Great Educational Gifts for Kids

I’m always on the look out for great educational gifts for my kids. I would much rather have them playing with great toys then watching TV. They do have several games systems but they get limited usage.

Building toys are a great way for your kids to use their imagination and get creative. My boys love Legos and K’nex, I prefer the general sets where they can build their own creations, although my boys have plenty of Star Wars and other sets as well. For younger children, I would go with Megablocks or Lego Duplo because they are more durable. I have the same Megablock set from when my 6th grader was a toddler. They get used every single day.

Puzzles are a great way to keep little ones occupied during school time because they are quiet, at least they’re suppose to be. I like the wooden puzzles from Melissa & Doug because they very durable. I also like the ones that are made out of maps, fun and geography at the same time.

• See and spell
• Giant Fire Truck floor puzzle – for preschoolers
• Bear Family dress up

Snap circuits are a great way to for children to explore circuits and electricity. It’s fun and there are some really cool projects. There are different sized kits from Jr – 100 to the 750 project set. The number refers to how many projects they can build. The manual starts with easy projects that get progressively more complicated. I bought the 300 project set for my  8 year old and he still uses this now, 3 years later. If you already have a set and want to get the materials for a higher set, they have conversion kits as well. Other great science kits include:

• My first mind blowing science kit
• Insect Lore Live Butterfly Pavilion
• My first lab duo microscope – my son has been asking for a microscope all year, he wants to look at germs and boogers, go figure.

If you want your children to enjoy reading books in their free time, you have to make them fun. Give them as rewards and give them as gifts. Check out my list of Christmas and winter books your children might like to read or take a look at these:

• Dr. Seuss’s Beginner book collection
• Mad libs or specialty ones like Star Wars (Can you tell I have boys?)
• Weapons of Mass Destruction - my son built the catapult from this book

Arts and Craft supplies or projects are a great gift for any age. Children who love to draw or create will greatly appreciate any of these. I would love to have the space for an easel but right now we settle for painting on the floor. Basically anything that lets your children get messy should be a great gift, even though it is more work for you.

• Melissa & Doug Standing Easel
• Aquadoodle – Travel Doodle – great for keeping little ones occupied in the car
• Portable Art Studio
• Case of Play doh
• Crayola Primary colors fingerpaints

If you are shopping for your own kids or others, you can’t go wrong with educational gifts. Parents always appreciate a gift where children can also learn from at the same time. So what are you getting for yourself, perhaps water walls would be a great gift for  your house. Education doesn’t have to stop when school does, make learning fun for your children or other people’s children, their parents will be grateful for your educational gifts.