Top 8 Toys for Grandparents to buy their Grandchildren
Christmas is right around the corner, but what should you buy for your grandchildren? Should you be getting them the latest fad toy, or should you be investing in something fun AND educational?
If you have grandchildren between the ages of 1 and 12, these educational toys will not only give them hours of joy, they will also help teach them about the world, how it works and help their developing minds.
1 – 5 years old
Coding Critters™ Ranger & Zip, £40.00
Children as young as four can learn to code with cute characters Coding Critters Ranger & Zip. They’re easy to use and come with an activity play set, coding cards and full colour coding storybook adventure. Children learn coding basics with the storybook and using the directional arrow buttons on Ranger’s back to programme it to follow along.
Coding Critters offer young children an engaging way to learn the basics of coding including sequential logic and problem-solving, skills that will stand them in good stead throughout their school careers.
GeoSafari® Jr. Kidnoculars® Extreme™, £22.00
Kidnoculars Extreme are a great way to get young children outdoors and exploring nature. They’ve been specially designed for young kids so are focus-free, easy and comfortable to use and include a breakaway neck strap for safety.
The best part is they include audio amplification so children can also hear what they’re looking at. They’re colourful, lightweight and durable enough for hours of outdoor learning and exploration fun.
Playfoam® Combo 8-Pack, £9.00
There are hours of squishing, sculpting shaping fun to be had with Playfoam. It’s ideal for children aged three and up to get creative and work on fine motor skills and hand strength at the same time. Playfoam is perfect for indoor play because it only sticks to itself (not carpets, clothes or hair) and never dries out. Plus, it’s ready to use straight from the packaging.
Playfoam Combo 8-Pack comes in eight cheerful colours that can be kept separate or mixed for hours of creative fun. It contains four shades of regular Playfoam and four shades of special Sparkle Playfoam.
Stems® (Tub of 20), £9.00
Stems® the is Flexible 3D Maker Toy that stimulates STEM learning and sensory play through hands-on construction activities. Figuring out what to make and how, helps develop children’s learning abilities, enhances a young thinker’s capability to think and visualise in 3D, improves hand-eye co-ordination and boosts creative thinking.
Every Stem piece is the same size and shape, strong, and lightweight. Pieces are flexible and can be bent and fastened to each other for easy, bendy construction fun that can be enjoyed anywhere, any time. The bobbly spine makes this an ideal tactile toy, and the zip-like fastening action helps build hand strength.
5 – 12 years old
Artie 3000™ £69.00
Artie is the arty robot that allows children aged seven and up to learn more advanced coding concepts through drawing. It helps develop left brain skills such as basic programming, geometry and maths, and right brain creative thinking and imagination.
To use, children insert a felt-tipped marker into Artie, place it on a sheet of paper, and either use it to draw pre-programmed designs, or code their own designs. Parents like Artie because while kids need to connect Artie to a computer or tablet to programme it, the robot doesn’t connect to the internet.
Playfoam® Pluffle™, £12.00 for a two-pack
Playfoam Pluffle is soft, squishy mesmerizing, feelgood fluffy stuff kids (and adults) love to squeeze, squish and smush. The slime craze is here to stay and Playfoam Pluffle offers a fantastic non-sticky alternative for squishy squashy play for kids aged five and up. Plus, Playfoam Pluffle never dries out!
It’s ready to use from the word go. Simply tip it out of the clear tube, give it a squish and watch the mesmerizing flow. Or leave it in the tube and tip it to see the lava-lamp flowing action. Playfoam Pluffle comes in duos packs of eye-catching sparkly colours: Pink & Green, Yellow & Purple, and Red & Blue. Colours can be kept separate or mixed for more mesmerizing fun.
Gears! Gears! Gears!® Movin’ Monkeys™ Building Set, £46.00
Get set for some monkey business. Gears! Gears! Gears! construction sets are a fun way for children to learn construction skills through hands-on play.
With Movin’ Monkeys, kids build the cheeky monkeys a gears jungle, connect the vines and send the monkeys swinging. The set helps develop fine motor skills as young children piece together the cogs and gears. It also helps them understand cause and effect and provides hours of hands-on play and learning possibilities.
Beaker Creatures® Alien Experiment Lab, £20.00
Spark curiosity about science with Beaker Creatures® Alien Experiment Lab. This lab set is perfect for kids to learn through hands-on play and experimentation. On opening, the set comes with all the tools young scientists need to create out of this world crazy, cool science experiments.
Children can create their own slime, set off bubbling reactions and discover collectable alien creatures hidden inside the fizzy Reactor Pods.
