Young children learn when they play. They learn as they discover and explore and make sense of the world around them. While nearly any toy can lead to learning, I thought I’d share some of my favorite learning specific toys and gifts for little ones since I love to give and receive these types of gifts. You’ll notice there aren’t any electronic toys or workbook sets on this list, and that’s because I feel there are more authentic ways to promote learning than through more screen time or pen and paper tasks. While those kinds of items have a time and a place, I wanted to draw attention to some gifts that would be educational and fun without using those methods. These are items that have been big hits at home or in my classroom and hopefully your little ones will love them, too!


1) Ranger Rick Junior Magazine: When Lil’ CB was 2, one of our friends gifted him a subscription to Wild Animal Baby magazine. It was an absolutely fantastic magazine and we kept all of our copies to add to our home library. Unfortunately, the magazine, run by the National Wildlife Federation, was discontinued. But, fortunately, they came out with a new magazine, Ranger Rick Junior, which is pretty delightful, too. Each issue features different learning games, activities, and information for young children and is the perfect introduction to print media (which, I know, is a declining form…). Children’s magazines, in general, are a great, non-traditional gift. National Geographic Little Kids magazine is also a great choice!

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2) Alphabet Soup Sorters: This is a fun way to integrate pretend play with letter and letter sound learning. Each can of “alphabet soup” features an upper and lowercase letter and some small miniature objects that begin with that letter. This would be a fun way to explore and learn letter sounds and eventually work on sorting objects by the sound/letter they begin with. Plus, the cans are so freaking cute!

3) Fine Motor Tools: This one might seem like a random choice for this list, but fine motor skills are integral to learning to read and write! These fun and snazzy tools are a creative way to work on those little muscles. Your little one can practice picking up small objects like pom poms, small balls, buttons, etc with the different tweezers and squeezers. The dropper is over-sized to really promote pinching and releasing and would be perfect to use for one of our favorite indoor activities: playing with vinegar and baking soda!

4) Foam Magnetic Letters: We use magnetic letters all the time at home and at school, and these foam ones are by far my favorite. The entire backside of each letter is magnetic which means they stick and stay stuck much better. They also have a fun foam texture which gives an added tactile learning experience as little ones manipulate the letters.

5) Write Your Own Book: If your little one loves books, what better way to promote and extend that love by giving them a tool to write their own book! These hardback blank books are quite a treat for young writers and when filled with their own words and pictures will be a cherished treasure for years to come. These would also be great to give as a gift to your little one for her to make a gift for someone else!

6) Geoboards: Lil’ CB and his classmates love working on geo boards in the classroom during math. It’s a wonderful way for children to learn about geometry: they can practice shapes, explore area, learn about symmetry, and more, all while continuing to build their small motor muscles. This set includes different pictures that little ones can build, but you can also leave the peg board blank so they can create their own shapes.

7) Counting Memory: This is a fun twist on the traditional memory game. Instead of finding exactly matching picture pairs, this game promotes counting, numeral recognition, and number sense by having the players match numerals with a matching set of that number of objects.

8) Pattern Blocks: Pattern blocks are a staple in any primary classroom. They can be used to create pictures with the varied shapes; to build objects; to create patterns; explore symmetry; sort; count; learn about area; etc, etc, etc. The possibilities really are endless! This is definitely a toy that will grow with your child as he discovers more possibilities for them on his own!

9) Magnetic Counting Maze: This is a fun activity that helps build fine motor muscles and also teaches numbers and number sense. I love the colored balls and the gumball machines that you drag them into. For really little ones, it would be fun to just drag around the magnetic balls and for older kids that are learning to count and match counting to numerals, it would be a great math activity!

10) Water Wow: This is by far my favorite travel toy. The fact that it also promotes letter and number writing is a big, fat plus! Lil’ CB loves the reusable pages and the water paintbrush and I love that he works on writing as he paints. Win-win-win!

Will you be gifting any educational gifts this holiday season?