Find loads of toddler toys, preschool games, and other exciting gifts to bring the fun to kids’ nursery school, day-care, or kindergarten classrooms! Choose from toddler toys like walkers and shape sorters; skill-building kindergarten toys like activity tablets and role-play gear; and just-plain-fun preschool activities and toys featuring little ones’ favourite characters.
Once children can creep or walk, they become very busy! As toddlers move around their nursery or day-care space, they constantly seek out new and cool activities, so having lots of options for play makes sense. They will make their favorite toddler toys, games and activities known, but will often also see – and want – the toys their friends are playing with. So stock up on popular toddler toys, Christmas gifts for 2 year olds or birthday gifts for 3 year olds like building blocks, car toys, dolls, and plush toys to allow toddlers to play alongside their peers. Experimenting with easy arts and crafts is a great way to explore creativity and develop sensory skills: finger painting and playing with modeling compounds are popular choices for day-care and playgroup activities. Storytime is a great toddler activity for quieter times: the best toddler books feature bright colors, simple stories, and even educational features like introducing numbers, letters, shapes, and animals.
3 and 4 year old children have the energy and enthusiasm to play all day! These curious preschoolers need a variety of toys, games, crafts, and activities that allow for open-ended play: the kind with few or no set rules. This scope for imagination allows them to invent their own preschool games and to pretend with toys like cars, building blocks, and dolls, in new and original ways. Educational toys that incorporate pre-k skills in reading and counting – from simple wooden puzzles to rewarding tech toys like starter tablets – can help little learners make an easier transition from day-care or preschool to kindergarten. Preschool books – especially those featuring popular characters – can also foster storytelling and build literacy skills. Gift ideas for kids like Cool art activities – like birthday party crafts or summer sandbox play – can challenge preschoolers to use new materials in creative (and sometimes messy!) ways.
When children finally start school or go back to school, the world of play opens even wider! Their days are filled with fun kindergarten activities that combine educational and social skills. The best kindergarten toys and games are ones that kids can do together: cooperative board games; Halloween, Easter, or Christmas crafts; or outdoor toys to help burn off all that energy. Role-play toys, action figures, and dress-up Halloween costumes are very popular gifts for 8 Year old boys: pretending is always fun! Top toy choices for kindergarten books involve short sentences, simple stories, and often star characters from kids’ favorite shows.
Energetic preschoolers love open-ended activities that let them us their imagination: dress-up with costumes, music, and role-play toys; arts and crafts activities like coloring, painting, and sculpting; playing outdoors with simple equipment like balls or cars; and reading with grownups, especially funny stories and adventures starring characters they love.
Especially in day-care and preschool settings, kids ages 2 to 4 are working on making friends, taking turns, and working together: dance parties, cooperative board games and group art activities are good indoor choices, while active-play games like catch or soccer, sandbox play, scooter-riding, or open-ended activities like blowing bubbles or drawing with sidewalk chalk are good outdoor options.
A “preschooler” is any child not old enough to go to elementary school, which might mean any child under 6, but often it refers to children who are past the “toddler” stage, so: kids between approximately 3 and 5 years old.
Since preschoolers have lots of energy, but not always a long attention span, the keyword is variety: create a collection of toys that let them use their imaginations, like building toys and blocks; simple art supplies like paint, modeling compound, and crayons; role-play toys like pretend foods and tools; dress-up costumes and accessories; outdoor gear like scooters and wagons; plush and dolls for pretend-play; and LOTS of books.
Much depends on the ability of the kids you’re planning for, but a combination of age-appropriate craft kits and a well-stocked cupboard of art supplies will go a long way: construction paper, paint, crayons, glue, modeling compound, beads, and stickers will let kids explore origami, sculpture, collage, and more creative activities.
Choose preschool books with lots of visual interest and even elements kids can touch, like textures and lift-the-flap features; and kindergarten books with simple stories, favorite characters, and text that kids might even be able to learn by heart so they can “read” right along with you!
Many preschoolers love books that make them laugh, with vibrant illustrations, exciting characters, and silly stories – especially ones that use wordplay, rhymes, and repetition.
Choose a toy that will allow your preschooler to use their imagination: a plush pal or doll they can nurture; open-ended toys like building sets and blocks; play sets and figures that spark pretend-play; and indoor-outdoor play tents and furniture that can become anything with a little make-believe.
