Top Testing Mom Picks for Educational Toys and Games for the 2015 Holiday Season

posted by Karen Quinn, The Testing Mom - November 24th, 2015

This holiday season, be smart about the toys and games you choose for your kids by going for gifts that make them smarter. They never need to know that the games they are playing are good for them, but you’ll know and that’s the important part! Buying any of these educational toys for your kids is like hiding vegetables in your children’s dessert. They’ll happily lap them up without realizing how nutritious you’ve made their treat.

To create our list of top picks, we combined the recommendations of our Special Education Expert, Joelle Soleymani, along with our own TestingMom.com favorites. When choosing what to give your child, think about the skills he or she needs to work on and select a game from that section!

IQ Fun Pack – 25 educational-games-in-one covering these skills: Math, Visual Spatial Reasoning, Knowledge, Language, Thinking, Listening, Memory, Following Directions, Reading, Fine Motor – https://www.testingmom.com/store/iqfunpack/

Verbal Reasoning

• Loot Lingo
• What’s in the Cat’s Hat
• Headbanz
• Riddle Moo
• Guess Who
• 30 Second Mysteries Board Game
• 20 Questions for Kids
• Cootie
• Apples to Apples
• Snack Attack
• Sequencing Cards

Math

• Chutes and Ladders
• Candy Land
• Zingo Numbers
• Match it! Numbers
• Math Sequencing Puzzles

Serial Reasoning

• Sequence for Kids
• Pattern Blocks

Reasoning By Analogy

• Qwirkle
• Q-bits
• Blokus
• Funalogies
• Analogy by Fun Deck

Quantitative Reasoning

• Pattern blocks
• Sum Swamp

Pattern Completions

• Spot it
• Perfection
• Matching Games
• Jigsaw Puzzles
• Block Buddies

Visual Spatial

• Imagination Patterns
• Mighty Mind
• Tetris
• Duo Puzzles
• Junior Labrinth
• BeginAgain BudyBlocks – Backyard Animals
• BeginAgain BudyBlocks – Safari Animals

Fun Learning Games

• Chess
• Manacala
• Mastermind
• Monopoly
• Sorry
• Scrabble

Fine Motor Skills 

• Colorforms Original 60^th Anniversary Edition
• Pick up sticks
• Connect 4 game
• Don’t Break the Ice
• Jenga
• Play-Doh
• Patch Bed Bugs
• Melissa and Doug Shape – Model and Mold
• Learning Resources Super Sorting Pie

Math

• Brain Quest Math Cards
• Sequence – Numbers
• The Allowance Game
• Melissa and Doug Bead Sequencing Set

Memory

• Carson Dellosa Key Education – What’s Wrong? Learning Cards

These games are accessible at www.testingmom.com/products/educational-games/.