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Educational Gift Ideas for Kids

As a homeschooling mom, I tend to look for gifts that have some educational value to give my kids for holidays and birthdays. Educational toys make learning fun and help kids dive into their interests and passions in a way that doesn't feel like school. With Christmas just around the corner, I thought I'd share some of my favorite educational gift ideas for kids.


Microscope- Introduce your kids to the microscopic world with a microscope! There are super affordable toy microscopes designed for very young children like the one my 4-year-old has: the PBOX Beginner Microscope Set. It's technically a "toy" but it works great. It's a little blurry at it's highest magnification, but for the price, I've been fully impressed with it. 

If you're shopping for an older child, check out the Cassini LCD Digital Microscope or the Bebang Ultra Power microscope. We have both and really love them! To hear more about these particular microscopes, check out this blog post (scroll down towards the bottom of the page): 

Cassini LCD Digital Microscope

There are also pocket microscopes that are designed to be portable so you can take them with you on your outdoor adventures. My daughter LOVES hers!


Telescope- There are loads of affordable ones on the market. These are the ones we have:

Celestron Travel Scope 70- Great for traveling with. Great for moon viewing!

Celestron Powerseeker 127EQ- A good choice if you're looking for something a bit more powerful than the travel scope, but don't want to spend too much money.


Constellation Globe- We bought this constellation globe from Little Experimenter earlier this year and it is really cool. In the daylight it's a normal globe, displaying the countries of the world. In the dark you can turn on the projection light and it becomes a light up constellation map. 



Magazine Subscription- What kid doesn't love getting magazines in the mail? Here are a few of my family's favorites:

-National Geographic Kids

-National Geographic

-Highlights

-Ranger Rick


Rock Tumbler- A rock tumbler makes a great gift for kids who love collecting rocks. We have this one from National Geographic: National Geographic Starter Rock Tumbler Kit.


Engineering Sets- Engineering sets are perfect for kids who like to build and create!

-K'NEX Kits

-Legos

-Simple Machines Kits like this cool Pulleys Kit from Brackitz: Pulley 77 Piece Set

-National Geographic Da Vinci Kits- These are so cool! Build 3D functional models of some of Da Vinci's inventions. You can find them on Amazon.

-Magna Tiles


Science Kits- Science kits are always a hit in my household. Here's a few of our favorites:

-National Geographic Fossil Dig Kit: This kit is so much fun! Kids get to excavate 15 genuine fossils from an artificial substrate.

-Snap Circut sets

-Crime Catchers Spy Science Kit: Great for kids interested in forensic science.

-National Geographic Mega Gemstone Dig Kit: My 9-year-old got this one for Christmas last year and loved it!


-Scientific Explorer Mind Blowing Science Kit: My kids got this one as a gift a few years back and enjoyed it. It comes with instructions and supplies for 11 simple science activities including making a sunset in a test tube and making an erupting volcano.

-Magic School Bus Science Kits from the Young Scientists Club: We've done several of the kits from this series and they're always fun. Our favorite was the World of Germs kit.


Terrarium kits-  If you have a child interested in botany or gardening, terrarium kits are really cool!


Field Guides- My 9 year old's favorite gift last Christmas was her North American bird guide. She loves trying to ID new birds she encounters on our outdoor adventures. There are also field guides about fossils, plants, trees, mushrooms, etc...

Here are some of my favorite field guide sereies:

-National Audubon Society Field Guides

-Golden Field Guides

-A Pocket Naturalist Guides


Books!
Books are always a great educational gift!

Some of my family's favorite read aloud books have been:
-The Harry Potter series
-The Books of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
-Charlotte's Web
-The Little House series by Laura Ingalls   Wilder 
-Matilda by Roald Dahl
-The BFG by Roald Dahl

Check out this blog post to hear about some of my all time favorite children's picture books. And this one to hear about my favorite early chapter books for girls.

*Sorry I don't have a list for boys. All my kids are girls!


Subscription Boxes- Subscription boxes are always fun and there's lots of really cool, educational ones for kids. Here are a few popular ones:

-KiwiCo: KiwiCo offers several different subscriptions based on age and interest. They have art crates, STEM crates, and geography crates.

-Little Passports: Little Passports has science and geography activity packages for several different age groups.

-Spangler Science Club- Spangler Science offers two different STEM activity packages. 

-Brick Loot: The subscription box for Lego lovers.


Sewing Kits- We loved this one from Usborne Books: Children's Sewing Kit.


Pottery Wheel- We have a cheap plastic pottery wheel we bought a couple years ago and my kids love it!


Musical Instrument- Keyboards, electric drum sets, and beginner guitars make excellent gifts for budding musicians. Plus you can find some great virtual lessons for free on YouTube.


Camera- My oldest got her first camera (the Vtech KidiZoom) for her 4th birthday and she still loves taking photos with it now at 10 years old. We're finally upgrading her to a real Canon for Christmas this year.


Puzzles

-Fractiles 7

-Gravity Maze Marble Run from Think Fun

-Circuit Maze from Think Fun

-3D Puzzles


Ant Farm- An ant farm like this one from Lakeshore Learning would make an awesome gift for any kid who loves bugs!


Model Rocket Kit- If you have a kiddo interested in aerospace engineering, check out these model rocket kits from Estes: https://estesrockets.com/product-category/rockets/.


Construction Sets- Construction sets make a great gift for kids who like to build and work with tools.

-Tim Allen Signature Stuff Project Kits: We absolutely love these kits. There's a bug hut kit, a clock, a bird house, and several more. Kids get to use real tools to construct working products. You can find them on Amazon.

-Mini Shopsmith: This would make a really cool gift for older kids who are interested in learning to use shop tools.


Rock Hounding Kit- This is one of the items on my daughter's current wishlist and would make an excellent gift for kids who love geology. This is the one I'm looking at: Rock Hammer Mining Kit from Midland Products.


Binoculars- The perfect gift for little bird watchers.


Games- Board and dice games make great family gifts. Here's a few of my favorite educational games:

-Quirkle

-Scrabble

-Apples to Apples

-Monopoly

-Race Across the USA from Scholastic 

-Where in the World?


What are some of your favorite educational gifts? Tell me about them in the comments!


If you enjoyed this post check out:

-50 Non Candy Easter Basket Ideas

-3 Simple Christmas Crafts for Preschoolers


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