Are you looking for new educational gifts for kids on your shopping list? I am pleased to share our Educational Toys Gift Guide for 2020! This list is full of our favorite educational toys, games, and books this year. From STEAM toys to creative art kits, there is something for everyone on this list. I hope it helps you to get some of your holiday shopping done!

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STEAM

DIY Rainbow Catcher

This STEM kit for kids comes from Klutz Maker Lab. The kit includes all of the pieces necessary to build a triple crystal, motorized rainbow catcher that will cast beautiful rainbows on your walls. The included instruction booklet not only includes easy to follow instructions, but also tons of educational information on rainbows and how they appear to us. There are also instructions for creating your own rainbow science experiments, using things you have around your home. Recommended age: 8+

LEGO Gear Bots Kit

This LEGO kit from Klutz Maker Lab includes a brightly colored instruction book and all the pieces you need to create 8 fun machines. The models you build with this kit can actually move, not only teaching kids about cranks, axles, and other engineering concepts, but also bringing lots of giggles. The instructions for each bot are broken down into easy to understand steps, with colored illustrations showing exactly how to put the pieces together. The scientific concepts behind each bot’s movements are also explained in colored sidebars. This is a great gift for little engineers who enjoy building! Recommended age: 8+

Outdoor Science Lab

This science kit for kids comes from Quarto Smart Lab. This science lab includes 21 hands on nature activities, encouraging kids to get outside and explore the plants and bugs around them. The brightly colored tools in the kit include a bug catcher with a UV night scope, a macro lens to attach to your phone, plus storage compartments, a beaker, pH test strips, and more. This is a great starter kit for little scientists, and it encourages them to start exploring the world around them. Recommended age: 8+

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Weather Lab

This weather lab science kit from Quarto Smart Lab includes instructions and supplies for 18 science experiments about weather. With the 32 page science activity book, kids can create their own clouds, test for acid rain, measure wind speed, and perform more Earth Science experiments. With the easy to assemble weather station base, kids can predict the next storm using real weather instruments. This lab is compact enough that it won’t take up a ton of space. So you can easily leave it up and check the weather stats every day. This kit is perfect for kids who are interested in weather patterns, and want to learn more about them. Recommended ages: 7+

Kaleidoscope Kit

This DIY kit from Smartivity encourages kids to create their own kaleidoscope, while learning about mirrors, reflection and color theory. The kit is made of high quality engineered wood, and it does not require any glue or tools to put it together. All of the pieces included are child safe, and the instruction booklet lays out the steps in easy to follow text. This is a great project for little ones who enjoy building and working with loose parts. Recommended ages: 6+

Pinxies

These adorable STEM kits encourage kids to combine building and storytelling. The brightly colored pieces are easy to fit together, and feature cute characters and decorated buildings. The Unicorn Barn includes 3 characters and 3 unicorns, plus enough materials to create the barn, yard, and training course. The Ice Castle includes 3 characters, and tons of glittery accessories. The pieces are made of plastic and paperboard panels that easily snap together. Little Bookworm has had a lot of fun building and creating with these!

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Crafts

My Fairy Garden Light Garden

This fairy garden kit from PlayMonster encourages kids to plant and tend to their own gardens, while playing in the imaginative world of fairies. The kit includes a sturdy bowl for creating a garden, with a fairy house, water wheel, and bridge to decorate with. The included fairy characters and gardening tools encourage little ones to play and interact with their garden. For beginner gardeners, the magic seed mix and seed starter are simple to use, with plants growing very quickly once planted. The fairy house also contains a light and music, making this a great night light for little ones. Recommended age: 4+

Fantastic Flowers

Did anyone else love making these paper flowers when they were younger? Since Little Bookworm loves creating flowers out of everything, I was recently reminded of this kit I used as a kid. So I was thrilled to find that it is available again! This easy flower maker from PlayMonster includes a paper press machine, 3 different flower plates, 8 reusable flower stems, 15 pistil plugs, and 40 sheets of flower petal paper. Kids can create their own flowers over and over again, creating beautiful glittery bouquets. Recommended ages: 6+

Scribble Scrubbie Tattoo Shop

We are huge fans of the Scribble Scrubbies line of toys. These adorable little pets can be colored with the included washable markers, then cleaned and colored all over again. The Scribble Scrubbies Tattoo Shop takes the designing one step further, offering washable Stamper Markers to add small stamps all over your pets. The rotating chair gives kids a chance to stamp their pets all over. Once their pets are colored, they can put them in the washtub and scrub them clean again. This pack also includes Winston the bulldog and Lola the chihuahua. Recommended ages: 3+

Crayola Paint Pour Art Set

This art kit for kids encourages little artists to think outside the box. Kids use the washable paint, the beaker and the strainer to add swirls of paint to the mini canvas. They can then tilt and spin the tray to create amazing works of art. Pour art can be a relaxing and fun way to create artwork, and you never know what you will get. Plus, since it is Crayola, you don’t have to worry about any “oops”  moments, because the paint is washable! Recommended ages: 8+

Reading & Language

Toniebox

This audio box is my daughter’s new favorite toy – and mine as well! It provides screen free entertainment, in a durable box that kids can control on their own. By adding magnetic, hand painted tonies to the top of the box, kids can access hours of songs, stories, and personal recordings.

The starter kit includes the toniebox, charging station and a tonie, so you can get started listening right away. The boxes are available in a variety of colors. We had the chance to check out a limited edition purple box featuring Kristen Bell’s story “The World Needs More Purple People”. In addition to prerecorded tonies which include stories and songs, Creative tonies offer kids, families, and teachers an opportunity to record their own stories, songs, or messages through an easy to use phone app. You can even invite others to join, so loved ones living far away can share messages.  Recommended ages: 3+

My Little Farm

This interactive felt playset from SmartFelt Toys was created by a speech therapist to help kids build early language skills. The set includes 32 felt pieces and a foldable playhouse. The farm can easily be unfolded and secured with the velcro strips along the edges. The walls are reversible, giving kids even more opportunities for creative play. The felt pieces easily stick to the walls of the playhouse, encouraging kids to practice matching, storytelling, and more. Recommended ages: 3+

Inklings Imagination Gift Set

These adorable board books and accompanying stuffed animals are a great way to celebrate the power of imagination. Each rhyming book tells the story of the matching toy, showing the reader how the character came to be from the imagination of a young child. The toys are soft, and filled with different textures and noises. They will make great friends for little ones, and may inspire them to create their own creative friends. Recommended ages: 0+

Games

Dog Crimes

This board game from ThinkFun asks players to decipher clues left behind by the silly dog characters in order to solve the 40 crimes on the challenge cards. The game is small and easy to set up, with challenges ranging from beginner to expert. The crime tokens and dog tokens can help you visualize the clues on the cards, making it easier to deduce the answers. The solutions for each crime are included on the challenge cards, so you can check your answers. This logic game for kids can be played solo, although you can play with more than one if you want to work together. Recommended age: 8+

Chicken War

This strategic guessing game from ThinkFun encourages players to race against their opponents to create their own chicken army. While you create your team, you have to keep your Leader’s identity secret, and you can defeat your opponent by launching an egg at the other team’s leader. Kids will love the silly illustrations on the game cards, as well as the funny action of launching eggs at the other team. This game can be played by 2-4 players and takes about 30 minutes to play. Recommended age: 8+

Rattlesnake Jake

This exciting game revolves around a rattlesnake named Jake who has stolen some gold. Players have to carefully attempt to retrieve the gold from Jake without making him strike. He rattles throughout the game, warning players of an impending strike, increasing the suspense on every turn. When Jake strikes, the current player has to return half of their gold. The player who has the most gold after the last piece is recovered is the winner. Not only will this game help kids to work on their fine motor skills and hand eye coordination, but it will also lead to lots of laughs. Recommended age 4+

Dino Crunch

This fun game asks players to use a pair of tweezers to rescue little dinosaur eggs from the nest of the T-Rex. On each turn, players roll the dice to find out which egg they need to rescue. As players attempt to carefully remove the eggs, they have to watch out for the T-rex roaring and jumping at them. This suspenseful game helps kids develop their fine motor skills and hand eye coordination, and also makes them jump and laugh when the T-rex surprises them. Recommended age 4+

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Challenges

The Adventure Challenge

This interactive book provides families with 50 surprise activities that they can do together. The book is broken down into categories, ranging from family dinner activities to rainy day boredom busters and activities that get you out of the house. Each page contains two scratch off boxes with an activity hidden underneath. The boxes are each labeled with a price range, a recommended time frame, and an approximate amount of time needed. There are also sticky photo strips so you can document each activity as you do them, and lines to record your experiences. This book will offer lots of fun activities for your family as you work through it, as well as a beautiful record of your time spent together once you complete it. Recommended age: Whole Family

Get 10% off all purchases on The Adventure Challenge site with the code: B2BW

Blimey Box

For younger kids, Blimey Boxes are a fun way to get them interested in escape rooms and treasure hunts. These educational escape room games for kids are perfect for kids ages 4-9. These boxes can be set up by parents in a matter of minutes, and they can be used over and over again with Blimey Box’s PDF puzzles. Kids will need to solve puzzles to unlock the locks and open the box to find the treasure inside. They offer themed puzzles for each level, so you can add new puzzles as your children grow, helping them to develop their math and literacy skills while having fun. Recommended ages 4-9

What are your favorite educational gifts for kids? Share in the comments below!

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