Learning through play is one of the most effective forms of education. Different toys and games hone cognitive and motor skills and stimulate creative thinking.
By giving your children the right toys, you can expedite their emotional and linguistic development. Games can teach children to deal with adversity and challenge, as well as being gracious in defeat as well as victory. Here are 5 great educational gift ideas for kids that you don’t want to miss.
Subscription Boxes
Monthly subscription boxes for kids are a great way to spark a child’s interest in a topic. There are boxes available on subjects like science, nature, engineering and art. There are even specifically-designed sensory therapy boxes for children on the autism spectrum.
Every month your child will receive a box packed with activities, reading material, games and arts and crafts on their chosen subject. They are a great way for children to learn about the world and have fun doing it.
Lego
Lego has been a permanent fixture in children’s toy chests since the bricks first went on sale in the 1940s. They have managed to stand the test of time in the constantly shifting world of children’s toys because both kids and parents love them.
Kids love them because they are fun. Parents love them because they allow children to unleash their creativity. They teach children basic engineering principles, hones fine motor skills, and the kits teach them how to follow instructions.
Walkie-Talkies
Role-playing is a good way of building effective communication skills. Seeing a child convey the world they are imagining inside their head to another child is a beautiful thing to see.
What better way to encourage communication and role play than with a two-way walkie-talkie? Your children will have endless fun creating imaginary worlds and scenarios in which the walkie-talkies are essential and required.
Snap Circuits
Last year I saw a Snap Circuits Electronic Discovery Kit for sale online and bought it on a whim. It ended up being a real win, and one of the few toys that comes out of the toy box again and again.
It is basically a child-friendly circuit, complete with batteries, snap wires, switches, music and speakers. It comes with instructions on how to build more than 100 circuits, including a doorbell, a lamp, a flying saucer and a police siren.
Snap Circuits give children a basic understanding of electricity and how it works, starting them off by building a simple circuit with a light and building up to more complex projects like a replica circuit board for a TV.
Science Kits
Nothing quite captivates the mind of a child quite like potions. There are now plenty of kits on the market allowing children to make their own eye-catching potions through basic chemical reactions.
The chemicals used are always child-friendly and non-toxic, like baking soda, citric acid or cabbage powder. As your child becomes more intrigued and capable, there are also plenty of more specialized science kits, including microscope sets, perfumery sets and even a science kit that lets them make their own ice cream.
Science kits are a great way of showing children the science behind everyday activities because they allow them to learn by doing. Instead of a teacher explaining how ice cream is made, they get to get stuck in and do it themselves. This creates a more meaningful and memorable learning experience.
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