It’s time to think about holiday gift giving and putting together a shopping list with the kids in mind. Need some ideas for creative and educational gifts this year? Here are some suggestions for you as well as links to some really great online sources for easy-chair shopping.
Wild Detectives DVD Collection from National Geographic explores nature as only Nat Geo can! Answers questions like “What do lion cubs do in their den when no one is looking?” and “Why do penguins swim so deep in the ocean when their food is on the surface?” Beautiful camera work, interesting critters, fun information!
Put together a craft box for unlimited creativity! Purchase a colorful plastic box (with closure) and then head to your favorite crafting store to stock that box full of markers, colorful ribbons and pipe cleaners, stickers, watercolor paints, glue or glue sticks, crayons, colorful papers, cute Japanese Washi tape, pompoms, glitter, beads, and anything else that strikes your artistic fancy.
Let’s get physical! Hula hoops, scooters, skates, skateboards, bikes, boogie boards for the beach, jump ropes, mini exercise trampoline, stilts, climbing rope ladder, hop balls, anything that will get the kiddos up and moving is a very good thing!
Open-ended imagination toys such as Brio trains, Playmobil sets, Lego, hand-puppets, Lincoln Logs, all these things are perfect for freestyle fun.
Qwirkle is a fun mix of Scrabble and dominoes. For 2-4 players, colorful wooden blocks get matched together based on color and design and really make the players strategize as they go. Loads of fun for all ages, so parents and older kids can play along too.
Simon is another fantastic game that is guaranteed to bring lots of laughter. Flashing lights and colors exercise and build memory skills that are critical for academic success, while at the same time increasing manual dexterity. The kids, of course, won’t know that they’re growing and learning – they’re having too much fun!
Globes, atlases, maps: Do you have a little Dora the Explorer in your family? Maybe a young Indiana Jones? Consider the gift of a globe, an atlas, or an interesting collection of maps! Kids can not only learn to identify places they are learning about, but they can do some route tracking during your family’s holiday travels. Learning to read maps is an important life skill, and it’s never to early to start!
For the budding scientist in your family, how about a microscope kit or telescope? Rock tumblers are noisy but so fun, with a “prize” at the end of each session. Robotikit also offers a series of do-it-yourself kits that allow kids super-fun while building working miniature motorcycles and more! Geosafari also offers a whole line of really interesting scopes, kits, and other “toys” for exploratory fun, both indoors and outside in nature.
Let’s not forget books! To see a list of recommended reads, take a look back at our two-part article series. Part 1: Great Children's Books for the Early Years and part 2: Great Books for Older Children.
Online, one great resource for creative games and toys for kids is Hearthsong.com. Also check out shop.nationalgeographic.com, shoppbs.org, or the fabulous Museum of Natural History store at shop.amnh.org.
Above all, when you’re thinking about gift giving for the holidays, make sure to include toys, games, and other gifts that you can share with your kids. Spending fun time with them is the best gift of all!
Wild Detectives DVD Collection from National Geographic explores nature as only Nat Geo can! Answers questions like “What do lion cubs do in their den when no one is looking?” and “Why do penguins swim so deep in the ocean when their food is on the surface?” Beautiful camera work, interesting critters, fun information!Put together a craft box for unlimited creativity! Purchase a colorful plastic box (with closure) and then head to your favorite crafting store to stock that box full of markers, colorful ribbons and pipe cleaners, stickers, watercolor paints, glue or glue sticks, crayons, colorful papers, cute Japanese Washi tape, pompoms, glitter, beads, and anything else that strikes your artistic fancy.
Let’s get physical! Hula hoops, scooters, skates, skateboards, bikes, boogie boards for the beach, jump ropes, mini exercise trampoline, stilts, climbing rope ladder, hop balls, anything that will get the kiddos up and moving is a very good thing!Open-ended imagination toys such as Brio trains, Playmobil sets, Lego, hand-puppets, Lincoln Logs, all these things are perfect for freestyle fun.
Qwirkle is a fun mix of Scrabble and dominoes. For 2-4 players, colorful wooden blocks get matched together based on color and design and really make the players strategize as they go. Loads of fun for all ages, so parents and older kids can play along too.Simon is another fantastic game that is guaranteed to bring lots of laughter. Flashing lights and colors exercise and build memory skills that are critical for academic success, while at the same time increasing manual dexterity. The kids, of course, won’t know that they’re growing and learning – they’re having too much fun!
Globes, atlases, maps: Do you have a little Dora the Explorer in your family? Maybe a young Indiana Jones? Consider the gift of a globe, an atlas, or an interesting collection of maps! Kids can not only learn to identify places they are learning about, but they can do some route tracking during your family’s holiday travels. Learning to read maps is an important life skill, and it’s never to early to start!For the budding scientist in your family, how about a microscope kit or telescope? Rock tumblers are noisy but so fun, with a “prize” at the end of each session. Robotikit also offers a series of do-it-yourself kits that allow kids super-fun while building working miniature motorcycles and more! Geosafari also offers a whole line of really interesting scopes, kits, and other “toys” for exploratory fun, both indoors and outside in nature.
Let’s not forget books! To see a list of recommended reads, take a look back at our two-part article series. Part 1: Great Children's Books for the Early Years and part 2: Great Books for Older Children.Online, one great resource for creative games and toys for kids is Hearthsong.com. Also check out shop.nationalgeographic.com, shoppbs.org, or the fabulous Museum of Natural History store at shop.amnh.org.
Above all, when you’re thinking about gift giving for the holidays, make sure to include toys, games, and other gifts that you can share with your kids. Spending fun time with them is the best gift of all!
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