Gift Guideall
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'!
Melody Harp
It's a moment you've been waiting for: your little kid is asking to play an instrument! You'd love to support it with something more than rhythm sticks and castanets, but perhaps less daunting than formal viola lessons. Introducing the Melody Harp, a sixteen string zither that sits on a kid's lap, ...
Digitz
This game (shaped like the old-school electronic Simon) is our stocking stuffer pick. It was a big hit with third graders, as they got to put their multiplication skills to the test. From the moment the On button was pressed, and the goofy voice announced, "Let's play Digitz!!" the kids ...
Zimbbos
The circus is coming to town, bringing a tent-load of wooden animals to be stacked and balanced in a teetering tower. Kids roll the dice to see how many elephants they must add to the stack, placing the numbered beasts in order, and being careful not to overbalance the pile. Children love the ...
Premier Learning to Read Software
Learning to read is a huge leap. This web-based software takes all the fear out of it, with a crew of aliens, quirky machines, and silly robots that tromp kids through a series of sounds and then teach them to put the sounds together to form words. What we like best, is that Headsprout starts with ...
FLY Fusion
Get your kid one of these pens and they'll be begging you to let them take notes in class. In a nutshell, the Fly Fusion is a pen and scanner in one. The pen can write like a regular old ballpoint, but it can also read 70 images per second off the specialized paper in the included notebook. So kids ...
Peep and the Big Wide World DVD Set
This newly hatched chicken and his best friends, a robin and a duck, are pure preschool magic. For young children, science is all about hands-on exploration, and this series plays to the innate wonder of everyday objects and events. Each half-hour episode contains two animated stories which ...
Fire Engine
With an adjustable ladder that can rise and swivel up to a playroom block tower, an extendable fire hose, and two bendy wooden firemen, this truck helps develop fine motor skills. But kids will be too busy rolling it around the living room floor to notice. Rubber wheels make indoor and outdoor play ...
It's My Life Scrapbook Kit
Scrapbooking is all the rage amongst adults, but it's a great activity for kids, too. This kit is a nice primer, with bright colors and cool tools to get kids off on the right foot. They'll get practice with organization as they sort their pictures, ticket stubs, and other memorabilia into themes. ...
The Little Dragon and Orange Cheeks
In an era where kids are up to their ears in video games and instant messages, Jay O'Callahan shows just how powerful a good old-fashioned story can be. Pop this baby into the CD player and hold onto your hat. From a baby dragon who can't breathe fire but must save the world from freezing, to a ...
Trapecolo
What can you do with a pile of colorful trapezoid-shaped tiles? Leave it to your child's imagination and you'll both be delighted with the resulting patterns, shapes, 3-D designs... the possibilities are endless! This isn't just arts and crafts: Trapecolo requires visualization, spatial reasoning, ...
Folding Medieval Castle
The sprawling turrets, spacious courtyard, and winding stairs of this wooden castle are sure to delight your budding royalty. And the fact that the whole thing can be folded up and stored flat, will delight you as well. Complete with four playing figures (more can be bought separately), this ...
Rush Hour Deluxe
Kids will absolutely love this tough three-dimensional puzzle, if they can manage to wrestle it away from Mom and Dad. A unique and addictive take-off on those little sliding square puzzles from the days of yore, Rush Hour challenges kids and adults alike to give those deductive reasoning, logic, ...
River Crossing
A hiker wants to cross a scary river. Kids put down logs he can step on so he doesn't get chomped by gators. No problem, right? Wrong! This marvelous game of logic and spatial relations consists of a magnetized guy, a bunch of toy planks and tree stumps, and 40 "challenge cards" from ...
Color Scheme
An interesting riff on Milton Bradley's popular Connect Four game, Color Scheme challenges players to form a row of three secondary colors by layering primary-colored tiles within the specially designed grid. In addition to being a rainbow of fun, this game puts kids' strategic thinking and ...
Marble Race Deluxe
Take the old fashioned fun of a stacking block set, cross it with interlocking legos, make it tube-shaped and add pretty marbles... and you'll have some idea of the hours of fun kids can have with this toy. The kit comes with a variety of colorful angled tubes that fit together, supported by a ...
Merriam-Webster Pagemark Dictionary with Book Light
Kick your teen's reading experience into overdrive with this multi-use digital dictionary. It serves as a word reference, bookmark, and book light all wrapped into one, and clips conveniently onto the book cover for easy access.
