The holidays are here, and if you are shopping for children, you may be overwhelmed at all of the gift options. While video games and electronics may be at the top of many children’s wish lists, we found some great educational gifts that are so fun, many kids won’t even realize they’re learning while they are playing.
1VATOS Take Apart Car Construction Toy
Price:$26.00
Junior engineers and mechanics will go nuts for this learning and playing construction toy. They will spend hours taking apart the bulldozer and building it back up. It actually comes with a manual drill and a power drill, which makes realistic sounds. This is a great toy for parent-child interaction, as everyone gets to work together to get the bulldozer moving.
What Reviewers Are Saying:
“This toy was fun for all 3 of my boys ages 3, 7 and 9 and they played together which is a huge benefit. This toy is excellent quality. It comes with a powered toy drill and a screwdriver. The truck also powers on, makes different sounds and moves forward and backwards.”
“My son was so excited when he saw the box for this toy. Even more excited once we got it open. He loves the working drill and the lights and sounds. He has other STEM building toys but we have not come across any that offer the lights, sounds and movements like this one. ”
2Educational Insights The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game
Price:$22.00
Three-year-olds will go nuts for this adorable, easy-to-understand game. They get to help the hungry forest pals get acorns, and the first to get five acorns wins! The game helps reinforce color learning and matching skills, strategic thinking, turn taking and fine motor skills. Making learning fun is the best way to keep a 3-year-old interested, and this adorable educational kid game is one of the best ways to sneak in a little extra learning during game time.
What Reviewers Are Saying:
“This is such a great educational game! If you are in need of a great birthday or holiday gift, this is a MUST!!! My son used this game in his ABA therapy this morning and it was such a hit! This game was not only PERFECT for him but my 5 and 3-year-old daughters also had a great time participating in this! The tongs are great for little hands and still quite a task for adults too.. you’ll be surprised!! Seriously, even the therapist had fun.”
“Great for game nights with young children! My family has always enjoyed board games, but with very little children in our crew, we are always on the lookout for games they can join in without a lot of help. This game and others by Educational Insights are our go-to choices to start off family game night, they are easy to learn, quick games, that require no reading skills to play,”
3Learning Resources Puzzle Globe
Price:$35.00
Instill a love of learning and travel in your kiddos with this three-dimensional globe puzzle, which is an educational toy in disguise. Kids will learn about the continents, oceans and famous landmarks as they figure out this 14-piece puzzle through interactive tactile play. It’s sturdy construction, easy-to-hold pieces, and solid base and bright colors that distinguish each continent make it a great gift. It’s great for helping encourage early readers and future world travelers.
What Reviewers Are Saying:
“Got this for my son (4 years old) who is currently homeschooled. It’s super cute and he really likes looking at it.”
“My 4 year old loves this. She has been taking it apart and putting it together nonstop. It’s a fun geography lesson, as we talk about the different continents. There are small pictures on each continent to help her make connections. The continents connect by different shape pegs, and their names match by color, so there are some basic skills being reviewed. Love this.”
4ThinkFun Gravity Maze
Price: $29.95
Gravity Maze is one of ThinkFun’s most popular stem toys for boys and girls, and was a Toy of the Year Award winner in 2017, in the Specialty Category. It’s a gravity-powered maze game that comes with 60 challenges of increasing difficulty, from beginner to expert, and is one of the best gifts you can buy for kids who like smart games and a challenge. Gravity Maze is made with high-quality components, and comes with a very clear and easy to understand instruction manual – you’ll be able to play within minutes of opening the box. Like all of ThinkFun’s games, Gravity Maze is built to develop critical thinking skills. Playing through the increasingly difficult challenges will improve logical reasoning, spatial reasoning and planning skills, all through fun gameplay.
This gravity powered logic maze is sure to put your visual perception and reasoning skills to the test. The towers can be arranged in a wide variety of visually stimulating structures but, for each challenge, you’ll have to think carefully to build a path that will carry your marble to the Target Tower.
What Reviewers Are Saying:
“My 10-year-old son is obsessed with this game. He loves figuring out each maze. It makes him use problem-solving skills and logic. This is a great toy for an only child whose parents can’t entertain the child every minute. He chooses this over video games! Now that is saying something.”
“4th graders and engineers love this toy. Follow the cards, create your own, make it big, make it long–it’s all fun. It is the most sought after game in my classroom and it engaged two very serious young adults until they were told to put it away.”
5Zingo
Price: $20
Zingo is one of ThinkFun’s most popular and bestselling games, and is the winner of an Oppenheim Gold Award and Parents’ Choice Gold Award, among others. It’s a fun pre-reading game for ages 4 and up, and is one of the best gifts you can buy for kids. Zingo is built to develop critical thinking skills. Playing will improve language skills through fun and fast placed play.
What Reviewers Are Saying:
“Best. Game. Ever. I have two daughters, one whom has Apraxia of speech and the other who is a beginning reader. The pictures ensure that my younger daughter (with Apraxia) can still independently play, while it encourages both my children to read aloud the object. This game requires no adult help, so my daughters will literally spend hours playing this game together.”
“This is one of the only toys I have ever bought for my kid that I actually enjoy playing with with her. she loves it because she gets a kick out of the dispenser contraption and she loves the individual attention of playing a game with adults. the fact that it is so simple to play (don’t need to read any directions) and isn’t mind-numbingly boring for adults is what makes this the perfect toy. my child is 3.5 and I wish I had bought it for her sooner, but she can play it easily at her current age.”
This article is brought to you by IvyBrook Academy in Franklin, offering a hands-on, discovery-based approach to learning. IvyBrook Academy, located at 1268 Lewisburg Pike, is a half-day preschool for children ages 2-5.
