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NEW ⬆️ Fire > Glass > Lenses > Microscopes > Microbes > Surgery > Genetics > Domestication > Ancient Agriculture > Ancient Cities... Travel the planet to 94 locations with Tin Tin style illustrations to see 50 inventions and discoveries, "each one connecting to the next back and forth through time and around the world." This non-fiction picture book, Inventing The World, is my favorite Atlas Obscura for kids. It's engaging, accessible, and reminds me of James Burke's Connections series.
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ Eugy is a conservation-minded, New Zealand-based company that makes small 3D cardboard models (mostly of animals) that you can build in about a half hour. I love this smiling dodo!
Shipping from NZ to the US was paused, but there are dozens of animals to choose from on Amazon and they're super affordable.
Shipping from NZ to the US was paused, but there are dozens of animals to choose from on Amazon and they're super affordable.
All the open-ended building magic of classic Magna-Tiles, shrunk down for adventures beyond home. This 55-piece travel set tucks into a sturdy metal tin that doubles as a building base, making it easier for restaurant tables, airplane tray tables, and the backseat. Mini translucent squares, rectangles, and three types of triangles click together with the same satisfying magnetism as their full-sized versions, letting young engineers construct on the go.
When the wooden gate on this elegant wooden puzzle board is pulled, the small steel marbles will roll down through the maze, collecting at the bottom. Only then will you know if you've solved the puzzle with your tile placement.
MindWare's Marble Circuit Deluxe Brain Teaser Puzzle is a stellar gift for teaching logic, problem solving, and persistence. They say it's "for kids 8-12 and older," but this definitely feels like an age 8 to 108 piece, and is more coffee table friendly than the Turing Tumble (which we also love).
There's also a smaller, 10 tile, 64-puzzle version.
MindWare's Marble Circuit Deluxe Brain Teaser Puzzle is a stellar gift for teaching logic, problem solving, and persistence. They say it's "for kids 8-12 and older," but this definitely feels like an age 8 to 108 piece, and is more coffee table friendly than the Turing Tumble (which we also love).
There's also a smaller, 10 tile, 64-puzzle version.
Ten years ago, I got an original Stylophone Pocket Electronic Synthesizer for the kids after we saw it in one of Michael Hearst's Songs for Unusual Creatures videos. Now, there's more in the Stylophone store, including the Stylophone Beat, above, a surprising little compact stylus drum machine that can record layers, makes lots of different sounds, and more. It runs on 3 AAs and connects to wired headphones.
And it's really fun to play with, but I was totally hooked as soon as I watched this video.
And it's really fun to play with, but I was totally hooked as soon as I watched this video.
NEW ⬆️ I'm a huge fan of these beautifully illustrated books by "the Unknown Adventurer." These "found journals," edited and compiled by Teddy Keen, share color pencil-illustrated accounts by a mysterious author who wrote and sketched his way through harrowing travels around the world. They are a glorious throwback to a screen-free world, reconnected with nature, people, and basic survival, but they're also as contemplative as they are action-packed. Love love love for kids and grown ups alike.
By the way, the Unknown Adventurer's two previous books have been staple in the gift guide over the years. This is the first, and it's awesome.
“If you are reading this, it means my notebooks have been found. I am leaving them here at camp for safekeeping along with a few other belongings that I won’t be taking with me. The notebooks are a lifetime’s worth of knowledge, which I’m passing on to you.”
Filled with colored-pencil-style sketches that just might have been found in an abandoned hut, created by an “unknown adventurer” and discovered by nature enthusiast Teddy Keen, The Lost Book of Adventure is a delight. This handsome hardcover tome celebrates the natural world and the thrilling, skill-building activities we might try there: Prepping and packing for expeditions, building all kinds of shelters, becoming a navigator, panning for gold, campfire cooking, hiking, biking, canoeing, lashing, learning first-aid and other survival skills, equipment and supply lists, and really so much more. Did I mention the pages about picking leaves for pooping in the wild?
Chock-full of knowledge and imagination. A perfect gift before summer trips, backyard camping, and expeditions to Antarctica.
📖🛶 “A discovery in a remote part of the Amazon,” Journey to the Last River is a wonder-filled book that reveals a journal “belonging to an unknown artist and adventurer.”
An epic picture book, Last River is an appreciation-builder for nature, for wild places, for conservation, and for hidden, essential, fleeting, and sometimes dangerous details on our exquisite planet. 🌿 Lovely color pencil illustrations often provide additional information—maps, labeled inventories, fascinating notes about found items, annotated animal illustrations... 🗺🐍🐜🐸🐆 No doubt that its young readers will want to become resourceful explorers, protectors, problem solvers, and custodians of the natural world. 🌏
I highly recommend this unconventional 128-page picture book from the Unknown Adventurer / Teddy Keen. Kirkus Reviews does, too, calling it “sometimes thrilling, often terrifying, thoroughly immersive.” ⚡️
By the way, the Unknown Adventurer's two previous books have been staple in the gift guide over the years. This is the first, and it's awesome.
“If you are reading this, it means my notebooks have been found. I am leaving them here at camp for safekeeping along with a few other belongings that I won’t be taking with me. The notebooks are a lifetime’s worth of knowledge, which I’m passing on to you.”
Filled with colored-pencil-style sketches that just might have been found in an abandoned hut, created by an “unknown adventurer” and discovered by nature enthusiast Teddy Keen, The Lost Book of Adventure is a delight. This handsome hardcover tome celebrates the natural world and the thrilling, skill-building activities we might try there: Prepping and packing for expeditions, building all kinds of shelters, becoming a navigator, panning for gold, campfire cooking, hiking, biking, canoeing, lashing, learning first-aid and other survival skills, equipment and supply lists, and really so much more. Did I mention the pages about picking leaves for pooping in the wild?
Chock-full of knowledge and imagination. A perfect gift before summer trips, backyard camping, and expeditions to Antarctica.
📖🛶 “A discovery in a remote part of the Amazon,” Journey to the Last River is a wonder-filled book that reveals a journal “belonging to an unknown artist and adventurer.”
An epic picture book, Last River is an appreciation-builder for nature, for wild places, for conservation, and for hidden, essential, fleeting, and sometimes dangerous details on our exquisite planet. 🌿 Lovely color pencil illustrations often provide additional information—maps, labeled inventories, fascinating notes about found items, annotated animal illustrations... 🗺🐍🐜🐸🐆 No doubt that its young readers will want to become resourceful explorers, protectors, problem solvers, and custodians of the natural world. 🌏
I highly recommend this unconventional 128-page picture book from the Unknown Adventurer / Teddy Keen. Kirkus Reviews does, too, calling it “sometimes thrilling, often terrifying, thoroughly immersive.” ⚡️
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ I ordered Smug Owls as soon as I read about it. Make up answers to randomly generated riddles—"funny, punny, clever, profound, nonsensical, you name it"—earning cards to win the game. This family party game has over 130,000 possible riddles in the box and you can easily take them on the go. I especially love how creative and interactive it is. Mensa Recommended!
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ I hadn't heard from gamemakers Giiker (like Geeker) until I saw Super Blocks at MoMA, and it's MoMA-featured for good reason: This compact LED puzzle board challenges spatial reasoning with over 1000 Tetris-style problems. Place colored blocks on the screen-free board to fill the lit squares, progressing through ascending difficulty levels that keep kids (and grown-ups) puzzling.
NEW ⬆️ Sabertooth longhorn beetles, pine ladybugs, orange oakleaf butterflies, giraffe weevils, iridescent bark mantises, a white dragontail, a Gouldian finch, and more. This colorful Thames and Hudson seek-and-find book comes with ChromaDepth 3D glasses that make real insect species pop off the page. An absolute gem of a gift!
This 305-piece Roller Coaster Engineering set lets kids as young as 6 play with design, forces, motion, and energy. With more than 20 included experiments, it can activate students' learning experiences in any classroom, too. It's another fantastic product from Thames & Kosmos.
Get this on Amazon
If Roller Coaster Engineering is sold out or set to arrive late, try this Structural Engineering: Bridges & Skyscrapers set or any one of Thames & Kosmos kits.
Get this on Amazon
If Roller Coaster Engineering is sold out or set to arrive late, try this Structural Engineering: Bridges & Skyscrapers set or any one of Thames & Kosmos kits.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Despite TKSST.com's focus on videos, I'm convinced that audio storytelling is unmatched for growing imaginations. The Yoto Player brings that magic into the modern age, letting kids choose and play their own stories just like I did with my Disney Read Along Books And Records when I was little. And unlike smart speakers, Yoto has no microphone and no camera. For everyone's privacy, I absolutely prefer that.
After a few years on the market, Yoto's library has grown impressively—from favorite stories and classics like The Wizard of Oz, Winnie the Pooh, Wind in the Willows, and Frog and Toad to Pixar and Sesame Street favorites. Each card comes with sweet pixel illustrations programmed in, but keeps the experience wonderfully screen-free (and ad-free).
Bonus: Yoto Minis look perfect for road trips and flights.
After a few years on the market, Yoto's library has grown impressively—from favorite stories and classics like The Wizard of Oz, Winnie the Pooh, Wind in the Willows, and Frog and Toad to Pixar and Sesame Street favorites. Each card comes with sweet pixel illustrations programmed in, but keeps the experience wonderfully screen-free (and ad-free).
Bonus: Yoto Minis look perfect for road trips and flights.
Oh, this book! It's for kids aged 7+, but so many of the featured skills were forgotten in my family long before me, so I never learned them either. Mending socks, skipping stones, tying a clove hitch or a surgeon's knot, making a coin disappear, fixing a flat bicycle tire, sewing with buttons (properly! not winging it)...
The Handbook fo Forgotten Skills is a beautifully illustrated book with so many common knowledge skills that have faded from common knowledge. It feels like a lot of the satisfying and practical analog things we learned before there were so many digital distractions. Such a great book for kids who have yet to set their hands on a smartphone (and the rest of us will enjoy learning from it with them).
The Handbook fo Forgotten Skills is a beautifully illustrated book with so many common knowledge skills that have faded from common knowledge. It feels like a lot of the satisfying and practical analog things we learned before there were so many digital distractions. Such a great book for kids who have yet to set their hands on a smartphone (and the rest of us will enjoy learning from it with them).
Stack and balance toys might be some of my favorites. Not only do they develop hand-eye coordination, dexterity, decision-making, and patience, but goodness, look how adorable the designs of these wooden toys are. In addition to this Shark Stack-up, there's also a Pony Pile-Up and a T-Rex Topple. All extremely shelf-worthy.
NEW ⬆️ Originally published in Europe in 2023, this oversized art history book by French author Éva Bensard takes us on an architectural and artistic adventure through 13 of the world's most extraordinary museums. From the Smithsonian's 19 institutions to Beijing's Forbidden City-turned-Palace Museum, to Frida Kahlo's cobalt blue Casa Azul, illustrator Benjamin Chaud gives each museum four pages: first, the building gets the spotlight, then he sketches small vignettes of collection highlights, historic facts, and behind-the-scenes stories.
The Louvre, Guggenheim Bilbao, American Museum of Natural History, the Vatican Museums, Monaco's Oceanographic Museum... I love how this book captures the dynamic character of each museum. Ages 8+.
The Louvre, Guggenheim Bilbao, American Museum of Natural History, the Vatican Museums, Monaco's Oceanographic Museum... I love how this book captures the dynamic character of each museum. Ages 8+.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 For families with a Yoto Player: Yoto's Make Your Own Cards let you record stories, messages, and memories in the Yoto app and link them to cards kids can play anytime. Each pack comes with 5 blank cards—up to 6 hours per card—and the cards are reusable, so you can change what's on them whenever you like.
Record grandparents reading bedtime stories, kids telling their own tales, family recipes in a loved one's voice, or create custom music playlists. Kids can decorate the cards with the included stickers, and even younger listeners who can't manage digital files can pop in a card and hear the voices they love.
Learn more about Yoto. Related reading: The Stories That Bind Us.
Record grandparents reading bedtime stories, kids telling their own tales, family recipes in a loved one's voice, or create custom music playlists. Kids can decorate the cards with the included stickers, and even younger listeners who can't manage digital files can pop in a card and hear the voices they love.
Learn more about Yoto. Related reading: The Stories That Bind Us.
When the kids were very little, we had a solar-powered sun catcher that cast sparkling rainbows across our dining room every afternoon. It transformed the room and inspired conversations with the kids.
We’ve since moved, and while looking into bird strike prevention for a few windows, I happened upon these removable window stickers from Plottkowski. 🌈 They come in a variety of rainbow- and memory-making designs but my favorite is this 12 x 12 cm sun-ray square.
There's also this 12 x 6 cm sunrise sticker and 14.5 x 7 cm clouds. Safer birds + rainbow magic. ✨️️
We’ve since moved, and while looking into bird strike prevention for a few windows, I happened upon these removable window stickers from Plottkowski. 🌈 They come in a variety of rainbow- and memory-making designs but my favorite is this 12 x 12 cm sun-ray square.
There's also this 12 x 6 cm sunrise sticker and 14.5 x 7 cm clouds. Safer birds + rainbow magic. ✨️️
When these two board books arrived, my 15-year-old recognized them from a YouTube review, and started going through them page by page, saying, "These are so smart!"
And that was my first impression of Chase Roberts' Computer Engineering for Babies and Computer Engineering for Big Babies, working circuit boards disguised as sturdy board books with buttons, switches, and LEDs that respond to each press and flip.
Digital logic is the foundation of computing, and these books help make it tangible. What kids take away depends on age; a 10-month-old grasps cause and effect while older kids (and grown-ups) connect interactions to computing concepts.
And even without understanding the technical details explained on each page, it's super fun to press buttons, flip switches, and watch lights respond! These books are smart, and make fantastic gifts for babies and new parents alike.
And that was my first impression of Chase Roberts' Computer Engineering for Babies and Computer Engineering for Big Babies, working circuit boards disguised as sturdy board books with buttons, switches, and LEDs that respond to each press and flip.
Digital logic is the foundation of computing, and these books help make it tangible. What kids take away depends on age; a 10-month-old grasps cause and effect while older kids (and grown-ups) connect interactions to computing concepts.
And even without understanding the technical details explained on each page, it's super fun to press buttons, flip switches, and watch lights respond! These books are smart, and make fantastic gifts for babies and new parents alike.
NEW ⬆️ My family started playing Wordle and Connections together years ago, and was especially glad to hear that, like so many classrooms around the country, my kids were playing as teams as brain breaks at school. Now this NYT Games book features all-new puzzles in the style of their digital hits, but in print form, perfect for screen-free puzzle solving.
Speaking of forgotten skills, Cat's Cradle somehow dominated my Gen X childhood. But like Jacks and Marbles, it's no longer common knowledge in the zeitgeist of childhood. And yet Cat's Cradle develops fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, spatial reasoning, sequential memory, focus, patience, social learning, pattern recognition, problem-solving...
There's also something valuable about working within constraints - you have this simple loop of string and your two hands, and from that limitation comes dozens of possible figures. It's the opposite of infinite digital possibilities; it teaches creativity within boundaries. And that quiet, focused nature of it also provides a kind of meditative quality... repetitive, calming, screen-free concentration that's increasingly rare for kids.
Yes, I just wrote that much about Cat's Cradle. This Dan&Darci kit with string and step-by-step guide is highly rated and affordable.
There's also something valuable about working within constraints - you have this simple loop of string and your two hands, and from that limitation comes dozens of possible figures. It's the opposite of infinite digital possibilities; it teaches creativity within boundaries. And that quiet, focused nature of it also provides a kind of meditative quality... repetitive, calming, screen-free concentration that's increasingly rare for kids.
Yes, I just wrote that much about Cat's Cradle. This Dan&Darci kit with string and step-by-step guide is highly rated and affordable.
Here’s an idea for the entire family: Make audio books with your kiddos. Kids pick their favorite stories, and once you’ve recorded them, they’ll have a file of your voice that they can listen to over and over again... at bedtime, on road trips, or perhaps even years later when they have their own kids.
Way back when, we got a Blue Yeti USB Microphone and Dragonpad Wind Screen for the professional sound quality. The kids love being in the room when we’re recording, and when we're lucky, they’re game to read a book or tell their own stories into the mic. Excellent for asking grandparents to record family stories, too. Highly recommended.
The Blue Yeti X or the more compact and slightly less expensive Blue Yeti Nano Premium USB Mic are both excellent options for a first microphone. Consider a wind screen and/or a TroyStudio Portable Vocal Booth Box (we have this--it's so quiet inside) to easily level-up the sound quality of your recordings.
Also excellent for teens and grown ups who want to record for YouTube, game streaming, podcasting, music, etc... which is how ours is used now.
Related reading: The Stories That Bind Us.
Way back when, we got a Blue Yeti USB Microphone and Dragonpad Wind Screen for the professional sound quality. The kids love being in the room when we’re recording, and when we're lucky, they’re game to read a book or tell their own stories into the mic. Excellent for asking grandparents to record family stories, too. Highly recommended.
The Blue Yeti X or the more compact and slightly less expensive Blue Yeti Nano Premium USB Mic are both excellent options for a first microphone. Consider a wind screen and/or a TroyStudio Portable Vocal Booth Box (we have this--it's so quiet inside) to easily level-up the sound quality of your recordings.
Also excellent for teens and grown ups who want to record for YouTube, game streaming, podcasting, music, etc... which is how ours is used now.
Related reading: The Stories That Bind Us.
NEW ⬆️ If you're looking for the most up to date dinosaur and prehistoric animal book you can find, this newly revised DK Smithsonian Dinosaur! book is your very best bet. It's one in a series of DK's 12 Knowledge Encyclopedias, all highly recommended.
NEW ⬆️ For younger readers aged 4-8, this Eye Wonder book is another great dinosaur pick. Large photos and words, lots of updated facts, infographics, and more.
NEW ⬆️ For younger readers aged 4-8, this Eye Wonder book is another great dinosaur pick. Large photos and words, lots of updated facts, infographics, and more.
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ Build your own ecosystem in Harmonies, a beautifully illustrated strategy game where players stack forests, carve rivers, and create habitats that attract animals. Nominated for Best Artwork & Presentation in the 2024 Golden Geek Awards, it’s a calm, strategic tile-laying game that rewards planning, imagination, and a love of nature.
Backyard tween movie night plans recently prompted us to look into portable projectors that could also double as a wall-size TV. Two are VERY tempting: the Yaber T2 Outdoor Projector with its built-in battery and JBL audio and the Netflix-licensed NEBULA Capsule 3 GTV Projector with Dolby audio.
We ultimately decided to keep the budget under $100 with the TOPTRO TR23 Mini Projector. I love how small and portable this new generation of projectors are, and we've been super happy with this one's quality, especially for the price. It's a straightforward, no-frills projector with a great picture and solid built in speakers, and it's compatible with everything from PlayStation 5 and streaming devices (Roku, Fire TV Stick, etc) to USB connections and Bluetooth to link an external speaker.
Perfect for family movies, gaming on the big screen, and backyard movie nights under the stars. 🍿
We ultimately decided to keep the budget under $100 with the TOPTRO TR23 Mini Projector. I love how small and portable this new generation of projectors are, and we've been super happy with this one's quality, especially for the price. It's a straightforward, no-frills projector with a great picture and solid built in speakers, and it's compatible with everything from PlayStation 5 and streaming devices (Roku, Fire TV Stick, etc) to USB connections and Bluetooth to link an external speaker.
Perfect for family movies, gaming on the big screen, and backyard movie nights under the stars. 🍿
NEW ⬆️ Turtles that navigate by Earth's magnetic fields, fish that communicate with electricity, giant squids with enormous eyes evolved specifically to watch for whales, and the real reason zebras have stripes (spoiler: not camouflage).
I love Ed Yong's work. The Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer has been one of our best guides to the animal world through riveting articles, books, podcasts, and videos for years. IMO, this young reader's edition of his 2023 New York Times best-seller An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us is long overdue.
Yong reveals how animals perceive a world far more immense than humans can experience—more colors, more sensations, entire senses we can't access at all—proving that understanding how other creatures sense the world opens up our own.
I love Ed Yong's work. The Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer has been one of our best guides to the animal world through riveting articles, books, podcasts, and videos for years. IMO, this young reader's edition of his 2023 New York Times best-seller An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us is long overdue.
Yong reveals how animals perceive a world far more immense than humans can experience—more colors, more sensations, entire senses we can't access at all—proving that understanding how other creatures sense the world opens up our own.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Wobble boards are handsome toys that can handle up to 450 lbs. Balance or rock on them, make a bridge or a little stool... kids will have lots of ideas, perfect for rainy days and sunny days alike.
Bunny Hopkins Wobble Boards (shown) are made in Atlanta, Georgia with American maple wood. There are also Kinderfeets Wobble Boards on Amazon. You can also ask for it at your local toy shop!
Bunny Hopkins Wobble Boards (shown) are made in Atlanta, Georgia with American maple wood. There are also Kinderfeets Wobble Boards on Amazon. You can also ask for it at your local toy shop!
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ We've stared at these cards quietly for long periods, and though no one can tell, we're having fun. SET! The Family Game of Visual Perception. A focus and patience builder, this is a brain game for older kids and adults, playing with friends or solo. Find three cards that either share one shape, color, number, or shading among them, or that don't have anything in common at all. Amazing practice for pattern recognition, concentration, and quick-thinking.
This has been a family favorite for years, but I especially love seeing my (now) teens exercise their brains on this one.
This has been a family favorite for years, but I especially love seeing my (now) teens exercise their brains on this one.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Retevis' kid walkies are on every recommendation list I've reviewed so I bought this small pair for our friends' 2 kids under 6. They come in 9 different color options and have 22 channels, can run on Eneloop rechargeable batteries (it's worth it), and even have a flashlight.
And here's the great thing about any walkie talkies you decide on: these are screen-free toys! And they teach kids how to communicate, work together, and take turns(!!) while they run around, imagine, and play. Highly recommended. Bonus fun fact: They call them talkie walkies in France.
And here's the great thing about any walkie talkies you decide on: these are screen-free toys! And they teach kids how to communicate, work together, and take turns(!!) while they run around, imagine, and play. Highly recommended. Bonus fun fact: They call them talkie walkies in France.
Apply everything I said to walkie talkies to this Retevis RT22 Rechargeable Walkie Talkie 4-pack, but note that these are super simplified with Type-C charging and can be clipped on for hands-free chat (so even more like Star Trek).
These are in the sweet spot of affordable but highly-rated. Use them for outdoor festivals, hiking and camping, emergencies, or for fun. And they come in black and camouflage.
These are in the sweet spot of affordable but highly-rated. Use them for outdoor festivals, hiking and camping, emergencies, or for fun. And they come in black and camouflage.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Deep Sea Adventure by Oink Games became an instant favorite when we got it, and put Oink on the radar for me. A Japanese strategy game (available for stateside players–there are English instructions), your goal is to make three trips down into the ocean deep to retrieve more treasure than other diving players... whom you happen to be sharing your dwindling oxygen with.
Which diver will dive the deepest for more valuable treasure?
Which diver will use more communal oxygen by carrying more treasure? How daring are you and will you make it back up to the submarine in the dice rolls you have left?
Such a smart and revealing game... both simple and sophisticated for kids (around age 8+) and adults. Plus, it’s pocket-sized! Perfect for travel. Highly recommended.
Which diver will dive the deepest for more valuable treasure?
Which diver will use more communal oxygen by carrying more treasure? How daring are you and will you make it back up to the submarine in the dice rolls you have left?
Such a smart and revealing game... both simple and sophisticated for kids (around age 8+) and adults. Plus, it’s pocket-sized! Perfect for travel. Highly recommended.
VERY LOW STOCK ⏰ I think our kids were maybe 5 and 8 when they saw their first rotary phone. We were touring the med rooms of a 1940s aircraft carrier. We may or may not have regaled them with stories of stretching phone cords across rooms as teenagers. This POP Phone handset with USB-C universal connection by Native Union is such a fun and affordable retro gift for those who want a little distance from their smartphone. Or plug it into the computer to talk on a video call.
For a smaller projector that's affordable and highly rated, check out the Gaimoo Mini Projector in white or black. We have an old Fire Stick so the TopTro has been fantastic for us, but if you don't have an external streaming device, then you'll need a built-in smart OS to run Netflix, YouTube, etc., directly.
The Gaimoo projector has flexible 4K projection with auto keystone correction, 180° rotation, WiFi 6 streaming, built-in speakers with Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, digital zoom adjustment, and dual remote/mouse control. Plus, it travels quite nicely. Highly rated and recommended.
The Gaimoo projector has flexible 4K projection with auto keystone correction, 180° rotation, WiFi 6 streaming, built-in speakers with Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, digital zoom adjustment, and dual remote/mouse control. Plus, it travels quite nicely. Highly rated and recommended.
Which is worse? Tripping in front of a crowd or having a bird poop on your head? Ranking games are surprisingly powerful tools for helping kids develop communication and social skills. When kids rank their favorite movies, pizza toppings, or superpowers, they're practicing how to form opinions, and explain WHY they think what they think. First to Worst takes this concept to hilarious extremes, challenging players to rank absurd scenarios from 1 to 5 while trying to guess how others will rank them. And it's not just only for kids! Play this with all grown-ups or check out all the other First to Worst games. (There's a Care Bears version?)
Buy it from Dyce Games, which also has a FREE print and play download
Buy it from Dyce Games, which also has a FREE print and play download
BACKORDERED! ⏰ A kid-safe cardboard cutting power tool for ages 3+! Invented by two UPenn product design Master’s program grads, with incredible reviews ?! Free K-8 STEM curriculum and a site full of supportive young inventor-friendly info that help kids create independently?!! And it keeps selling out?
For educators and for maker households, I'm guessing the ChompSaw is the big gift this year. It was awarded Fast Company's Innovation by Design and Time's Best Inventions Awards for 2025, among many honors.
For educators and for maker households, I'm guessing the ChompSaw is the big gift this year. It was awarded Fast Company's Innovation by Design and Time's Best Inventions Awards for 2025, among many honors.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Cardboard has always been my personal favorite medium to create with. Beyond just cutting holes in a box, there's lots you can do with this flexible, easy-to-cut, abundant material. This wonderful how-to book, Cardboard Creations for Kids, shares a few dozen ideas for easily making your own toys, costumes, and more. Yes, please!
Tokyo-based Oink Games might be one of my favorite creators to watch for unusual and creative games. Their small boxes reveal engaging worlds and really fun interactions. DroPolter, for example, has you battling ghosts that are afraid of random objects that you'll need to drop from your palm one-handed. Drop the wrong objects = start over. Drop all the right objects first = get a bell. Drop a bell the next time, the ghost will steal it back. 👻
I love the simplicity of this game, as well as it's precise physicality and fun gameplay.
I love the simplicity of this game, as well as it's precise physicality and fun gameplay.
We first saw Makedo cardboard construction tools at our local Maker Faire a few years ago. These safe, easy-to-use tools let kids cut cardboard and fasten the pieces together into all sorts of creations. Thankfully, a reader reminded me about them, so they're back in this year's guide.
Makedo offers several kit options, but this 50-piece Explore Kit for 1-2 makers is a good starting point. Free shipping at make.do until Dec 14.
Makedo offers several kit options, but this 50-piece Explore Kit for 1-2 makers is a good starting point. Free shipping at make.do until Dec 14.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Teenage Engineering products are playful and intuitive standouts in both product design and sound quality. Their minimalist aesthetics, recognized by MoMA (for their OP-1), are matched by their portability, tactility, and how easy they are to pick up and play.
Their Pocket Operators, "ultra-portable music devices that can be used individually, together, or with other compatible gear," are incredibly cool. Each one is a distinct sound engine, like drums (PO-12 rhythm), arcade synth (PO-20 arcade), micro sampler (PO-33 K.O!), and vocal synth (PO-35 speak). There are nine in total, fantastic gifts for kids/teens interested in making music, experimental musicians, chiptune fans, and anyone who wants to make music on the go.
Plug in your headphones or connect them to your music equipment. And don't forget to get a tailor-made silicone case.
Their Pocket Operators, "ultra-portable music devices that can be used individually, together, or with other compatible gear," are incredibly cool. Each one is a distinct sound engine, like drums (PO-12 rhythm), arcade synth (PO-20 arcade), micro sampler (PO-33 K.O!), and vocal synth (PO-35 speak). There are nine in total, fantastic gifts for kids/teens interested in making music, experimental musicians, chiptune fans, and anyone who wants to make music on the go.
Plug in your headphones or connect them to your music equipment. And don't forget to get a tailor-made silicone case.
Years ago, I consulted for a dynamic team working out of an old house in Berkeley, California. Almost a decade later, they're a thriving small business that prints memories on a wide range of products. My favorite of theirs, then and now: Tiny Books.
I love these magnetic little books because they are perfect for small hands, and fantastic for the fridge when you want a moment to peek at a few sweet moments. They also make the best party favor gifts to share lots of photos way better than any bag of plastic doodads. (And not only for little kids. Teens and grown-ups will be charmed by these, too.) These sweet cover designs are brand newwww, too.
I love these magnetic little books because they are perfect for small hands, and fantastic for the fridge when you want a moment to peek at a few sweet moments. They also make the best party favor gifts to share lots of photos way better than any bag of plastic doodads. (And not only for little kids. Teens and grown-ups will be charmed by these, too.) These sweet cover designs are brand newwww, too.
If you've ever tried to make a bridge from dry spaghetti or were hooked by this Every Bridge For Every Situation, Explained By an Engineer video, (or if either of those sound interesting), I've got a fact-filled non-fiction picture book for you. Bridges introduces these structures, their architects, and even the most dangerous bridges around the world. And there are hands-on engineering activities? Love this!
NEW ⬆️ Scottish illustrator Marion Deuchars creates fantastic activity books that helps all ages visualize and create images with a variety of artist tools: Fingerprints, colors, patterns, and now lines. Page by page, she introduces different kinds of lines and how to use your imagination to create and transform them in infinite ways. Love this!
NEW ⬆️ If you've been watching music production videos with your teens (or dreaming of making music yourself), take a look at this compact powerhouse. The Akai Professional MPK Mini IV USB-C MIDI Keyboard Controller for beginners and producers lets you play melodies on 25 mini keys, tap out drum beats on 8 backlit pressure-sensitive pads, and twist knobs to adjust sounds in real-time... all from a keyboard small enough to toss in a backpack.
Connect it via USB-C to your computer, tablet, or phone and you're ready to create. Bend notes, add vibrato, create cascading patterns, and play full chords with single keys. It comes with 1,000+ sounds (drums, keys, synths, bass), Ableton Live Lite software, and a 30-day Melodics trial for keyboard and pad lessons. Perfect for curious teens ready to make music and anyone who doesn't have the space or budget for a full-sized setup.
Connect it via USB-C to your computer, tablet, or phone and you're ready to create. Bend notes, add vibrato, create cascading patterns, and play full chords with single keys. It comes with 1,000+ sounds (drums, keys, synths, bass), Ableton Live Lite software, and a 30-day Melodics trial for keyboard and pad lessons. Perfect for curious teens ready to make music and anyone who doesn't have the space or budget for a full-sized setup.
Stackable toys are some of my favorites for littles. Not only are they fantastic for hand-eye coordination, but they're wonderful for imaginative play and they're adorable set up on a shelf or just laying around. Tenderleaf Toys make beautiful gift-worthy pieces, including this Stacking Forest and this Stacking Coral Reef.
More than a dozen years ago, I remember looking for children's books that revealed how the food on our tables arrived there, and only connected with this one. But in the last few years, there's been an explosion of beautifully illustrated, non-fiction, food books for kids, and From Plant to Plate is a colorful and info-packed standout. In its 96 pages, it covers health, easy plants to grow (including seed saving and composting), and 25-ish recipes that kids can enjoy making and eating.
NEW ⬆️ I love King Arthur Baking Company. Not only do they have great products, but they're a certified B Corp and 100% employee owned. Sweet & Salty is their new cookbook with almost 100 recipes for young bakers (and me, evidently): monkey bread, pretzel bites, super-size peanut butter cup tarts, garlic knots, homemade ice cream sandwiches, empanadas three ways, and more.
Flashforge's Adventurer 5M Pro is a frequent pick on the school and home 3D-printing recommendation lists I’ve come across. First, it has a dual filtration system to block 99% of particles and VOCs. Second, it's enclosed, keeping the action in, and curious little hands out. Third, it's relatively quiet and fast, with a footprint of just under 15"x16". And fourth, it can handle a range of filament types so you won't be stuck with the basics.
If you've been looking to get into 3D printing, take a look at this option. (There's also the Adventurer 5M with fewer features for less, and right now they're both deeply discounted for the holidays.)
If you've been looking to get into 3D printing, take a look at this option. (There's also the Adventurer 5M with fewer features for less, and right now they're both deeply discounted for the holidays.)
🔥POPULAR 🔥 I would have loved these as a kid, and my kids have them on their recommendation list: Blank. Flip. Books. Oaktown Supply ships out these 100-sheet-thick, durable craft paper books that are cut to just the right size, all bound and ready to animate. For kids and adults who love to draw, create tiny stories, or are super tired of stapling hunks of paper together to make their own. We love these.
Buy these books
Buy these books
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ Hidden in water droplets all around us are microscopic algae called diatoms—tiny glass-like organisms with extraordinary geometric patterns. This Mensa Select winner turns that hidden world into a clever pattern-making game based on a real Victorian art form where people arranged actual microscopic diatoms into mosaics under glass slides.
The puzzly gameplay builds spatial reasoning while sparking curiosity about the tiny life forms in every puddle and pond. Players collect and arrange colorful diatom tiles, scoring for symmetry, color matching, and shape variety. Attention, players, ages 8+ and 1-4 players who love art, science, strategy, and satisfying tile placement.
The puzzly gameplay builds spatial reasoning while sparking curiosity about the tiny life forms in every puddle and pond. Players collect and arrange colorful diatom tiles, scoring for symmetry, color matching, and shape variety. Attention, players, ages 8+ and 1-4 players who love art, science, strategy, and satisfying tile placement.
At this size and price point, the JLab Pop Party Speaker hits that sweet spot for kids and tweens who want their own speaker for bedroom hangouts and sleepovers, or teens and growns who need audio on the go. It's minimal, waterproof, and has 8+ hours of battery for poolside, camping, backyard movie nights, and impromptu dance parties. And the customizable RGB lights can pulse with the music, too.
These blocks are super smart and perfect for learning math: Sumblox are wooden numbers that are proportional in height to their number value. Stack the 2 and 3 blocks and they'll be the same height as the 5 block. Equal height, equal value. It’s so simple and useful for learning! Works for addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, and just getting to know numbers in the first place, and they stack beautifully. Hands-on math! Excellent for schools.
I've been watching this Texas-based business for years. Their early blocks were larger at a high price. But they've recently created these more affordable SumBlox Mini sets with 38 or 80 pieces. Highly recommended.
I've been watching this Texas-based business for years. Their early blocks were larger at a high price. But they've recently created these more affordable SumBlox Mini sets with 38 or 80 pieces. Highly recommended.
After years of wrestling with tent poles while the kids got cranky, instant pop-up tents feel like magic. We had a small one for baby shading years ago, but set up for the whole family? Yes, please.
This PFAS-free Coleman "Camp Burst" pop-up tent is for 3 to 4 people and it still sets up in 10 seconds. Frankly, we might not go camping to use it. Set up is so easy, we don't even need to go outside. Pop-up tents are perfect for daytime pillow forts and slumber parties, too.
This PFAS-free Coleman "Camp Burst" pop-up tent is for 3 to 4 people and it still sets up in 10 seconds. Frankly, we might not go camping to use it. Set up is so easy, we don't even need to go outside. Pop-up tents are perfect for daytime pillow forts and slumber parties, too.
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ I remembered seeing this critically acclaimed handheld game from Giiker (like geeker) after reading this amusing (but not for kids) McSweeney's article about the 1980s Mastermind box.
Super Decoder is compared to Mastermind-like games often and its awards and high ratings have my attention. I loved Mastermind and I love a screen-free game, especially when it can travel.
Get this game
Super Decoder is compared to Mastermind-like games often and its awards and high ratings have my attention. I loved Mastermind and I love a screen-free game, especially when it can travel.
Get this game
Still one of our favorite games to play: Hive. Like a mini-modern version of chess, each bug moves in its own way to surround the opposing team’s bee. Similar in quality to mahjong tiles, the hexagonal pieces create a new ‘board’ shape as you choose which bugs—from 2 beetles, 2 spiders 🕷, 3 ants 🐜, and 3 grasshoppers—to introduce or move.
Strategic and unpredictable, it can be as challenging to an adult as it is to an eight year old... it’s a Mensa Select-honored game! And it has expansion pieces that move in new ways. We've been buying an additional set of bugs every year: Pill bugs. Mosquitos. Ladybugs. 🐞
Strategic and unpredictable, it can be as challenging to an adult as it is to an eight year old... it’s a Mensa Select-honored game! And it has expansion pieces that move in new ways. We've been buying an additional set of bugs every year: Pill bugs. Mosquitos. Ladybugs. 🐞
Flipbookit is a super stylish gift for anyone who loves animation and DIY projects. The Maker Craft Kit lets you create a one-of-a-kind 24-frame animation by uploading your video or images to their free online flip-maker tool. Or create your own animations with blank DIY cards. Love love love these.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 This personalized gift—rainbow crayon letters for any name you’d like—is sweet and impressive. And it can help younger kids recognize letters in their name while they color. It’s from star seller art2theextreme on Etsy.
Get this gift
Get this gift
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Admittedly, I have a weakness for all-the-Japan-things, but this Kuretake Gansai Tambi 36 watercolor set is stunning and the super high rating and effusive reviews have pushed me over the edge. A really special gift for art-focused tweens, teens, and adults.
BACK IN STOCK ⏰ Maybe a decade ago, my kids got a sturdy, blue, remote-controlled robot spider with a head that turned 360 degrees. It was one of their many cool Hexbugs, and it was fun for adults to play with it, too. But wow, this Black Widow Spider Hexbug is much more spider than robot, it has a glowing body and eyes, and now it's rechargable! Major upgrade!
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ 🪲 Okay, technically you're not bashing bugs; 🐝 you're counting bugs and slapping number cards 🐞 before anyone else can in this very cute, easy, and subtly mathy game that's great for all ages. 🐛 And it's an Academics' Choice Brain Toy Award Winner and an American Mensa Recommended Game for ages 7-12. 🐜
🔥POPULAR 🔥 One of 9 in a series of DK anthology books, and possibly one of DK's most popular books right now, Mysteries of the Universe uses storytelling to connect us to these mind-blowing, larger-than-life wonders of space and time. Auroras, sunspots, comets, water on Mars, Saturn's rings, nebulae, how planets and stars are born, and so much more, all introduced with a few memorable facts that will enthrall kids (and grownups) of all ages.
Sakura's Koi 30 watercolor paint set (with water-holding brush) is a fantastic portable kit that comes with its own dabbing sponge and mixing palette. Paint in nature or wherever the mood strikes. (IMO: Sakura sets are slightly more affordable and less precious than Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolor Paint Sets.)
There's also a $20 set with 8 fluorescent, 4 metallic and 12 pearlescent colors and a $72 set with 12 metallic and fluorescent colors included with the standard matte colors.
There's also a $20 set with 8 fluorescent, 4 metallic and 12 pearlescent colors and a $72 set with 12 metallic and fluorescent colors included with the standard matte colors.
LOW STOCK ⏰ In LA, we're seeing Gen Z elders visiting museums and events with disposable cameras, polaroids, ancient digital Elph powershot cameras, and the like. Everything has a retro feel and eschews smartphone convenience and immediacy. I love how experimental this can feel, how it seems to keep everyone in the moment, and how "slow" is built into the experience, especially for younger Gen Z and Gen A, who are honestly in need of digital breaks.
Behold one of the new options of screen-free digital cameras. Lensy feels like a disposable camera, but it has four built in filters, takes unlimited photos, storing up to 2,000, and transfers them to your computer via USB-C. The affordability of digital with the mindfulness of film? I love this for kids.
Behold one of the new options of screen-free digital cameras. Lensy feels like a disposable camera, but it has four built in filters, takes unlimited photos, storing up to 2,000, and transfers them to your computer via USB-C. The affordability of digital with the mindfulness of film? I love this for kids.
Why, yes, I do want to build a 42-piece 4.5x3" cardboard Hercules Beetle printed with eco-friendly ink!
🔥POPULAR 🔥 I first recommended Kapla blocks seven or eight years ago and can happily report today that a Kapla 280 Blocks Set with instruction booklet continues to be a smart long-term investment in play, patience-building, and problem solving. These lovely planks stay in great condition and are always ready for open-ended play.
Safe, natural, non-toxic, eco-friendly, and wonderfully analog, which is even more important after so much onscreen time for school and play over the last year or two. This is a wonderful toy that can challenge and inspire creativity and every age... even adults! Kapla Blocks also come in a variety of sets. Call your local toy store or science museum to see if they carry them.
Buy this set
Safe, natural, non-toxic, eco-friendly, and wonderfully analog, which is even more important after so much onscreen time for school and play over the last year or two. This is a wonderful toy that can challenge and inspire creativity and every age... even adults! Kapla Blocks also come in a variety of sets. Call your local toy store or science museum to see if they carry them.
Buy this set
In the last few years of my father's life, we used to email him photos that would automagically print out on a special photo printer like a fax machine so he could get realtime photos of his grandkids. This Aura Frame can work in the same way: send photos from far away for a loved one and they'll appear in the frame. Or set it up and curate regularly at home.
This could also be a sweet gift for a teen or rising college freshman as they launch. And younger kids will love seeing themselves in ever-updated family photos, especially if there aren't physical photo albums around.
There are 8 frames to choose from at different price points. Wirecutter and Strategist recommended.
This could also be a sweet gift for a teen or rising college freshman as they launch. And younger kids will love seeing themselves in ever-updated family photos, especially if there aren't physical photo albums around.
There are 8 frames to choose from at different price points. Wirecutter and Strategist recommended.
When the kids were little, we would spend hours at our local science museum where we could build with Kapla blocks and set up marble runs. These Magnetic Marble Run components remind me a lot of the ramp pieces we’d hook into pegboards as we tested the marble’s path, adjusted, and tested again. It was a lot of fun and taught them so much about redesigning, trying new things, and fails = useful information.
This 150 piece set includes a motorized Archimedes' screw lift! There’s also a 75 piece starter set.
Get this kit
This 150 piece set includes a motorized Archimedes' screw lift! There’s also a 75 piece starter set.
Get this kit
We got a hand-me-down set of Lincoln Logs which, IMO, is the best way to get any set of build toys, and we happily passed them along when we grew out of them. But for the last 10 years, in celebration of their 100th anniversary, K'Nex moved production of these iconic logs back from China and stopped using plastic. Today, they're made with maple wood in the United States. An absolute classic.
NEW ⬆️ Maps, and diagrams, and infographics, oh my! ⚡️📘⚡️ DK’s Explore Science for ages 7 and up explains renewable energy, gravity, different wavelengths of light, the human body, our systems and senses, animal teamwork, adaptations, materials science, magnetism, simple machines, and lots more. Award-winning Studio Muti and Kaley McKean have packed a lot of beautifully illustrated information into four chapters! Highly recommended.
I stumbled upon Explore at my local indie bookstore and after paging through it for less than a minute, it was in my arms to purchase. A collection of maps and diagrams that explain the world, Explore is a beautifully illustrated tome that hearkens back to my 80s-era encyclopedias. Packed with information, it's the kind of book I'd add to the back seat for my kids on a long roadtrip, but it should also be in school and public libraries.
"Follow the routes of animals as they embark on migrations and of seeds as they leave their parent plants. Discover maps to guide you around hidden spaces, like the inside of a beehive, and places as distant as the outer reaches of the solar system. Explore the depths of the ocean, a single cell, a car engine, the human brain, a medieval castle, and much more." 🤩
"Follow the routes of animals as they embark on migrations and of seeds as they leave their parent plants. Discover maps to guide you around hidden spaces, like the inside of a beehive, and places as distant as the outer reaches of the solar system. Explore the depths of the ocean, a single cell, a car engine, the human brain, a medieval castle, and much more." 🤩
🔥POPULAR 🔥 For crafty preteens, teens, and adults who are interested in exploring natural dyes, this Natural Dye Kit Bundle for beginners is a wonderful introduction. Star Etsy seller The Love of Colours includes one indigo kit and one natural dye kit.
Or keep it simple and start with the indigo kit to create your own totes, tees, sweatshirts, hats, onesies, pillow covers, and more. Either way, these kits make it easy to jumpstart a new hobby or spend time learning and making together.
Or keep it simple and start with the indigo kit to create your own totes, tees, sweatshirts, hats, onesies, pillow covers, and more. Either way, these kits make it easy to jumpstart a new hobby or spend time learning and making together.
NEW ⬆️ Repeat that title! There are no silly questions! Author Mike Rampton teams up with experts at the University of Cambridge to answer more than 200 wonderfully weird questions (Do dinosaurs sneeze? Why do we have two nostrils but only one mouth?) with scientific accuracy and some humor. The explanations + Guilherme Karsten's illustrations prove that curiosity deserves a thoughtful response. Perfect for all of our young thinkers who want to understand the world and feel encouraged to keep asking.
These chunky 380-sheet sketchpads by Three by Three Seattle come with their own built-in color pencil garages—no more hunting for supplies when inspiration strikes! Handsome and ready to go wherever creativity or necessity call. 🎨✏️
Mix Mudpuppy's colorful animal illustrations with Jenga and you've got this sweet kid version—Wild Wobble! Wooden Tumbling Tower—with 4 kid-friendly logs per level instead of Jenga's three. Focus! Motor skills! Dexterity! Decision-making! Patience! And oh so cute while it's out.
In 2019, I researched mini photo cameras and printers for weeks. Ultimately, I chose an earlier version of this Fujifilm Instax Mini Link 3 Smartphone Printer, above, and many years later, it's been a solid purchase for us. It’s highly rated, the hardware and software makes it fun for the kids to use, the Instax Mini Instant Film has a vintage feel but I have editing control in the app, and most importantly, it works with our iPhones and any photos we’ve already taken.
Great for photo books, hanging photos of their friends in their rooms, and birthday parties. I've included a print in after-party thank you cards, too. It comes in a few different colors (and there's now an Instax Square Link Smartphone Printer, too). A moment of analog with the benefits of digital.
Buy this printer
Friend Youngna Park also recommends the Canon Ivy Portable Printer that has photo paper and both rectangular and circle sticker paper. I'm linking to a good-looking starter bundle in the link below.
Buy this printer
Great for photo books, hanging photos of their friends in their rooms, and birthday parties. I've included a print in after-party thank you cards, too. It comes in a few different colors (and there's now an Instax Square Link Smartphone Printer, too). A moment of analog with the benefits of digital.
Buy this printer
Friend Youngna Park also recommends the Canon Ivy Portable Printer that has photo paper and both rectangular and circle sticker paper. I'm linking to a good-looking starter bundle in the link below.
Buy this printer
When my kids were little, our go-to toy for days off was always our humble wooden train set. Tracks got set up with new configurations, and every year, I'd add new trees, a new train set, or another building. Then one year, we bought a set of wood expansion tracks and everything got way more fun.
I love their hard or paper covers, the sound as the pages turn, their textures, the inks, their smell. I love paper books. But when my kids were upper elementary age (and especially when we were traveling), the Kindles their grandmother bought them were game changers. The kids carried them everywhere. They were always downloading new reads. They recommended books to each other. And Kindles were lighter and easier to pack than even a fraction of the equivalent books.
There are now three Kindle options for kids at three price points, with no games, no ads, no videos, and no distractions (the reason I came to appreciate these age-appropriate e-readers): Kindle Kids, Kindle Paperwhite Kids, and Kindle Colorsoft Kids. Pick a cover, too! There are great Black Friday Deals right now.
There are now three Kindle options for kids at three price points, with no games, no ads, no videos, and no distractions (the reason I came to appreciate these age-appropriate e-readers): Kindle Kids, Kindle Paperwhite Kids, and Kindle Colorsoft Kids. Pick a cover, too! There are great Black Friday Deals right now.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 LEGO sets are notoriously expensive, so I love reminding everyone that 3-in-1 LEGO sets are the best bang for your buck. And wow, 3-in-1 sets have leveled up! They are more complex and impressive in design than before. This Fox, Owl, Squirrel combo set is a great example, as is this slightly less expensive Tiger, Red Panda, Koi set.
My links go to Amazon, but buying these directly from LEGO earns insider points, free shipping over $35, and they have notes on some products that provide tips. Example: This one is retiring soon, so get it while you can.
My links go to Amazon, but buying these directly from LEGO earns insider points, free shipping over $35, and they have notes on some products that provide tips. Example: This one is retiring soon, so get it while you can.
France-based Billes & Co makes the most fantastic billes (marbles) and caillou (pebbles) with sophisticated color palettes, beautifully presented, and perfect for gifting in small and large sets. But they don't ship stateside. So I'm thrilled that Maryland-based Oak & Ever sells a few of their themed treasure boxes. Space Mission is my personal favorite, but Rainbow, Magic Forest, Jungle, and Neon Fish are all so pretty.
Get some marbles
Get some marbles
Don't need fancy marbles, but still want marbles? How about these Cat's Eyes marbles or any of the classic marble games from House of Marbles? Stocking stuffers! Slow summer afternoons! Screen free! Yes, please.
LEGO DOTS! While I'd skip the rigid wearables, these versatile DOTS letter tiles are creative powerhouses for pixel-style illustrations, pattern experimentation, and message-making on baseboards that open up endless possibilities for creative projects.
And these make amazing printmaking tools. Look at how cool this printing project is! This is the reason I'm getting them this year. Pair them with this a great Speedball kit.
And these make amazing printmaking tools. Look at how cool this printing project is! This is the reason I'm getting them this year. Pair them with this a great Speedball kit.
Mastermind, but made with wood? Yes, yes, yes.
Follow former forester Peter Wohlleben and his dog Maxi into the woods in this graphic adaptation of his best-selling novel The Hidden Life of Trees. This book brings scientific wonders to life through words and Benjamin Flao's detailed watercolors—illustrations that make you almost feel the dappled sunlight filtering through the tree leaves.
Learn how acacia trees warn neighbors about hungry giraffes through airborne chemicals, how trees impact weather and climate, and how the "Wood Wide Web" of underground fungal networks allows trees to share nutrients with weak neighbors—all conversations from the book that pair well with the tree videos in TKSST's collections.
So charming and so important. I highly, highly recommend this awe-inspiring book; it will change how readers of any age will experience a walk in the forest and on our planet.
Learn how acacia trees warn neighbors about hungry giraffes through airborne chemicals, how trees impact weather and climate, and how the "Wood Wide Web" of underground fungal networks allows trees to share nutrients with weak neighbors—all conversations from the book that pair well with the tree videos in TKSST's collections.
So charming and so important. I highly, highly recommend this awe-inspiring book; it will change how readers of any age will experience a walk in the forest and on our planet.
Our friends at Colossal Shop have Kiriki Press embroidery kits featuring a sheep wearing Billy Crystal's iconic fisherman sweater and this beaver in a fine Mackinaw coat, just to name two of nine adorable animals for three sewing levels.
Find this sweet lion and this impressive blue jay in Kiriki Press' Etsy Store, where there's also a pig who clearly wants a pancake, and this crocodile who looks like his name might be Lyle.
Find this sweet lion and this impressive blue jay in Kiriki Press' Etsy Store, where there's also a pig who clearly wants a pancake, and this crocodile who looks like his name might be Lyle.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 I bought a Vivere cotton double hammock around 14 years ago and it’s one of the best purchases we’ve ever made. It holds up to 450 lbs, perfect for cuddling with kids while reading, listening to audiobooks, or watching clouds and stars. It's the kind of purchase that makes you think "why didn't we get this years ago?"
It can be taken apart and packed in its travel bag, and it's washable and comfy; I appreciate that it's made with all natural materials. A solid family investment.
I have so many good memories in it from when my kids were toddlers, and it's grown up along with us; they still come hang out with me in it as teens. I've also had friends get this hammock and happily, both families reported back that it's become a favorite family hangout spot. Lots of color options, too.
It can be taken apart and packed in its travel bag, and it's washable and comfy; I appreciate that it's made with all natural materials. A solid family investment.
I have so many good memories in it from when my kids were toddlers, and it's grown up along with us; they still come hang out with me in it as teens. I've also had friends get this hammock and happily, both families reported back that it's become a favorite family hangout spot. Lots of color options, too.
I’ve been volunteering at a local nature preserve where there are motion cameras set up, and the video captures have been illuminating: coyotes, mule deer, bobcats, bears... and of course I've enjoyed dozens of animal cam vids on TKSST, too. So when we discovered signs of animal activity in our back yard, we wanted to know: Opossum? Skunk? Raccoon?
High-end night vision, motion-triggered trail cams can be expensive, so I was really happy to find this affordable, highly-rated Vikeri 4K 32MP trail cam. Its settings tailor resolution, activation speed, video length and more, and it comes in a weather-proof case with a sturdy strap, SD card, and starter batteries. (I did, however, also order more rechargeable Eneloops.)
This nature-observation tool is a fantastic educational activity for the whole family, and it was ridiculously fun to find a few videos waiting for us after the first night 🦨 and more in the weeks that followed. 🐀🐦⬛🦝
Get this trail cam
High-end night vision, motion-triggered trail cams can be expensive, so I was really happy to find this affordable, highly-rated Vikeri 4K 32MP trail cam. Its settings tailor resolution, activation speed, video length and more, and it comes in a weather-proof case with a sturdy strap, SD card, and starter batteries. (I did, however, also order more rechargeable Eneloops.)
This nature-observation tool is a fantastic educational activity for the whole family, and it was ridiculously fun to find a few videos waiting for us after the first night 🦨 and more in the weeks that followed. 🐀🐦⬛🦝
Get this trail cam
🔥POPULAR 🔥 One of our kids took off on a pedal bike within 5 minutes thanks to years of balance-biking around the neighborhood. Looking back, it was probably one of our best purchases, especially since the bike covered both kids. We didn’t hurt our backs bending to guide the pedaling, and it was a confidence-builder for both of them to boot.
If you’re in the market for a balance bike, the Strider 12" Sport Balance Bike for ages 18 months to five years old is at the top of everyone’s best-of-the-best list. It’s sturdy, well-designed, and comes in eight colors. And it’s super smart: You can add Strider’s Pedal Conversion Kit when your kiddo is ready.
Buy this bike
If you’re in the market for a balance bike, the Strider 12" Sport Balance Bike for ages 18 months to five years old is at the top of everyone’s best-of-the-best list. It’s sturdy, well-designed, and comes in eight colors. And it’s super smart: You can add Strider’s Pedal Conversion Kit when your kiddo is ready.
Buy this bike
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ Animal migration is such a mind-blowing way for kids to learn how creatures and ecosystems are interconnected, and nature's super navigators are truly astonishing—arctic terns travel 56,000 miles yearly, dung beetles steer by the Milky Way, and sea turtles use Earth's magnetic field like an internal GPS.
David Barrie's beautifully illustrated Super Navigators: How Animals Find Their Way, the young readers edition of his Nautilus Award-winning Super Navigators makes complex navigation science accessible through six chapters exploring everything from echolocation to polarized light detection, inspiring young readers to become environmental stewards who can help protect these extraordinary abilities that keep our planet in balance.
David Barrie's beautifully illustrated Super Navigators: How Animals Find Their Way, the young readers edition of his Nautilus Award-winning Super Navigators makes complex navigation science accessible through six chapters exploring everything from echolocation to polarized light detection, inspiring young readers to become environmental stewards who can help protect these extraordinary abilities that keep our planet in balance.
Attention, Wingspan fans and dragon nerds 🐉🙋🏻♀️: Developed by Stonemaier Games' famed game designer Elizabeth Hargrave and a women-led creative team, Wyrmspan is its magical successor. If you love dragons, want to be an amateur dracologist, or are looking for a delightful game of strategic sanctuary-building, get this. (I'm looking at you, Wings of Fire readers.)
Each dragon brings unique abilities to your three caves, from tiny hatchlings that grow more powerful over time to magnificent wyrms with game-changing powers. Manage resources, excavate spaces, and create rewarding combinations as your dragon sanctuary grows. Plus, enjoy stunning artwork and a Dragon Facts book for some extra magic.
I've linked to Amazon below, but if you can, support your local game store with this purchase. They'll definitely have this one.
Each dragon brings unique abilities to your three caves, from tiny hatchlings that grow more powerful over time to magnificent wyrms with game-changing powers. Manage resources, excavate spaces, and create rewarding combinations as your dragon sanctuary grows. Plus, enjoy stunning artwork and a Dragon Facts book for some extra magic.
I've linked to Amazon below, but if you can, support your local game store with this purchase. They'll definitely have this one.
P.S. There's a Wyrmspan expansion called Dragon Academy. It's backordered until early January in many places, but Stonemaier Games appears to have it in stock 🤞 if you can't find it at your local game store. (You'll need Wyrmspan to play.)
Whether you're tracking storms or dreaming beneath a summer sky, Cloudspotting for Beginners reminds us that nature is a classroom and every cloud tells us a story worth understanding. A lovely picture book for grown-ups, this gem is also excellent for curious minds of all ages—a book to slow down with and start a few quiet conversations.
Gavin Pretor-Pinney (founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society) and William Grill team up to decipher our ever-changing skies, blending science with dreamy color-pencil illustrations. From Earth's clouds that shape our weather to Jupiter's crystal formations, each page reveals something extraordinary about the skies. Bonus: A mini-illustrated Cloudspotter's Glossary in the back. One of my favorite gift recommendations this year.
Gavin Pretor-Pinney (founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society) and William Grill team up to decipher our ever-changing skies, blending science with dreamy color-pencil illustrations. From Earth's clouds that shape our weather to Jupiter's crystal formations, each page reveals something extraordinary about the skies. Bonus: A mini-illustrated Cloudspotter's Glossary in the back. One of my favorite gift recommendations this year.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Crafted in Tokyo's quiet Yanaka neighborhood, tokyobike paddle balance bikes bring Japanese quality and timeless style to little riders ages 2+. The lightweight design (just 8.3 pounds) and smooth-rolling wheels make learning to balance—IMO the easiest way for little kids to learn how to ride a bicycle—feel effortless and fun. We're thrilled that Maisonette has these beauties available stateside in a few different colors. Get yours before they run out of stock!
Ryan Jenkins' The Tinkering Workshop is one of my favorite new books this year. It's full of smart STEAM ideas with big images that make it easy for kids to start making, exploring, inventing, building, and playing, too. What really sets this book apart is that it's organized by materials and explains why they're useful—and it goes far beyond cardboard. Brass paper fasteners, wire, LEDs, clothespins, cork and foam, washers... this book is a rainbow of fun information. Highly recommended.
NEW ⬆️ My daughter started putting ROKR puzzles together when she was 12 and, at 15, has become a pro at these 3D laser-cut wood kits. So, of course, I'm super excited about this new 1981-era Space Shuttle with LEDs. For any teen or grown up who loves space, engineering, or model kit-building, this is an impressive, highly-rated gift that will not disappoint.
After watching this Harvard Art Musuem video on TKSST a few years ago, I got interested in some of the history and chemistry of natural pigments and dyes, so I was happy to happen upon this easy to use Earth Paints set. What a tactile way to better understand early art history! And it's an eco-friendly way to paint.
Get this set, a sea and sky set, and this lovely porcelain palette at Earth Hero.
A few weeks ago while on a neighborhood night walk, I spotted a greenish meteor streak across the sky, and exclaimed, "make a wish!" even though I know it wasn't a falling star. That's the funny thing about cultural traditions... sometimes the magic has to mix into the science.Wish Upon a Star: The Science, Magic and Meaning of Stars by Catherine Ard, illustrated by Wenjia Tang, does exactly this—blending real astronomy with the myths and meaning we've given stars throughout history. 🌟✨
NEW ⬆️ I love finding well-designed gear that gets kids (and their families) outside and exploring, and from everything I've read from birders and hikers, these pocket-sized Nocs monoculars hit that sweet spot—rugged and grippy enough for family use while offering legit optics.
Pocket-sized, but definitely not a stocking stuffer! The Field Tube ($125, blue) is properly waterproof (submersible to 3 feet!) and fogproof with a 7-piece optical system, while the Zoom Tube ($75, orange) offers solid optics and weather resistance at an entry price. Both models come in multiple colors. They're excellent for spotting birds or whales, scanning the landscape, or getting a closer look at whatever catches their curiosity.
Pocket-sized, but definitely not a stocking stuffer! The Field Tube ($125, blue) is properly waterproof (submersible to 3 feet!) and fogproof with a 7-piece optical system, while the Zoom Tube ($75, orange) offers solid optics and weather resistance at an entry price. Both models come in multiple colors. They're excellent for spotting birds or whales, scanning the landscape, or getting a closer look at whatever catches their curiosity.
Creative Crafthouse is a Florida-based maker who has a huge catalog of wood puzzles, the exact kind of brainteasers I love leaving around on the coffee table or kitchen island to catch a kid's curiosity. This Hexagon 10 Puzzle brings beautiful shades of natural wood into a Q-bert style gameboard to challenge ages 10+. How will all of those oddly shaped pieces fit back into the hexagon?
"Science isn't about knowing lots of facts or getting the right answer all the time. It's not even about wearing a lab coat. Science is about asking questions. They can be sensible questions. They can be silly questions. Best of all, they can be incredible questions.
"The history of science is paved with incredible questions. Each one is a stepping stone on the path to understanding the universe and everything in it. But this path is not yet finished... Every answer leads to new incredible questions... and new stepping stones!
"This book explores some of the incredible questions that are still bamboozling biologists, confusing chemists, and making physicists feel perplexed. None of the answers are 100% correct—any scientist will tell you, there is no such thing as a perfect answer! They are just our best answers based on the evidence available right now. As scientists continue to experiment, explore, collect, and discover more information, the answers will probably change.
"The incredible questions in this book will help you explore life, the universe, and everything in it—and the best time to do this (as every scientist knows) is at bedtime."
"The history of science is paved with incredible questions. Each one is a stepping stone on the path to understanding the universe and everything in it. But this path is not yet finished... Every answer leads to new incredible questions... and new stepping stones!
"This book explores some of the incredible questions that are still bamboozling biologists, confusing chemists, and making physicists feel perplexed. None of the answers are 100% correct—any scientist will tell you, there is no such thing as a perfect answer! They are just our best answers based on the evidence available right now. As scientists continue to experiment, explore, collect, and discover more information, the answers will probably change.
"The incredible questions in this book will help you explore life, the universe, and everything in it—and the best time to do this (as every scientist knows) is at bedtime."
🔥POPULAR 🔥 This Wild Ones wooden cornhole game from Manhattan Toys is so charming. Feed the hungry bear and lion with 8 patterned bean bags, sized at 3x3″ for small hands. Great for hand-eye coordination, turn-taking, and screen free fun inside or outside. The legs fold for easy storage, too.
After selling out a few times in the last two years, it's back and still adorable.
After selling out a few times in the last two years, it's back and still adorable.
When the kids and I would go to the Exploratorium in San Francisco, our last stop was always the rocks and minerals section of their gift shop. We'd study the iron pyrite and black tourmaline, and wonder at their shiny edges. We'd slide our hands down into the container of iridescent feldspar pebbles or tumbled rose quartz, and we'd listen to their smooth sides clack together. And we'd get gemstone dig kits and geodes to start our own collections at home.
Like most DK books, this Treasures of the Earth book has huge, colorful photos on every page, with facts like, "most pink opals are found in Peru," "Lapis lazuli means 'blue stone' in Persian," and how the Amber Room in St. Petersburg, with walls covered in more than six tons of carved amber, is often called the "Eighth Wonder of the World." History, science, art, culture... this book brings it all together with stunning images and stories from around the world. Highly recommended.
Like most DK books, this Treasures of the Earth book has huge, colorful photos on every page, with facts like, "most pink opals are found in Peru," "Lapis lazuli means 'blue stone' in Persian," and how the Amber Room in St. Petersburg, with walls covered in more than six tons of carved amber, is often called the "Eighth Wonder of the World." History, science, art, culture... this book brings it all together with stunning images and stories from around the world. Highly recommended.
Let this rugged little Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4 Outdoor Speakers fill your space with full 360-degree sound. Kids can bring their favorite tunes anywhere—to backyard adventures, listening while in bathtub, or beach trips—thanks to its water resistance. The 14 hour battery life keeps the soundtrack going. Level up by pairing two units for stereo sound. This one's a great value for families looking for quality portable music and podcast listening.
OUT OF STOCK ⏰ When I was in college, I waitressed for about a year and used a sardine pen that looked exactly like these to write each table's orders on a pad of paper. The shiny fish was a fantastic conversation starter, especially with kids at the table, and it was so unique that I never lost my pen. This tin of three sardine pens is the perfect stocking stuffer or small gift for anyone who loves to write with their hands.
Update: These are now out of stock, but this set of 20 fish pens has high reviews and would make excellent party favors.
Update: These are now out of stock, but this set of 20 fish pens has high reviews and would make excellent party favors.
Twenty years after its original release, Phaidon's The Art Book for Children returns with an expanded 192-page edition, now featuring 30 additional contemporary works. It's a wonderful way for kids and grown-ups to explore art together.
We bought this Fredericks & Mae Playing Cards rainbow over the summer and have been playing Crazy Eights, War, and Go Fish with them ever since. Solitaire looks great, too.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 This 2'x2'-ish KidKraft Wooden Activity Table with a reversible LEGO baseplate top and storage is such a great idea.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 I’m obsessed with how cute this Ingela P. Arrhenius-designed balancing whale wooden game is. It’s from Vilac, of course. Find it there if you’re in Europe, or get it at Smallable. (Sign up for their newsletter in the U.S. and get $20 off $200.)
I love love love Lunch at 10 Pomegranate Street (sometimes titled What's Cooking at 10 Garden Street?) by Felicita Sala. In preparation for a community potluck in an apartment building’s yard, the tenants cook their favorite dishes: Salmorejo, oyako don, guacamole, baba ganoush, black bean soup, coconut dahl, peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies, and more. Each page shares a richly-illustrated scene and ingredients, along with a one paragraph recipe that’s really easy to follow.
For kids! But do I want to make these dishes, too? Yesss. Highly recommended.
Buy it on Amazon
Buy it on Bookshop
Be sure to also get Felicita Sala’s picture book A Year in Fleurville: Recipes from balconies rooftops and gardens, a.k.a. What's Cooking in Flowerville?
Buy it on Amazon
For kids! But do I want to make these dishes, too? Yesss. Highly recommended.
Buy it on Amazon
Buy it on Bookshop
Be sure to also get Felicita Sala’s picture book A Year in Fleurville: Recipes from balconies rooftops and gardens, a.k.a. What's Cooking in Flowerville?
Buy it on Amazon
Years ago, we picked up a second-hand Marcato Atlas 150—the Italian-made manual pasta maker that consistently tops recommendation lists—and it lives up to the hype. Sharp, sturdy, easy to use, and genuinely fun with kids or teen chefs: rolling out dough, cranking pasta through, hanging it to dry, then cooking it fresh. It sounds like a production, but once you get the rhythm down, it's not hard to make homemade noodles on a weekend afternoon.
Marcato makes a range of machines at different price points. For a bit less, their 2-inch Ravioli Maker Mould guides you in filling and sealing square ravioli—an alternative if you want the homemade pasta experience without the manual machine.
Marcato makes a range of machines at different price points. For a bit less, their 2-inch Ravioli Maker Mould guides you in filling and sealing square ravioli—an alternative if you want the homemade pasta experience without the manual machine.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 We’ve bought a few different geode kits over the years and had a lot of fun cracking them open. Plus, you never know what you’re going to get. It’s a great experience. And now it comes in larger sizes: National Geographic’s Jumbo Geodes kit.
If you want more geodes at a smaller size, they’ve got that, too. Smaller ones make an excellent birthday party activity and then the kids can take their geodes home. Sparkly science FTW.
Buy these geodes
If you want more geodes at a smaller size, they’ve got that, too. Smaller ones make an excellent birthday party activity and then the kids can take their geodes home. Sparkly science FTW.
Buy these geodes
This 3,091-piece Milky Way set from LEGO's art series looks like a cool pixel image from across the room. Get closer and you'll see the greebling—when small LEGO elements like brushes, flowers, gems, fruit, binoculars, whisks, helmets, etc—creates texture across the galaxy's surface. Plus, there's a few astronomical easter eggs and a small YOU ARE HERE label. It's an awesome gift for space enthusiasts, LEGO collectors, or the whole family to build together.
Guggenheim Bilbao. Casbah of Algiers. Neuschwanstein Castle. Shangxi Hanging Monastery. Habitat 67. Sea Ranch… the list goes on and on. ✨📘✨ I'm obsessed with this book.
Atlas of Amazing Architecture is a beautiful architecture picture book featuring some of the most unique #buildings around the world. 🏯🏰🛕
Start conversations about #design, #culture, history, weather, ecosystems, imagination and more while at home or in the classroom. Then be inspired to design your own structures. 🤩
Get this on Amazon
Get this on Bookshop
Atlas of Amazing Architecture is a beautiful architecture picture book featuring some of the most unique #buildings around the world. 🏯🏰🛕
Start conversations about #design, #culture, history, weather, ecosystems, imagination and more while at home or in the classroom. Then be inspired to design your own structures. 🤩
Get this on Amazon
Get this on Bookshop
The Book That Can Read Your Mind isn't just a picture book—it's a "mind-reading" trick. "You pick a member from the magician's adorable audience—don’t tell which one you’ve chosen—and this book will guess who it is!" Inspired by 17th-century magic books, this screen-free interactive experience will have kids (and grown-ups) flipping back to the beginning to figure out how it works.
Get this at Uncommon Goods
Get this at Amazon
Get this at Bookshop
Get this at Uncommon Goods
Get this at Amazon
Get this at Bookshop
Global Grub kits are awesome introductions to desserts that go beyond the usual cookies and cakes that are easy to bake from scratch. Make Mochi Ice Cream, Churros with cinnamon sugar and chocolate dipping mixes, or a Chef Morimoto-crafted Mochi Donut Kit for baking up chocolate, strawberry, and matcha glazed donuts.
Get these at Global Grub
Get these on Amazon
Bonus idea: How cool is this Fortune Cookie Kit? Give it as a gift or order it early before a party to make and give out your own original fortunes.
Get this on Amazon
Get these at Global Grub
Get these on Amazon
Bonus idea: How cool is this Fortune Cookie Kit? Give it as a gift or order it early before a party to make and give out your own original fortunes.
Get this on Amazon
From the Minoan civilization and First Persian Empire to the Vikings, Kamakura Shogunate, Kingdom of Benin, Mongol Empire, Mali Empire, Aztec Empire, and Kingdom of Ayutthaya, learn about some of the great empires that shaped the world with Rise and Fall, a fact-filled, beautifully illustrated book by Peter Allen. The book introduces topics like architecture, religion, society, art, and decline across multiple spreads, offering so much to look at on every page; perfect for history-curious kids who like to linger over illustrations (or kids who don't know they might like history if they have a few engaging books like this one).
Get this at Amazon
Get this at Bookshop
Get this at Amazon
Get this at Bookshop
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Build, soak, rebuild with Teifoc's real mini clay bricks and mortar. These miniature clay bricks from Germany can be mortared together to build structures, then soaked in water to break down the mortar and built again, teaching kids how real buildings come together. A unique hands-on gift for ages 8+ with lots of sets to choose from, including this marble run set.
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ The Brooklyn Bridge, London's Shard, the Pantheon, the Burj Khalifa! How were these marvels built? Structural engineer Roma Agrawal explains how we build skyscrapers, underwater tunnels, ice structures, and buildings in space through the ingenious methods and remarkable people who figured out how to make the seemingly impossible possible. Huge, detailed illustrations and lots of informative text.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Including kids in food preparation from a young age is a gift in itself. It connects them to their food and their family, it instills responsibility and confidence, and passes along a lifelong skill. We started with a lot of baking (cookies, pies, and breads), but wanted to involve them in everyday dinners and meals that included our back yard veggies and strawberries. Knives quickly became a part of the equation.
If you’re looking for a knife for little kids vs letting them learn with what you’ve got, Opinel’s le petit Chef set is a great starter. The stainless steel knife end is rounded for kid-use and there are learning rings and a finger guard to help cut and peel. Made in France. Looks great, too.
If you’re looking for a knife for little kids vs letting them learn with what you’ve got, Opinel’s le petit Chef set is a great starter. The stainless steel knife end is rounded for kid-use and there are learning rings and a finger guard to help cut and peel. Made in France. Looks great, too.
Why is milk white? Why is the sea salty? Why do pigs like mud? And why do pufferfish puff up?
I'm a big fan of Vermont Public Radio’s But Why? podcast for curious kids—I even listen without my kids because the show is so informative and calming—so I was happy to hear about their two books filled with answers to questions that kids have sent them over the years. Smart, engaging, and animal-packed for young readers and excellent for reading aloud.
I'm a big fan of Vermont Public Radio’s But Why? podcast for curious kids—I even listen without my kids because the show is so informative and calming—so I was happy to hear about their two books filled with answers to questions that kids have sent them over the years. Smart, engaging, and animal-packed for young readers and excellent for reading aloud.
Bath toys made of WOOD sourced from sustainably managed forests? And they're adorable? YES PLEASE. This polar bear and penguin can all sail the high seas of your bathtubs and wading pools. And Smallable has a few more options. Love. 💙⛵️🐧
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ Daybreak brings climate action to game night with an unexpected twist: instead of dwelling on doom and gloom, it's filled with hope and possibility. Co-designed by Matt Leacock (creator of the celebrated game Pandemic) and Matteo Menapace, this cooperative game challenges players to build innovative technologies and resilient communities to reduce global emissions.
What makes it special is how it balances education with strategy and fun—players explore real climate solutions while immersed in compelling gameplay that earned it the prestigious 2024 Kennerspiel des Jahres (Enthusiast Game of the Year) award. Perfect for families and educators who want games to spark meaningful conversations and inspire curiosity without sacrificing entertainment.
Bonus: Educators who want Daybreak for their classrooms should email [email protected] to get discounted copies.
What makes it special is how it balances education with strategy and fun—players explore real climate solutions while immersed in compelling gameplay that earned it the prestigious 2024 Kennerspiel des Jahres (Enthusiast Game of the Year) award. Perfect for families and educators who want games to spark meaningful conversations and inspire curiosity without sacrificing entertainment.
Bonus: Educators who want Daybreak for their classrooms should email [email protected] to get discounted copies.
NEW ⬆️ Write down as many words as you can in 45 seconds, but watch out, because Alphabuzzle is like if Fluxx met Scattergories: the rules and letters keep changing so no two rounds play the same. I'm not sure this game is on anyone's radar, but it's quick to learn, endlessly replayable, and adaptable for different ages and skill levels, so it's definitely on my list.
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ I'm impressed with everything I've read about these Makeblock Robot Kits, designed to guide young engineers through real-world electronics and coding discoveries. Through hands-on building and experimentation, these learning tools with friendly faces create a natural progression from block-based programming foundations to Arduino projects. And I appreciate how they balance accessibility with depth—building confidence through play while developing real technical skills that can grow with curious creators.
I'm eyeing M-Bot2, but there are even two options for kids as young as 4 or 5.
Check out Makeblock Kits
I'm eyeing M-Bot2, but there are even two options for kids as young as 4 or 5.
Check out Makeblock Kits
These delightfully illustrated Invisible Things Feelings Flash Cards turn big feelings into characters kids can connect with. Created by the New York Times team behind Invisible Things, each card features a whimsically illustrated emotion on one side and a friendly description on the other—19 different feelings plus a blank card to personalize. They're perfect for family feelings check-ins, storytelling prompts, art inspiration, or starting conversations about those bigger emotions that can be hard to put into words.
PETZL’s awesome Tikkina Headlamps were gifts to the kids from friends who recommend them for camping. As we await our next camping trip, our kids have used these lights for backyard adventuring at dusk, reading under the covers, and packing them with their ‘spy gear.’ With three brightness levels, they’re pretty powerful and now we adults want them, too.
We highly recommend getting Eneloop Pro AAA rechargeables with a charger or the advanced Eneloop AAAs. We’ve had ours for years and use them all the time. One of our smartest purchases.
We highly recommend getting Eneloop Pro AAA rechargeables with a charger or the advanced Eneloop AAAs. We’ve had ours for years and use them all the time. One of our smartest purchases.
Japanese for "flash of inspiration," this clever Hirameki book series by Peng + Hu provides watercolor splotches and cloud shapes that can be transformed into anything your mind can dream up. Just add a few simple lines or layer in a highly detailed sketch. These draw what you see books are the kind of open-ended creative play that works beautifully for any age or artistic experience level.
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ I love a good set of blocks and this 85-piece HABA set is versatile and really inviting. Those bright colors are balanced with whites, grays, and natural wood, all made in Germany. I also really like how many stairs, arches, cylinders, and angles are in the mix, giving the builds some extra architectural flair.
Made from PEFC-certified sustainable wood with non-toxic water-based finishes, these are sized for small hands, and as always, toys made for open-ended play encourage creativity while building essential skills like hand-eye coordination. Winner of the 2024 Spiel Gut Toy Award for outstanding quality and educational value.
Made from PEFC-certified sustainable wood with non-toxic water-based finishes, these are sized for small hands, and as always, toys made for open-ended play encourage creativity while building essential skills like hand-eye coordination. Winner of the 2024 Spiel Gut Toy Award for outstanding quality and educational value.
Toothbrushing can be a struggle with some kids. But armed with some playful and useful information, brushing routines can hopefully be made easier. This fantastic, fact-filled book is sure to help. It introduces all of our teeth, toothbrushes and other tools, how to pull baby teeth, and what we'd look like with different kinds of animal teeth like beavers, snakes, and narwhals.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 and finally back in stock: This adorable wooden dentist kit from Plan Toys centers dental health in imaginative play for ages 3+. Pretend to be a dentist, work through the dental anxieties of before an appointment or, as my then-8-year-old exclaimed, “Ooooooo! You can pull people’s teeth out.” This bestseller can be found again on Smallable, Amazon, at Plan Toys, or at your local indie toy store.
Buy this toy
Buy this toy
When I started weekend printmaking this year, the kids became interested immediately: Our (then) 8 year old illustrated, carved, and printed his own work while our (then) 5 year old illustrated and printed while I helped with the carving. Much of my knowledge came from a local East Bay class by Jen Hewett, as well as her book Print, Pattern, Sew: Block-Printing Basics + Simple Sewing Projects for an Inspired Wardrobe. That book was just the first...
For the basics demonstrated beautifully, check out BlockPrint (above), Making an Impression, or Printing by Hand. Level up your printmaking techniques with Japanese Woodblock Print Workshop: A Modern Guide to the Ancient Art of Mokuhanga.
Buy this book
Looking for supplies? Here's a great kit from Speedball to start with.
For the basics demonstrated beautifully, check out BlockPrint (above), Making an Impression, or Printing by Hand. Level up your printmaking techniques with Japanese Woodblock Print Workshop: A Modern Guide to the Ancient Art of Mokuhanga.
Buy this book
Looking for supplies? Here's a great kit from Speedball to start with.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Made in Oregon and highly rated, this “Create Your Own Reel Viewer” is a red, blue, black, or white view master-style viewer with a code in the package that lets you create your own reel of 7 images. You can also order an additional code for an additional reel. Baby photos, wedding photos, kid photos, birthday photos, graduation photos, grandparent photos. Pick a fun event, a vacation, a loved one, or give it to a kid or a teen to fill it with photos of whatever they'd like. Super affordable. I love this gift for all ages.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 When the kids were little, we’d strap three wine corks together with rubber bands, design square paper sales and spike them top and bottom through a toothpick mounted in one of the corks. This made some pretty good boats for baths, sinks, and rainy gutters, but this Haba Terra Kids Cork Boat takes it to the next level.
And doesn’t stop there: “Young boat builders can upgrade this cork vessel with elements they find lying around in nature. There are some great suggestions for this in the enclosed instructions.”
And doesn’t stop there: “Young boat builders can upgrade this cork vessel with elements they find lying around in nature. There are some great suggestions for this in the enclosed instructions.”
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ How did Charles Darwin conclude that earthworms were such an important species for the planet and humans, too? Everyone else thought they were pests! This picture book tells the story with a good amount of science and some silliness, too, as indicated by its title.
As someone who vermicomposts, I’m very into this book, but it's pretty important that everyone understand the value of earthworms, an all of the creatures and microbes in our soil. Pair it with these videos.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pika on clothes, but here’s one! And it’s not the only TKSST.com-featured species found on the tees and hoodies for kids and grown ups at BeCause. A woman-owned business, BeCause hand-draws and prints their designs in Northern California.
They've planted almost 1 million trees and donated ~$300K to environmental non-profits since 2021. I also love that they have 100% cotton options. Get a 15% discount from TKSST with this link’s coupon code.
Smiling axolotls and quokkas, solitary red mason bees, this keystone species that helps us fight wildfires, this backyard species that eats mosquitoes, this bird that remembers human faces and holds a grudge, this incredible octopus, this acrobatic eastern-spotted skunk, and so many more.
Get these at BeCause
They've planted almost 1 million trees and donated ~$300K to environmental non-profits since 2021. I also love that they have 100% cotton options. Get a 15% discount from TKSST with this link’s coupon code.
Smiling axolotls and quokkas, solitary red mason bees, this keystone species that helps us fight wildfires, this backyard species that eats mosquitoes, this bird that remembers human faces and holds a grudge, this incredible octopus, this acrobatic eastern-spotted skunk, and so many more.
Get these at BeCause
Embark on an extraordinary adventure with scientists aboard the Polar Star as they document their half-year stay in Antarctica A Continent of Wonder. Okay! I love that this picture book feels tailor-made for pairing with these videos on TKSST; science, exploration, adventure, history, technology, ice, volcanoes, whales, and so many penguins. Fantastic.
NEW ⬆️ From Marc Martin, who gave us Everything & Everywhere, this fact-packed book about the coldest, driest, windiest place on Earth. All About Antarctica is packed with lots of small, charming illustrations that you might find in an illustrator’s travel diary—of research stations, snow vehicles, penguins, colossal squids, active volcanoes, and all kinds of ice and icebergs.
And they mingle with quirky facts: McMurdo Station's 24-hour pizza hotline, an outdoor New Year's Day music festival called Icestock, a 1930s expedition cat named Lumus, and the surprising ways humans live and work in this fragile, fascinating continent at the bottom of the planet.
And they mingle with quirky facts: McMurdo Station's 24-hour pizza hotline, an outdoor New Year's Day music festival called Icestock, a 1930s expedition cat named Lumus, and the surprising ways humans live and work in this fragile, fascinating continent at the bottom of the planet.
Hape's Vertigo or Cyclone wooden marble run sets are endlessly fun, highly-rated, and continue to be great examples of Hape's smart and sturdy sets. And after many years of play, these are now time-tested toys.
My favorite thing: Pair them with the Hape - Quadrilla - Music Motion musical set to get xylophone keys for a marble run full of plinky bell tones. Highly recommended!
Buy these on Amazon
My favorite thing: Pair them with the Hape - Quadrilla - Music Motion musical set to get xylophone keys for a marble run full of plinky bell tones. Highly recommended!
Buy these on Amazon
Know a kid who likes trains and tractors? Know a kid who likes to know how monster trucks, helicopters, and ISS work? Get this Studio Muti book, Colossal: Heavyweights of the Vehicle Universe. It's the third in a series of books about spectacles, including Spectacular: Miracles of Nature and Incredible: Stars of the Plant World.
Kamifusen are traditional Japanese paper toys with a physics trick. Hit them hard (within reason) and they'll puff up into their full round shape. (There's a video on TKSST about this.) Educational Innovations has these wood pulp "paper balloons" at an excellent price—affordable enough to buy them for an entire classroom or as charming party favors.
Adorable kamifusen animals! These Kidoki Paper Balloons from Kikkerland bring a sweet woodland twist to a traditional Japanese toy.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Studio Roof has over three dozen cardboard flatpack insects of all sizes that can be assembled, played with, and displayed. Choose from a variety of colorful butterflies, dragonflies, bees, and beetles like the lilac comet butterfly above, this set of three fern stripe butterflies, or the giant stag beetle below.
Or explore their wide range of cardboard wall art. Their paradise birds are incredible.
Or explore their wide range of cardboard wall art. Their paradise birds are incredible.
A math game in a tin! No Dice does have dice, but they include arithmetic operations. Your goal: Create math equations that total as close to zero as possible. Lowest score wins. Pop this into your backpack or suitcase for a quick game.
Get this at Galison
Get this at Galison
The Slow Down series of books is such a wonder that helps us take a look at the smaller, slower details of nature. (No doubt, grown ups can use this as much as our kids.) Slow Down and Be Here Now goes deep with ants, beetles, moths, ducks, harvest mice, and other creatures who are out there living their lives in balance with their environments in ways we might not otherwise notice. It's an inspiration to go outside and see these things in person! I also love their boardbooks, Slow Down In the Park and Slow Down on Your Doorstep.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Fully automatic and bluetooth-ready, this entry-level turntable is high-quality and budget friendly. I was thrilled to get a white-fronted black version for a birthday present a few years ago. This new one in silvery lilac.
We also kept the speaker situation simple and affordable by pairing it with our Anker Soundcore 2 Bluetooth Speaker,, which can create stereo sound with two speakers, or can "partycast" with up to 100 speakers.
The lilac isn't available on Audio Technica’s site so find it at your local electronics store or Amazon, or get the black, red-front, or silver version directly from them.
Get this lilac turntable
We also kept the speaker situation simple and affordable by pairing it with our Anker Soundcore 2 Bluetooth Speaker,, which can create stereo sound with two speakers, or can "partycast" with up to 100 speakers.
The lilac isn't available on Audio Technica’s site so find it at your local electronics store or Amazon, or get the black, red-front, or silver version directly from them.
Get this lilac turntable
I certainly never had the time or equipment to cut a DIY set of branches, and we weren't always able to get outside an enjoy nature... but I loved finding more nature-based play inside or out. These Branch Blocks a standout for keeping kids engaged with natural materials. The thirty-six natural tree branch shapes—with bark—are great for building bridges, buildings, playgrounds, patterns, and more.
They also pair nicely with Schleich animals; the largest pieces are up to 7" long. Find them at Guidecraft or from Kaplan Early Learning via Amazon.
They also pair nicely with Schleich animals; the largest pieces are up to 7" long. Find them at Guidecraft or from Kaplan Early Learning via Amazon.
This beautiful series, What The Artist Saw, is a fantastic collab by The Met and DK, featuring artists and the environments and experiences that shaped their work. Engaging, educational, and beautifully illustrated, these high-quality biographies not only share art history, but give readers new insights for creating and exploring their own artworks. I really love these for home and classroom libraries.
Get this on Amazon
Get this on Amazon
This is SO cool. Hubs is a geodesic dome kit with 26 hubs, 150 ball connectors, screws and hardware. Just add the wood sticks... any sort at whatever lengths needed to make the geodesic dome size you want. Quick, scalable, adaptable. And they have a stick guide and instructions to help.
It’s a DIY/design project for the family and an awesome structure for the yard. Make a fort, a shady playspace, a moon base, a fruit cage or garden arbor... cover it, put netting on it, leave it open, give it a door, add LED lights... This is absolutely on our wishlist.
Buy this kit
It’s a DIY/design project for the family and an awesome structure for the yard. Make a fort, a shady playspace, a moon base, a fruit cage or garden arbor... cover it, put netting on it, leave it open, give it a door, add LED lights... This is absolutely on our wishlist.
Buy this kit
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ Historian-crafted stories. Beautiful artwork. Strategic gameplay. In Trekking Through History, players become time travelers, choosing which historical moments to visit and for how long. Moving pocket watch pieces around a central clock, each turn builds chronological "treks" while collecting different types of experiences—from innovations to cultural events, transforming history from facts to be memorized into an engaging journey of discovery.
Spiel des Jahres-recommended, Mensa Select-winning, and a Parents' Choice Best Family Game.
Spiel des Jahres-recommended, Mensa Select-winning, and a Parents' Choice Best Family Game.
A gift for family projects, crafty middle graders, teens, and grownups, I'm happy to report that the Rolife Book Nook scene kits you may have seen around are, in fact, a quality delight to put together. My 13-year-old built three of these this year, and now has them among the books on her bookshelf. My favorite: This Sakura Densya kit. There's also a new Romantic Venice kit, this bookstore, and lots of options at both Amazon and Michael's.
This Little Life Cycles board book series by Maggie Li not only sturdy and vibrantly illustrated for little ones, but it's probably the most impactful set of educational baby books that I've seen. Li weaves basic science concepts into engaging narratives and die-cut pages that provide early familiarity and engagement with metamorphosis, the water cycle, plant growth, and other essential processes. They're excellent tools for raising the next generation of nature stewards, or just connecting with the basics we want our kids to know.
The animals! The flat graphic artwork! The habitats! Japan's Oink Games wants you to build your own national park by collecting animals and the habitats they need. 🐍🦒🦭🦁🦛 Can you "draft" animals and suitable locations to create the "most harmonious," highest-scoring park? Ages 8+!
Scout from Japan-based Oink Games puts kids and grown-ups ages 8+ in charge of a circus that needs a lineup of performers that beats all rivals. Poaching clowns is involved. And it's Spiel des Jahres-nominated!The newest tuckbox version is all cards and less expensive. Or get the original with scout and score chips:
This handsome and highly-rated paintbrush holder is handmade in the USA (Tennessee!) and spins oh so nicely.
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ Challenge your spatial reasoning with this beautifully simple yet strategic Mensa award-winning card game where players ages 8 to adult score points by creating colorful connections on the table. Think dominoes or Tetris + Uno (colors only) as you carefully place cards to overlap different colors while blocking your opponents' moves.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 My 13-year-old wanted to learn how to crochet, but when she tried on her own, she had trouble getting the stitches started. At some point, we ran into a Woobles amigurumi beginner kit at Blick, and after a few weeks of saving, she went back and got it.
For the next few days, she kept coming out of her room with more of it finished. They are cute and effectively instructive! And collectable. I’m tempted to get the dinosaur and the fox, which reminds me of this.
Since the founder was on Shark Tank, there are lots of copycat kits, but you can find Woobles at Amazon, Blick, Woobles.com, or a local shop.
And, of course, there’s a 21-project book!
Get these on Amazon Get this at Woobles.com
For the next few days, she kept coming out of her room with more of it finished. They are cute and effectively instructive! And collectable. I’m tempted to get the dinosaur and the fox, which reminds me of this.
Since the founder was on Shark Tank, there are lots of copycat kits, but you can find Woobles at Amazon, Blick, Woobles.com, or a local shop.
And, of course, there’s a 21-project book!
Get these on Amazon Get this at Woobles.com
Super ⚡️ Power is an entertaining and informative childrens book about renewable energy: what it is, how we get it, and why we need it. With bright and friendly diagrams, Philip Bunting illustrates the abundant opportunities and solutions we have in our transition to clean energy. 🔋☀️💧
In the book's credits, he writes, "An understanding of where our energy comes from (and how we use it) is increasingly valuable as we progressively reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. I hope this very brief introduction to the topic will help a few young minds to engage with energy, and in turn increase our pace of change to a bright sustainable future."
Smart, engaging, empowering, and highly recommended. ⚡️⚡️⚡️
Get this on Amazon
Get this at Bookshop
In the book's credits, he writes, "An understanding of where our energy comes from (and how we use it) is increasingly valuable as we progressively reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. I hope this very brief introduction to the topic will help a few young minds to engage with energy, and in turn increase our pace of change to a bright sustainable future."
Smart, engaging, empowering, and highly recommended. ⚡️⚡️⚡️
Get this on Amazon
Get this at Bookshop
🔥POPULAR 🔥 It’s sort of a mash up of Pictionary (sans pictures) and Name That Tune... but add kazoos. Kazoo That Tune is all about music and some seriously needed silliness. Comes with four kazoos, a sand timer, and 200 songs including a good amount of contemporary picks. Very affordable and highly rated with lots of happy commenters. Perfect for parties and family fun. (There's also a fun Christmas set. Plus, related silliness: This Bird Call game.)
Bonus unexpected fact: The humble kazoo isn't just fun—new research shows kazooing can strengthen lungs in older adults while improving breathing and reducing stress at any age.
Get this game
Bonus unexpected fact: The humble kazoo isn't just fun—new research shows kazooing can strengthen lungs in older adults while improving breathing and reducing stress at any age.
Get this game
Our love for Rube Goldberg machines makes us big fans of Keva Contraptions sets. Full of stacking planks, along with pivot planks, T-planks, a bell, a tiny car, a little bowling pin, string, and a few light balls to run the courses, this set provides endless building opportunities for all ages.
Expand the course with more stacking planks, and build plank-made tunnels, funnels, ramps, and chutes with—or I've heard they're compatible with Kapla blocks if you already have them. Excellent for imaginations and experimenting with geometry, physics, patience, and problem solving..
Get these sets
Expand the course with more stacking planks, and build plank-made tunnels, funnels, ramps, and chutes with—or I've heard they're compatible with Kapla blocks if you already have them. Excellent for imaginations and experimenting with geometry, physics, patience, and problem solving..
Get these sets
We’ve been into mushroom kits since my youngest was in preschool, so I’m very happy to share Maine-based mushroom specialists North Spore. They have a wide variety of USDA-certified organic mushroom kits that you can filter by experience level, and lots of resources for learning.
There's also a three kit bundle with blue, pink, and golden oyster mushrooms. "Just open the front of the box, cut an “X” into the plastic bag, spray with water 2-3 times a day, and watch them grow!"
Bonus: Follow TKSST's links and get a $20 discount on your order when you spend over $40.
There's also a three kit bundle with blue, pink, and golden oyster mushrooms. "Just open the front of the box, cut an “X” into the plastic bag, spray with water 2-3 times a day, and watch them grow!"
Bonus: Follow TKSST's links and get a $20 discount on your order when you spend over $40.
NEW ⬆️ Frankly, we're in a golden age of beautifully illustrated non-fiction nature books and I'm very here for it. However, not all the books have that hand-drawn feeling of a sketchbook. I love this book by biologist and writer Geert-Jan Roebers, with illustrations by Wendy Panders, because it's filled with colorful drawings and information-rich paragraphs that don't overwhelm the pages. It's easy to browse, focus, and be surprised by all of the weird and wonderful details that come from the "Marvelously Moldy Network" that supports life on Earth. (For kids, but not only for kids IMO.)
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ If you're interested in Trekking Through History, the same designers created Trekking the National Parks—a strategy game that sneaks in geography and sparks wanderlust without feeling educational. Players race across a board map of the United States, collecting park cards and building routes to visit America's natural treasures. The kind of game that leaves families wanting to plan real trips to the places they've just explored, with gameplay that works across generations.
Mensa Select winner and Parents' Choice award recipient.
Mensa Select winner and Parents' Choice award recipient.
This revived peg-jumping classic—crafted in wood by Creative Crafthouse —comes with 18 clever challenges that puzzle-solvers will pick up again and again just to see if they can nail the final pattern. Beautifully made and sneakily tricky, it’s a satisfying gift for anyone who loves logic puzzles, vintage brain teasers, or that irresistible “okay… one more try” feeling.
How cool is this: The Infinite Maze by Aleksandra Artymowska reimagines maze-solving with 20 artfully illustrated cards that connect in over two trillion combinations. One to 10 players, ages 6+, can help characters navigate the pathways, either solo or racing with friends, through a different sprawling adventure every time you play.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 ⬆️ Hokusai’s The Great Wave is transformed with this 3D LEGO Art set that you can hang on your wall. A stunning design, 15.5″ by 20.5″, made with 1,810 pieces. Want!
🔥POPULAR 🔥 As a teen, I spent a few summers traveling with my Dad around Japan. On one trip, we visited Hakone, a town that’s famous for a centuries-old woodworking art called Yosegi Zaiku. Made with natural woods from local forests, Hakone craftsmen create mosaics and then shave a thin veneer of it to decorate trays, toys, cabinets, tables, and puzzle boxes like the one above.
My dad bought me a puzzle box exactly like this one during that Hakone trip and it’s still one of my favorite things. Slide the wood pieces out in the right order, just like a combination lock, to open it. This box can be unlocked in 14 moves, but there are others that can be opened in 4 moves, in 7 moves, in 21 moves, in 35+1 moves, perfect for puzzle enthusiasts, secret agents, Hogwarts students, and other adventurers.
My dad bought me a puzzle box exactly like this one during that Hakone trip and it’s still one of my favorite things. Slide the wood pieces out in the right order, just like a combination lock, to open it. This box can be unlocked in 14 moves, but there are others that can be opened in 4 moves, in 7 moves, in 21 moves, in 35+1 moves, perfect for puzzle enthusiasts, secret agents, Hogwarts students, and other adventurers.
Custom wobbly dice + illustrated pups + luck-pressing decisions: Spots from CMYK asks you to match dice spots with adorable dogs with names like Doog, Gyoza, and Xerxes. Plus, there are a handful of tricks: Fetch, hunt, guard, scavenge, chase, dogpile, dig, and more, making this 30 minute game a mix of luck and strategic risk.
These beginner-friendly embroidery kits from Hook, Line, and Tinker are modern and retro at the same time. Their Scandinavian-inspired designs—from a charming octopus knitting to a bold boreal owl on the hunt, my two favorites from their collection—come complete with a pre-printed pattern on unbleached cotton fabric, a 15cm (6”) embroidery hoop, embroidery floss (2 full skeins), and a BOHIN size 3 embroidery needle. The octopus is good for beginners, while the owl offers a next level project.
Our kids have completed two of these excellent Extreme Dot to Dot books from Mindware and are working on two more. They’re serious challenges chock full of dots and more dots, and you often can’t tell what the image is before you start it, which my kids totally love. Enjoy lots of subjects, from pets, to prehistoric creatures, to legends and lore, to more animals. Perfect for restaurants, waiting rooms, and hanging around on the living room floor listening to kid podcasts.
IMO: Get as many math toys into the house as early as you can! They don't need to be used for formal lessons. It's all about play and familiarity. Example: This FSC-certified wooden abacus from Small Foot Wooden Toys turns addition and subtraction into tactile playtime. 🧮✨ Slide, sort, and see numbers with 55 plus and minus maths problems. Bonus: It looks lovely when not in use.
Like most DK reference books, DK's Eyewitness Encyclopedia of Everything is a fantastic gift—"The world’s greatest record-breakers, most remarkable animals, inspiring history-makers, and cutting-edge technology are all here, in one utterly unputdownable kid’s encyclopedia." And grownups can enjoy it, too. Its 400 pages are easy to scan and packed with so many photos that you'll spot (and learn) something new each time you open it. 🌟 📚 Highly recommending this one.
This handsome 3-foot tiger puzzle pulls double duty: Build the Bengal Tiger from 100 pieces, then flip the pieces over and build its scientifically accurate anatomy, drawn by an actual medical illustrator. And that's just one of a few cool 2-in-1 floor puzzles. Check out the owl and shark, too.
Paper crafters, upcyclers, bits and bobs collectors, and kids of all ages: 🐭🏡 MouseTown by Jodi Levine and Margaret McCartney is a whimsical, inventive guide that's chock-full of pocket-sized crafting ideas.
Follow Mouse and Ginger through their day while learning how to transform everyday items—matchboxes, jar lids, painted milk cartons, sardine tins, bottle caps, paper straws, fabric scraps, and other small treasures—into shops, furniture, clothing, foods, and party decorations for a charming miniature world. 🖇️🎨🪥🧵 The thoughtfully designed instructions and clever reuse of materials make this a gem for kid crafts, imaginative play, and crafting together. ✂️📦🥳
Follow Mouse and Ginger through their day while learning how to transform everyday items—matchboxes, jar lids, painted milk cartons, sardine tins, bottle caps, paper straws, fabric scraps, and other small treasures—into shops, furniture, clothing, foods, and party decorations for a charming miniature world. 🖇️🎨🪥🧵 The thoughtfully designed instructions and clever reuse of materials make this a gem for kid crafts, imaginative play, and crafting together. ✂️📦🥳
We start with ROYGBIV but, we can share more of the hues of our world from much earlier. Pantone's Colors and Color Puzzles board books agree.
A few days ago at a coffee shop, I watched a game of Sea Salt and Paper unfold at the table next to us. The card game features origami-styled marine animals on photographic cards. At first, it seems simple, but it's a game of cunning and collection—a duel of timing and calculated risks.
We've enjoyed a number of Pandasaurus Games, so I'm looking forward to getting this one.
We've enjoyed a number of Pandasaurus Games, so I'm looking forward to getting this one.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Checkers meets Rush Hour! SmartGames' highly-rated Jump in' Logic Puzzle Game uses rabbits, foxes, and mushrooms to teach strategic thinking through 60 increasingly tricky challenges for ages 7+. Slide foxes, hop rabbits over mushrooms, and plan your moves to get every bunny home. The spatial reasoning and forward-planning skills here mirror real problem-solving. Kids learn to think several steps ahead while working solo. Compact enough for travel, cute and satisfying enough to keep them puzzling without screens. Affordable, too!
Chew is a delightful new food-themed magazine for kids (ages 6+) from the talented team behind Anorak and Dot. Each quarterly issue uses play, imagination, and creativity to help children explore and celebrate everyday fruits, vegetables, grains, and more. And knowing their excellent work, I'm sure they will dive into science, history, and culture, too.
Subscribe to Chew
Subscribe to Chew
🔥POPULAR 🔥 My family is very into puzzle solving so this Turing Machine Punch Card Computer strategy and deduction game will be under our tree this year. It’s described as “a fascinating little puzzle game that feels like Sudoku dialed up to 11″ and has high ratings. Plus: Cracking codes? An analog computer? Punch cards? Potentially 7,000,000 problems to solve? And it’s award-winning? I’m in.
Windswept Arctic tundra, steamy jungle canopies, wave-carved tide pools, swaying grasslands, deep ocean trenches, fern-draped forests. With lots of scannable facts and animal photos, Habitats introduces how every ecosystem is like a perfectly choreographed orchestra of life, with intertwined survival stories. A beautiful and important book for home or the classroom, inspiring young naturalists to explore (and want to protect!) Earth's precious wild places. 🦋🌿
When we lived in the Bay Area, my kids went to a camp that taught them how to spend their days in the woods. One of the classes taught knife use for whittling, food prep, etc, which kicked off my oldest’s yearlong side hobby of carving wands from sticks. I remember that he learned rules around knife safety, and that one of them was establishing a “blood circle,” because how can I forget a phrase like that?
Anyways, he found it really rewarding to be trusted with such a tool, and we were proud that he took it seriously. France’s Opinel makes excellent knives, including this kitchen knife set for little kids. I’m thrilled to see that they have their iconic pocket knife for kids, as well. Find it at REI, Amazon, or get it directly from Opinel.
Anyways, he found it really rewarding to be trusted with such a tool, and we were proud that he took it seriously. France’s Opinel makes excellent knives, including this kitchen knife set for little kids. I’m thrilled to see that they have their iconic pocket knife for kids, as well. Find it at REI, Amazon, or get it directly from Opinel.
Royal Horticultural Society-honored and TKSST-featured terrarium expert Ben Newell invites readers into the captivating world of miniature ecosystems with Hello Tiny World. This beautiful hardcover makes terrarium crafting accessible and inspiring—from basic builds to next level designs—deepening our connection to nature, enhancing well-being, and bring sustainability lessons to life. Projects feature step-by-step photographs, and there are budget-friendly options, too. No outdoor space required.
Maybe it was Linda Bove, Sesame Street’s 1970s-era librarian, who made ASL such a strong memory from my childhood. In 2nd grade (and 9th, too, actually), I remember fingerspelling secret messages to friends across the classroom. I taught A-Z to my kids (along with “more, all done, i love you, thank you,” etc) when they were little. I loved learning to sign and every resource to increase exposure is great in my book. Case in point: This excellent ASL 500-piece Mudpuppy puzzle.
NEW ⬆️ Our wood toy vehicles were some of our favorite toys when my oldest was under two. This wooden dino diplo car from Plan Toys would have definitely been one of them. Responsibly sourced wood. Non-toxic, water-based dyes. And there's a yellow stego car and a red rex car, too!
It's so important for littles to be able to name their emotions so I love running into toys that can help with that practice. This Shapes of Emotions wood toy shares a variety of shapes and faces on one side with matching emotion words on the other—a reliable tool for expression when big feelings get a little overwhelming.
My trick for working on 1,000-piece puzzles with kids is to getting rainbow puzzles that are easy to sort. These LEGO minifig images in red, pink, yellow, green, blue, and purple are a fun bonus.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Tenzi! Fast-paced and fun for kids and adults, with forty dice and many ways to play. Bonus: Build math, pattern recognition, and decision making skills.
Buy this game
Buy this game
NEW ⬆️ Making math a fun and familiar puzzle for little kids is, IMO, key to their feeling confident enough to put in the work into the more challenging math as they get older. There's a book called Tabletalk Math by John Stevens that shares ideas for integrating numbers, patterns, and equations into everyday family experiences, which I highly recommend. Beautiful toys like this sturdy set of tiles, sticks, and rings can be helpful tools and toys along the way. And the best thing about wood: when you've outgrown it, it can be passed along.
I really love this National Parks cover series from Field Notes. At 3.5"x5.5" with 48 pages of graph paper, they're ready to travel. Use them for pxiel art, plotting points, creating mazes and puzzles, playing games, sketching, notes, or writing. They come in packs of three. Or you can get the entire box of 18. Every sale contributes to the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America’s National Parks.
How is flour made? What makes dough rise? What goes on inside a bakery? And how do you make crusty baguettes, twisty pretzels, savory flatbreads, and gooey cinnamon rolls? 🥖✨ Learn the answers to these questions with The Best Ever Bread Book, where kitchen chemistry meets culinary traditions. 🌾 From explosive flour facts to the science of rising dough, young bakers will master 20 global bread recipes through clear, step-by-step instructions. Perfect for curious kitchen scientists or hungry explorers ages 8+ who love to create and share their edible experiments with the whole family. 👩🍳
We’ve had this Safecracker 50 puzzle on shelves and tables around the house for years. The kids pick it up and try in earnest to figure it out now and then. They’ll talk about it and ask for the solution. I’ve yet to give it to them. Or me. I haven’t solve it yet either. The puzzle is becoming legendary around the house.
The goal: “Crack the safe” by getting each of the 16 number columns to each add to 50 at the same time. There’s only one solution and it’s a bit tough! A gem of a puzzle for puzzle enthusiasts or that special someone who solves everything.
There’s also a slightly easier Safecracker 40 puzzle. Both are crafted in the USA by Creative Crafthouse, who has lots of amazing gifts to choose from.
Get this puzzle
The goal: “Crack the safe” by getting each of the 16 number columns to each add to 50 at the same time. There’s only one solution and it’s a bit tough! A gem of a puzzle for puzzle enthusiasts or that special someone who solves everything.
There’s also a slightly easier Safecracker 40 puzzle. Both are crafted in the USA by Creative Crafthouse, who has lots of amazing gifts to choose from.
Get this puzzle
This 28-piece set of Haba wooden blocks is charming! And it’s named after Coburg, Germany, the country where the blocks are made. There's also a blue 18-piece set named after Bad Rodach, the town where Haba is headquartered.
On the New York Public Library’s Best Books for Kids list and authored by a youth services librarian, Search for a Giant Squid is 96 pages of a choose your own adventure-style expedition to find a giant squid in the ocean's twilight zone. Pick a submersible, a pilot, and a dive site and you’re on your way to being a teuthologist. I love this! And it’s the first in a Science Explorers: Pick Your Path series that ages 6 to 11 will really enjoy. I can’t wait to see more!
Get this at Amazon
Get this at Bookshop
Get this at Amazon
Get this at Bookshop
We've have great experiences with ROKR sets and really enjoyed putting together these Marbleocity wooden marble runs for ages 9+, so this ROKR Marble Spaceport for ages 14+ is next on our list. The crank or the motor, the marble lift, and all those ramps and gears make this complex marble run design such a great kinetic sculpture/toy to play with after it's built.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 A modern classic with a twist: These glowing Magna-Tiles are an imagination-sparking addition to any Magna-Tiles set. Illuminated walls and ceilings? A bright green robot eye? Kids can mix them into their tiles in infinite ways!
Or get a little one started with this affordable 16-piece set. They will, no doubt, be dazzled by how their creations can glow.
Or get a little one started with this affordable 16-piece set. They will, no doubt, be dazzled by how their creations can glow.
Harness wind and fire with Fire Tower, a strategy game where you're both firefighter and nature—protecting your lookout tower with smokejumpers, firebreaks, and water drops while tactically directing flames toward your opponents. With glimmering fire gems, custom wooden pieces, and vivid watercolor art, this 15-30 minute game offers quick-to-learn but challenging-to-master gameplay for 2-4 players (ages 10+). The constantly shifting wind conditions ensure no two games feel alike.
Runaway Parade Games has free shipping when you buy directly from them, or ask for Fire Tower or Deluxe Fire Tower (and its expansion sets) at your local game shop.
Runaway Parade Games has free shipping when you buy directly from them, or ask for Fire Tower or Deluxe Fire Tower (and its expansion sets) at your local game shop.
This is straight-up quirky and I'm into it: I first saw these Buzzerks Ant goggles with compound eye-like prismatic lenses in the New York Botanical Garden shop. Look like a bug! See like a bug! (Insect Lore also makes Buzzerks Mantis goggles.) For kids 4+, but I kinda wish they made grown up sizes.
Octopuses Have Zero Bones, there is one star in our solar system, peanut shells usually have two nuts inside, sloths have three toes on each foot, and a black bear’s heart beats 3000 times an hour through much of the year... Think about numbers in entirely new ways with this fantastic new counting picture book about our world. A new favorite.
It can be tough to find high-quality and sturdy electronics for kids, especially electronics that they use all the time... like headphones. This impressive wireless set from Puro Sound Labs is volume-limiting, an essential feature for kid eardrum-protection, and with Bluetooth and a cable included, you have options.
They come in six colors and are highly recommended. Up to 22 hours of playtime (a 4 hour improvement on my last puro recommendation), perfect for road trips, plane travel, and hanging out at home. Kids can listen to music or their favorite kid podcasts and audiobooks.
Buy these headphones
They come in six colors and are highly recommended. Up to 22 hours of playtime (a 4 hour improvement on my last puro recommendation), perfect for road trips, plane travel, and hanging out at home. Kids can listen to music or their favorite kid podcasts and audiobooks.
Buy these headphones
Another wooden puzzler from Creative Crafthouse: Turn the three wheels in alignments that reveal two or more 4-letter words at the same time. Persistence!
Get this puzzle
Get this puzzle
We have these inexpensive but highly rated JLab JBuddies KidSafe Headphones. Sturdy and volume-limiting—a feature that I prioritized for my kids for as long as I could—these come in a variety of bold colors for ages 6 to 16 (though I'd suggest toddler to 10). JLab also has JBuddies Pro Wireless Over-Ear Kids Headphones with 35-hour battery life or JBuddies ANC 2 in 1 Wireless + Wired Kids Headphones with 50+ playtime hours for slightly older kids.
Buy these headphones
Buy these headphones
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ Proof: The Fast-Paced Game of Mental Math Magic is an award-winner (the 2019 Teacher's Choice Awards) and I saw why within one minute: My kids started playing the card game’s similar online challenges and were immediately hooked. An amazing tool for the classroom. But like doing a crossword puzzle or sudoku, Proof is also a legit game for adults—fun and challenging with kids or without.
Lay 9 cards out in a grid and race to find the hidden equations using addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and square roots. Prove the equation? Take the card. The player with the most cards wins.
I love finding fun math games that keep my kids connected with numbers. This is absolutely going under our tree this year.
Buy this game
Lay 9 cards out in a grid and race to find the hidden equations using addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and square roots. Prove the equation? Take the card. The player with the most cards wins.
I love finding fun math games that keep my kids connected with numbers. This is absolutely going under our tree this year.
Buy this game
“Shut-the-Box is a traditional game of counting, addition, and probability that dates back to the 18th century when the game was enjoyed by Norman fishermen after a long day at sea. Today the game is played with family, used in classrooms for teaching addition and probability, and is even a betting game played in pubs all over Europe!”
We love family dice games for learning math, logic, and strategy, so this beautiful 4-player Shut-the-Box is on our wishlist.
For a less expensive version, check out the Shut-the-Box travel size.
Buy this game
We love family dice games for learning math, logic, and strategy, so this beautiful 4-player Shut-the-Box is on our wishlist.
For a less expensive version, check out the Shut-the-Box travel size.
Buy this game
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Philosophy for Beginners: This book dominated kid conversations during our hike one weekend but we didn’t realize it until we found it in the backseat of the car. That’s what prompted all of those questions and ponderings! Clearly an excellent conversation starter.
And it got us grownups talking, too. Logic, truth, perception, ethics, time travel (hello, Grandfather Paradox), aesthetics, metaphysics… so many big topics presented in a bite-size way that doesn’t talk down to kids.
I love when books lay the groundwork for conversations that kids and adults can explore together, and this Usborne book is perfect for that. Pair it with Big Ideas for Curious Minds.
And it got us grownups talking, too. Logic, truth, perception, ethics, time travel (hello, Grandfather Paradox), aesthetics, metaphysics… so many big topics presented in a bite-size way that doesn’t talk down to kids.
I love when books lay the groundwork for conversations that kids and adults can explore together, and this Usborne book is perfect for that. Pair it with Big Ideas for Curious Minds.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 We got a 16 foot string of Govee LED Lights for each of our teens. Both opted to put them under their bunks and it’s completely transformed their bedrooms into colorful hangout spaces. We also put one in the inner ledge of our skylight to make a mini wannabe James Turrell installation. It turns on and off with sunset and sunrise, dimmed but still room shifting, and the kids pick a new color every season.
Get this at Amazon
Get this at Amazon
🔥POPULAR 🔥 This sustainable rubber wood greenhouse play set from ever-charming Tender Leaf Toys is oh so nice. Seed trays, potted plants, tall tomato plants, a raised bed, veggies, a compost bin, and lots of lovely accessories all help make this lovely garden a delightful place to imagine and play.
The Met 5000 Years of Awesome Objects, a bright, dynamic, engaging, image-driven book bursting with informative captions. It's from The Metropolitan Museum of Art and DK, an inspired partnership that's producing a lot of beautiful educational books. It says it's a history of art for children, but we'll all get so much out of this one. Highly recommended.
We played with Zometools at the Mini Maker Faire years ago and not only had a great time with them, but were astounded by the Zometool structures we've found online. They're even better when you dip them into soapy water to make bubbles.
Start with Zometool Creator 1 Building Kit and their many project kits.
Buy this kit
Start with Zometool Creator 1 Building Kit and their many project kits.
Buy this kit
Your brain is like a muscle and it needs practice and training! This is what I told my kids, and now, as teens, I'm grateful to say that they (mostly) dig in when things get tough. How To Be A Math Genius embraces that brain training perspective, combining a primer on how your brain works with fun and unexpected applications of math, problems and puzzles (with answers in the back), real world math examples, and engaging illustrations on every page. And there are a lot of pages!
Add this DK gem to your pack of math resources.
Buy this book
Add this DK gem to your pack of math resources.
Buy this book
🔥POPULAR 🔥Plan Toys always comes through with smart, sustainable, and inexpensive wooden toys that can be played in a variety of ways. This sweet Balancing Tree Game is no exception. Stack the 11 tree pieces and 6 birds without making it fall. Take turns like Jenga or play solo. Or use the colorful (vegetable dye!) pieces in imaginative play. A fine motor skills and patience builder that looks good around the house for ages 3+.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 I grew up in a house (pre-internet) with a set of encyclopedias that answered so many of my kid-questions, so I’m always excited to find smart and beautifully put together tomes like DK Smithsonian's Natural History: The Ultimate Visual Guide to Everything on Earth. It's "a clear overview of the classification of our natural world-over 6,000 species-Natural History looks at every kingdom of life, from bacteria, minerals, and rocks to fossils to plants and animals".We’ve bought a few of these excellent books (including Human Body!, The Rock and Gem Book: And Other Treasures of the Natural World, and Timelines of Everything) for under the tree this year, reference books for our home that can entertain and inform the entire family on so many different subjects. Highly recommended.
Buy this book
Buy this book
These Historic Robotic Spacecraft mission patches are so good looking. That stitching! A lovely treat for any space enthusiast, and inexpensive enough to make excellent space party favors.
Get 17% off with code: TKSST
Get 17% off with code: TKSST
My son’s childhood favorite Schleich dinosaur, still after almost a decade of play and display: The ankylosaurus. I love this entire collection for indoor and outdoor play.
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ A whale with legs? Chickens with teeth? Headless sea worms?Step back in time with this 2022 National Science Teachers Association/Children’s Book Council Outstanding Science Book winner. Illustration, rigorous science, and storytelling join forces once again to reveal Earth's most fascinating prehistoric creatures, and some of history's (mis)interpretations of these mysterious findings. Super for dino enthusiasts, mystery lovers, and kids who just like reading about super interesting things!
Play with Sandy and her seagull family as they run their charming fish and chips shop. This Tender Leaf Toys' Seagull Beach Set is beautifully designed and hand-painted with heirloom-quality details and accessorites. I love love love this sweet retro set for imaginative play, and hope supplies last through the holiday season!
🔥POPULAR 🔥 The photo above looks too good to be true, but (with the exception of those particular bird species), this is what has happened when we put this sturdy Window Bird Feeder House on the outside of one of our north-facing windows. So far, we’ve seen some energetic house finches and California towhees. It was a major upgrade for our family as we worked and schooled from home, and it continues to be a delight.
The Homebird Bird Feeder design above is a British Birdwatching award-winner, opening up the sides for additional perching, curving the roof for more shelter, and thickening up those acrylic walls. It's a relatively new design from a small UK-based company, and is on our list this year.
They're both easy to clean and refill. You can find the one we got first at Amazon or get it directly from Nature’s Hangout. No matter which model you get, these are an amazing gift for every age.
The Homebird Bird Feeder design above is a British Birdwatching award-winner, opening up the sides for additional perching, curving the roof for more shelter, and thickening up those acrylic walls. It's a relatively new design from a small UK-based company, and is on our list this year.
They're both easy to clean and refill. You can find the one we got first at Amazon or get it directly from Nature’s Hangout. No matter which model you get, these are an amazing gift for every age.
My daughter and I both enjoy paleontology and archaeology. We've wandered the halls of natural history museums, bought kits to dig out bones and gems from plaster blocks, and watch myriad excavation videos on TKSST. An 80-page Wide Eyed nonfiction book packed with real archaeological stories from around (and under) the earth, Dig! scratches that same itch.Written by archaeologist Ruth Hatfield and illustrated by Sophia Watts, it shows how archaeologists piece together the past, not just from people and the objects they left behind, but from everything connected to their lives: animals, seeds, soil layers, ruins, even tiny clues like ancient lice. It’s a grounded, curiosity-sparking look at how we use all kinds of evidence to understand the humans who came before us.
We're a bit obsessed with crows in our house, so this little card game about corvids, trash, and treasure is right up our alley. In this fast, mischievous strategy game, players take on the clever chaos of crows—flipping, poking, and stealing cards to build nests, block rivals, and outthink one another with quick fingers or a careful “beak.”
I bought these made-in-the-USA Greenstalk vertical planters last year, and they’ve been excellent. The biggest success: A planter FULL of strawberry plants in the 7-tier Leaf tower. 🍓🍓🍓 Not only were my kids picking strawberries for breakfasts, snacks, and desserts, but friends’ kids would come over and harvest fresh fruit, too.
This was especially fun when our toddler friends would do this; two were seeing where strawberries came from for the first time!
Available in stone (above), terracotta color, evergreen, my favorite, and limited edition black. Highly recommended, especially for anyone who doesn’t have much outdoor growing space. Learn more at GreenstalkGarden.com.
This was especially fun when our toddler friends would do this; two were seeing where strawberries came from for the first time!
Available in stone (above), terracotta color, evergreen, my favorite, and limited edition black. Highly recommended, especially for anyone who doesn’t have much outdoor growing space. Learn more at GreenstalkGarden.com.
I love the illustrations and amount of detail in this nature book from DK. Shoots and roots, growing food, beautiful bogs, fungus kingdoms, wonderful worms, burrowers, microbes, sparkly minerals, DIY soil science, and more. Under Your Feet: Soil, Sand, and Everything Underground? Yesssssss.
Demonstrations by mammoths are a fun way to teach "everything you need to know about numbers." Add this highly rated book (featuring David Macaulay’s The Way Things Work-famous mammoths) to your pile of math education tools. There's also a Mammoth Math Workbook and a Mammoth Science book to add to the set.
Channel your silliest bird impressions in this fast, chaotic party game where each kid, teen, or grown-up takes turns revealing a secret bird card and unleashing their most creative squawk, chirp, or warble for others to mimic. A fun 5-minute, nature-based game for 3 to 6 players. (Related fun: Kazoo That Tune.)
I've been super curious about the bird feeder stations with the built in cameras but they're all priced between $100-$250, much too expensive for us to take a chance on. This highly-rated, solar-powered PeckCam smart bird feeder, however, is deeply discounted by almost 60%, placing it under $60. It has excellent reviews for customer service. Subscription service + HD card provides more functionality. Get it while you can!
(And for an even less expensive pick, compare this Kadymay Smart Birdfeeder for under $40.)
(And for an even less expensive pick, compare this Kadymay Smart Birdfeeder for under $40.)
I grew up roller skating around our neighborhood so I’m really happy to see the sport’s revived popularity. These asphalt black Moxi Rainbow Riders caught my eye immediately, and they’re listed at an awesome price for beginners or casual roller skaters. They're finally back in stock at Moxi, or you can find them on Amazon (they should be $115 max) or at your local skatewear shop. Call them and ask! Rainbow Riders come in pink and yellow, too.
Get them at Moxi Skates
If you want a brand that roller skaters recommend to each other at a slightly higher price point, then check out Riedell. I am kind of obsessed with these handsome Riedell Crew outdoor roller skates in ocean, crimson, or turmeric.
Get these on Amazon
I've also heard great things about Sure Grip, and though this model isn't on the site, as a kid, I would have absolutely wanted these stardust blue glitter sure-grips (currently on sale on Amazon). They come in black and pink versions, too.
Get these on Amazon
Get them at Moxi Skates
If you want a brand that roller skaters recommend to each other at a slightly higher price point, then check out Riedell. I am kind of obsessed with these handsome Riedell Crew outdoor roller skates in ocean, crimson, or turmeric.
Get these on Amazon
I've also heard great things about Sure Grip, and though this model isn't on the site, as a kid, I would have absolutely wanted these stardust blue glitter sure-grips (currently on sale on Amazon). They come in black and pink versions, too.
Get these on Amazon
When we lived in France, I fell in love with Vilac, Janod, and Djeco for their high-quality toys. Each piece embraced character and whimsy, with charming illustrative touches that made piece feel special. This Djeco bird whistle is a wonderful example. I am definitely charmed.
With pieces that are shaped like the countries, Geotoys’ award-winning GeoPuzzles make it super easy and fun for kids (and adults) to learn country names and locations through play.
We bought the Africa & the Middle East puzzle a few years ago, but I didn't realize how impactful it was until this year when I heard that my then-7-year-old surprised everyone when she ID'd a number of countries accurately in class. YESSSS.
Get 6 GeoPuzzles in one box, or explore the world box by box: Latin America, Asia, the U.S. and Canada, Europe, or Africa & the Middle East, above.
We bought the Africa & the Middle East puzzle a few years ago, but I didn't realize how impactful it was until this year when I heard that my then-7-year-old surprised everyone when she ID'd a number of countries accurately in class. YESSSS.
Get 6 GeoPuzzles in one box, or explore the world box by box: Latin America, Asia, the U.S. and Canada, Europe, or Africa & the Middle East, above.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 This amazing little red Audubon Bird Call has been handmade in the USA for 60 years. When you twist it, it makes songbird sounds that can attract wild birds. A favorite of birders generation after generation, and a delight for all ages today. It sold out last season so buy early from the Rhode Island-based team at BirdCall.com. Amazon also has a red and birch two-pack.
In 2023, having learned a lot more about our local ecosystems, I was certified as a naturalist in my state, and soon happened upon entomologist Doug Tallamy's Homegrown National Park project, a movement to help regenerate biodiversity across the United States. The simple summary: Create self-sustaining ecosystems by planting native plants where you live. If enough of us do that, we're patching together a biodiverse landscape that can help strengthen the nature we depend on.
This Young Readers' Edition of his pioneering book, Nature's Best Hope, is a fantastic and informative way to help our kids understand today's challenges along with actionable solutions they can do solo, with family, or with friends and neighbors. Highly recommended.
This Young Readers' Edition of his pioneering book, Nature's Best Hope, is a fantastic and informative way to help our kids understand today's challenges along with actionable solutions they can do solo, with family, or with friends and neighbors. Highly recommended.
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ Dissect a frog without dissecting a frog. This scientifically accurate gel-kit from National Geographic's STEM series includes 11 organ pieces, glow-in-the-dark bones, and a gel refill. A National Parenting Product Awards 2024 winner that's on the list for our teen scientist.
There's more to our planet's jaw-dropping locales beyond Instagram photos. How Does Chocolate Taste on Everest? explores 11 of Earth's most extreme places, inviting young readers to use their senses in the stinkiest place, the most electric place, the deepest place, one of the hottest places, and more. Imagine shivering in Antarctica, hearing the buzz of the Amazon rainforest, and, yes, tasting chocolate at the top of the world's highest peak.
Beautiful illustrations, inspiring authors and artists—Cece Bell, Hervé Tullet, Lisa Brown and Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, just to name a few—and behind-the-scenes peeks at all sorts of creative endeavors fill the pages of Illustoria, a brilliant magazine for creative kids and their grownups.
And they truly mean it: This mag is smart. It never talks down to kids, and has tons of content that will inspire adults, too. Some of our favorite bits: book recommendations, close ups on artists’ tools, music recs that include Nina Simone, Andrew Bird, and Fela Kuti, DIY activities and crafts by experts, recipes, wonderful stories, and a pinch of art and literary history.
I keep the issues on our coffee table, but they keep disappearing into the kids' room. We love Illustoria.
And they truly mean it: This mag is smart. It never talks down to kids, and has tons of content that will inspire adults, too. Some of our favorite bits: book recommendations, close ups on artists’ tools, music recs that include Nina Simone, Andrew Bird, and Fela Kuti, DIY activities and crafts by experts, recipes, wonderful stories, and a pinch of art and literary history.
I keep the issues on our coffee table, but they keep disappearing into the kids' room. We love Illustoria.
We love hummingbird videos on TKSST, but this video really had the kids asking for a hummingbird feeder. My requirements: Easy to clean and refill, no plastic (for bird health and feeder longevity), and the nectar should be dye-free.
After some research, we decided to get Couronne Recycled Glass Hummble Hummingbird Feeders and we've been really happy with them: Sturdy and well-made, modern, no leaks, super easy to clean, and if you buy more than one (hummingbirds benefit from a clean water supply, too), they link together! Comes in red, blue, and orange.
After some research, we decided to get Couronne Recycled Glass Hummble Hummingbird Feeders and we've been really happy with them: Sturdy and well-made, modern, no leaks, super easy to clean, and if you buy more than one (hummingbirds benefit from a clean water supply, too), they link together! Comes in red, blue, and orange.
I have a favorite mathematician thanks to these videos and a radio interview I listened to. And she wrote a book! Eugenia Cheng’s Molly and the Mathematical Mysteries shares ten math adventures for ages 7-10 that go beyond numbers. Ask for it at your local bookstore.
Mah-jong! But reinvented with sturdy cards that feature animals from across Asia, all intricately illustrated by Ryuto Miyake. An excellent first step to getting a traditional tile set.
Get this on Amazon
Get this on Amazon
We have three of Theodore Gray’s science and technology books, and they’re fantastic for all ages to explore. How Things Work will be an excellent 256-page addition to our collection this year.
Get this on Amazon
Get this at Bookshop
Get this on Amazon
Get this at Bookshop
Germany-based HABA makes amazing toys, but this Lighthouse Wooden Rainbow Stacker, a colorful 8-piece set, is a standout.
From the makers of Anorak, this is Dot, a beautifully illustrated ad-free magazine for preschoolers. Though we’re quickly growing out of this age group in our house, I'm still super tempted to subscribe to these delightful issues. Sweet, smart, and full of play.
Buy a subscription
Buy a subscription
When everyday items have engaging information on them, kids (and grownups) have the opportunity to become familiar with the vocabulary via osmosis. Or maybe they’re studying the lines of Earth's atmospheric layers as the water or OJ gets lower and lower. I love this USA-made Above the Earth Drinking Glass, ☁️🛰 a fantastic visual way to introduce this part of our planet. There's also a 4-pack.
I also love Cognitive Surplus. They have Beneath the Waves, Stratigraphy Core Sample, and Periodic Table glasses too.
Get these glasses
I also love Cognitive Surplus. They have Beneath the Waves, Stratigraphy Core Sample, and Periodic Table glasses too.
Get these glasses
Anorak is the kind of kids' magazine that a kid might take up to the tree house and read for hours. A mix of beautiful illustrations and lots of activities, stories, games, and more, these magazines by Cathy Olmedillas are worth collecting. Get them on their site or subscribe.
Buy these issues
Buy these issues
Regal domino sets are durable, classic, and colorful. Get the 28-tile set or try this tin of 136 Mexican Train Dominoes with double 15 tiles and 8 Metal Trains.
Buy this set
Buy this set
If you’ve ever wanted to make a popsicle stick cobra weave chain reaction, this $30 pack of Woodpeckers’ 1000 rainbow craft sticks is what you’ll want to use—a good amount for a classroom project, or buy 200 sticks for $10! Sustainably sourced and made with 100% plant-based dye in New Jersey.
There’s a world of delicious foods out there; if only there were kid-friendly visual guides for them. Enter the awesome small biz team at Gloo Books.
Fruity sinh tố, crispy dosa, delicate bánh ướt, scrumptious dahi, comforting sundubu-jjigae, versatile silog, salty pinakbet, gooey hotteok, and my favorites: bibimbap and everything ube. Read about Vietnamese, Indian, Filipino, and Korean street foods, staple foods, comfort foods, yummy desserts, and more. Plus, learn a bit about when, why, and how they’re made.
These Very Asian Guides for ages 3+ are perfect for libraries, classrooms, and for food and cultural literacy at home. And they're constantly expanding their offerings. Highly recommended.
Fruity sinh tố, crispy dosa, delicate bánh ướt, scrumptious dahi, comforting sundubu-jjigae, versatile silog, salty pinakbet, gooey hotteok, and my favorites: bibimbap and everything ube. Read about Vietnamese, Indian, Filipino, and Korean street foods, staple foods, comfort foods, yummy desserts, and more. Plus, learn a bit about when, why, and how they’re made.
These Very Asian Guides for ages 3+ are perfect for libraries, classrooms, and for food and cultural literacy at home. And they're constantly expanding their offerings. Highly recommended.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 “Molecule formation, acids and bases, chemical reactions, even advanced concepts like secondary oxidation states...“ and it’s all learned through experience as you play Science Ninjas: Valence, a highly-rated card game created by a rocket scientist, an alternative energy expert, and a New York Times best-selling cartoonist. Great for at home or in class for ages 6+. (They also have a Periodic Table Poster.)
Advanced Chemistry + Simple Rules + Ninjas! = On our list this year. Easy to learn and super fun.
Buy this game
Add more molecules, more chemical reactions, and four new elements to learn more with Valence Plus for ages 8+. I definitely recommend this one if you have older kids or are playing with adults.
Advanced Chemistry + Simple Rules + Ninjas! = On our list this year. Easy to learn and super fun.
Buy this game
Add more molecules, more chemical reactions, and four new elements to learn more with Valence Plus for ages 8+. I definitely recommend this one if you have older kids or are playing with adults.
Get kids familiar with the elements early when they’re soaking up information with curiosity and enthusiasm! We’ve had the UK version of this Usborne Periodic Table Lift-the-flap book for a few years and it’s finally available stateside.
We have the Fractions and Decimals and Computers and Coding books from the series, too. All excellent for ages 4 to 9.
Get this on Amazon
We have the Fractions and Decimals and Computers and Coding books from the series, too. All excellent for ages 4 to 9.
Get this on Amazon
Anyone who's ended a board game with a crying preschooler understands why cooperative games are so incredibly helpful for supporting families in teaching gameplay—counting, taking turns, strategy, and decision-making—while working together to win.
This charming race game from Londji reimagines the classic tortoise and hare fable as a collaborative challenge where players help turtles reach the finish line before the boastful hare overtakes them. Roll marbles through a tube, collect carrots and lettuce along the way, and discover how patience and teamwork lead to victory in this beautifully made game with cardboard and wood pieces for ages 5 and up.
This charming race game from Londji reimagines the classic tortoise and hare fable as a collaborative challenge where players help turtles reach the finish line before the boastful hare overtakes them. Roll marbles through a tube, collect carrots and lettuce along the way, and discover how patience and teamwork lead to victory in this beautifully made game with cardboard and wood pieces for ages 5 and up.
This is a 17-key mahogany kalimba (also called a mbira). We first saw these 'thumb pianos' in an adorable series of music videos that featured a golden retriever listening in the background, and now we're hooked.
This Gecko kalimba has the highest ratings. Each metal tine is engraved, and it comes with a waterproof case, a tune hammer, and a study guide. Easy enough for beginners, satisfying for experienced players. Fun for everyone.
Buy this instrument
This Gecko kalimba has the highest ratings. Each metal tine is engraved, and it comes with a waterproof case, a tune hammer, and a study guide. Easy enough for beginners, satisfying for experienced players. Fun for everyone.
Buy this instrument
This wooden chicken coop set is another charmer from Tender Leaf Toys, one of my favorite toy companies. It features a complete farmyard family—a rooster, hens, a chick, and eggs—all crafted from sustainable rubberwood.
French toy company Djeco simplifies the musical difficulty and levels up the cute with their bird-themed wood Animambo Kalimba for ages 4+.
One day of a chimp’s life, 24 hours in the rainforest, one year on the Yukon river, two years of a red kangaroo’s young life, from conception to independence... this entire visual Timelines series is an awesome picture-filled resource, but my favorite is probably the animal-filled Timelines of Nature.
Get this on Amazon
Get this on Amazon
The Chop Shop teamed up with The Planetary Society on this captivating set of Planetary toy blocks featuring 8 planets, 8 moons, 3 dwarf planets, one star, some extraordinary spacecraft, an other cool diagrammatical information. Name pronunciation, too. What a fantastic gift for playing and learning.
Get 17% off with code: TKSST
Get these blocks
Get 17% off with code: TKSST
Get these blocks
When visiting art museums while my kids were toddlers, I’d ask them to find things (usually animals) in the paintings so they’d stay focused on the art and not get too bored in a hands-off museum. It also gave me a chance to point out another detail or two about what we were looking at. This Art Detective: Spot the Difference book (and Animal Crossing, of course) are based on the same idea—find that forgery! Suddenly kids 5 to 9 are staring at paintings for details they otherwise might not notice! And they're definitely getting familiar with them. A sly yet rewarding trick.
Projectagram Photo Flashlights have tiny Viewmaster-style mini slide reels with images that can be projected on surfaces. Just turn off the lights or take them out at night.
Projectagram comes with dinosaur, space, and safari-themed reels for instant fun, but what I love most about this are the 8-photo custom reels; each kit comes with redemption code for one (and you can order more). Family photos, vacation photos, birthday parties with besties, 8 images that tell a story, or any other cherished memories. Screen-free fun for ages 3+.
Get this at Uncommon Goods
Projectagram comes with dinosaur, space, and safari-themed reels for instant fun, but what I love most about this are the 8-photo custom reels; each kit comes with redemption code for one (and you can order more). Family photos, vacation photos, birthday parties with besties, 8 images that tell a story, or any other cherished memories. Screen-free fun for ages 3+.
Get this at Uncommon Goods
The few Disney Press audiobooks that I've listened to have been a real surprise; they're unembellished, focused on a single narrator telling the story with thoughtful cadence and heart, a unique and authentic quality that's distinct from the movies. They're perfect for quiet afternoons or long car rides—a familiar story told in a fresh and meaningful way.
We really enjoyed the movie Encanto but this audiobook, like the Moana audiobook, is a standout retelling, (although I did prefer this one at .08x or .09x speed.) Audio versions unveil untold layers of characters' inner thoughts and reflections. They also create space for listeners' thoughts and reflections, enriching the experience for the whole family.
Buy this audiobook
We really enjoyed the movie Encanto but this audiobook, like the Moana audiobook, is a standout retelling, (although I did prefer this one at .08x or .09x speed.) Audio versions unveil untold layers of characters' inner thoughts and reflections. They also create space for listeners' thoughts and reflections, enriching the experience for the whole family.
Buy this audiobook
Build mechanical circuits with zero electricity or batteries (except for this string-powered one). For ages 8 to adult, Spintronics from Upper Story is a hands-on engineering toy that teaches electronics through puzzle solving and storytelling.
Start with Act One, or buy it with Act Two. There’s also a Power Pack and individual parts. Highly-rated across the internet and by Purdue Engineering. This is on my list.
Upper Story also created Turing Tumble, one of my absolute favorites ICYMI.
Get Spintronics
Start with Act One, or buy it with Act Two. There’s also a Power Pack and individual parts. Highly-rated across the internet and by Purdue Engineering. This is on my list.
Upper Story also created Turing Tumble, one of my absolute favorites ICYMI.
Get Spintronics
200 infographics, 1000s of facts and figures. I love how many maps, charts, and timelines are in Britannica's Encyclopedia Infographica. A fantastic way to think about information, numbers, science, and beyond.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 I originally bought these blacklight flashlights to look for tomato hornworms on my tomato plants. They’re hard to spot in the daytime (camouflage!) but with a blacklight at night, they stand out. And then I raised them all on tomato plant cuttings until they were ready to transform into five-spotted hawk moths—important pollinators!
Anyways, these blacklight flashlights were not only great for that, but they lit up our neon chalk drawings and they’re amazing for spotting scorpions in nature. I even found a fluorescing plant in my yard. Super fun art + science + play. And it's a 2-pack for shared exploring.
P.S. Don’t forget to get Eneloop rechargeables.
Anyways, these blacklight flashlights were not only great for that, but they lit up our neon chalk drawings and they’re amazing for spotting scorpions in nature. I even found a fluorescing plant in my yard. Super fun art + science + play. And it's a 2-pack for shared exploring.
P.S. Don’t forget to get Eneloop rechargeables.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Govee Curtain Lights provide an out-of-the-box 520 pixel canvas for light art. At 5' x 6.6', it can transform a room. Hang it in your window, on your wall, or outside to display pixel drawings, animations, sound syncing pulses, and more. You can even link three in a row. It's all easily programmed with their app. 🤯 A game changer for holiday decorations, teen rooms, and parties.
Get this at Amazon
Get this at Govee.com
Get this at Amazon
Get this at Govee.com
Hexbugs are some of my favorite tech toys for kids. They've been low fuss for us and their movements create 100% fun for kids and growns alike. Like autonomous nanobots, these inexpensive scorpions for ages 8+ are fantastically quick crawlers that will scurry around the floor, rebounding off of whatever they run into.
And then come in 5 colors, though I can only find the red one online. All the more reason to find them locally!
And then come in 5 colors, though I can only find the red one online. All the more reason to find them locally!
I love this 1,000 piece Mudpuppy puzzle: Every letter, which may not make sense at first glance—A is for BEE, B is for monkey, C is for parrot—also shares corresponding words in a diverse group of other languages. Wonderful linguistic exposure for ages 8+, paired with dramatic, woodcut-style illustrations. This one's a conversation starter for puzzlers and language nerds alike.
Open-ended building with a rainbow of translucent shapes, Magna-Tiles are toys that can be built with for years and years. Structures come together in endless possibilities—castles, flying spaceships, skyscrapers, you name it. And when you get that last piece in place, shine a flashlight through it for a while before making something brand new.
Magna-Tiles are a solid investment that will last for ages, and can then be passed along. They've even been in the MoMA Design Store. These links go to Amazon, but you can always find Magna-Tiles and the Magna-Tiles expansion packs in your local toy stores.
Magna-Tiles are a solid investment that will last for ages, and can then be passed along. They've even been in the MoMA Design Store. These links go to Amazon, but you can always find Magna-Tiles and the Magna-Tiles expansion packs in your local toy stores.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 “A Colorfully Cutthroat Card Game of Rainbows and Revenge...” "The simplicity of UNO and the depth of Gin Rummy...” and it’s a family game for ages 7+ from the makers of Exploding Kittens? Yes, please.
Mantis is easy to learn and play, and though it's simple, it's also fun and surprising because you can't predict how the scoring and stealing will pan out. The 5-star reviews agree.
Mantis is easy to learn and play, and though it's simple, it's also fun and surprising because you can't predict how the scoring and stealing will pan out. The 5-star reviews agree.
My (then) 12-year-old spent 4 diligent days putting this Mindware Gearjits Solar System orrery together. After she showed me her completed piece in action—when you turn the crank, all the planets orbit and the sun lights up—she said, “We should get more of these. These are fun.” ...which we’ll definitely be doing.
Laser cut wood assembly kits have come a long way in the last few years and this is a great example. Its gears, curved panels, and artful details are sturdy and impressive, the instructions are clear, and the finished product works! Highly recommended.
Laser cut wood assembly kits have come a long way in the last few years and this is a great example. Its gears, curved panels, and artful details are sturdy and impressive, the instructions are clear, and the finished product works! Highly recommended.
Three items have upgraded our back yard experiences with our kids—our hammock and our mini-projector are the first two. The third is the Mesa, the smallest fire pit from Solo Stove. We've been roasting marshmallows for s'mores outdoors with this tabletop gem for a year or so, and it's always a fun way to create that togetherness that comes from camping but without hauling all of our stuff to a campsite.
Also, as of this post, the Mesa is discounted half off—only $40. Get some wood pellets and a pack of natural fire starters (just wood shavings and food-grade wax), and you're set.
And if you do decide to get something beyond their smallest version, use this link for anything over $150 for $25 off.
Also, as of this post, the Mesa is discounted half off—only $40. Get some wood pellets and a pack of natural fire starters (just wood shavings and food-grade wax), and you're set.
And if you do decide to get something beyond their smallest version, use this link for anything over $150 for $25 off.
Homeroom is one of our favorite kid-friendly restaurants in California's East Bay. We were regulars from the year they opened to the year we moved, and we still make our family's favorite macs from their cookbook, including the spanakopita-like Macximus, the garlicky Gilroy, the Jalapeno Popper Mac, and the Smoky Bacon Mac.
And truly, there's nothing like cooking with kids. It can be tough at first, but now that I have teens, I can happily report that the early time spent is incredibly rewarding. We love cooking with them and are grateful when they make dinner (and competently clean up).
And truly, there's nothing like cooking with kids. It can be tough at first, but now that I have teens, I can happily report that the early time spent is incredibly rewarding. We love cooking with them and are grateful when they make dinner (and competently clean up).
Buy individual packs or get bundles of MAJO Ideas, sticker-based art packs inspired by artists like Alexander Calder, Kehinde Wiley, Georgia O'Keeffe, Do Ho Suh, Shawna X, Henri Rousseau, and many more. Recommended by friend and kid product expert Youngna Park, MAJO packs can include activities like origami, straw rockets, DIY play dough, spinning tops, painting, stickering, and more.
We read bedtime stories, helping kids love words and become better readers. Why not try Bedtime Math to help them love numbers, and become stronger and more confident problem solvers?
This series of books are chock full of short math questions (in Imperial units), divided into age levels and set up with a quick story and a colorful illustration. The subjects: Staring contests, sleeping sloths, chocolate chips in cookies, floating boats, astronauts on the moon, and more.
We’ve done lots of these short brain activities and my kids have liked the challenge of it so far. I love having a tool for making math a fun, daily activity. (It doesn’t only have to be at bedtime.)
This series of books are chock full of short math questions (in Imperial units), divided into age levels and set up with a quick story and a colorful illustration. The subjects: Staring contests, sleeping sloths, chocolate chips in cookies, floating boats, astronauts on the moon, and more.
We’ve done lots of these short brain activities and my kids have liked the challenge of it so far. I love having a tool for making math a fun, daily activity. (It doesn’t only have to be at bedtime.)
🔥POPULAR 🔥 A woman-owned company with sustainably-sourced products, Eeboo has a lot of beautiful puzzles and games for kids and adults, including this phenomenal 1000-piece Rainbow World puzzle, illustrated by Kelsey Oseid. I love how many different species there are in this. We're getting it for the entire family to help build those patience, memory, and problem-solving muscles while chit-chatting and listening to a podcast or some music.
They don't stock it at Eeboo anymore, it's worth browsing and buying all of their smart products directly—including Oseid's rainbow mushroom puzzle. I've linked to this puzzle below, or find it in a local toy store.
They don't stock it at Eeboo anymore, it's worth browsing and buying all of their smart products directly—including Oseid's rainbow mushroom puzzle. I've linked to this puzzle below, or find it in a local toy store.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 This stunning LEGO Ideas The Starry Night set was created with MoMA, who has cared for the original painting since 1941. (You might recognize the 3D depiction from MoMA’s video on TKSST.com.) LEGO's new art line is super cool and I love when toys, cartoons, etc, cross over into classic art and music themes, making them familiar and more engaging to younger audiences. In fact, they had one on the desk at my dentist's office and they said kids ask about it all the time. For that alone, this is a treat.
Get this set
Get this set
My grandma used to say that she wasn’t a math person, and all through school, I carried that with me, too. It wasn’t until I practiced math regularly for work that a switch flipped for me. So when my kids were little, I made it my goal to give them the math confidence that comes with familiarity and fun, the reminders that math takes practice and patience, and the awareness of how we used math in our daily lives. It’s everywhere!
I love that this book points that out, too. Bite-size info, illustration-filled, practical yet illuminating. One of the many math resources I’ve collected so that we can all help make math familiar and fun for our kids.
I love that this book points that out, too. Bite-size info, illustration-filled, practical yet illuminating. One of the many math resources I’ve collected so that we can all help make math familiar and fun for our kids.
These two LEGO Mini Modular books share step by step instructions for building San Francisco’s Painted Ladies, blue-domed Santorini homes, Japan’s Machiya wooden buildings, Swiss chalets, old-fashioned barns, fire stations, observatories, banks, and over two dozen other tiny LEGO structures. Written by two brothers, the books also include tips for creating your own miniature brick cities. I love the scale and the reimagining of these architectural styles and structures.
When kids observe carefully and predict what happens next—at construction sites, watching ants in the park or a plant bud open, pouring water to see how it flows, noticing how things change—they're building critical thinking skills. These story puzzles by Japanese illustrator Kanae Sato foster that practice: observe the details, figure out the sequence, understand cause and effect. Beginning, middle, end. Simple scaffolding for young minds learning how stories work.
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ Real bird species of North America (170!) with lovely illustrations, Latin names, wingspan measurements, food and habitat requirements. Bonus cards with titles like Wetland Scientist, Falconer, Historian, Bird Counter, and Ecologist. And it’s high quality and highly-rated, winning the Spiel des Jahres Kennerspiel award and the Audubon’s praise.
Attract birds to the habitats in your wildlife preserve in Wingspan. This 2019 debut by Elizabeth Hargrave has a cult following among birders and was so popular that it was sold out (or double the price) everywhere last year. In 2020, it's reasonably priced and we were able to finally get our own. Older kids and adults, engine-building-style game fans, middle and high school teachers, fellow nature enthusiasts: Check out this game and their expansion packs.
Local game shops will definitely know it. Or find it on Amazon or at Stonemaier Games.
Buy this game
Attract birds to the habitats in your wildlife preserve in Wingspan. This 2019 debut by Elizabeth Hargrave has a cult following among birders and was so popular that it was sold out (or double the price) everywhere last year. In 2020, it's reasonably priced and we were able to finally get our own. Older kids and adults, engine-building-style game fans, middle and high school teachers, fellow nature enthusiasts: Check out this game and their expansion packs.
Local game shops will definitely know it. Or find it on Amazon or at Stonemaier Games.
Buy this game
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Portable and rechargeable LED lanterns are really great for night lights, camping and outdoor hang time, and back up illumination when the power is out. I love the lighthouse/fresnel lens/Frank Lloyd Wright prism glass vibe of the Florence from Minneapolis-based lighting company Bask. Comes in 4 colors—midnight, slate, scarlet, and moss—with 3 levels of light. We were so impressed with our first one that we bought a second. The handle and glass are sturdy for reasonable handling by smaller family members. They're mostly sold out on HelloBask.com, but there are a few more on Amazon.
Buy this lamp
Buy this lamp
I’ve been interested in getting my kids back into rock climbing, but between our schedules and climbing gym prices, I thought I’d look at alternatives. Made in the USA and highly rated for home climbing walls, these Atomik Climbing Holds come highly recommended. Atomik has a lot of options for beginners, including both earth tones and primary colors.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Sunday Funday shares 52 nature-themed activities for every weekend of the year. Craft projects, easy recipes, outdoor exploration, gardening, and creative ideas that help us notice nature’s shifts from spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The colorful illustrations by Jesús Verona are full of quirky details, adorable animals, busy kids, and plant-filled landscapes. This is one of my favorite new children’s books this year.
Dr Livingston’s Jigsaw Puzzles are awesome. We got one of their first anatomy puzzles and it was surprisingly fun to stare at all of those arteries, veins, muscles, and brains while we put it all together. And now: The Human Eye and a few other Organ and Appendage puzzles are available. They were illustrated by a certified medical artist and total more than 3,000 pieces all together. High quality and educational. Get the entire set—brain, feet, hands, and heart—at Genius Games, on Amazon, or at your local toy store.
Plants to the Rescue is a phenomenal book full of engaging information that's supported by Brian Lambert's detailed illustrations. Horticulturist Dr. Vikram Baliga shares how amazing plants (and fungi) are and how much they help us eat, drink, breathe, stay cool, build shelter, clean big messes, and solve challenges like diseases, plastic pollution, and climate change.
Picture books with topic indexes are some of my favorite picture books. I highly recommend this one.
Picture books with topic indexes are some of my favorite picture books. I highly recommend this one.
Swoop Bags are such an awesome idea... for baby blocks, for wooden train sets, for LEGO, for swim equipment, or for whatever kid (or adult) projects you want to keep contained. Modern, stylish, and easy! A lovely gift for new parents who want to stay organized for the next decade or two. They come in large 100% sturdy cotton canvas, large nylon bags, or mini toy bags in both bright and muted colors.
Find them on Amazon or at SwoopBags.com.
Find them on Amazon or at SwoopBags.com.
NEW ⬆️ For LEGO enthusiasts (and kids who might not be used to getting books as presents), this updated and expanded, 300-page tome makes a fantastic gift. LEGO Minifigure: A Visual History chronicles the more than 2,500 characters in LEGO's minifigure population from 1978 until today, organized by decade, and now includes 5 years’ worth of new entries.
Attention fellow space and LEGO Technic nerds! 👋🤩 The Perseverance Mars Rover and its helicopter Ingenuity, the first powered flying vehicle on another planet, are ready to explore. And don't let the small image above mislead; the assembled rover has around a 5-inch x 15-inch footprint.
In addition to being a very cool 1,132-piece build, this LEGO Technic Percy has articulated suspension and a corresponding AR app. WANT.
In addition to being a very cool 1,132-piece build, this LEGO Technic Percy has articulated suspension and a corresponding AR app. WANT.
John Collins is the designer behind the world’s best paper airplane—or more specifically the paper airplane that broke the Guinness World Record for longest throw—so we're definitely paying attention when he releases a book that features the Guinness World Record-breaking design, and 16 tear-out planes to fold and fly. This book is fantastic fun.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Soapstone is soft enough to be carved with hand tools. With practice and some guidance, a piece can be transformed into anything you can imagine. It's no wonder the art dates back thousands of years.
If you've never tried carving soapstone before, these Studiostone Creative animal kits are a great way for ages 8 to 108 to get started with this age-old activity. Designed and made in British Columbia by two Canadian sculptors, the kits come with everything you need, including a kid-safe carving file.
There are over a dozen animals to choose from; our favorites are definitely on my gift list. 🐻🐧🦁🐘🐈 PS. They have jewelry kits, too.
If you've never tried carving soapstone before, these Studiostone Creative animal kits are a great way for ages 8 to 108 to get started with this age-old activity. Designed and made in British Columbia by two Canadian sculptors, the kits come with everything you need, including a kid-safe carving file.
There are over a dozen animals to choose from; our favorites are definitely on my gift list. 🐻🐧🦁🐘🐈 PS. They have jewelry kits, too.
Take everything I wrote about Lensy and apply it to Camp Snap cameras. These awesome little powerhouse digital cameras are screen-free, with a USB-C port and room for 2,000 photos, making the affordability of digital with the mindfulness of film accessible for kids who need a break from All. Of. The. Screens.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Animals that count. Strange shapes. Weird measurements. Paradoxes. Probabilities. Puzzles. Math in art, architecture, music, in the garden, and in other dimensions. PBL math curriculum expert and author Anna Weltman described The Book of Math: Adventures in the World of Shapes and Numbers as a book for kids (ages 7+) "who love gobs and gobs of info." I’d add that grown ups will enjoy reading through it, too. With illustrations by Paul Boston, this book is excellent for revealing how much math permeates every facet of our daily lives.
I bought this book from our local indie bookstore and haven’t been able to reliably find it online. Check in with your local shop or try the two links below.
I bought this book from our local indie bookstore and haven’t been able to reliably find it online. Check in with your local shop or try the two links below.
A game box of 200 cards with 400 questions—true or false, multiple choice, Q&A—accompanied by the smart information and beautiful illustrations that the name Sibley is known for. Birders and bird nerds: Check out Sibley Birder's Trivia.
Kids today might not know much about the self control or patience it takes to shoot and develop just 24 or 36 exposures of film. But they can! These screenless Kodak retro cameras are handsome and affordable—perfect for older kids and tweens who want to explore the world of film (without breaking the bank).
Get this film camera
Get this film camera
For anyone who loves strategy games that celebrate design, mozaa is an excellent option. We found it in a small Netherlands game store a few summers ago (the same trip that we found Iota, another favorite) and recommend it all the time. Like dominoes with a colorful tile twist, it’s small enough to travel with and can build math and visualization skills at any age.
Hand-carved in France, this fantastic set of three bird calls will catch the attention of robins, chickadees, and mallards.
Get these bird calls
Get these bird calls
As someone who grew up before smartphones, I want to make sure my kids stay connected with the outdoors more than screens. Enter The Secret Signs of Nature, a picture book with more than 200 tips for reading the clues and cues that our landscapes and skies provide.
This book is a smart catalyst for seeing nature with new eyes. I also love that it helps kids gain confidence outdoors and practice their observation skills wherever they are.
This book is a smart catalyst for seeing nature with new eyes. I also love that it helps kids gain confidence outdoors and practice their observation skills wherever they are.
Get this at Amazon
And for older readers and grown-ups: The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs.
I love this super small and sweet coin bank in the Finnish Design Shop. A 1970s design, it comes with its own key! Practice saving with this affordable stocking stuffer. It's available in two sizes and lots of colors.
Buy this coin bank
Buy this coin bank
Complete mini polyomino (think Tetris piece) puzzle boards to earn points and pieces. As the puzzles get bigger, it's harder completely them, but you can upgrade pieces or play master actions to complete them over multiple turns. And all the while, your opponents are trying to complete their puzzles, too.
Project L is an engine building strategy game that's great for families. On our list! Get it online or at your local gaming store.
Project L is an engine building strategy game that's great for families. On our list! Get it online or at your local gaming store.
With the well-documented impacts of fast fashion in the news, I’ve been invested in repairing and reusing our family’s clothing. I’ve also been charmed by the craft and able to share the results of my repairs with my kids thanks to Visible Mending: A Modern Guide to Darning, Stitching and Patching the Clothes You Love by Arounna Khounnoraj (aka Bookhou, who I bought a bag from years ago—and it’s still strong, lovely, and my main bag!)
Not only does Khounnoraj share essential mending techniques, but she also includes templates, tips, and 20 projects to try. Repairing socks and jeans? Need. Sashiko? Want. A wonderful gift for any age of sewer or stitcher. There are also a few sewing and dyeing projects that would be great intros for curious or crafty kids and teens.
Not only does Khounnoraj share essential mending techniques, but she also includes templates, tips, and 20 projects to try. Repairing socks and jeans? Need. Sashiko? Want. A wonderful gift for any age of sewer or stitcher. There are also a few sewing and dyeing projects that would be great intros for curious or crafty kids and teens.
I love the colorful collage pages in Knowledge: A Visual Compendium, where each page turn reveals fascinating collections. 🌈 Fish, fungi, rockets, rocks, gemstones, dinosaurs, fossils, balls, planets, cars, moths, knots and so many other cool things, this book showcases discoveries through collections, perfect for all ages who love to collect, sort, and discover our world's wonders. 🔍✨
Get this on Bookshop
Get this on Amazon
Get this on Bookshop
Get this on Amazon
🌕 If you’re looking for a night light for your space enthusiast or professional astronaut, this glowing moon with 16 colors and 4 light modes is an awesome option from The Lawrence, one of our favorite small science museums. Want.
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ If Encyclopedia Brown, Nancy Drew, or Sherlock Holmes started solving one-minute science or math-themed mysteries, this smart series of books would be the result. Each book is full of bite-sized brainteasers that use science or math information to solve problems and strengthen critical thinking skills. The answers are on the backside of each page.
Solve one a night before bed, read them to learn new facts, or use them in classrooms as brain breaks. One-Minute Mysteries is an award-winning sleuthing series that we’re having a lot of fun learning with. (We read it for the first time at a 1st grade slumber part and it was a big hit.)
Solve one a night before bed, read them to learn new facts, or use them in classrooms as brain breaks. One-Minute Mysteries is an award-winning sleuthing series that we’re having a lot of fun learning with. (We read it for the first time at a 1st grade slumber part and it was a big hit.)
This Spirograph Design Tin Set might make a good travel version of Robert Howsare’s Drawing Apparatus or Eske Rex’s Pendulum-Powered Drawing Machine. Math + art = hours of visual exploration.
I played with my spirograph constantly as a kid. My kids—screen-free at the time—drew these iconic mathematical patterns for years, too, so I highly recommended this precision anniversary edition in a collector's tin for ages 8+. Put on a podcast, place a pen in position, and spin the drawing disk for calm and classic afternoon.
I love that these Sea Stamps from Princeton Architectural Press can create so many different seascapes and perhaps inspire some additional drawings. 25 stamps! Two other favorites in the series: A Stamp Bugs set and a town-building set.
From They Might Be Giants: Here Comes Science has both the music and an entire set of animated music videos. They are all family favorites, including this classic. Five years after first adding this to the gift guide, we still watched and listened to this. And even though our littles are teens now, I swear we (okay, maybe I) still break into song here and there when electric cars, elements, or shooting stars come up in conversation.
Buy this album Enjoy this on Spotify
Buy this album Enjoy this on Spotify
I keep finding this Usborne book for ages 10+ off the shelf and all around the house. It’s no wonder with everything in the news: war, human rights, environmental justice, global protests, and historic supreme court confirmation hearings, just to name a few topics. Law for Beginners has provided some basics for my kids so that we can continue the conversations here and there when things come up.
Usborne's entire For Beginners series is read a lot in our house.
Usborne's entire For Beginners series is read a lot in our house.
I had no idea how much information What’s the Point of Math? would have. I thought it might explain some things—telling time, navigating the earth, making music, growing crops, designing and building, keeping track of money, computing—but this book goes all in with more: specific “how to” pages that illuminate math history and demonstrate all sorts of core math concepts in really interesting and relevant ways. Illustrations and short explainers make everything easy to understand.
I highly recommend this book, one of many tools that can help make math more fun and familiar for kids (and adults). We bought the British version (What's the Point of Maths?) to ensure metric first text.
I highly recommend this book, one of many tools that can help make math more fun and familiar for kids (and adults). We bought the British version (What's the Point of Maths?) to ensure metric first text.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Make math fun! And include it throughout the day whenever you can. These can help kids feel more comfortable and confident with numbers. This award-winning Simple Math Bingo game can help with that thanks to these mental math-filled addition and subtraction boards. And the animal illustrations add to the fun and charm. Find it at Amazon or get it directly from woman-owned/mother-run Eeboo.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Horizontal Parenting: How to Entertain Your Kid While Lying Down. I laughed out loud when I saw this title for a book by former Lifehacker Parenting Editor Michelle Woo, and then was charmed by the book's inventiveness once I started reading.
With illustrations by Dasha Tolstikova, this delightful book for exhausted parents is also a seriously useful resource that shares 50 imaginative games / parenting hacks that you can play with toddlers and kids — quality time spent together while you get. some. needed. rest. “No batteries, screens, or endless supply lists needed!”
A perfect gift for new parents and tired not-so-new parents, as well as those of us who aren’t as mobile.
With illustrations by Dasha Tolstikova, this delightful book for exhausted parents is also a seriously useful resource that shares 50 imaginative games / parenting hacks that you can play with toddlers and kids — quality time spent together while you get. some. needed. rest. “No batteries, screens, or endless supply lists needed!”
A perfect gift for new parents and tired not-so-new parents, as well as those of us who aren’t as mobile.
This 3D Masks by OMY in France are both such a cool gifts. I love love love the retro feel of a colorfully illustrated cardboard. I think the panda, tiger, and shark have all sold out, but these two classics—<a href="https://maisonette.sjv.io/2aAbEG" target="_blank"the unicorn and the dino—are still available. Get them while you can!
You had me at "organic cotton," "capacity: 175 lbs," and "ceiling-mounted cocoon in which children can curl up to read, daydream." This indoor hanging nest swing is a Bella Luna bestseller with high reviews for sturdiness and coziness, (and I appreciate buying from a specific toy store for this one so I know it's not a knock off.) It comes in five colors with a patented safety swivel and suspension kit.
Get this at Bella Luna
Get this at Bella Luna
Science + washi tape! Cognitive Surplus has a variety of science-themed tapes that can turn plain wrapped presents into packages from the cosmos, transform notebooks into a deep sea expedition log, or create an amazing space-themed photo gallery on your wall. Each piece of tape adds a scientific spark of wonder and delight.
Get some washi tape
Get some washi tape
Whenever I post educational videos about climate change, I almost always pair it with positive actions, innovative solutions, and problem solving teamwork. There’s a lot of creativity, biomimicry, possibility, postitivity, and imagination mixed in there, too. That’s why I love this new book Beetles For Breakfast by science writer Madeleine Finlay.
Bold and dynamic illustrations by Jisu Choi fill this book with dozens of fascinating, familiar, and sometimes strange ideas and inventions that are designed to fix our climate issues at the breakfast table, in the bathroom, at school, in cities, in the park, on the farm, at the beach, and more.
There’s so much to look at and lots to scan and read further. It’s got our kids’ imaginations going. Plus, the book ends with some ideas for what they (and we) can do right now. An instant fave.
Bold and dynamic illustrations by Jisu Choi fill this book with dozens of fascinating, familiar, and sometimes strange ideas and inventions that are designed to fix our climate issues at the breakfast table, in the bathroom, at school, in cities, in the park, on the farm, at the beach, and more.
There’s so much to look at and lots to scan and read further. It’s got our kids’ imaginations going. Plus, the book ends with some ideas for what they (and we) can do right now. An instant fave.
I love these smart and sustainable supplies for kids, teens, and grownups: Eco-highlighter pencils, found in Beaverton, Oregon’s Stubby Pencil Studios online shop.
Look at that lack of plastic. And these highlighters won’t dry out! We’re excited to support an independent shop and to buy early. These make great stocking stuffers for little kids and students of all ages. Or avoid plastic bobbles and use these as kid party bag stuffers.
Look at that lack of plastic. And these highlighters won’t dry out! We’re excited to support an independent shop and to buy early. These make great stocking stuffers for little kids and students of all ages. Or avoid plastic bobbles and use these as kid party bag stuffers.
Make everyone question if they really know what the colors "sunshine" or "apple" looks like. Hues and Cues turns color-guessing into a tricky challenge where players have to describe shades without using actual color words. It's a quick, quirky, perception-bending game that'll have you rethinking the iconic traffic cone's specific shade of orange and more.
The kids love love love these Graphic Library graphic novels. Super Scientist Max Axiom investigates a wide range of excellent topics like Genes, Electricity, Renewable Energy, Forces & Motion, Global Warming, Viruses, Food Chains, and more. They're on Bookshop, Amazon, and in your local bookstore.
Buy these books
Buy these books
This 19-piece set of colorful blocks is also a puzzle. Use them for free play, recreate the template cards, or figure out how the pieces go together to make eight equally sized cubes... which can be stacked into one larger cube.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 I feel like maybe I don’t have to say much about this beautifully put together DK Smithsonian book about very small things. Look at that cover. The only thing I'll add is that it's a wonderfully heavy book, too.
Water bottles, check. Hats and sunscreen, check. Snacks, check. Pocket microscope... check! I started thinking about adding a pocket microscope in our to-go bag somewhere between seeing the Foldscope and watching Sally Warring’s videos. The Exploratorium Pocket Microscope has an LED light and a 20x-40x zoom. It's good for new perspectives at the park, the beach, on hikes, in the back yard, or in the house, yet it's inexpensive enough to let smaller kids run around with it. And you'll be supporting The Exploratorium, one of our favorites. Level up the observational habits with a notebook to draw findings and take a few notes. Click through to watch a demo video.
Buy this microscope
Buy this microscope
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Play it solo or solve it with a friend: This Sologic Cubologic 9 game for kindergarten up includes 9 retro-style wooden cubes and 30 challenge cards to match, similar to Q-Bitz! Builds observation skills and patience for problem solving. It's from French toy company Djeco.
Genius Square is both a puzzle and a game. It has over 60,000 solutions yet it’s really simple and easy to learn. Roll the coordinate dice, place the round blockers on the grid, and then figure out how the Tetris-style wood pieces fit. THEY ALWAYS FIT. It just might be a challenge to figure out how.
Race each other or play solo. A problem-solving skill-builder for all ages. Look for it in your local game shop.
Get this game
Race each other or play solo. A problem-solving skill-builder for all ages. Look for it in your local game shop.
Get this game
Maddie Moate makes wonderful educational videos, so when I heard she was coming out with a children’s book about eco-stories of every day stuff, I was especially thrilled. These are some of TKSST’s favorite topics, from ancient windmills to different kinds of eco-bricks, elephant poo paper, volcano bread, worm bins, fog catchers, and lots more.
Stuff: Eco-Stories of Everyday Stuff is full of smart, sustainable stories and innovative technologies that demonstrate to kids of all ages how many problem solving possibilities there are in the world. And there’s room for so many more. Moate writes, “We don’t always thing about this story when we make, use, and throw away our stuff. But when we do, when we really think about the way something is made and the effect it could have on our planet, the most ordinary thing can suddenly become... extraordinary.”
A UK-published book, it might be harder to find in local stateside bookshops. Buy it via Moate’s site if you’re in the UK, or...
Stuff: Eco-Stories of Everyday Stuff is full of smart, sustainable stories and innovative technologies that demonstrate to kids of all ages how many problem solving possibilities there are in the world. And there’s room for so many more. Moate writes, “We don’t always thing about this story when we make, use, and throw away our stuff. But when we do, when we really think about the way something is made and the effect it could have on our planet, the most ordinary thing can suddenly become... extraordinary.”
A UK-published book, it might be harder to find in local stateside bookshops. Buy it via Moate’s site if you’re in the UK, or...
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ If you’re looking for a smart game that gets kids (and adults) comfortable with and excited about numbers and math, the award-winning Prime Climb by Math For Love is a great option.
Roll the dice and then use addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division to get your pawns to 101 first. Prime numbers, common multiples, factors, patterns, and strategy are all a part of this game, and the color coded board helps players of all ages learn. Excellent for school or family game night. Find it on Amazon, at your local game or toy shop, or at MathForLove.com.
Roll the dice and then use addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division to get your pawns to 101 first. Prime numbers, common multiples, factors, patterns, and strategy are all a part of this game, and the color coded board helps players of all ages learn. Excellent for school or family game night. Find it on Amazon, at your local game or toy shop, or at MathForLove.com.
Large color illustrations reveal bones, muscles, organs, the nervous system, cells, the large intestine in all of its glory, and all sorts of other vital components. This is the excellent DK Smithsonian Knowledge Encyclopedia Human Body book. It’s an excellent reference book for home or school, for kids or grown ups, but especially for little kids who maybe aren’t as grossed out by body parts yet? Let me know how it goes.
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ Since 1973, how many kids have raced to the mailbox for the arrival of a magazine with their name on it? Cricket launched that year, and their magazines have been going strong ever since.
Spider (ages 6-9) is perfect for newly independent readers—stories, poems, and hands-on activities that make kids want to keep turning pages. Cricket (ages 9-14) goes deeper with fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that spans culture, history, science, and the arts. Both magazines are chock-full of illustrations and come with digital Companion Guides. And don't forget Ladybug (3-6) and Babybug (6 months-3)!
Spider (ages 6-9) is perfect for newly independent readers—stories, poems, and hands-on activities that make kids want to keep turning pages. Cricket (ages 9-14) goes deeper with fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that spans culture, history, science, and the arts. Both magazines are chock-full of illustrations and come with digital Companion Guides. And don't forget Ladybug (3-6) and Babybug (6 months-3)!
Girls Garage in Berkeley is one of the biggest reasons that I was bummed to leave the East Bay. Their building classes for girl-identifying kids, ages 9-18, are empowering and fun, and our carpenter was almost old enough to join when we moved. At least now we can get their new book, Girls Garage: How to Use Any Tool, Tackle Any Project, and Build the World You Want to See. It shares 11 how-to projects, 21 essential skills, 15 real-world stories, and more than 175 illustrated tool guides, an inspiring and useful resource that will be under our tree this year.
Get it directly from Girls Garage, at Bookshop, Amazon, or from Chronicle. And if you’re in the Bay Area, definitely click through to learn more about this wonderful nonprofit workspace.
Get it directly from Girls Garage, at Bookshop, Amazon, or from Chronicle. And if you’re in the Bay Area, definitely click through to learn more about this wonderful nonprofit workspace.
We’ve had this Schleich T-Rex since 2013 (as well as a handful of other awesome Schleich animals and dinosaurs from long before that) and they’re still some of the most played with toys in our house.
And when they’re not being played with, I’m pretty happy to have them laying around or up on a shelf in the dining room. Well-made and really awesome looking, they’re truly classic imaginative play toys that remind me of the figures I used to play with as a kid.
And when they’re not being played with, I’m pretty happy to have them laying around or up on a shelf in the dining room. Well-made and really awesome looking, they’re truly classic imaginative play toys that remind me of the figures I used to play with as a kid.
Get up close and blown apart views at all sorts of objects, including game controllers, 3D printers, matches, gold, spacesuits, and more. I love books like this.
Keep it sustainable, stylish, and science-themed with this stainless steel water bottle that’s chock full of gems and minerals. Whether you take it hiking or to the city’s natural history museum, this flask lets both kids and adults take the planet’s geological wonders to go. Know a geologist or a rockhound with an upcoming birthday?
Cognative Surplus’ is a minority woman owned business with designs that celebrate discovery and education. $5 off with these links.
Get this bottle
Cognative Surplus’ is a minority woman owned business with designs that celebrate discovery and education. $5 off with these links.
Get this bottle
Count them, sort them, add and subtract them, arrange them in geometric designs. These 36 small wooden raindrops were made in Spain and, like little chess pieces, are satisfying to pick up and move around. They're just one of the Grapat Mandala sets, which include yellow beehives, rainbow eggs, icy snowflakes, green trees, and more.
Explore motion, sound, atoms, living things, and electricity, magnetism, and light. Recipes for Wonder: Adventures in Science Round the Kitchen Table is a how-to book of play-filled projects with easy-to-understand scientific explanations. It's by scientist, educator, and TKSST fave Alom Shaha, illuminated with charming illustrations by Emily Robertson.
Smart and engaging, the book begins with notes that help demystify what it means to be a scientist, that advocate asking questions and practicing science as you would practice drawing or playing music, and that support parents in becoming “wondersmiths”—grown-ups who can foster wonder. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t know any science yet. You soon will."
As a fan of Shaha’s science videos, I knew we’d like this DIY science book before we got it, but we really, really like it. We'll be conducting these experiments all year long, and are making it our go-to birthday gift for friends this year.
Smart and engaging, the book begins with notes that help demystify what it means to be a scientist, that advocate asking questions and practicing science as you would practice drawing or playing music, and that support parents in becoming “wondersmiths”—grown-ups who can foster wonder. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t know any science yet. You soon will."
As a fan of Shaha’s science videos, I knew we’d like this DIY science book before we got it, but we really, really like it. We'll be conducting these experiments all year long, and are making it our go-to birthday gift for friends this year.
Alom Shaha’s and Emily Robertson’s new book Mr. Shaha’s Marvellous Machines: Adventure in Making Round the Kitchen Table just arrived in the mail! Making our own toys and learning science along the way? Yes, please! What a fun summer activity book for kids.
I really appreciate that all the supplies are likely already in your house. ✂️♻️🧵📦 And I love that the book is filled with suggested questions that can help kids (and their grownups) practice flexible thinking and find different ways to approach challenges. Fun, cheap, and smart. It’s also an awesome follow up to their book Mr. Shaha’s Recipes for Wonder.
I really appreciate that all the supplies are likely already in your house. ✂️♻️🧵📦 And I love that the book is filled with suggested questions that can help kids (and their grownups) practice flexible thinking and find different ways to approach challenges. Fun, cheap, and smart. It’s also an awesome follow up to their book Mr. Shaha’s Recipes for Wonder.
This rubberwood owl stacker from Tender Leaf Toys will engage ages 18+ months and add charm to any shelf. Made with reclaimed rubberwood from the latex industry and hand-painted with non-toxic paints.
The concept of Snacking Cakes—cakes that are quick to make with one bowl “and no fuss”—is not only great for adults; it’s perfect for kids. It’s so accessible and delivers some semi-instant gratification.
But I also love that this simplicity is balanced with a few unexpected combos... Nectarine and Cornmeal Upside-Down Cake, Lemony Current and Rosemary Cake, Chocolate and Zucchini Cake, Gingery Sweet Potato Cake. Adventurous yet simple. That's a combo that makes it easy for us, kids and adults alike, to try a few new flavors together.
This highly-rated book is back-ordered on Bookshop and Amazon. Find it at Penguin Randomhouse or your local indie bookstore.
Get this book
But I also love that this simplicity is balanced with a few unexpected combos... Nectarine and Cornmeal Upside-Down Cake, Lemony Current and Rosemary Cake, Chocolate and Zucchini Cake, Gingery Sweet Potato Cake. Adventurous yet simple. That's a combo that makes it easy for us, kids and adults alike, to try a few new flavors together.
This highly-rated book is back-ordered on Bookshop and Amazon. Find it at Penguin Randomhouse or your local indie bookstore.
Get this book
Add Poop Bingo to TKSST’s list of poop-themed videos and goods, then celebrate all kinds of poop--an unappreciated information, healthy soil, and giggle resource--by giving this game as a gift. Find it on Bookshop, Amazon, or your local game shop, along with this Who Pooped? matching and memory game.
Get this game
Get this game
I’m tempted to get this Coastal Creatures set for the puffin alone, but the entire collection is a stand-out gift for anyone who loves animals.
These renewable rubber tree wood animals from Tender Leaf Toys are really special gifts that are beautifully crafted for display or imaginative play.
They also have similar Dinosaur, African, Farm, and Woodland Animal sets for ages 3+.
These renewable rubber tree wood animals from Tender Leaf Toys are really special gifts that are beautifully crafted for display or imaginative play.
They also have similar Dinosaur, African, Farm, and Woodland Animal sets for ages 3+.
How does a bowling alley work? How about carousels? What’s inside a baseball or a tennis ball? Inner Workings shares cross-section illustrations of toilets, ice cream machines, foods, Rubiks cubes, bee hives, and a bunch of other items. A curiosity jumpstarter that can get kids asking about the inner workings of everything around them.
I love games that include lesser-known creatures like the giraffe weevil or the wild-tailed manakin. Add in some wonderful illustrations and the chance to play with the entire family and I’m in. This is I Saw It First: Jungle and it’s like Spot It, but even better because it has over 300 jungle animals.
Add water bears and barreleyes, just to name two. I Saw It First has an Ocean version, as well. Attention, Octonauts fans!
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ Rush Hour is basically a modern classic. And it may look like it’s only for kids, but the toughest levels of this award-winning logic game can seriously challenge grown ups, too. Get the red car out of 40 different traffic jammed parking lot configurations! Teaches problem solving and patience, and it's MESH Accredited, a recognition for strengthening kids’ mental, emotional, and social health skills through intentional play.
Bonus: There's also Rush Hour Deluxe and Rush Hour Shift for 2 players.
Buy this at Amazon
Bonus: There's also Rush Hour Deluxe and Rush Hour Shift for 2 players.
Buy this at Amazon
Celebrate your favorite books with Jane Mount’s whimsical book pins. There are lots of new ones in stock at her shop, including my kids’ favorites: Matilda, Watership Down, The Hobbit, and Harry Potter.
Buy these pins
Buy these pins
Start 'em young: This beautifully illustrated book for 5 - 7 year olds dives into nature's basics in an engaging and wonder-filled way. Pollination, the water cycle, seed dispersal, hibernation, symbiosis, the list goes on and on. Nature Explained is a fantastic companion book to so many videos on TKSST.com. And be sure to take it on your nature walks and hikes.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has been one of our favorite video-makers since TKSST began. That's why it's awesome to see Birds of Western America and Birds of Eastern/Central North America, two beautiful 1,000 piece puzzles. If you can't find them at your local game or toy shop, buy them directly from the New York Puzzle Company
My mother buys each of her grandkids a blank sketchbook every year for Christmas. And while this wasn't always their favorite present when they were little, now they're both quite fond of their sketchbooks, a series that chronicle their drawings from the last decade.
No matter which brands you get, get kids blank journals and sketchbooks! And go for the bound ones! (They also have wirebound.) But! It doesn't have to be expensive! We get our hardbound, 110-page sketchbooks at Blick. They come in two sizes, and right now they're under $10 and $15 respectively.
No matter which brands you get, get kids blank journals and sketchbooks! And go for the bound ones! (They also have wirebound.) But! It doesn't have to be expensive! We get our hardbound, 110-page sketchbooks at Blick. They come in two sizes, and right now they're under $10 and $15 respectively.
A friend recently asked me what puzzle I’d recommend for 3-year-olds, so I asked my kids which toddler puzzle they missed most. The answer from our 10-year-old: The giant dinosaur puzzle... by far.”
If you're looking for an affordable blank, dotted, grid, or lined notebook that's a bit smaller and more refined for the office, class, or to do lists, these are the notebooks I've been using for the last two years to doodle, sketch, and organize my thoughts and tasks. They've got hardcovers, a ribbon bookmark, and elastic closure band, and they come in a variety of colors, so you can pick your favorites or organize by topic or date. (I'd send you to buy on their site, but their site links to Amazon.)
This smart Colour Me Happy snake has been in the gift guide for years. Made from renewable rubber tree wood by Tender Leaf Toys puts a twist on color and shape matching by placing the shapes on the underside of each piece, exercising kid-visualization skills. The rainbow colors look great when it's put together, too. Find it with so many other lovely gift ideas at Maisonette.
Years ago, the kids started animated conversations about cave art from thousands of years ago, “the Prisoner’s Dilemma,” how the days of the week were named, and how to make a hole in your hand using a piece of paper. The subjects seemed out-of-nowhere until I discovered them each, one by one, in our issues of Aquila magazine.
Published in England for ages 8-13, Aquila (pronounced Ak-wi-lah) entertains and educates readers in 84 countries, and it’s clear why: Their pages are bursting with details from history and science that feel a lot like insider information… smart stories, secrets, puzzles, codes, DIY projects, and tons of facts, all accompanied with bold and textured illustrations. And, like all things we love, it’s fun for adults to read, too. Highly recommended.
Published in England for ages 8-13, Aquila (pronounced Ak-wi-lah) entertains and educates readers in 84 countries, and it’s clear why: Their pages are bursting with details from history and science that feel a lot like insider information… smart stories, secrets, puzzles, codes, DIY projects, and tons of facts, all accompanied with bold and textured illustrations. And, like all things we love, it’s fun for adults to read, too. Highly recommended.
Made from chemical-free wood and water based paints,this stacking rocket is a beautifully-designed motor-skill building toy. And it has shapes and an astronaut hidden inside.
Get this at Smallable
Get this at Amazon
Get this at Smallable
Get this at Amazon
A warm and wonderful performance for the entire family, this engaging audiobook version of Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White is brought to life by an ensemble cast of narrators led by Meryl Streep. Tender and entertaining, this 2019 recording is a treat for all ages. (There's also a new deluxe edition of the Newbery Honor Award Winner.)
Get this audiobook
Get this audiobook
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Slinky! The original metal spring toy, made in the USA for 70 years. These springy toys are full of playful physics experiences and are so inexpensive that you can buy them as party favor gift (and avoid all of those traditional little plastic gift bag bits).
Buy this toy
Buy this toy
Trees, Leaves, Flowers and Seeds: A Visual Encyclopedia of the Plant Kingdom is a gem. Plants that mimic other things (like the monkey-face orchid) and learning about the different ways plants disperse their seed? I'm in. As usual with this series, the photos are stunning, but they also know how to present the world in ways that get my kids studying all the details. Top notch.
Areaware's Palimals are charming wooden animals with magnetic hands that can hold onto each other or stick to a locker or fridge. Pink monkey, orange lion, blue mouse, pink pig, white sheep, green frog, and yellow giraffe. These collectibles celebrate friendship and connection while encouraging creative play for kids 4 and up.
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ Tiny Polka Dot is a wonderful game—it’s really 16 games—that can help families incorporate math and logic into playtime. We started playing it with our then-7-year-old, but it has short games for kiddos as young as three! The sturdy cards are covered with brightly colored dots and numerals that lead them into thinking about numbers in different ways... arranging, adding, matching, and more.
I love this little box of games because it helps little kids feel capable and eager about math. No flashcards. No pressure. Just game time. It’s another excellent tool from the team at Math For Love (makers of Prime Climb) who are transforming how math is taught and learned. Wonderful for classrooms, too.
Another reason why I love Math For Love: You can buy a pdf of the game for $5 on their site. Print your own cards for class or at home. Or find the packaged version at your local game or toy shop.
I love this little box of games because it helps little kids feel capable and eager about math. No flashcards. No pressure. Just game time. It’s another excellent tool from the team at Math For Love (makers of Prime Climb) who are transforming how math is taught and learned. Wonderful for classrooms, too.
Another reason why I love Math For Love: You can buy a pdf of the game for $5 on their site. Print your own cards for class or at home. Or find the packaged version at your local game or toy shop.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 This is one of those books that I bought within a minute or two of perusing its pages. Another gem from Wide Eyed Books, The School of Numbers presents key math concepts through the lens of an intergalactic journey. Shapes, fractions, percentages, graphs and charts, temperatures, statistics, time, speed, maps, prime numbers, and more are covered in 40 engaging lessons. A bit of history, practical (space-themed) applications, and activities are mixed in, too.
Clear, smart, and full of play for ages 7+. Also: Sneaky shortcuts, number tricks, and robots. Math = fun. Yes, yes, yes.
Buy this book
Clear, smart, and full of play for ages 7+. Also: Sneaky shortcuts, number tricks, and robots. Math = fun. Yes, yes, yes.
Buy this book
Space enthusiasts, designers, explorers, engineers, and paper crafters! Space Racers: Make Your Own Paper Rockets is a box set of 8 historically accurate press-out paper rocket models, plus 2 blank paper rockets that you can design and build yourself. It also includes an instructions booklet and a Rocket Fact Files book that’s chock full of information, diagrams, and rocket science. A really impressive gift for ages 8 to adult. We got these a few years ago and my kids loved putting every single one of them together. And now that my youngest is older, she wants a new box kit to do them again.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Yahtzee was one of three games that were in my grandmother’s apartment. (The other two were dominoes and a deck of cards.) She and I used to play with a set that looked exactly like this one, and now we’ve started playing this game with our kids after dinner. Smart, simple, classic, and fun.
If you’ve already got a handful of dice, keep it super simple and just buy this redesigned score pad.
If you’ve already got a handful of dice, keep it super simple and just buy this redesigned score pad.
Aloe, the hero of resourcefulness and resilience; pineapple, the hero of flavor and friendship; mint, the hero of aroma and remedy; kale, the hero of vitamins and vitality. Grow: A Family Guide to Plants and How to Grow Them shares step by step instructions for growing 15 plants and fungi, and it's not the usual cast of characters. Written by horticulturalist Riz Reyes with illustrations by Sara Boccaccini Meadows. MAN, children's books are so lovely these days.
Polaris, the hero of direction and dependability, and the moon, the hero of rhythm and renewal? Yes please: I want more themes and quirky titles from this series. Sara Boccaccini Meadows also illustrates this beautiful family guide to the night sky: Glow, written by NASA science writer Noelia González. 🤩
Polaris, the hero of direction and dependability, and the moon, the hero of rhythm and renewal? Yes please: I want more themes and quirky titles from this series. Sara Boccaccini Meadows also illustrates this beautiful family guide to the night sky: Glow, written by NASA science writer Noelia González. 🤩
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ A marble run. A mechanical computer. A logic puzzle kit. An award-winning analog toy. The Turing Tumble is all of these things and it’s all really fun.
Solve 60 challenging logic puzzles within Turing Tumble’s step-by-step sci-fi story, or free play to create marble runs and patterns. With 30 Ramps, 10 Bits, 8 Gear bits, 6 Crossovers, 4 Gears, 3 Interceptors and 20 red and blue marbles each, the possible combinations feel endless. And it's so satisfying to watch the marbles run their course and trigger new computing cycles.
My kids (ages 8 and 11 when this was first published) have spent hours and hours with the Turing Tumble since it arrived (and we adults have played a lot with it, too). What I love: Troubleshooting and persistence are built into the process. And when they design a successful algorithm, often after many tries, they're sceaming "It worked!" and bouncing around the house. They’re playing, but they’re also developing skills in logic, computational and critical thinking, spatial reasoning, programming mathematical functions, and so much more. All without a screen.
Turing Tumble is a really well-designed and incredibly smart experience for at home or in the classroom, and with so many piece and pattern options, it's even more dynamic than Mindware's Marble Circuit Deluxe. Highly recommended.
Buy this analog computer
Solve 60 challenging logic puzzles within Turing Tumble’s step-by-step sci-fi story, or free play to create marble runs and patterns. With 30 Ramps, 10 Bits, 8 Gear bits, 6 Crossovers, 4 Gears, 3 Interceptors and 20 red and blue marbles each, the possible combinations feel endless. And it's so satisfying to watch the marbles run their course and trigger new computing cycles.
My kids (ages 8 and 11 when this was first published) have spent hours and hours with the Turing Tumble since it arrived (and we adults have played a lot with it, too). What I love: Troubleshooting and persistence are built into the process. And when they design a successful algorithm, often after many tries, they're sceaming "It worked!" and bouncing around the house. They’re playing, but they’re also developing skills in logic, computational and critical thinking, spatial reasoning, programming mathematical functions, and so much more. All without a screen.
Turing Tumble is a really well-designed and incredibly smart experience for at home or in the classroom, and with so many piece and pattern options, it's even more dynamic than Mindware's Marble Circuit Deluxe. Highly recommended.
Buy this analog computer
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ I bought this Manhattan Toy Skwish Activity Toy in May 2011. Both of my kids played with (and gnawed on) it quite a bit, but it still looked pretty new in 2016 when we passed it along to a baby cousin.
I’ve since learned that the Skwish is a tensegrity structure, a mid-20th-century design concept and scientific principle that mixes geometry with tension and compression. This award-winning toy has a whole. other. level. going on.
It comes in a light wood, dark wood, and pastel colors, too.
Buy this toy
I’ve since learned that the Skwish is a tensegrity structure, a mid-20th-century design concept and scientific principle that mixes geometry with tension and compression. This award-winning toy has a whole. other. level. going on.
It comes in a light wood, dark wood, and pastel colors, too.
Buy this toy
I bought this geologic time mug at our local science museum to bone up on the names and order of these eons, epochs, eras, and events in the geologic time scale. 💀🦖 Also: Rainbow. 🌈
And then I saw my then-7-year-old studying it on the kitchen counter—reading the different words, following the colors around the mug’s curve, looking at the drawings—for quite a while. Now I use it every morning... yet another effective way to keep smart information front and center in their world and mine.
It has sold out where I bought it but you can still buy directly from The Unemployed Philosophers Guild.
And then I saw my then-7-year-old studying it on the kitchen counter—reading the different words, following the colors around the mug’s curve, looking at the drawings—for quite a while. Now I use it every morning... yet another effective way to keep smart information front and center in their world and mine.
It has sold out where I bought it but you can still buy directly from The Unemployed Philosophers Guild.
Inspire new ways of note-taking, drawing, writing, and more with Cognitive Surplus' Dark Matter Notebooks; they're full of 100% recycled, extra thick black paper. This orbiting Earth cover and this observatory cover are probably my favorites, but there are lots of options.
Get these notebooks
Make sure you get their Supernova Gel Pens for colors that pop off the dark pages. (They have other gel pen color options, too.)
Get these notebooks
Make sure you get their Supernova Gel Pens for colors that pop off the dark pages. (They have other gel pen color options, too.)
The kids had Uncle Milton’s Moon In My Room as their night light for years. They watched the moon wax and wane along with its counterpart in the sky, and it has always been a fun connection to the outdoors while they were warmly tucked in their beds. It's led to quite a few conversations, too. Soft light. Detailed surface. Not just for kids.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 I love these adorable DIY wooden robot greeting cards. We get them for kid birthday parties, and frankly, it’s hard to not buy a second one for ourselves. Why? They come as a greeting (Happy Birthday, Thank you, Congratulations, etc) on a flat wooden card, ready to be assembled into a robot by whoever they’re given to. Their bot parts are die-cut from the letters in the greeting, and they have mini-cards that look like the one they were popped from. Such a sweet message reminder once assembled, and so fun to make... for adults, too.
Find them at Magnote, Giant Robot, at your local book or stationary store, or on Amazon below.
Find them at Magnote, Giant Robot, at your local book or stationary store, or on Amazon below.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Do salamanders fart? Do sea cucumbers fart? Do birds fart? Do rhinos fart? Do blue whales fart? 🐋💨 The answers are in this book: Does It Fart?: The Definitive Field Guide to Animal Flatulence.
Silly? Totally. Yet informative for all ages. And it’s a New York Times Bestseller that’s co-written by two PhD students specializing in zoology and biology. So, facts! 🐘💨 Bonus: Fart puns in the top Amazon review.
Buy this book
🔥POPULAR 🔥 From the same authors, check out Believe It or Snot: The Definitive Field Guide to Earth's Slimy Creatures. A delightful gift for anyone who wants to know more about "80 organisms that ooze, drip, dribble, and splatter."
Add True or Poo?: The Definitive Field Guide to Filthy Animal Facts and Falsehoods to complete the series.
Buy this book
Silly? Totally. Yet informative for all ages. And it’s a New York Times Bestseller that’s co-written by two PhD students specializing in zoology and biology. So, facts! 🐘💨 Bonus: Fart puns in the top Amazon review.
Buy this book
🔥POPULAR 🔥 From the same authors, check out Believe It or Snot: The Definitive Field Guide to Earth's Slimy Creatures. A delightful gift for anyone who wants to know more about "80 organisms that ooze, drip, dribble, and splatter."
Add True or Poo?: The Definitive Field Guide to Filthy Animal Facts and Falsehoods to complete the series.
Buy this book
Although Disney titles aren’t often in our repertoire of recommendations, this Moana audiobook from Disney Press has stood out as a wonderful addition to our audiobook collection. Self-described “Maori girl of Ngati Hine descent,” New Zealander and actress Rena Owen brings authenticity and gravitas to her narration. It’s also enriching to hear different tellings of familiar stories, a spark for thinking about characters and their adventures in new ways. The whole family has enjoyed this well-paced and delightfully stripped down version. Recommended.
Buy this audiobook
Buy this audiobook
I love how many chain reaction building kits are available for kids now, and when they make dings, and drings, and boums, all the more satisfying and fun. Djeco is one of my favorite brands and they have multiple Zig & Go Action-Reaction building game sets. This music one is probably my favorite.
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ This award-winning Hape Dynamo Kid's Wooden Domino Set is an excellent way for kids to start creating their own chain reactions. Along with 100 colorful wooden dominoes, it includes a bridge, a bell, a ball on rails, and other fun tricks that can be mixed in with chain reaction building stuff around the house. A smart, sustainably-made gift that encourages hands-on experiences with engineering, problem-solving and persistence... at a great price, too.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 A wide range of baked goods—classics mixed with must-try flavors: Sarah Kieffer's 100 Cookies is a one-stop-shop of treat-baking recipes. Sugar-crusted sablés with a perfect crunch, smoky butterscotch cookies, Danish pear-apple bars, white chocolate brownies with toasted sesame caramel, crème brûlée cheesecake bars, and so many more. We have a weekend baking to-do list now.
I also love having a physical book that my kids can peruse and choose from, especially when everything is on screen these days.
This highly-rated best-seller goes right next to our Snacking Cakes recipes. Find 100 Cookies on Bookshop.org, Amazon, and your local bookstore.
Get this book
I also love having a physical book that my kids can peruse and choose from, especially when everything is on screen these days.
This highly-rated best-seller goes right next to our Snacking Cakes recipes. Find 100 Cookies on Bookshop.org, Amazon, and your local bookstore.
Get this book
I’m a huge fan of Uncle Goose blocks because they surround little kids with smart information at a young age, and as those kids grow, the blocks keep teaching. We still play with their periodic table and Japanese language sets. I’m tempted to add these to our stack...
Uncle Goose has added 16 Constellation Blocks to their super smart collection of handcrafted educational sets. Block faces include constellations shown with and without lines, constellation symbols, names, hemispheres, and scale of magnitude. And as always, they’re printed with non-toxic, child-safe inks on sustainable Michigan basswood.
There are planet blocks, too! Awesome gifts for astronomy-loving families.
Uncle Goose has added 16 Constellation Blocks to their super smart collection of handcrafted educational sets. Block faces include constellations shown with and without lines, constellation symbols, names, hemispheres, and scale of magnitude. And as always, they’re printed with non-toxic, child-safe inks on sustainable Michigan basswood.
There are planet blocks, too! Awesome gifts for astronomy-loving families.
We did not sleep well for the first 7 or 8 years of parenthood. No doubt Sleep, A Kid’s Guide to the Science of Slumber could have helped the whole family better understand how sleep works, why it’s important for our brains and bodies, why we get nightmares (and that weird falling feeling!), and more.
From the book description: "Sleeping is as necessary as food and water for a person to survive and thrive, and kids need to know more about it." Yes! We would have loved this conversation starter from Bushel and Peck Books during those little kid years! It comes out in Jan 2024, but Amazon seems to have some for 2023 delivery?! 🤔
From the book description: "Sleeping is as necessary as food and water for a person to survive and thrive, and kids need to know more about it." Yes! We would have loved this conversation starter from Bushel and Peck Books during those little kid years! It comes out in Jan 2024, but Amazon seems to have some for 2023 delivery?! 🤔
TKSST has long celebrated the magic and mechanics of animation, from early optical toys to modern digital techniques. This charming praxinoscope viewer, inspired by Emile Reynaud's 1877 invention, brings pre-cinema animation history to life in your home or classroom using mirrors and spinning images. Built in Spain and packed with 19 different character slides to play with, it's a fun hands-on way to experience the kind of optical magic that paved the way for modern movies.
Japanese Paper Toys Kit, the punch out, fold, and play paper toy kit above, and Karakuri: How to Make Mechanical Paper Models That Move are two awesome DIY products that mix papercraft and physics with play. In fact, they're some of the most popular recommendations made on TKSST.
Make 24 classic Japanese projects with 16 pre-cut cardstock characters, including a bobbing bird, a charming elephant, a walking ladybug, sumo wrestlers, robots, tumblers, racers, and more. Unique and fun to assemble... then you can play with them!
Make 24 classic Japanese projects with 16 pre-cut cardstock characters, including a bobbing bird, a charming elephant, a walking ladybug, sumo wrestlers, robots, tumblers, racers, and more. Unique and fun to assemble... then you can play with them!
Amazing Visual Math is labeled as being for 8 to 12 year olds, but it might make even more of an impact on 5 to 7 year olds. With over 50 interactive pop-ups, tabs, flaps, fold-outs, and more, this book helps make math vocabulary and simple concepts familiar, engaging, and hands-on.
The Tree of Life is on deck as our next family puzzle, and like with so many Eurographics puzzles, we’ll be learning a lot as we piece together each section. Well-made, smart, and educational.
These American Sign Language blocks are not only modern, beautifully designed, and made with sustainable materials, but they can also introduce or support familiarity with the American Fingerspelled Alphabet.
We’re huge fans of Uncle Goose blocks, including their sets for Hebrew, Russian, Hindi, Arabic, Braille, guitar chords, bugs, and many more... we've had a lot of impromptu kid conversations thanks to their Periodic Table and Japanese blocks. Highly recommended.
We’re huge fans of Uncle Goose blocks, including their sets for Hebrew, Russian, Hindi, Arabic, Braille, guitar chords, bugs, and many more... we've had a lot of impromptu kid conversations thanks to their Periodic Table and Japanese blocks. Highly recommended.
A wonderful addition to our home library: The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species from around the World, a brilliant entomological compendium of diverse and surprising larvae from University Of Chicago Press. We love their stuff, including The Book of Frogs, Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises, and The Book of Beetles.
Kazoo Magazine is made for girls ages 5 to 12 who “aren’t afraid to make some noise” ⚡️⚡️⚡️ and it celebrates them "for being strong, smart, fierce and, above all, true to themselves." We first received Kazoo a few years ago and were immediately obsessed, but recent issues have been even better, chock-full of smart stories, eye-opening activities, and curiosity-piquing themes.
One of our favorite things: The Secret Code page in every issue. They exercised our kids’ problem-solving skills while revealing quotes from incredible women like Maya Angelou, Eleanor Roosevelt, Zaha Hadid, Helen Keller, and more.
Smart and meaningful drawing prompts, questionnaires, word searches, mazes, illuminating crafts, illustrated stories, and fascinating information.
Get this magazine
One of our favorite things: The Secret Code page in every issue. They exercised our kids’ problem-solving skills while revealing quotes from incredible women like Maya Angelou, Eleanor Roosevelt, Zaha Hadid, Helen Keller, and more.
Smart and meaningful drawing prompts, questionnaires, word searches, mazes, illuminating crafts, illustrated stories, and fascinating information.
Get this magazine
NEW ⬆️ Not into playing a game about wealth hoarding? The Audubon has transformed Monopoly (which was already transformed) into an officially licensed birdwatching game. Collect the most bird-sightings to win.
Audubon artwork is all over the board and cards, but I'm completely charmed by the six pewter playing pieces: a duck, hummingbird, heron, owl, eagle, and binoculars.
Audubon artwork is all over the board and cards, but I'm completely charmed by the six pewter playing pieces: a duck, hummingbird, heron, owl, eagle, and binoculars.
Patrick Dougherty’s woven sculptures are incredible blends of nature, architecture, and imagination. Intertwined from saplings, the extraordinary nest-like structures are temporary pieces, destined to return to nature over time. In person, they are both raw and intricate, natural yet sculpted, and so fun to play in... forest forts where make believe comes alive no matter your age. Excellent DIY inspiration, too.
If you have one of these works near you, be sure to visit, and until then, enjoy Stickwork, Dougherty's first monograph.
Buy this book
If you have one of these works near you, be sure to visit, and until then, enjoy Stickwork, Dougherty's first monograph.
Buy this book
When I was little, my grandfather’s original copies of the classic Golden Nature Guides, circa 1949, were my favorite books. Perfectly pocket-sized for smaller hands, they organized the planet with beautiful mid-century illustrations and easy-to-browse information.
Now, these updated editions are beginning a new mini science library in our home: Butterflies and Moths, Geology, Trees, Rocks, Gems, & Minerals, Insects, Weather, Reptiles and Amphibians, Spiders & Their Kin, Stars, and so many more. Pack them in small satchels for nature walks, camping trips, and tree house reading.
Now, these updated editions are beginning a new mini science library in our home: Butterflies and Moths, Geology, Trees, Rocks, Gems, & Minerals, Insects, Weather, Reptiles and Amphibians, Spiders & Their Kin, Stars, and so many more. Pack them in small satchels for nature walks, camping trips, and tree house reading.
A pencil with a second life as a plant! When your Sprout Pencil gets too short to write with, plant it in wet soil and watch it grow into basil, cilantro, dill, mint, parsley, rosemary, sage, or thyme. Two phases of kid patience-building, perfect for weekend projects and kitchen windowsills. Find them on Amazon or shop smaller and more sustainably at Earth Hero.
Made from stainless steel with little PVC boots, Kikkerland wind up toys are super fun for all ages. See their springs and gears! Zoom around with this Pintacuda Windup, above.
Find your favorite collectable kinetic critter for a kid gift (or your desk): The Bonga Windup crawls over things, and Cranky holds photos, postcards, and notes as it skitters.
Buy this toy
And my kids recommend the Sparklz Wind Up Gear Box, above, because it gives off sparks! Find all of these at Kikkerland.
Find your favorite collectable kinetic critter for a kid gift (or your desk): The Bonga Windup crawls over things, and Cranky holds photos, postcards, and notes as it skitters.
Buy this toy
And my kids recommend the Sparklz Wind Up Gear Box, above, because it gives off sparks! Find all of these at Kikkerland.
Usborne's 100 Things to Know About series is, by far, my kids' favorite. When they were little, they'd read them all afternoon; these days they peruse them over cereal. And I don’t know how many times a random topic has come up and my youngest has run to these books to share a page of related information.
100 Things to Know About the Unknown came out stateside on Dec 5th, and based on how much our UK copy has been read and reviewed over the last few months, I can absolutely recommend it.
100 Things to Know About the Unknown came out stateside on Dec 5th, and based on how much our UK copy has been read and reviewed over the last few months, I can absolutely recommend it.
While there's a wee bit of challenge in taking the six identical wooden pieces apart, this handsome puzzle is really about figuring out how to put them back together. A classic Burr or 3D interlocking puzzle from Monkey Pod Games.
And if the kids get frustrated, leave the star out for them to try again later. It makes for a handsome objet d'art in the meantime.
Buy this puzzle
And if the kids get frustrated, leave the star out for them to try again later. It makes for a handsome objet d'art in the meantime.
Buy this puzzle
Imagine opening the tops of sixty-five different Play-Doh colors in 1-ounce containers. Or get 36 3-ounce containers of rainbow colors for a total of six pounds of Play-Doh. Either is perfect for party favor bags, stocking stuffers, or hours and hours of creativity.
If you like games full of strategy, patterns, and visual perception, you’re going to love Iota – The Great Big Game in The Teeny-Weeny Tin. It’s like Scrabble + SET: “Add cards to a grid, making sure that color, shape and number are either all the same or all different across the line.” Smart, small, and a great gift. We've thrown this into our travel bags for years.
Buy this game
Buy this game
Puzzles over 1000 pieces can be a tough climb for smaller kiddos, but this beautiful Eurographics Gemstones Puzzle made it easy for our youngest (4 year old at the time) to participate in family puzzle time thanks to the unique colors and textures of the stones. We also all learned a lot from the printed info that helped us identify non-gemstone puzzle pieces.
Puzzles are also a super effective way to absorb information as you put them together. Next on our list: EuroGraphics Minerals of the World. Look at those crystals.
Buy this gemstones puzzle
Puzzles are also a super effective way to absorb information as you put them together. Next on our list: EuroGraphics Minerals of the World. Look at those crystals.
Buy this gemstones puzzle
Teach kids about the center of mass as it moves around during this fun and sturdy game for adults and kids younger than the 8+ label. (It’s great for 4 year olds, too!) If you’ve seen Suspend from Melissa & Doug but have yet to play, definitely consider it. Kids can learn physics & patience. Build cooperatively or competitively. Pack it for a holiday trip.
Schleich animals are sturdy, detailed, high quality, and realistic. From sloths to llamas to elephants, gorillas, tigers, polar bears, this stunning blue whale, and our favorite T-Rex that we've had since 2013, and more. Our Schleich animals that have gone on wild adventures in our back yard, and are super charming sitting around the house. Highly recommended.
Buy these animals
Buy these animals
🔥POPULAR 🔥 I rode around in Radio Flyer’s Red Wagon when I was a kid, and used it to haul all sorts of stuff around as I got older... stuffed animals, mud bricks, leaf collections, my dog, my rabbits. Lucky for today's kids, this iconic toy is still around and celebrating its 100th anniversary. Get the wagon above or level up with the All-Terrain Steel & Wood Wagon. An absolute classic.
We've been getting Zoobooks for years and recommend them highly. Filled with facts and detailed illustrations, often showing the featured animal's underlying muscle structure, Zoobooks is a kids' magazine that isn't cutesy; it's curious and informative. Both our (then) 3 and 6 year olds got completely immersed in these on arrival, and returned to favorite issues within the growing collection for years.
Now that our kids are getting older, the Chibitronics Chibi Lights Circuit Stickers STEM Starter Kit is on our list... excellent for anyone who wants to get their kids (or themselves) into more STEM and STEAM exploration. The kit includes peel-and-stick LEDs, 15 feet of copper tape, 2 coin cell batteries, 2 binder clips, and an activity sketchbook where you make and keep your five introductory circuit projects, your drawings, and any circuits that you design on your own. No soldering, plugging wires, or alligator clips required. Get them on Amazon or at Chibitronics
Buy this kit
If you already know about making circuits or want to expand your projects, be sure to get the Chibitronics Circuit Stickers Megapacks and some copper tape. (We’ve been wanting to wire up our cardboard doll house with lights. Yay!) They come in white or in a red, yellow, and blue.
Buy these stickers
Buy this kit
If you already know about making circuits or want to expand your projects, be sure to get the Chibitronics Circuit Stickers Megapacks and some copper tape. (We’ve been wanting to wire up our cardboard doll house with lights. Yay!) They come in white or in a red, yellow, and blue.
Buy these stickers
Where does our food come from and what foods did we not know we could eat? Growing edible flowers can be a surprising new way to learn about food, farming, baking, botany, and more. These 8 Edible Wildflower Seed Packets from Seed Needs include Tiger Eye Marigold, Swiss Giants Pansy, Johnny Jump Up, Wild Bee Balm, Jewel Nasturtium, Common Chives, Borage and Pacific Beauty Calendula... annual and perennial flowers that can be eaten.
Use your homegrown 🌼🌺🌸 to decorate salads and cupcakes.
Use your homegrown 🌼🌺🌸 to decorate salads and cupcakes.
Seeds are incredible -- their capabilities, their designs, their importance to us as humans -- and in this collaboration between artist Rob Kesseler and seed morphologist Wolfgang Stuppy of the Millennium Seed Bank at the Royal Botanic Gardens, we get to see seeds in entirely new ways. Seeds: Time Capsules of Life is full of close-up photographs and scanning electron micrographs that are both strange and beautiful. Note: There's also an oversize edition from 2006.
Also in this book set: Pollen and Fruit.
Buy this book
Also in this book set: Pollen and Fruit.
Buy this book
⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ A modern go-kart or a next-level PlasmaCar (but without the wear and tear on shoes), the EzyRoller curves, spins, and weaves across flat open spaces. Great for playgrounds. “Not a luge, not a bike, not a scooter, the EzyRoller moves like a snake.” Hang on or go hands-free.
Check out the highly-rated EzyRoller Classic Ride On or go for the EzyRoller Drifter X for bigger kids & small adults. It has patented back swivel wheels that let you drift around corners, and caught our eye as a TOTY 2020 finalist. They have a Mini for ages 2-5, too.
Buy this toy
Check out the highly-rated EzyRoller Classic Ride On or go for the EzyRoller Drifter X for bigger kids & small adults. It has patented back swivel wheels that let you drift around corners, and caught our eye as a TOTY 2020 finalist. They have a Mini for ages 2-5, too.
Buy this toy
NEW ⬆️ Lord of Maps Isaac Dushku has been selling his state, country, and fictional map drawings online for a few years. And now he's got a new set of classic stamps—an expansion pack of castles, villages, towers, and a few ancient "monsters"—to add to his original geological stamp kit. I love classic gifts like this.
If you're tired of stopping a movie when you realize it is really not going how you remember, or you've hit the paywall at Common Sense Media's reviews, or you're looking for fresh ideas, try this Hey Kids, Watch This!, 100+ age appropriate movie night ideas for kids and their grown-ups. And the book is by indie film powerhouse A24, so the picks aren't going to be the same old picks.
We were watching the second episode of Life on Our Planet and saw the rise and extinction of the ancient, armored, 20-foot-long Dunkleosteus, one of the first large-jawed predators in the ocean. And then the next day, I ran into this really awesome toy version. There are plenty of similar products, but Schleich, an 85-year-old German toy company, always delivers.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 We’ve had three of these 100 Things To Know About... books for a few months (and through an across-state move while we’ve had very few books around). They’ve become the kids’ sturdy, go-to reads.
And they want the rest of them. Why? From the (then) 8-year-old: “The pictures help you understand everything and they’re really interesting. You know, there are 200 million insects for every person on the planet. 200 million. I learned that from the Science one.”
I've learned a lot from them, too. Science, in particular, includes a lot of facts that tie into videos on TKSST: Butterflies drinking crocodile tears. Pencils and diamonds are made of the same stuff. Simple machines. Biomimicry. Some science history. They're great books for reading together.
We have Science, History, and Space, but the kids really want the rest of the series, which includes Food, the Human Body, Numbers, Computers, & Coding, and Planet Earth.
And they want the rest of them. Why? From the (then) 8-year-old: “The pictures help you understand everything and they’re really interesting. You know, there are 200 million insects for every person on the planet. 200 million. I learned that from the Science one.”
I've learned a lot from them, too. Science, in particular, includes a lot of facts that tie into videos on TKSST: Butterflies drinking crocodile tears. Pencils and diamonds are made of the same stuff. Simple machines. Biomimicry. Some science history. They're great books for reading together.
We have Science, History, and Space, but the kids really want the rest of the series, which includes Food, the Human Body, Numbers, Computers, & Coding, and Planet Earth.
An invention kit worthy of MoMA, Makey Makey is a fun way to turn anything into a keyboard/touch pad for making sounds and music. "What materials work with Makey Makey? Any material that can conduct at least a tiny bit of electricity will work including Ketchup, Pencil Graphite, Finger Paint, Lemons... Plants, Coins, Your Grandma, Silverware, Anything that is Wet, Most Foods, Cats and Dogs, Aluminum Foil, Rain, and hundreds more."
Pair it with 20 Makey Makey Projects for the Evil Genius
Pair it with 20 Makey Makey Projects for the Evil Genius
Build letters, words, and sentences with these shapes and the mini-guide or create your own letterforms and block illustrations with this stylish set of modular stamps.
Get them at Galison
Get them at Amazon
Get them at Galison
Get them at Amazon
In our busy world of shrinking open spaces and ever-present screens, The Bumper Book of Nature is a quiet gem—a thoughtful companion for those seeking to reconnect with the natural world around them. Through detailed illustrations and seasonal activities, this book guides both grown-ups and children in discovering local wildlife and plants, transforming everyday outdoor moments into opportunities for wonder and learning. 🌿
While previous generations may have absorbed this knowledge naturally through daily life outdoors, this book helps bridge that growing gap, making every backyard visit, neighborhood walk, or camping trip an invitation to explore. With activities for all seasons, it's a perfect guide for rekindling outdoor curiosity, one small adventure at a time. 🍂 🌱 ☀️ ❄️
It's a few years old, so look for it at your local library or at your local used book store.
While previous generations may have absorbed this knowledge naturally through daily life outdoors, this book helps bridge that growing gap, making every backyard visit, neighborhood walk, or camping trip an invitation to explore. With activities for all seasons, it's a perfect guide for rekindling outdoor curiosity, one small adventure at a time. 🍂 🌱 ☀️ ❄️
It's a few years old, so look for it at your local library or at your local used book store.
Vanilla extract is expensive these days, but it’s easy and less expensive to make vanilla extract at home. Get some vanilla beans and have the kids help.
A few years ago, I sliced 6-7 beans along their sides and slid them into a recycled glass salad dressing bottle. I filled the bottle with vodka—get the cheap stuff, flavorless and at least 70 proof, or avoid alcohol and use vegetable glycerin instead—and put it in a dark cupboard. Then ask a kid to shake it once a week.
After ~5 months we started baking with it. When the extract falls just below the top of the beans, I add more vodka, and continue to have the kids shake it now and then. We use it regularly, and it has lasted at a fraction of store-bought prices.
This year, I’m buying more beans to make a few bottles for family gifts. Fun and frugal. Buy online or get it at a local shop!
A few years ago, I sliced 6-7 beans along their sides and slid them into a recycled glass salad dressing bottle. I filled the bottle with vodka—get the cheap stuff, flavorless and at least 70 proof, or avoid alcohol and use vegetable glycerin instead—and put it in a dark cupboard. Then ask a kid to shake it once a week.
After ~5 months we started baking with it. When the extract falls just below the top of the beans, I add more vodka, and continue to have the kids shake it now and then. We use it regularly, and it has lasted at a fraction of store-bought prices.
This year, I’m buying more beans to make a few bottles for family gifts. Fun and frugal. Buy online or get it at a local shop!
When you have building blocks like these around, copper pennies, helium balloons, neon signs, cobalt blue, why H2O means water, and so many other element-based references will already sound familiar. We love these sturdy, high quality Uncle Goose Periodic Table Building Blocks. One of the first recommendations in this gift guide! Highly recommended.
MELT METAL IN YOUR HAND.
This is Gallium. It’s a silvery metallic metal that looks like Mercury, but it’s different for a lot of reasons, most noticeably because it’s non-toxic, and because its melting point is 29.7646 °C or 85.5763 °F. At that temperature, yes, it's true: it will melt (slowly) in your hand. Rotometals also has a spoon mold.
Buy this element
This is Gallium. It’s a silvery metallic metal that looks like Mercury, but it’s different for a lot of reasons, most noticeably because it’s non-toxic, and because its melting point is 29.7646 °C or 85.5763 °F. At that temperature, yes, it's true: it will melt (slowly) in your hand. Rotometals also has a spoon mold.
Buy this element
Defending against hazards along a 1,000 mile race, Mille Bournes (1,000 Milestones in French) is one of our favorite card games. Full of math and strategic decision-making for all ages, all packaged in a wonderfully retro illustration style. (And if you're into design, definitely check out Mille Bournes' design history at Codex99.) Recommended.
Buy this game
Buy this game
The Heebie Jeebies Mini Jansen Strandbeest DIY Wind Walker! Theo Jansen's Strandbeests are nothing short of amazing, and while we'd love to have a full-sized one—we saw them at the Exploratorium in San Francisco a few years ago—we're very happy to have our own table-top version. They make great DIY gifts.
Plink! Plink! Plink! Marble runs are 1000% better when they make sounds. This musical marble run track can be played with on its own, with a homemade pitagora-style run, or with any of HABA Toys marble run tracks.
Build MoMA-worthy structures with these beautiful, classic cards that have six interlocking slots, designed in 1952 by Charles Eames. Get the small Eames House of Cards, above, or splurge on the medium set or giant set.
NEW ⬆️ My kids made "a laptop" from cardboard ages ago and it lasted maybe a week, despite it being laminated with packing tape. It was very creative, but not durable and definitely not recyclable. 😬 This wooden laptop with rounded edges, sturdy hinges, an etched keyboard, and a chalkboard honors kids' embrace of the tech they see around them while keeping playtime delightfully unplugged. The chalkboard screen becomes whatever they imagine: today's video call, tomorrow's art studio, next week's secret code machine.
This is the kind of kid-related but not necessarily kid-intended design books that I love to leave open on the coffee table, awaiting a curious passerby. The Art of Play is chock-full of "artist-designed play sculptures, picturesque soft play spaces and wildly creative conceptual playgrounds" that any age can be interested in... and want to play in person. And maybe it can be inspiration for designing one's own imagination-fueled playscapes.
Reminiscent of stained-glass windows, these colorful hardwood blocks with transparent acrylic windows are an impressive gift for ages 2+. Guidecraft makes them a bit smaller for smaller hands. Build colorful buildings, and then illuminate them on light tables and with flashlights. Awesome alone or as an addition to traditional building blocks.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Guidecraft Stacking Transparent Rainbow Pyramid Set are six square color panes ranging from 2" to 7". Stack, sort, build, or look through them to see the world anew.
🔥POPULAR 🔥 Guidecraft Stacking Transparent Rainbow Pyramid Set are six square color panes ranging from 2" to 7". Stack, sort, build, or look through them to see the world anew.
A classic! Art and science mix with this Super Sunprint Kit from our beloved Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley. Kids can make permanent images on photosensitive paper by experimenting with their favorite natural and human-made objects. I spent hours making these as a kid and have had a lot of fun watching the kids make their own.
It can be found on Amazon, but as always, your museum and science center purchases support those institutions during tough times like these. They also have lots of other excellent science kits, books, and more.
It can be found on Amazon, but as always, your museum and science center purchases support those institutions during tough times like these. They also have lots of other excellent science kits, books, and more.
I've made sunprints on paper since I was a kid and continued when my kids were little, but I had no idea there were sunprint-style cotton sheets available to create artworks. From what I've seen, these Jacquard fabric packs are the most popular and trusted, so they'll definitely be under our tree this year. I'm looking forward to printing a few with a few large negatives of our family photos.
A groundbreaking pioneer of early photography, Anna Atkins created beautiful cyanotype images of algae and seaweed specimens in the 1840s. The Bluest of Blues chronicles her work in a picture book biography that's perfect as a gift or classroom companion for cyanotype paper or fabric kit projects.
Get this on Amazon
NEW ⬆️ Beginner's Guide to Cyanotype : Beautiful Projects to Print With Light is another excellent kit-companion gift for anyone exploring this art form.
Get this on Amazon
NEW ⬆️ Beginner's Guide to Cyanotype : Beautiful Projects to Print With Light is another excellent kit-companion gift for anyone exploring this art form.
NEW ⬆️ When I was little, my first introduction to color was four clear acetate pages in an encyclopedia. Each was printed with CMY or K and when layered, they made a complete 4-color image. This sweet board book doesn't go that far, but its acetate windows reveal how colors change when they add color sliders. Satisfyingly tactile and repeatable, with cute faces! And it captures that same wonder I felt as a kid.
Rechargeable batteries like Eneloops make it super easy to save money and always have fresh batteries around the house. Bonus: Not buying single-use batteries keeps them out of landfills.
Though there are few battery-operated items in this gift guide, we have Eneloops of all sizes in all sorts of electronics and toys around our house. Highly recommended.
Buy this AA charger pack
Though there are few battery-operated items in this gift guide, we have Eneloops of all sizes in all sorts of electronics and toys around our house. Highly recommended.
Buy this AA charger pack
Anker's Prime Powerbanks are on everyone's recommendation lists this year and it's no wonder: they are sleek, powerful, and reliable. We gave Anker chargers to each of our teens to keep in their backpacks when we gave them smartphones, but they're also great for travel, remote presentations, laptop charging, emergencies, and power outages. Fantastic peace of mind for all ages.
Get this powerbank
Get this powerbank
Thank you so much for browsing these recommendations. I'll be adding more until December 22nd so please check in again.
And if you have friends, family, and colleagues who might also enjoy it, please share it with them.
Purchases via affiliate links in the TKSST Gift Guide are the second best way to help support the many hours and associated costs of running The Kid Should See This. (The best way to support us is to become a TKSST Member.)
I've included Amazon links for those shipping far away or comparing prices, but so many of these gifts can be found in local shops that could use the support, especially during the holiday season!
Thank you again and happy holidays! - Rion Nakaya, Founder and Editor of The Kid Should See This
And if you have friends, family, and colleagues who might also enjoy it, please share it with them.
Purchases via affiliate links in the TKSST Gift Guide are the second best way to help support the many hours and associated costs of running The Kid Should See This. (The best way to support us is to become a TKSST Member.)
I've included Amazon links for those shipping far away or comparing prices, but so many of these gifts can be found in local shops that could use the support, especially during the holiday season!
Thank you again and happy holidays! - Rion Nakaya, Founder and Editor of The Kid Should See This
