My favorite example of this is the colorful large beads that young children string on thick cords. I actually remember enjoying this activity as a child; my children played with them; I provided them for my preschool students and now my daughter uses them. Stringing beads are a classic for teaching fine motor control and dexterity. But they offer so much more!

There is the opportunity for children to practice math skills by educational toys for preschool. They can simply count the beads as each one is strung on the cord, then move on to addition skills – add one more and you have two. They can learn to sequence – one red bead, one blue bead; big bead, bigger bead, biggest. They can sort them into groupings – by colour, by shape, by size.

Think of all the words to practice or add to the child’s vocabulary, from the basic “small, smaller, smallest” to shape words such as “cylinder, square, cube”, and all the way to concepts such as “sequencing" or "alternating”.

If provided as a group activity, stringing beads contributes to social skills such as sharing, taking turns, negotiating and problem solving. Children can enjoy pride in accomplishing a task or overcoming frustration.


A toys for fine motor skills for toddlers or activity is merely an opportunity for teachable moments. Introduce the beads in different contexts, with different challenges, then take advantage of these moments to expand a child’s knowledge.

There are a whole range of educational and beautiful lacing toys for toddlers that you can get (https://skoolzy.com/search?type=product&q=lacing) for your toddler to help them learn while they play.