Fun Holiday Gift Ideas to Enhance and Support your Child’s Learning

posted by Karen Quinn, The Testing Mom - December 19th, 2019

With the holidays just around the corner, many parents are feeling the looming pressure of figuring out what to get their children as gifts. It is natural to become invested in this process as we are incentivized by the joy that our children express when they open up something that they love!

Holiday Educational Toys

Holiday gifts have the potential to not only be memorable, fun and exciting but to also benefit the child’s cognition and ability to learn. Even when they are not in school, they will have the chance to engage in an activity that supports their mathematics, reading comprehension, and or visual-spatial abilities (just to name a few). When learning is activated in a fun and engaging context, the process no longer feels like a “chore” but something that your child wishes to explore further.

Our objective in this post is to alleviate some of the pressure off of you so that you too can have some fun this holiday season.  Below, we will delve into some gift giving ideas that you as parents will hopefully find useful and easy to add to your holiday shopping list. Not to mention, they will provide your family with the opportunity to play and engage in something together. Here at Testingmom we are wishing you and your family a happy and healthy holiday. Now, let’s talk presents!

“I spy Dig in”: A great gift for your pre-schooler!

As parents, many of us are familiar with the ‘I spy” series that we engaged in as children. It was a lighthearted, fun, and fast paced game with a purpose. It roped one into being fully invested in finding one particular item out of large sea of objects. The “I spy Dig in” board game is a contemporary spin on the classic “I spy” concept, as it is based on the best-selling I spy book series.

The activity is best suited for children ages 5 and up, and allows for 2 to 4 players. From this game your child will have the opportunity to practice both color as well as shape identification all while being timed. Each player is presented with a card that contains pictures of 6 objects. These objects can be found in the large bowl of items that are placed in the middle of the players. Your child must use their observation and problem solving abilities in order to translate the information on their card into what they search for in the bowl.

Ultimately, the items that they dig up from the bowl must match what they see on their card. Each player must try their best to fill their card before time runs out. The timer does seem to add an element of difficulty to the game, as their is a bit more urgency injected into finding what your child needs. If your child gets a kick out of this game, try exploring the other activities in this series such as “I spy Bingo” and “I spy memory game”! Not to mention, this is a great game for the whole family to play together on a cold wintery day. Try adding in some hot cocoa with marshmallows for optimal fun. Just be careful not to spill!

“HedBanz”- A game that allows you to laugh and learn

Ever wonder how you could help you child in further practicing their deductive reasoning abilities and creative thinking? “Headbanz” is an interactive game that motivates players to activate these skills, in order to decipher an answer from a series of clues. Before we continue, it is important to understand the objective of the game. Each participating member is dealt a card in which they must attach to an adjustable headband that they wear around their head. The player is not allowed to peek at the identity of their card. There are three categories in which the cards fall under which include animal, food, or a common object. When it is the player’s turn, the individual must ask who, what when, where, or how questions in order to get to the core of their card’s identity.

Your chid will form strategies on how to best formulate their questions. For example, they may discover that their questions should start more broad before becoming narrower and more specific. Most importantly, they will be using clues from the answers of their fellow players in order to guess the item on the card.  Such skills are quite transferable to the techniques that are used for reading comprehension, such as context clues. The game also includes a time constraint, which is measured using a one-minute sand clock timer. The great thing about this game, is the ability for players to learn and observe from one another in regards to the structure and quality of the questions that are asked.

“Audible”- The gift of Audio books

I don’t know about you, but a book can be such an incredible gift for the holiday season. Not only is it thoughtful, but allows you to potentially read something that you would have never thought of choosing yourself. As parents, we sometimes realize that reading doesn’t always feel accessible for a child. Audiobooks can be an incredible way of either introducing your child to the beauty of books, or allowing them to further discover their passion for literature. All your child needs is a device for listening purposes. Audible is an Amazon product that allows readers to engage with their favorite books all on the go. For example, if you and your family are going away for the holidays, you can help your child to download some of their favorite books through the audible app. Audible for kids is fantastic, as it categorizes books by both age groups as well as genres. This easy to use and organized platform also allows your child to browse their vast selection of literature. An Audible subscription costs $14.95 per month and can be conveniently canceled at any time. If you want to test this service out before getting it for your child, you have access to a free 30 day trial! This is a creative gift that gives your child agency when it comes to choosing their books. You can further check out the service here.

I hope that you were able to draw some inspiration from this week’s post! It is my hope that you trust your instincts when searching for gifts for your child. Remember, there is no pressure when it comes to this process. It is the thoughts and sentiments behind this act that truly count.

For more ideas, check out our Amazon store for some great, skill-building flash cards. Use the coupon for these items on sale now!