A good present should not just follow the latest fad or trend. You want to get a gift that not only stimulates your children’s minds, but also offers months of entertainment value. Here is a list of gift ideas you can consider for your children during this holiday season.
Scarry’s characters were almost always anthropomorphic animals. He gave human characteristics to a seemingly endless number of creatures. Books by Richard Scarry changed over the course of their several editions, often reflecting the changing social values.
What we like: The books offer a good bridge between fictional and non-fictional reading. It contains lot of images and colours with good information and a sense of humour.
Curious George tells the story of George who moved from Africa to “the big city”. The different books in the series describe George’s adventures while living at the house of the Man with the Yellow Hat.
What we like: The books use simple words and sentences while promoting the use of imagination. Good for children who are starting to read and enjoy stories of adventure and exploration.
Dr Seuss’s books should be a staple for any young children’s library. From simple words and rhymes to stories of imaginary world and creatures, there is always a book that can meet the children’s needs in terms of language and content.
What we like: Parents with young children can start with his early readers books, before moving on to books that are pitched at a more appropriate level. The use of ryhming words and simple images help to capture young children’s attention and can be a good introduction to books and reading.
Enid Blyton Books – Mysteries series, circus series, farm series, boarding school series
Enid Blyton has written a lot of books that have been translated into many different languages. From simple stories about toys and fairies to stories of mysteries and adventures, there is always a book that can capture the attention of a child. Many of the stories are also interlaced with a moral lesson that teaches young children values such as honesty, sharing, and being kind.
What we like: The use of proper sentence structure with descriptive words is good for teaching children’s writing skills. Her books are also good for building vocabulary and imagination in young children.
The Amazing Discoveries of 100 Brilliant Scientists Book
From atoms and X-rays to the Big Bang and the Internet, brilliant breakthroughs by successful scientists have changed the world. Children will read the stories of 100 scientists and their amazing discoveries, including Marie Curie and Albert Einstein.
What we like: The book is good for children who are curious and interested in different things around them. It is a good introduction to science and non-fictional reading.
Each one features more than 60 parts that easily snap together. The snap circuits toy can be used to make interesting circuits, encouraging educational play that teaches your children about electricity. All of the parts have coloured graphics that represent their real electronic names and symbols. It is ideal for children age 8 years and older.
What we like: It comes with a complete instruction manual and project guide that helps you to guide your child through exploring over 300 experiments. Good for children who are starting to show interest in science and engineering.
Your children will explore unlimited electronic projects to create working games and gadgets. They can complete the circuit to make a quiz show game, an electronic drum kit, a motion-sensing room alarm, etc. using 10 smart modules and the powerful microprocessor module.
What we like: Children can learn about electrical engineering as they play with the multi-dimensional base board and real electronic components. Good for independent learners who enjoy the challenge creating their own projects.
Sphero Mini packs tons of fun into a tiny, app-enabled robot about the size of a ping pong ball. Your children can drive the Mini in several ways with the Sphero Mini app, or just by using their face. Use the ball as a controller to shoot through space, race a ship through a tunnel, or rotate your ball to destroy a polygon of bricks.
What we like: A good toy to introduce young children to programming and the programming language. For an extra challenge, you can download the Sphero Edu app and program the robot using JavaScript.
Flip & rearrange all 9 Colour Cubes on the 3 x 3 tray until each colour appears once in every row and column. Your children will take more than a couple flips of a cube to master this brilliant Sudoku puzzle. Once your children have conquered the traditional Sudoku pattern, you can give their brain a real workout with bonus challenges.
What we like: Use of colours allows young children to enjoy a Sudoku puzzle and develop their creative thinking skills. It is good for children who enjoy puzzles and brain teasers.
Turn technical drawings into fun, recognizable objects. The 2-D cards show the design from different angles highlighting the front, side and overhead view and increase in difficulty from beginner to expert.
What we like: Using simple 2-dimensional diagrams, children will have to figure out the 3-dimensional structure. Good for promoting critical and creative thinking skills, as well as spatial reasoning in young children.
Kanoodle Extreme features a unique, game board now with over 300 2-D, 3-D, and new sliding 2-D puzzles. Includes 12 puzzle pieces for 2-D and 3-D puzzles, carrying case with sliding tray feature, and 48-page, full-colour puzzle book with 303 brain-tickling puzzles.
What we like: Simple game that can be morphed into different levels of difficulties and challenges. Good for sharpening your children’s spatial reasoning and critical thinking skills.