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'!
Slamwich
In this card-slapping game, kids use bread-shaped cards to make sandwiches, or Slamwiches, while they sharpen memory, sequencing, and hand-eye coordination skills.
Snap Circuits RC Rover
When your child begs for a remote controlled car, let her build her own. This toy inspires experimentation, with snap and go components that click into a mini circuit board.
You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Stories to Read Together
This slim little volume, packed with simple rhymes, has a very cool concept: the purple text is for beginner readers, the pink for adults, and the blue for them both to read together.
DMC-03 Multifunction Pedometer
Give your child's exercise routine a tech upgrade with this snazzy pedometer.
My First Sewing Kit
With pre-cut fabric for 5 easy projects, plus oodles of colorful embroidery thread and fun sewing accessories like a thimble, pincushion, and buttons, your child will be stitching in no time.
Kids' Favorite Card Games
A fun, back-to-basics toy sure to bring many hours of family fun, and lay the foundation for sportsmanship, turn-taking, and patience: skills which do not come easily to five-year-olds.
Princess Pig
When pig starts thinking she's a princess, she learns some important lessons about being herself. A very cute tale about friendship and realizing what's really special.
Stitch-it Pink Piggies Kit
At this age, kids are just starting to dig into longer, more in-depth projects. This kit is a perfect way to practice working on something complex from start to finish.
Veggie Cutting Set
You may not be able to get your child to eat his veggies, but with this set, he'll sure enjoy cutting them up! Packed in a wood crate, with a small cutting board and smooth-edged wood knife, this toy makes playing with food fun.
Hullabaloo
Want a zany game that gets kids moving, encourages them to listen, think, and follow instructions, and is simple to learn? Hullabaloo fits the bill!
School Bus and Children
This big yellow school bus is a Fair Trade product--handmade in Sri Lanka from albizia wood, one of the fastest-growing trees on earth, and colored with nontoxic paints.
Do Art: Modern Masterpieces
Inspire your child to reach for a place at the MOMA. With this kit, she'll learn how to draw, color, and paint using the techniques of modern masters like Picasso, Kandinsky, Mondrian and Warhol.
Whizizzle Phonics Card Game
A bit like the game Uno, but with words rather than numbers, players must match the cards in their hand either by vowel sound, beginning sound, or ending sound.
Energy Science Kit
Join the green revolution! This timely kit lets kids experiment with the ways that energy powers our world today, and how it might be powered tomorrow.
Livemocha
Enter Mocha Live, a website that's like a marriage between Facebook and Berlitz. Online language lessons merge with a social networking component that allows your child to practice with native speakers in a fun and safe environment, a cool way to get her hooked on language.
Trash to Treasure
With this crafty kit your teen can repurpose her stretched out, pilled or undersized wool garments into a felted bag, fairy slippers, and mittens.
