When coordination is difficult, whether from age, injury, surgery or a disability, playing can be the best medicine. These marble run sets are made of wooden blocks with grooves or holes. You stack and arrange the blocks so that marbles roll through them, practicing dexterity all the while.
Fine for children from eight years old and up, too, and even those without dexterity problems would enjoy playing with friends or relatives in rehab hospitals or nursing homes. If there’s no helpful child around, try using a cookie sheet with a 1/2 inch edge all around to contain the pieces.
Blocks range in size from one inch to seven inches. Magic Cabin sells them in a natural wood set of 23 blocks with seven marbles, or a stained wood 60 piece set with 50 blocks and ten marbles.
If anyone in the family is handy with shop tools, it might not be too difficult to work up a set of similar blocks — maybe even scaled a bit bigger to allow the use of larger marbles.