At Edx Education, we believe every child deserves the opportunity to thrive through play. For children with dyspraxia a developmental coordination disorder that affects movement, coordination, and motor skills play based learning can be an incredibly supportive and empowering approach.
Dyspraxia can impact both gross motor skills (like running, jumping, and balancing) and fine motor skills (like using cutlery, writing, or buttoning clothes). The good news? With the right toys, activities, and encouragement, children with dyspraxia can build these skills while having fun.
Let's explore engaging, play-based ideas for developing motor skills using some of our favourite Edx Education products, including Junior String Art, Linking Cubes, Sorting Bears and Counters, Whizzy Dizzy, and Joey Jump. These activities not only support motor development but also build confidence, creativity, and resilience.
1. Fine Motor Focus: Junior String Art & Linking Cubes
Fine motor development is key for handwriting, dressing, and other everyday tasks. Children with dyspraxia often need extra support to strengthen the small muscles in their hands and fingers.
Junior String Art is an ideal activity for this. Children use colourful laces to thread through holes in plastic cards, creating their own patterns and pictures. This helps improve hand-eye coordination, bilateral movement (using both hands together), and pincer grip all essential for fine motor development.
Another brilliant toy is our Linking Cubes. These versatile blocks snap together, encouraging children to build, sort, and explore. Manipulating the cubes improves dexterity and finger strength. You can make it fun by building towers, creating patterns, or using them for simple counting and colour games.
2. Learning Through Sorting: Bears and Counters
Sorting activities offer a fantastic opportunity to develop both motor and cognitive skills. Sorting Bears and Counters can be used in multiple ways—by colour, size, or number—and offer a tactile and visual way to engage children in meaningful play.
Using child-friendly tweezers or their fingers to pick up and move the counters helps children practise precision and control. Try creating a game where the bears go on a ‘colour adventure’ across the mat, or hide them in play dough for a sensory surprise!
3. Gross Motor Development: Joey Jump & Whizzy Dizzy
Gross motor skills support balance, posture, and large body movements. For children with dyspraxia, developing these can be a joyful process especially when supported through fun, movement-based play.
Joey Jump is a simple yet brilliant toy that encourages children to stomp on one end of a board to launch a beanbag from the other. It’s fantastic for building coordination, timing, and balance, while also giving children the confidence to experiment with cause and effect.
Another favourite is the Whizzy Dizzy. This spinning seat helps children strengthen their core muscles and improve their sense of balance and spatial awareness. It's great for developing coordination in a way that feels like pure fun. Always supervise and support young children when playing to ensure safety.
4. Play, Learn & Create: Support Through Community
Alongside our toys and downloadable resources, Edx Education offers a podcast Play, Learn & Create with Edx Education designed to support parents, educators, and caregivers with expert advice and practical tips. In recent episodes, we’ve explored inclusive play, supporting neurodiverse children, and the importance of resilience through play.
Dyspraxia may present challenges, but with understanding, patience, and playful learning opportunities, children can thrive. Play helps them explore at their own pace, make sense of their bodies, and enjoy the process of learning without pressure.
At Edx Education, we champion the power of play for all children. Whether it’s through threading laces, building with cubes, sorting colourful bears, or spinning on a Whizzy Dizzy, every moment of play is a step toward stronger motor skills and greater independence.
For parents and caregivers in the UK navigating dyspraxia, know that you are not alone. With the right tools and support, your child can grow, learn, and flourish joyfully and playfully.
Explore our full range of educational toys, free downloadable resources, and tune in to Play, Learn & Create with Edx Education for more inspiration.
Let’s keep playing, learning, and growing together.