for Lucy!” 4-year-old
Whether a child is designing independently or working from one of the 40 included prompt cards, this activity builds visual-motor coordination, flexible thinking, and joy in learning through design.
Why This Matters
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Develops control, stability, and coordination
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Strengthens early academic concepts through sensory-motor practice
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Fosters creativity and personal expression
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Offers focused, calming input ideal for transitions or regulation
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Encourages patterning, planning, and symbolic thinking
Download the printable here.
Wrap-Up: Portable, Practical, Powerful
This kit’s magic lies in its simplicity.
Each product supports development in more than one area, adapts to a wide range of ages and abilities, and can easily travel from home to community settings, into classrooms, and clinical settings. For caregivers, educators, and therapists alike, it offers a beautiful reminder that play is one of the most effective and joyful tools for learning and connection.
Whether you’re supporting communication, coordination, or creativity, this kit offers tools that meet children where they are – and grow with them as they explore.
Learn more + follow along
Tonina practices at mpowermekids
Play To Do, LLC