Top Testing Mom Picks for Educational Toys and Games for the 2017 Holiday Season

posted by Karen Quinn, The Testing Mom - December 14th, 2017

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!

NEW Gifted Thinking Spatial Concepts Flash Cards pack (for Pre-K-2nd Grade)

• Essential spatial concepts kids need for non-verbal tests and school success.
• Teach children the concepts they need for gifted and talented test preparation and answering questions on tests of non-verbal reasoning such as the NNAT®, CogAT®, OLSAT®, WPPSI™, WISC®, AABL®, KBIT™, SAGES® and more!
• Working with these cards will improve results in visual-spatial thinking, figural analogies, figure classification, serial reasoning, pattern matrices, spatial visualization, and pattern completion.
• Includes a combination of “teaching” and “practice” cards with bright, fun characters that reinforce concepts through playful parent-child interaction + tips on solving spatial reasoning questions on gifted tests.
• If the cards get dirty, just wipe them off – the smudge proof finish makes them easy to clean.
• Get it here: https://www.testingmom.com/store/gifted-testing-spatial-flash-cards/

NEW Gifted Testing Verbal Concepts Flash Cards pack (for Pre-K-2nd Grade)

• Teach children the concepts they need for gifted and talented test preparation and answering questions on tests of verbal reasoning such as the OLSAT®, CogAT®, WPPSI™, WISC®, Stanford-Binet, AABL®, ITBS®, Bracken™, SRT, KBIT™, TerraNova®, SAT®-10 and more!
• Learning these concepts will strengthen your child’s abilities in the following areas: following directions, aural reasoning, listening, quantitative reasoning, verbal reasoning and vocabulary.
• The back of each card includes bonus questions and learning activities to reinforce the concept on the front through playful parent-child interaction.
• Not just for students applying to gifted programs – these vocabulary cards cover temporal, spatial, quantity, and quality concepts all children are expected to master for school readiness and success.
• Glossy finish creates a smudge-proof barrier – if the cards ever get dirty, you can easily wipe them off.
• Get it here: https://www.testingmom.com/store/verbal-flash-cards/

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 all wonderful for building your child’s skills and keeping your own skills sharp, as well!  Time playing together is such a precious commodity!  Have a great holiday season with your loved ones!!