With the holidays upon us, many will be thinking about what kind of gifts to get for the young ones in our lives. Below is a list of resources and ideas for inspiration. This might be a helpful list to share with family members, too.
Ages 3 - 6
The Montessori Notebook has some great ideas from puzzles, arts and crafts, to
practical life activities for children ages 0 – 6.
Cooperative board games are fun at this age. My family loves First Orchard, Hoot Hoot Owl, and Outfoxed. You can find a good selection of cooperative games on Amazon.
A great place to purchase Montessori inspired gifts is Montessori Services. You’ll find a wide range of Montessori materials for the home and garden, games, books, musical instruments and more. Our family loves the Dynamo Dominoes set.
Children of this age love real things. Consider a Swiffer (you can make this child sized by removing one of the metal poles), a child sized rake, food preparation supplies (apple slicer, egg slicer, vegetable peeler), or beginning sewing kits.
Other gifts suggestions are Magna-tiles, Beginner snap circuit boards, play-dough and kinetic sand, marble racers, and books. Reach for Montessori has some fun stocking stuffer ideas.
Ages 6 – 12
This age will appreciate high quality art supplies. At school, we love Prismacolor colored pencils for creating beautiful artwork. Watercolor pencils, acrylic paints, and nice markers (such as Zebra Mildliner) are also fun, especially when paired with Zendoodle coloring books or a blank journal. A little washi tape can add some fun to their journals.
Board games continue to be a fun gift at the elementary age. We are Teachers has a list of age-appropriate games here. Our elementary students especially love Dixit, Into the Forest, and Rush Hour.
Of course Legos, snap circuits, and K’nex are always a popular choice. For those who like to help out around the house, consider their own tool set, cookbooks, and baking supplies.
A few other ideas are:
- A children’s magazine subscription (they will love to get mail each month!). A few examples are: National Geographic for Kids, Ask, Spider and Time for Kids.
- Puzzles. This 3D earth puzzle is really cool!
- Coding sets
- Science kits. Include a set of glass beakers, flasks and stirring rods.
- Measuring weight set
- Sewing Machine or a kit for hand sewing
- A microscope. In the elementary classroom we find that a dissecting microscope is easier to use when looking at prepared slides
- Binoculars and field guides
- Books or a Kindle Paper White
You can find even more ideas here at the Kavanaugh Report.
Happy Holidays!