The gift giving season is upon us. We know that many grandparents and parents are looking for unique gift ideas. Gifts that are not only fun for little ones but that have the added bonus of being educational. Well, we’ve got the top toys that do just that. They are not only developmentally right for your child (no matter their age), but they are toys that kids will totally love.
Infant
Baby’s First Blocks
Fine motor skills, color recognition and the fundamentals of stacking. All wrapped up in this classic, but colorful set of wooden blocks. These will provide hours of educational fun for your little one.
O-ball Twist-Around
Little fingers can develop dexterity as they slide around these teeth-able rings. The back and forth movement creates a clicking and clacking sound that intrigues babies. They will love to push, pull, grasp and chew on this BPA free toy.
Constructed Alphabet Blanket
Promote cognitive development with the bold and graphic images on this organic blanket. It is made from warm and breathable organic cotton muslin. The print features familiar alphabet shapes with a modern art twist.
Touch the Art Board Book
Reading is one of the most important skills to introduce your little one to. Touch the Art: Pop Warhol’s Top has textured features to appeal to all the senses (like Marilyn Monroe’s eyelashes popping out of Andy Warhol’s 1964 masterpiece). It’s a subtle, age-appropriate way to introduce your little one to modern art too!
Toddler
Flower Garden Build and Spin
Engineering has never been so cute. This hands-on construction garden is a fun way to help them build fine motor skills. The chunky play pieces work like gears and provide endless ways to mix and match the garden for creative fun.
Pound-a-Peg
Pound it, flip it and start over again. A classic toy that enhances hand-eye coordination, color recognition and even cause and effect. Not to mention that toddlers will love being able to hammer away to their hearts content.
ABC Sand Molds
A colorful set of sand toys that includes all 26 letters of the alphabet. This makes for great fun learning to practice the alphabet in a new way. Use with kinetic sand for easy clean up.
Preschooler
Goodie Games – ABC Cookies
This is a fun and engaging way to reinforce letter recognition, sounds, and even early vocabulary. Plus, the pretend ABC cookies inspire creative play. Four different games can be played using the pieces to keep it interesting.
Koala Crate by Kiwi Crates
Kiwi Crates are offered for every age, but we love anything that provides wonderful and educational activities to keep preschoolers busy! Each crate includes high-quality materials for 2-3 creative activities and an activity guide for parents to support inquiry-based learning.
Cutting Fruit Crate
Pretend play is a wonderful way to promote social skills including sharing and taking turns. The familiar fruits in this set can also be “cut” which helps with fine-motor skills. Plus it is just so darn cute!
Pattern Play 3D
The twenty-two brilliantly colored wooden blocks lend themselves to hours of imaginative building. Their interlocking multi-shapes challenge children to take 2D images and build beautiful 3D structures with them. They can also use their own creative genius to stack them in their own artful ways.
Grade-Schooler
Colorku
This bright wooden game promotes logical thinking and problem solving skills for older kids. It is a spin on the classic Japanese logic puzzle, Sudoku. With a colorful twist.
Tumble Trax Magnetic Marble Run
Let them be the engineers with these unique marble runways. It comes with a variety of long, short, and curved magnetic pieces that can be arranged on any magnetic surface. Activity cards will have them use their critical thinking skills to design tracks that will have a marble speed up, slow down, and even change direction. Problem solving cannot get any more fun.
Goldie Blox and the Spinning Machine
This interactive book about a curious girl with a passion for engineering promotes problem solving, science and engineering skills. As the story unfolds, your child can build along with Goldie. Or use the included wheels, axles, blocks, washers, cranks, and other accessories to invent and construct their own simple machine.
Tender Years knows that play is an essential piece to a child’s overall development and learning. Each of our facilities include large play areas designed to enhance gross motor skills, social interactions, and fun!
