Gift Ideas for Artistic Tweens and Teens

Dot to Dot Super Challenges for Tweens and Teens

If you have an artistic tween or teen, and need a great idea for a simple Christmas gift, these Dot to Dots are not your typical dot to dot puzzle activities. While the dot to dot is a great medium for young children in terms of learning number order, the series pictured above involves intricate dot to dot activities with dots numbering into the thousands, with amazing pictures. There is an entire series of these dot to dots for tweens and teens, challenges, all receiving rave reviews.

Travel Size Dot to Dot Challenges

Wooden Toy Kitchen Sets

Wooden Toy Kitchen Sets Promote Pretend Play

My oldest child is a wonderful baker, and her earliest kitchen experiences were as simple as waving a wooden spoon, from her walker, while Mom created gingerbread house pieces at Christmas time.  Through the years, she enjoyed both real, and pretend kitchen play, and it goes without saying that her toy kitchen set was a favorite pretend play thing.

A charming blue, wooden toy kitchen set...
Image links to details and availability.

Pretend play is very much an educational endeavor, as it allows children to repeat what they've seen, though in pretend fashion.  It allows them the opportunity to invent their own stories, ideas, and scenarios.  It allows for informal use of verbal and mathematical skills, in a tactile environment.  Sometimes, I think that formal schooling has abandoned too quickly the value of make believe.

KidKraft Wooden Toy Kitchen Set in Pink

Wooden toy kitchen sets have a wonderful charm about them, in that they are constructed of simple materials, can be created in a rainbow of colors, and can sufficiently provide a venue for imaginative play that will inspire.

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Costs for woodent toy kitchen sets can range from the $60 area, and up, and can be very simple, or quite elaborate.  Your household space may dictate how elaborate the toy kitchens sets are that you will consider, or your budget may do so.  Most big box retailers will host a given set, often plastic, during a holiday season, but I rarely see the charming wooden kitchen toys in my stores.  There are, however, plenty of online options, from many companies...check out the newest releases in Kitchen Play Sets at Amazon..

Toy Building Sets for Kids

Star Wars Toy Building Sets

Toy Building Sets: What are the choices?

One of the most popular toy themes for boys is building sets, especially when it comes to Lego brick building toys, K'Nex, and building blocks. These toy building sets are favorites, not just for boys, but often for girls, as well.

Toy Building Sets in Colors that Girls will Love

While these toys don't overtly seem to be educational, they do, in fact, provide a great deal of tactile interaction that allows children to develop spatial understanding, and mathematical relationships, as well. The kinesthetic, or tactile, modality is one of the least addressed in the traditional classroom, though in mathematics and sciences, the use of models and manipulatives is not only helpful in establishing concepts in geometry, but also in developing number sense and numerical concepts.

Many toy building sets provide math manipulative qualities in an informal, explorational setting. The good news is that as a parent, you don't need to do formal instruction. Your child's enjoyment of these toys makes it a fun way to make connections. That isn't to say that there's no need for formal teaching, but that the teaching can make even more sense when a child has something to relate those abstract concepts to.



Toy Building Set Tubs Provide Ample Explorational Play

Lego brick sets are great for concepts of addtition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. K'Nex sets lend themselves particularly well to understanding geometric relationships, in both two and three dimensional models. Angles and shapes come into play easily with the snap together building pieces. Advanced learning sets incorporate physics concepts, with amusement park sets, bridge sets, and educational toy building sets created especially for the instructional environment.



Duplo Building Sets Are Suited to Manual Skills of Younger Children

For younger children, a basic set of building pieces is a perfect introduction. The Lego company has Duplo blocks, which are bigger and easier to manage, for smaller hands, while K'Nex has a larger sized Kid K'Nex series. For 5-6 year olds, a building tub of Lego's or K'Nex building pieces provides a good selection for easy play and exploration.



K'Nex Building Sets Provide Explorational Activity Based in Geometry

There are also simple themed sets from both companies, aimed at younger ages, with more complicated designs and plans for older children. Kids seem to have a timeless affection for these popular building toys, and sets can easily merge for expanded building creativity.

You can find the top rated toy building sets at Amazon, along with customer recommendations, and many varied toy building sets not found on the aisles of your big box retailer.

Touchscreen Tablets for Kids: Kindle Fire

Kindle Fire
Tablet Interactivity with Great Educational Potential for Kids

Amazon has introduced a new series of Kindle ereaders.  In particular, the Kindle Fire is interesting as a possible gift choice for kids, due to its pricing, $199.  Price, alone, doesn't qualify a tech gadget as a great value, but based on preliminary information, Kindle Fire has some interesting features that provide a multimedia touch tablet experience:  streaming video and music, web browsing, ereading, and popular apps.  In conjunction with Amazon Cloud storage, digital content isn't stored on the device, but in the "Cloud".  Amazon content is stored free of charge, and other content can be stored, at a fee.

For kids, this is an affordable alternative to the popular iPad.  As a parent, you will want to oversee the content that your child accesses, and take the same precautions you would in any use of online technology, to assure your child's security and safety.  For me, this would mean using the device more as a family tool, and working together to monitor the content and web browsing. 

I am excited about the device for its use in educational purposes, though, as ereading looks to be a rich experience, and children's books in full color will be incorporated into the ereading experience, along with full color magazines.  I love having access to National Geographic for my kids, for example, but get overwhelmed with storing the old issues.

Kindle Fire is available for pre-order now, with its release due on Nov. 15.

Ereader Gifts for Kids

Upper elementary aged kids are very capable, when it comes to navigating many of the popular digital devices available.  However, at this stage, a parent may be reluctant to spend high amounts of money on tech gadgets, and with good reason. 

Moving into the tween stage, kids can become very scattered, forgetful, and awkward.  I've dealt with a few tech casualties with kids who are in the 10 and up age group.  On the other hand, some of the kid-tough electronic learning toys are just a bit too juvenile for these older kids.  While ereader toys for kids are more likely to withstand the rough handling, the content is just a bit immature for the upper elementary age level.

Ereaders can be good choices for this level, with some very inexpensive models available.  Not a replacement for the tablet computer craze, nevertheless, the devices are something other than a video game, and provide a means of augmenting your child's academic progress.

Kindle With Special Offers

Many of the same issues with selecting an ereader for a tween come into play for the upper elementary aged child.  Kindle, Amazon's ereader, provides a cost effective model (Kindle with Special Offers, Wi-Fi version $114), which includes web browsing, library lending, and games.  The only downside is the lack of touchscreen interactivity, though there are rumors of a coming tablet version. 

Barnes and Noble's Nook Touch is another inexpensive choice, retailing at $139.  The device is touchscreen operated, but is strictly an ereading device.  There are not apps, nor web browsing capabilities at this point.  The $249 Nook Color functions as more of a tablet, with color display, apps, and web browsing.

Science Experiment Kits for Kids

If you have an inquisitive child (or grandchild, niece, or nephew), then you recognize that they take in a lot of interesting information, formulate ideas, and love to regurgitate their interpretations...or spit out random facts at odd times!  That inquisitive child has a zillion questions to ask, and while that may challenge our patience, it's the stuff that leads to a future of dreamers and inventors!  I wonder what life was like in the Jobs and Gates homes. 

Science experiments kits for kids can provide an exciting slate of activity for that curious one, and there are so many unique kits to choose from.  Even some of the most basic (and in some of our eyes, boring) science sets for children are apt to intrigue, at the right time. 

One year, my children received Smithsonian science kits from an uncle, for Christmas, and they had the best time with the building of a volcano, making of gummy bugs, and examining crystals growing. 

Mr. Rootbeer Kit:  The Science of Carbonation!
A fantastic experience, and study, for curious kids!

Another year, the kids received a Mr. Rootbeer kit, and we became fans of homemade root beer in the process.  The science is a blast, and everyone enjoyed the outcome!  Yum!

A Microscope Kit in a carrying case is a helpful choice,
providing a means of keeping a science set together, easily accessible,
and ready for the next use.

My tween daughter is constantly pulling out her microscope set, lately, as a botany study provides lots of interesting concepts to explore.  There are plenty of applications for this kit, and the opportunity to be curious, and to follow through on ideas, is a fantastic means of encouraging higher level thinking. 

Each kit is going to have its own slant and focus, and when selecting science sets, and experiment kits for children, you will need to consider a few things.  The child's interests can direct your choices, but at times, we may not be certain of these things, especially with nieces and nephews.  Age is an important element, as well.  Under the age of 10, most children will need a great deal of oversight and supervision, not to mention direction.  While the gift is intended for a child, the parent is going to be an important player in the process.  This doesn't mean it's not a good gift idea, but it does mean that you want to be conscious of this factor. 

When you get into the 10 to 12 age range, a child will have the ability to work more independently.  Some fun science kits at this level may pertain to the nature of the age group.  Tween girls may absolutely love a spa science kit.  Tween boys, on the other hand, will get a kick out of "Disgusting Science".  Both boys and girls are apt to enjoy food related science experiment kits for kids, such as Tasty Science.  There are a host of options, and user reviews can really assist you in decisions, many of which you will find with the products linked here, and in the kids' science kits available through Amazon.

Toy Vs. Tech: Toy Tech or Real Tech Gifts for Kids?

As a mom, I want my children's experiences with tech gifts to be productive, whether with a learning toy, or with a serious piece of tech equipment.  I also recognize that independent exploration can be just as valuable as programmed direction of a child's learning activities.  However, the younger the child, the more direction and supervision is necessary.  This is especially true with higher priced tech items such as computers, laptops and netbooks, but can also be a factor in working with tech toys designed for a younger age group.

In our house, we've come to a determination that under age ten, an expensive tech gadget isn't even a consideration as a personal gift, due to maturity issues.  Handheld video game systems, netbooks, iPods, and similar sought after items on a child's wish list are too expensive to easily replace, and the kids know, as well, that there is a coming of age sense of trust that will go along with such gifts.  They can dream, no doubt, but it's just good sense, from our perspective, to be wise in this sort of gift giving.

Child targeted electronic learning systems, and other tough child gadget gifts, however, if within reach in terms of cost, are equally acceptable as child gifts from about age 4.  My children, when in that under 4 age range, haven't really had the interest, nor the need, to spend time with such gadgets, and are much happier with age appropriate toys.  From age 4 to 7, electronic learning systems, such as Leapster, have held their attention well, and have been within their capacity to operate.  At ages 8-9, there may be a passing glance, but little targeted interest in these early learning electronic gifts.  Still, I'm not quite ready to put more expensive gadgets in the hands of my 8-9 year olds, and so I look for non-electronic alternatives in that time frame.  One consideration at that age might be a desktop computer, as it is non-portable, and stays anchored in one place, less prone to accidents and damage. 

For my sons in that age range, there are some interesting electronics, in terms of race cars, helicopters, and motorized building sets that seem to satisfy the tech interests, while for a daughter in that age group, I tend toward girl gifts like electronic diaries, or text messaging toys.  If I see a reasonable demonstration of maturity, I may give way a little bit on game consoles, or iPods, or ereaders.  Guidelines are great as a starting point, but need to be evaluated on an individual basis.  Watch that you don't create problems with a less responsible child, though, who wonders why they don't get equal treatment at a given age.  Have a solid response ready, and discuss the issues that cause you to hesitate in purchasing costly tech presents.

Every home will have different dynamics, every parent, an individual response.  When it comes to real tech items, verses tech toys, keep your own interests, as well as your child's, balanced with important factors that give credence to your decision.

Read about age ranges for tablet toy alternatives for kids.