The Best Fidget Toys for Your Classroom

Okay, but who doesn’t love a good fidget toy?

Fidgets are so much more than just the classic stress ball or, one of the best sellers in the fidget toy category, fidget spinners that were popular in recent years – you know the things you would have found in any classroom in 2016 or 2017!

Don’t get me wrong, those are great, but there are so many more options out there that will help children, especially those with Autism Spectrum disorders or sensory processing disorders, meet their sensory needs.

The function of fidget toys can be overlooked by many, as they do not realize that these toys, aka fidgets, help people regulate their nervous systems and provide sensory stimulation. There is a significant difference between a toy and a stim toy or fidget.

Every child has different sensory profiles, which is why sensory fidgets are huge for early learners. 

But, sensory needs don’t just go away after the younger years have passed. This means a sensory bin, or fidget kit, doesn’t have to be a “one size fits all”. You need to have different textures, different shapes, different sizes, different smells; basically, different fidget toys for different senses and preferred stim behaviors!

As a teacher, having a variety of fidgets available for your students is important for the selection of a stim toy that can help each of them add to their list of preferred self-stim behaviors. 

So, if you’re looking for the right fidget toys to add to your collection keep reading on for some great options for specific sensory interests.

Visual Needs

Some children may be visual seekers who crave more stimulation through visual means.

Use of fidget toys made of gel or other liquid, like this one, are a great option for these students to use as they can watch the liquid move around as they squeeze it!  And better yet- they’re washable, which is a must have for some of these fidgets.

A sensory bottle or liquid motion tube, like these or these, are also a great choice, as children can watch the items in the liquid move from the top to the bottom when they flip it over. Prepare to enjoy them yourself if they’re on your desk- they can be calming and engaging even for us!

You can even make these to add to your collection of stim toys by following the directions below! The best part about making these yourself is that you can add favorite items, colors, etc. to make it personalized for the user, and even make it with them if possible!

DIY Glitter Sensory Bottle

Supplies Needed

• Water bottle (Plastic Voss water bottles work great!)
• Steel wool, optional (to remove Voss logo, if desired)
• Warm water
• Glitter
• Clear glue (like Elmer’s glue)
• Food coloring
• Strong glue, like E6000, or tape (for making sure the lid stays on)

How to Assemble

1. If you want to take the logo off of the bottle, use steel wool to remove it.
2. Fill the bottle 3/4 of the way full with warm water.
3. Pour in the clear glue (the more thick and sticky your solution, the longer the glitter will suspend, so you may want to use more than one bottle of glue).
4. Add in the glitter – lots and lots of glitter.
5. Add a few drops of food coloring into the water.
6. Put the lid on and gently shake. Add in more glitter or other items, if desired.
7. Once you like the way it looks, glue or tape the lid shut.

Not only do these helps students and their visual system, but they can also be used as an educational piece for social interaction by having the child describe what they see happening in the tubes. 

Note: These sensory fidget toys are a great tool for occupational therapists to use, too, especially for visual supports!

Olfactory Needs

There are multiple types of olfactory needs, all of which relate to the sense of smell. Someone with olfactory needs can be desensitized to smells, overly sensitive to smells, or even seek out certain smells. Although not your average hand fidget, this is an important thing to remember to meet all of the sensory needs of your students.

Children with Autism who are olfactory seekers may crave strong or specific scents. To help these children function better and to meet their olfactory needs, you can try a variety of toys and wearable fidgets!

For those that enjoy different smells, scented putty is a great way to meet their sensory needs. You could always get unscented putty and add in their favorite scents so that it is tailored to them. This scented putty is great for building fine motor skills, giving them feedback or something to do with their hands and it smells- almost seems like it can do it all! Click here to get it.

They may not be toys, but these bracelets can be added to your olfactory sensory solutions! Just add your students’ favorite essential oils and you are good to go!

Please keep in mind that some students may be sensitive to different smells. If you are adding in essential oils, please check with your school nurse that it is allowed and will not cause issues with any students in your class.

Oral Needs

Chewing, or mouthing, certain items is something that you might find on a list of self-stimulatory behaviors for your students. 

While preferred stim behaviors vary, if this is one that your child or students prefers they may chew on items that are hazardous. So, if you are looking for oral solutions, there are a few chewable toys with oral sensory purpose!

A chewable necklace is always a great option, as they can be kept around the child’s neck for quick and close access when they need it.  Whenever you introduce these, you want to be sure the students are on board with them and do not feel it makes them stand out from their peers.

If you want to be a tad more discreet, this X-shaped sensory toy is a hand held tool and another great choice for children with oral sensory needs! Students can keep this in their desk and pull it out only when needed. The trick with this is to keep it clean and not left anywhere!

Proprioceptive Needs

When students have proprioceptive needs, they might struggle with understanding where their body is in space, leading to difficulties with coordination, balance, and even staying seated. These students may seek out or avoid certain physical sensations, like heavy lifting, pushing, or squeezing, as a way to help regulate their sensory input. Understanding and addressing these needs is crucial for creating a supportive learning environment that helps them feel secure and focused.

Weighted items like this lap pad can help to add pressure to leg muscles! This is great to use either at students’ desks or at the carpet. Be sure to talk with your occupational therapist about the time you should have weighted items on a student’s lap. There is normally a schedule to follow of time wearing it and having it off.

Other tools to help students focus on their body’s position are things like therapy balls or wiggle cushions. I love these wiggle cushions because they are small, can move from seat to seat and have some bumps to give some additional feedback.

Play dough (homemade or store bought) is a different way to help stimulate the proprioceptive sense in your hands and fingers, as the dough has some resistance to it! You can add in small items for the students to find. This is another way for them to also work on building up their small muscles in their hands that are also needed for writing and cutting.

For those with oral needs, you may want to find a taste friendly version like this one (it’s wheat and gluten free, too) or make your own using the following recipe!

Homemade Play Dough

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup water (preferably boiled, but can be cold)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 cup salt
• 1.5 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 pack kool-aid or 4-5 drops of food coloring

Instructions

1. Combine water and food coloring in a bowl, if boiling – combine them in a pot and bring to boil.
2. Combine your dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
3. If using boiling water, remove it from heat. Add the oil to the water and food coloring mixture.
4. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients. Continue mixing until the play dough forms a ball.
5.  Knead the dough it until it is no longer sticky (make sure to wait for it to cool if you used boiled water). Tip: Flour hands so that the dough doesn’t stick while kneading.

Play dough can also be used for tactile play.

You can also have students with proprioceptive needs use textured pencil sleeves to help them hold a pencil, or pen, when writing and focusing on those fine motor skills! These are also great for students that have oral needs, as previously mentioned, and tend to chew on their pencils.

Vestibular Needs

Students with vestibular needs may have challenges related to their sense of balance and spatial orientation, which can affect everything from sitting still to navigating the classroom. They might seek out movement like spinning, swinging, or rocking to help regulate their sensory system, or they may become easily overwhelmed by activities that involve a lot of motion. Recognizing and supporting these needs is key to helping students feel grounded and engaged in their learning environment. 

Having a sensory gym, or even sensory rooms, is a great option for schools, or even your home, for children with vestibular needs. 

Those with this sensory need may seek out movement to help them regulate their sensory input and emotional states. This also helps them to find a sense of calm and control, no matter what their environment is.

If a child is a vestibular, or movement, seeker, using balancing stones or blocks is a great option, especially for whole-body movements! You can also have a balance board for kids to pull out during times to get their input as needed.

Using an expandable ball would help with gross motor skills, vestibular input, and can even be used as a calming tool. This can be used to mimic taking deep breaths. It is visual and just fun to play with.

Sensory overload can happen quickly when there is a lot happening around children with sensory needs, this is especially true in the classroom. 

Having students use items like wiggle feet or kick bands, are great sensory-based interventions because they allow for movement while they are sitting.

These are all great for children with excess energy, too! 

Tactile Needs

Using textured sensory balls, bracelets, fidget keychains, ring fidget stacks, silicone or spiky fidget rings or other wearable fidgets can help these children regulate their nervous systems. 

These are also discrete, just like fidget cubes, which makes them a great option for the classroom or in public!

Nee Doh has a variety of sensory balls to choose from to meet different sensory needs, whether your student or child prefers squishy, shaggy or bumpy textures!

If a child likes movements of objects as a stim behavior, this marble maze or an orbit ball would be a great choices because they both have small balls that they can move around within the fidget. Another option would be a push peel, which not only helps with tactile awareness, but also helps develop the user’s motor skills.

Other Fidget Toys to Add to Your Collection

Helping children function with more ease in their daily lives is so important! Sensory overstimulation can negatively impact the rest of the day for those with sensory needs, so the use of fidget toys allows for them to more easily regulate their sensory and nervous systems. 

Remember that each child, especially those with autism spectrum disorders, is different and may have a range of needs at different times throughout the day.

If you are looking for more fidgets to add to your “tool box” or sensory cave, check out these pop fidget balls, stretchy strings, learning poppers, and wacky tracks snap and click fidgets (if these were to break there would be small parts, so make sure that students do not put them in their mouths).

Making sure to have a variety of sensory considerations for children with sensory issues is important. If you are teacher, make sure that you learn the personal interests when it comes to each of your children’s sensory-seeking profile.