Geoff Ashton
Best Educational Gifts For Kids This Christmas (2018)
Looking for the best educational gifts for kids this Chritsmas (2018) - that won't break the bank?
My list can help...
These are mostly for the primary age range, but some gifts extend a lot higher into teens or beyond. Check individual listings for details.
All these gifts had an Amazon star-rating of 4 and above, and all claimed to be suitable for ages 4 to 12.
You can click through to the Amazon listing either via the image or the gift's title.
Top 5s in no particular order, organised into: Best MATHS gifts for kids, Best ENGLISH gifts for kids, Best SCIENCE gifts for kids.
Let's get started…
Best MATHS gifts for kids (Top 5):
1. Maths Magic
Rating: 4.5 stars
Price: £8 to £12
Features:
-Magic number tricks
-Ideal for cognitive skills
-15 Fun maths tricks
-Games and puzzles
-Ideal Gift
2. Professor Puzzle Great Minds Aristotle's Number Puzzle
Star rating: 4.5
Price: £8
Features:
-The Great Minds Range Aristotle's Number Puzzle
-Puzzle Mission - To make every row add up to 38
-There are 15 rows in all directions to complete, each made up of 3, 4 or 5 pieces
-This brilliant concept allows you to complete the puzzle by using every number from 1 to 19!
3. Sum Swamp Addition & Subtraction Game
Star rating: 4.5
Price: £12:98
Features:
-Reinforces addition and subtraction
-Helps children understand number sentences
-Includes both number and operation die
-Includes soft plastic counters
-Award-winning board game
Star rating: 5
Price: £11
Features:
-Improve critical thinking skills and spatial reasoning
-Features 300 brain-boosting puzzles
-Single player game-play
-Box includes game pieces, challenge book and instructions
-Stores in a handy carry case
5. Top of the Tables! Times Table Game
Star rating: 4.5
Price: £14:50
Features:
-Teaches individual times tables from 2 to 12.
-Additional levels cover 13 and 14 times tables.
-Game play encourages strategic thinking.
-Tackles mental multiplication.
-Includes multilingual activity guide and cards.
Best ENGLISH gifts for kids (Top 5):
Star rating: 4.5
Price range: £5 to £8
Features:
-Develops reading and spelling
-Encourages matching and memory skills
-Progressive educational game with two ways to play
-Suitable for ages 4+ and 1-4 players
-Packaging illustrations may vary slightly due to packaging update in 2017
2. Breaking News! Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar Game
Star rating: 4.5
Price range: £19 to £21
Features:
-Prepare students for spelling, punctuation and grammar tests.
-Cards are self-checking with spelling, punctuation and grammar rules printed on them.
-Categories include punctuation, spelling, verb tense, sentence grammar and vocabulary.
-Game board features the following news departments: Weather Central, Business Beat, Live ---News, Local News, Entertainment News and Sport Department.
-Suitable for 2-6 players.
Star rating: 4.5
Price: £8:45
Features:
-Includes 7 wonder clump card games
-Ideal for children in Key stages 1 &2
-Fun way to learn
Star rating: 4.5
Price: £16:85
Features:
-Race around the board in an uproarious race to have the final say!
-Turn over a category, vegetables for example then turn over a letter card perhaps a "C"
-The aim is to get the last word in before the buzzer sounds
-Carrots, cauliflower, corgettes buzz!!
-To keep things interesting the buzzer goes off at different intervals each time
5. Bananagrams Zip it Vocabulary Spelling Building Lettered Tile Children Game
Star rating: 5
Price range: £9 to £15
Features:
-Zip It - The small space word race. Take 12 cubes and race against your opponent to build a grid
-Fast, fun-filled educational word game that requires no pencil, paper or board
-A round of Zip It can be played in as little as 20 seconds.
-Zip It comes in a small portable pouch with a yellow and green zipper to keep track of points
-Zip It - Bronze Award Winner for the 2016 Primary Teacher Awards
Best SCIENCE gifts for kids (Top 5):
Star rating: 5
Price range: £25 to £30
Features:
-Awards: The National Parenting Center-Seal of Approval, Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products, ----Dr Toy Best Educational Products
-Contains more than 30 Snap-Together parts
-Build more than 100 exciting projects
-Clear and concise illustrated manual included and available online
-Exciting projects include burglar alarm, doorbell and more
2. Horrible Science Explosive Experiments
Star rating: 4
Price range: £14 to £18
Features:
-Extremely explosive stuff. Adult supervision required
-Create and launch a the rocket and watch a volcano erupt
-Make a lava lamp and mix up some seriously slimy snot
-Includes a 32-page Lab Notebook
-Contains plastic rocket, nose cone, fins, plastic volcano, sand, pair of goggles, sodium hydrogen carbonate, slime powder, glue, green and red food colouring, tub with lid, rubber stopper, valve and 2 mixing pots
-Suitable from age 8 years and up
3. Natural History Museum NHM1005 Pocket Microscope
Star rating: 4.5
Price: £17.99
Features:
-Trust the Natural History Museum to devise the most efficient, most want-able pocket microscope.
-For all that it measures just 12 x 8 x 4.5 cm,
-It's got 20x - 40x zoom magnification with touch-button ultra-bright LED illuminator.
-Adjust focus wheel for stunning clarity and inspect flakes of skin and the like in incredible detail.
-Comes with slides, the and lens cloth
Star rating: 4.5
Price range: £10 to £13
Features:
-Learn all about the art of perfume blending and invent gorgeous perfumes to match your personality.
-Learn how to mix top, middle and base fragrance notes just like a professional perfumer in your own home studio.
-Invent a scent to match your style or make great smelling and unique scents for friends and family.
-Follow the colour illustrated activity guide to see how it's done!
-Just one of the collectable FabLab kits from Interplay.
Star rating: 5
Price: £19:99
Features:
-A young science kit to encourage early STEM learning and scientific thinking while having fun!
-Experiment with colour mixing, grow amazing jelly-like crystals and create a rainbow in a test tube!
-Includes a 24-page full the lab book with 12 fun experiments
-Contains 3 test tubes, test tube rack, goggles, colour mixing tray, pipette, polyacrylamide crystals, 3 food colourings, rainbow glasses, 3 plastic cups, mirror, stickers, notepad and more
-Suitable from age 5 years and upwards
Disclaimer
This list is based on research and reviews - not first-hand experience. I take no responsibility for the quality or effectiveness of any products. I'm not affiliated with any of the companies involved. Prices and star-ratings correct at time of writing - they will change!
List compiled by AshTutors.co.uk
