Pooka's Christmas List # 5: Melissa & Doug First Bead Maze

Often relegated to the waiting rooms of doctor's offices or play corners in stores and restaurants, the bead maze is an underrated developmental toy. As Pooka approaches 8 months it is important for her to begin working on her fine motor skills. What are fine motor skills? They are usually defined as her ability to use her pincer grasp (her thumb and forefinger) to pick up something as small as a raisin. I don't know about you, but I will not be handing my child a handful of raisins to practice with because they also present a choking hazard. That's why a bead maze is on Pooka's Christmas list. I particularly like the My First Bead Maze from Melissa and Doug. It has a wooden base with suction cups so you can attach it to the floor, a table, or high chair. It has two "maze" tracks and several wooden beads in different colors. One track has larger beads that are easier to grasp, while the other has smaller beads with a second layer of beads that require highly tuned skills to slide them over the first. What's great about this bead maze is that it will grow with baby as their skills develop!