Best Educational Gift Ideas for the Holiday Season
December is finally here, which means that the Holiday Season has officially started! However, while this time is for giving and sharing your gratitude with others, sometimes this isn’t always the easiest thing to do.
For many parents out there, we understand that it might be difficult to figure out what kind of gifts your child would like while balancing both fun and affordability. Many parents are also looking for gifts that will help facilitate their child’s imagination and creative thinking skills, so they can continue to exercise their minds throughout the year to reach their full potential!
With this in mind, I looked into some of the coolest gifts for the holiday season. Many of these gifts are both academic and STEM-related, and of course, have taken fun as their highest priority! While some of these gifts are targeted toward certain age groups, many of these gifts are great for students of all ages. Without further ado, here are some of the best gifts to help facilitate students’ minds throughout the year.
ThinkBox
Give your child the gift of engineering and creativity with the Think Box Inventor's Box! With over 700 pieces that can be combined with ordinary household items, this gift is great for kids who are interested in engineering and want a fun way to get their creative juices flowing. The box comes with a useful guide with some recommendations on what kind of inventions one can make, but the beauty of this box is that there are no set rules on what kind of things your child can create, meaning that the possibilities are endless. If you want a fun and easy way to introduce your child to basic STEM and engineering concepts, this is the way to go!
Boogie Board Jot
If you have a child that loves drawing or writing and can go through dozens of pieces of paper, the Boogie Board Jot can be a great alternative! The Jot uses LCD technology that allows you to write on the tablet’s surface with the included pen or even just your fingernail! The most convenient aspect of the Jot is that once you are done drawing or writing to your heart’s content, all you have to do is push the button on the tablet, and the board clears itself immediately, getting rid of the need to erase or wipe away the contents like with a pencil or a whiteboard. This is a fantastic gift for your child to help unleash their creativity and let their ideas flow!
Multiplication Fidget Toy
This was a gift recommended by one of our teachers, Gia Parsons! If you have a younger student that is just starting to learn their multiplication table, this can be a fun and stress-relieving way to do so. Rather than sticking to the traditional formula of learning multiplication through tests and drills, using this colorful fidget toy is a much more enjoyable way for kids to learn this crucial skill. The fidget toy itself is made of high-quality silicone, which means that it is extremely durable and great for kids!
Smart Coding Kit
If you have a kiddo that has been on the lookout for a watch, why not give them a watch that has tons of cool features, and teaches them how to make the watch themselves? The Smart Coding Watch Kit guides you through assembling a watch and programming functions into the watch itself using a variety of programming languages like Scratch, Makecode, JavaScript and microPython!
It is important to note that in order to program the watch, you will need a micro:bit board to power it, which is sold separately.
This is a great way for your child to dip their toes into the world of programming in an easy-to-use, and fun setting!
Laser Maze
Brain-teaser toys are always a blast, whether you are a kid or an adult. And what better way to exercise your critical thinking and problem-solving than with lasers? Using a combination of mirrors and beam splitters, this Laser Maze challenges the player to direct a laser through a series of mazes so that it hits the designated target. With over 60 different challenges ranging in difficulty from Beginner to Expert, there is plenty of replayability with this game that will have children of all ages wanting a turn!
I hope that those of you who were looking for a cool present to get for your child could find some fun ideas from this gift guide!
While there are a lot of different gifts to choose from, one of the best presents you can get for your child is one that will help them utilize their creativity and imagination, allowing them to grow both at home, and in the classroom. Hopefully, these gifts can help them with that!