Helpful Tips for Parents

• Sensory toys (kinetic sand, water beads, slime, textured balls) serve a specific therapeutic function for children with sensory processing differences — but are enjoyable and beneficial for all children.

• Art supplies as toys: crayons, paint, markers, glue, scissors, paper, and clay develop fine motor, creative, and executive function skills better than any art-specific toy.

• Involve children in choosing their toys within appropriate parameters. A child who chose their own puzzle is more motivated to complete it than one given a puzzle by an adult.

• Hand-me-down and second-hand toys are often the highest-quality toys available — older children's toys were made to last, and natural materials like wood age better than cheap plastic.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are STEM toys worthwhile for preschoolers?

STEM toys vary enormously in quality and actual developmental value. The most valuable are those that genuinely engage children in scientific thinking or mathematical reasoning rather than those that simply carry the marketing label. Best actual STEM toys for preschoolers: simple coding toys (Bee-Bot, Code-a-Pillar) that make programming concepts tangible, construction sets (Magna-Tiles, KEVA planks) that develop engineering intuition, balance scales and measuring tools that make physics observable, and magnets and magnifying glasses. The worst "STEM" toys are traditional toys with a STEM label applied for marketing.

Related reading: See also our pretend play guide and our board games guide for more ideas on this topic.

🎓 Skills Your Child Will Develop

• 🧪 Scientific Thinking — Toys that respond to a child's action — magnets that attract, LEGOs that click, water toys that spray — teach cause-and-effect thinking and the experimental mindset that underlies scientific reasoning.
• 🌿 Sensory Processing — Toys with varied textures, weights, and tactile properties support sensory processing development — particularly important for children with sensory processing differences, and enjoyable and beneficial for all children.
• 📐 Spatial Reasoning — Construction toys engage spatial intelligence — the ability to mentally manipulate objects in space — which is one of the most reliable predictors of mathematics and engineering achievement.
• 🖐️ Fine Motor Development — Manipulating small toy pieces, threading, sorting, stacking, and assembling develops fine motor precision and the hand strength that writing, drawing, and detailed tool use require.

**Resolving conflicts becomes a daunting task. Use these four effective conflict resolution tips to resolve conflicts.

Slippery Fish Song

Slippery Fish, one of many fun and interactive preschool songs.

Toy Review - Little People Doodle Pro

Little People Doodle Pro **

Created by Fisher-Price

About the Toy

Little People Doodle Pro is a magnetic writing and drawing "pad". It comes with three shapes: circle, triangle, and square, for drawing. Little People Doodle Pro also comes with an attached magnetic pen for writing and drawing. A soccer ball slides horizontally to erase the writing and drawings. A handle is provided at the top of the pad for easy carrying.

From The Reviewer

Little People Doodle Pro is a great tool for little hands and little people learning how to write letters and numbers. The magnetic pen is attached with a nylon cord to the "pad" to prevent the pen from getting lost.

The Pros

There are three magnetic shapes that are magnetically held in place on the pad. These provide a great way of creating drawings, such as houses, cars, faces, and any other drawing images your preschooler may want to create. This is a nice addition to the pad because it allows for easy creation of objects (such as circles) that would otherwise be difficult to create. My son colored with them at first before he realized he could use them to make pictures. With a little help, he was drawing all kind of pictures with them.

I like the frame of the Little People Doodle Pro pad. It's very colorful with bright primary colors of children, balloons, a dog and a soccer ball. The drawing space is a good size, and the handle at the top of the pad allows you to easily take the Little People Doodle Pro on the go.

The Cons

The soccer ball, which slides horizontally to erase the board, is a little difficult to slide. It takes some strength and coordination to get it to slide, so younger preschoolers may have a difficult time trying to slide it. It also takes several passes to get the board to completely erase.

The pen must be held perpendicular to the pad in order for it to make a mark on the pad. But, after some practice, he was able to slide it without much trouble.

Although the cord attaching the magnetic pen to the pad is long enough for writing and drawing on the entire pad, Fisher-Price could have made it about 2" longer.

My preschool son and I give Little People Doodle Pro 3 out of four doodles.

Buy Little People Doodle Pro Now!

Submit Your Comments

Does your preschooler own Little People Doodle Pro? What has your experience been with this toy? Submit your comments. Does your preschooler like the Little People Doodle Pro? Vote in the pole below by clicking on Yes or No.

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I'm Stacey Lloyd , the Executive Editor and one of many writers for PreschoolRock.com. I enjoy writing about preschoolers, and reading your ideas and experiences with your preschooler. If you have any suggestions, ideas or questions about this site, please contact me .

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