Are you looking for the best toy rockets for kids on the market? Our All-Star toy for August are the amazing Strato Slam Rockets by POOF. These rockets are incredibly motivating for kids and work on a number of developmental skills including strength and balance. Kids love setting up the rocket, stomping, and watching them fly into the air. As therapists we are always looking for motivating and fun toys that get kids moving and playing naturally.
Throughout the month we will bring you ideas on how we use these rockets for purposeful play, to drive movements and encourage development.
1. Single Limb Balance
One big reason that we adore this toy is because it motivates kids to stomp! Stomping naturally works on single limb balance and shifts a child’s focus to something external. This is one of the best ways to train, challenge, and learn to balance. It also has great feedback! The harder you stomp, the higher it flies!
Want to really challenge single limb balance? Encourage your child to lift their foot and do a “countdown” before they stomp!
Look at Miss Mila’s focus here!
Here you can find other ideas for encouraging single limb balance in play.
2. Practice Jumping Skills
These rockets aren’t just for stomping! Your little on will soon figure out that the more force they produce, the higher these rockets will fly!
Watch Mila jump!
Add 2 targets to increase complexity (and fun)!
Practice getting a running start! You can work on running, stopping, and jumping. Or, like Mila here, your child can run and jump fluidly, which really requires some coordination!
3. Challenge Dynamic Balance on Uneven Surfaces
One of our favorite ways to play with this toy is to take it to the beach! This adds the benefits of barefoot play, the sensory input of the sand, and dynamic balance challenges!
You can see how these little cuties have to work a little harder to achieve their goal and keep balanced in the sand!
4. Use Your Rockets to Hit Targets or Knock Over Objects
NOTE: This one requires help and guidance from an adult!
For extra motivation, use the rocket to hit targets or knock over items. In the video you can see that we upcycled our water bottles and used them as bowling pins.
You can also use targets in the environment as motivation to stomp harder or less hard (ie, “see if you can make the rocket fly past that tree”). It’s great external feedback for kiddos learning how to gauge force.
Check back throughout the month! We’ll continue to bring you some fun ideas on how you can use this toy for purposeful play.
Have multiple kids? Check out Strato Slam Rocket Battle Blast which comes with two rocket sets so that kiddos can battle it out to see who can launch them the highest.
Perform activities recommended by Walk, Talk, Play at your own risk with appropriate adult supervision provided. Walk, Talk, Play is not responsible for any injury caused while performing these play activities.
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