Playtime is not just fun for children, it is a learning experience. Through play, children develop their motor skills, learn important socialization skills and co-operation, and stimulate the senses and the imagination.
Visually impaired and blind children cannot depend on sight when playing with a toy, therefore, choosing toys that impact the other sensors is important, so that these children can explore the world around them and completely enjoy their playtime.
However, toys specifically designed for blind children may often be difficult to find and can be incredibly expensive, so this review will cover toys for blind children that are designed for any child to use and that won’t hurt your pocketbook:
Content:
Edushape 4 Pack Sensory Ball Mega Pack Review
Winfun Step To Play Giant Piano Mat Review
Guidecraft 3D Feel And Find Shapes Review
Bop It XT By Hasbro Review
Edushape 4 Pack Sensory Ball Mega Pack
Edushape is a company that manufactures toys for infants and toddlers that come in fun colors, shapes, and textures, to help children develop social and motor skills, and just enjoy being a child.
The Educshape 4 Pack Sensory Ball Mega Pack is a set of 4 textured balls that are perfect for children ages infant and up.
These sensory balls are wonderful for all children, and they help blind children to learn to play with balls, improving their motor skills along the way.
The features of these balls include:
- Set of 4 balls 2-4 inch balls and 2-7 inch balls with a textured surface
- Great for sensory and dexterity development
- Large size allows for interactive play
- Balls are Phthalate compliant
- Colors may vary
- Ages 6 month and up
First Impressions
Balls are great toys for children and they can be used in a number of different ways, providing hours of fun.
These balls are also bright colored, and the textured surface makes them all the more fun for children.
What The Reviews Have To Say
Reviews for the Edushape 4 Ball Mega Pack are very good, with parents liking the look and the durability of these balls.
Here are some other things that parents like about this set of balls:
- Children love these balls and they really love the textures when they run up their arm or on their back
- The nubs allow children to handle them easier.
- Children play with them regularly until ages 4 or 5
- Very sturdy material
- Very bouncy
Click Here To Get The Current Price Of The Edushape 4 Pack Sensory Ball Mega Pack On Amazon.com
Winfun Step To Play Giant Piano Mat
The Winfun Company offers products for early childhood and learning that are durable and fun.
The Winfun Step To Play Giant Piano Mat will help children to march to the beat of their own drummer, or at least in this case, their own music.
It is a fun way for young children to start learning about music, and it is a great tool for co-operative play.
The giant piano mat is an excellent choice for children who are visually impaired or blind, because it encourages them to move around with more confidence.
The features of this giant piano mat include:
- Designed for ages 4 and up (younger children can use this if supervised)
- 24 giant step piano keys
- Can record, stop, play back
- 3 AA batteries included
- Makes 8 different instrument sounds
- Has special effects
- Measures: 30” X 70”
First Impressions
It’s difficult to find anything not to like about this giant piano mat.
Not only does it allow your child to explore music and sounds, it also is a great way to give them some exercise when stuck indoors on a rainy or cold day.
Since the mat is large enough for two children to use at the same time, it also encourages social interaction and co operation.
You will need to use this on a fairly hard surface.
What The Reviews Have To Say
Reviews for the Winfun Step To Play Giant Piano Mat are exceptionally good.
Parents love the fact that their children really like this toy.
With the exception of a couple of poor reviews due to the fact that a couple of these mats arrived not working, the majority of parent had mostly good things to say about this toy.
Here are just some of the things parents liked about the Step To Play Giant Piano:
- Folds up easy for storing when not in use
- Has a volume control
- Provides great physical activity
- Sounds better than most parents expect
- Great size
Click Here To Get The Current Price Of The Winfun Step To Play Giant Piano Mat On Amazon.com
Guidecraft 3D Feel And Find Shapes
Guidecraft has been operating since 1964 and is known for making quality wooden educational toys and children’s furniture.
The Guidecraft 3D Feel And Find Wooden Shapes Block Set is a great toy for younger children, and can be used in a number of fun and educational ways.
These sturdy and 3D shapes help, not only blind children, but all children to improve their tactile skills and sense of touch, and can even help them to begin learning early problem solving skills.
It also helps sighted children develop hand/eye co ordination.
Features of the 3D Feel And Find Shapes include:
- Sturdy wood construction and nice thick pieces easy for smaller hands to grasp
- Comes with 20 different shapes and matching textured tiles that can be used to put the shapes in
- Each shape is painted in a bright non toxic paint
- Comes with a durable canvas bag for storage
- Best for children ages 3 and up
First Impressions
The 3D Feel And Find Shapes are great for hours of fun play and learning, and can be used in so many different ways to teach children their colors, counting, how to recognize shapes by feel, and fitting the shapes into the textured tile matching them up.
These shapes can even be used for a great family or party game, by having each person reach into the bag, and trying to recognize the shape they pulled out with their eyes closed (or when blind folded).
For an added bonus, there are no batteries to buy!
What The Reviews Have To Say
Reviews for this toy are extremely positive, with most parents liking both the simplicity of this toy and the versatility of it.
Here are some things parents had to say about these unique colorful blocks:
- This toy can be used in a number of ways for discovery and play
- Even young children can enjoy picking out toys of different colors, and recognizing the animal shaped blocks and making their sounds
- Helps to develop a child’s sensory perception and concentration skills
- Helps to develop beginning problem solving skills
- Great toy to play with alone or with other people
- Encourages conversation (as children try and guess what the block is)
Click Here To Get The Current Price Of The Guidecraft 3D Feel And Find Shapes On Amazon.com
Bop It XT By Hasbro
Hasbro is one of the largest toy and board game manufacturers in the world, and the Bop It XT is one of the many fun electronic games this company produces.
This is a great toy for blind children to play with their friends, because each knob you use is located at a different place on the toy and has a different feel.
Features of this game include:
- Electronic game requires 3 AAA batteries
- Simply follow the directions and bop it, twist it, pull it, spin it, flick it, and shake it
- Designed for ages 8 and up be used for solo or group play
- Get 100 directions in a row right and go on to the next level
- Different skill levels from novice to advanced keeps this game interesting and challenging
First Impressions
The Bop It XL game is a bit like the Simon says game on steroids.
The voice in the game issues you a command, and you must immediately obey the command by performing the right function, using the right colored and shaped object.
For example, if the command says Pull It, you have to pull the blue knob on the bottom of the Z shaped toy,
When the Roll It command comes, you have to roll the orange wheel, and so on and so forth.
But, you should be warned ,this game is extremely challenging as well as fun, and it is as much fun trying to your beat your own score as it is trying to beat those you are playing with.
What The Reviews Have To Say
Reviews for the Bop It XT are exceptionally good, with as many adults purchasing this toy for themselves or other adults as they do for their children.
Here is what those customers had to say about this game:
- Improves listening and direction taking skills
- Helps improve memory
- Love the fact that it keeps the top score, so you know if you are improving
- It is addictive
- Fun family or party game
- Can be used with earphones so it makes a great travel game
- Great price
Some customers do feel that the novice level should go a bit slower, so that beginners can get used to the levers/knobs and their functions.
Apart from that, they feel this electronic game is great for the entire family.
The great thing about all of the toys in this review is that they can be interactive and fun, and they offers a variety of sensory exploration that not only makes them great toys for blind children, but great toys for any child.
Most importantly, they are extremely affordable.
Click Here To Get The Current Price Of The Bop It XT By Hasbro On Amazon.com
Content:
Edushape 4 Pack Sensory Ball Mega Pack Review
Winfun Step To Play Giant Piano Mat Review
Guidecraft 3D Feel And Find Shapes Review
Bop It XT By Hasbro Review