Elementary Age Gift Guide
After kids pass the age of dolls, stuffed animals, and dinosaurs, where to from there? Whether you’re a parent looking for no-junk gifts this holiday season or someone with an elementary-aged child on your gift list and no clue where to start–this guide is for you.
As a Speech Language Pathologist, Kyra Minichan provides parents with the tools to help their smart but struggling child become a confident, independent learner. This holiday season, do away with unnecessary toys and select a gift that supports cognitive development with Kyra’s Elementary Age Gift Guide. Let’s dig in!
10 Gifts for Kids in Elementary School
- Chuckle & Roar Pop It! –This game is a great way to practice spelling and math facts in a fun, approachable way.
- Zoomie Kids Stepping Stones–These indoor and outdoor stepping stones have many uses. They build balance and coordination but also enhance executive function skills. These stepping stones are a great way to wake up the brain in the morning. Place these outside your kids’ bedroom and have them walk across them first thing in the morning. You can also use them during homework time when trying to memorize facts or study for tests–when you move your brain grooves.
- Wooden Wobble Balance Board–This is another excellent balance and coordination activity. Often kids who have learning differences have a weakness in core learning skills. Using something as simple as this balance board every day for 30 days can help enhance these skills and improve balance and coordination. It is also a very cool gift that young athletes love. We also love that this one comes with cards demonstrating various ways to use it.
- Throw Throw Avocado Game–This card game will have all the kids wanting a game night. The cool part about this game is that it requires attention, memory, and processing speed–all skills that enhance learning.
- Kinetic Sand Buried Treasure–This is a great sensory experience for kids and something you can use in various ways. If your kids are learning letters, you can bury the magnetic refrigerator letters in the sand–when the child finds one, you can have them say the letter, the sound they make, and a word that starts with that sand.
- Punching Bag and Boxing Gloves Set for Children–This is one of the best tools for kids who struggle with emotional regulation. This is the gift for you if you have a child who can be relentless in yelling and spewing ugly words when they become overwhelmed. We recommend putting this in a place in the house where you can encourage that child to channel their toxic energy towards the bag, not people. The proprioception they get from boxing helps organize their brain and calms the chaos.
- Crayola Silly Scents Markers–Did you know that odors take a direct route to the limbic system, including the amygdala and the hippocampus, the regions related to emotion and memory? A child with test anxiety or one that gets overwhelmed in school and needs to increase attention can use the new smell of the markers to calm them.
- Back Spin- ThinkFun–We love this one-player game that kids will enjoy and can be used in various settings. It improves attention, logic, and reasoning.
- Electronic Savings Goal ATM–This is a great tool to help teach kids about saving money. Spontaneous spending and impulse buying are common with ADHD. That is why teaching the importance of saving early on is essential. This is a fun tool to help with this.
- Magical Teepee Tent–Kids with ADHD need a place to reset and refuel when overwhelmed. Having a special place where they can relax and cocoon themselves is important. Any tent will do, but if you want to take it to the next level, check out this fun, magical tent.
Gifts for Brain Development
While some might argue the hardest person on your gift list is always the in-laws, if you are shopping for a child at a specific age, you know the overwhelm of going to the toy store and not knowing where to start. The truth is: not all toys are created equal. In fact, with growing research around cognitive development, we know that certain toys and games can aid in a child’s cognitive development. We hope this gift guide will help you select a gift this holiday season that supports the learning journey of the elementary-aged child in your life.
With decades of experience, Kyra Minichan creates custom-designed action plans that balance and realign a child’s strengths and weaknesses to achieve academic optimization. To schedule a complimentary 10-minute evaluation with Kyra, click here.
