Gift Guide2008
From toys that stand the test of time to board games that are anything but boring, we found the best products for each grade that will build your child's brain as well as being chock full of fun. Our list of loot is kid-tested, teacher approved, and full of options for any family, so get wrappin'!
FunSlides Carpet Skates
These carpet skates can provide some great gross motor exercise when going outside just isn't an option. Carpet skating is like sliding on a hardwood floor in your socks, but better. Strap on these plastic planks, clear a safe space in your hallway or living room, and let the games begin!
You Mix It: Secret Formula Lab
Smart Lab's Secret Formula Lab has projects that let kids create "alien blood," grow their very own fungus, and make invisible ink - all from simple, nontoxic materials. Just beware that instant play may not be possible without a pantry stocked with baking soda and vinegar!
Safari West
Has your child always dreamed of going on safari? At this wildlife preserve in the California wine country, visitors pile into jeeps and hit the road for close encounters with zebras, rhinos, wildebeests, and more than a dozen varieties of African antelope.
A Volunteer Vacation
This year, along with all the wrapped gifts you slip under the tree, consider gifting your child an experience that will shape the person she becomes. The Sierra Club offers outings that teach kids about environmental protection, ecology, and history in a fun, playful environment.
Marineland Eclipse System 12 Aquarium Kit
Learning how to take care of living things is an important part of growing up - both in terms of gaining a solid understanding of biology, and fostering a sense of responsibility. A fish aquarium is a fun way for kids to take on the task. This great starter aquarium is made to last!
Super Pogo 2
Think pogo has gone the way of the dodo? Think again. The inventors of the original Pogo Stick have brought the old wooden contraption into the next century! This super-powered aircraft-aluminum grade pogo can bounce kids up to four feet in the air with advanced piston power.
BBC Knowledge Magazine
With this science-forward magazine, teens can learn how cheetahs take care of their cubs, what scientists know about the nature of consciousness, or how online worlds will be used in the 21st century as virtual science labs. This is one glossy you'll be glad to catch your child reading.
Pengoloo
Transport the age-old game of Concentration to the South Pole, make it 3-D, and you'll have some sense of what Pengoloo has to offer. This all-wooden game improves memory and matching skills, plus the pieces make great fodder for Polar imaginings, once the game itself is over.
Butterfly Bungalow
This kit gives kids an up-close and personal encounter with nature. The adventure begins when 6-10 larvae arrive in the mail. Then it's time to get personal with metamorphosis, as the larvae progress from caterpillars, to chrysalises, to Painted Ladies.
Popular Mechanics for Kids 6-DVD Boxed Set
From sliding down sewers, to watching what happens when a toilet flushes green dye, to riding a roller coaster for over an hour in order to understand the physics behind loop-de-loops, this fantastic DVD series culls the best episodes from Discovery Channel's now defunct television series.
