Brilliantly Fun Educational Gifts for Toddlers That Promote Learning
Looking to get fun educational gifts for toddlers that drive creativity, teach new skills and spark their imagination? This list has it all!
There are so many times in the year – whether it’s your little ones birthday or holiday season – that you need to get your kids a gift.
Wouldn’t it be great if those gifts could be fun AND educational at the same time?
Here I’ve compiled a list of the top educational gifts for toddlers based on:
1) which toys/gifts my own toddler has benefitted from
2) best selling products that other toddler parents are loving
3) in depth research into what exactly makes that product a tool of learning for little ones
Before we dive into our list of favorites, let’s go over some of the most common questions parents have about educational toys and gifts.
This post is all about fun educational gifts for toddlers.
Do kids need educational toys?
Kids don’t necessarily need “educational toys”. A stone, a stick or a leaf can be an educational play thing for a child. Educational toys can however play a big role in helping children learn new skills in a fun and engaging way.
Why do parents buy educational toys?
Educational toys can play a vital role in a child’s development. They can help kids develop fine and gross motor skills, spark imagination, teach problem solving skills, conflict resolution and encourage creativity.
What educational toys do 2 year olds need?
When looking to get an educational toy for a 2 year old choose wisely. Get a toy that promotes open ended play, creativity, problem solving skillls and helps them develop their gross and fine motor skills.
What type of toys do toddlers like?
Toddlers are imaginative creatures and learn a lot through toys that encourage imaginative play and creativity. Toddlers also love repetition so toys that involve stacking and building are a huge hit with them.
How many toys should a toddler have?
There is no magic number that defines the ideal number of toys a toddler should have. However research does strongly suggest that the fewer toys a toddler has at a time, the longer he plays with each individual toy with greater creativity and focus.
Fun Educational Gifts for Toddlers That Promote Learning
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ConstructionToys as Educational Giftsfor2 Year Olds
Construction Play is proven to make a difference to the way children think and complete tasks. It’s a form of play all schools and nurseries adopt to aid child growth and development.
It’s perfect for promoting open ended play – your little one can construct new structures each time they play. It makes for a great gift that develops a childs gross motor skills and parents love that it comes in a travel friendly bag that can easily be stored away.
2.Melissa and Dough Building Blocks
This is a 100 piece Wooden Block Set that comes in 4 bright and vibrant colors. There are also 9 different shapes that offer endless opportunities for a little one to build, construct and play. A truly open ended toy that nurtures a child’s inquisitive and imaginative mind.
3. 3D Magna Tiles
This is another favorite in our home and can be played with in SO MANY different ways. Literally, the possibilities are endless!
Your child can experiment with construction and learn about topics like symmetry, magnetic fields, engineering, shapes and colors.
It’s so much fun constructing with these 3D Magnetic Magna Tiles and can hold a little one’s attention for long periods of time.
endless possibilities to create!
If I had to choose one educational toy for toddlers from this entire list I would pick this one. The reasons are:
1. It offers endless opportunities to create
2. Parents LOVE constructing with these too so it ends up being a great way to spend some extra time with your child
3. It offers so many educational benefits that engage little minds by fusing math, sciene, creativity and imaginative play
4. It can hold a child’s attention for long periods of time
While it says that its 3+ on the box, my 2.5 year old absolutely loves constructing and playing with these.
Problem SolvingToys as Educational Giftsfor 2 Year Olds
Young children need access to puzzles that are the correct level of difficulty for their current developmental stage to benefit from puzzle play. They should have access to puzzles that they can do independently. This allows children the chance to build their small muscles, hand-eye coordination, and problem-solving strategies through repeated practice.
This Melissa & Doug Farm Animals Puzzle is a great 1rst puzzle to gift to a little one featuring colorful farm artwork and bright colors and it also offers many educational benefits too.
The puzzle pieces are made from thick wood and the extra large knobs are designed to make it easy for little hands to easily grab. The puzzle has many educational benefits including hand eye coordination, shape and color recognition and visual perception skills.
Built from high quality sustainable wood with rounded edges and non toxic paint, parents can feel safe that their little one is playing with safe materials. Fine motor skills, spacial awareness and problem solving are some of the many benefits.
6. Spelling puzzles – The Learning Journey: Match It!
This is a puzzle set that can be enjoyed by both younger toddlers and older kids. While little kids can look at the pictures to join the puzzle pieces, older kids can work on their spellings to figure out which pieces fit together.
This Learning Journey: Match It! is a puzzle that both my 2 year old and 7 year old love playing with so its something that can really grow with your toddler.
My 2 year old uses the pictures to make the puzzle while my older one works on her spellings to fit the pieces together.
There are many educational benefits including developing problem solving skills, fine motor skills and cognitive skills.
2 Year Old Toys Promoting Fine Motor Skills
Fine motor skills can be thought of as the small movements of muscles that involve using the hands and fingers together to perform movement. These types of movements are important for young children to practice as they develop because they help a child lay the foundation to do such everyday tasks as buttoning a shirt, tying shoe laces, grasping a pencil, using utensils, typing on a keyboard and much more.
This TOYVENTIVE Wooden Kids Activity Cube is a 5 in 1 educational toy that has so much to offer! It includes a shape sorter, abacus, learning clock, spinning gears and wooden bead maze ALL inside this compact wooden cube.
The bottom and top of the toy are detached so that more than one child can enjoy playing with this toy simultaneously.
Development of fine motor skills, hand eye coordination, shape recognition and math skills are some of the educational benefits of this toy.
8. Melissa and Dough Wooden Activity Board
This Latches Activity Board by Melissa and Dough is a great toy to promote a childs dexterity. Featuring 6 different latches, this board can hold a little ones attention for long periods of time as they figure out how each door opens up. Colorful and bright surprises await behind each door and window.
Sensory LearningToys as Educational Giftsfor Toddlers
Providing opportunities for children to actively use their senses as they explore their world through ‘sensory play’ is crucial to brain development – it helps to build nerve connections in the brain’s pathways.
If youre looking to get your 2 year old a gift that keeps them engaged and also promotes learning then a sensory table is a great option.
Development of fine motor skills, social and emotional skills, language skills, creativity, a source of relaxation – these are just a few of the many benefits of letting your toddler play with a sensory table.
This is a cute little hedgehog with bright colored spikes that kids have to poke into the holes. It’s not only a great activity to develop fine motor skills but it also helps with color recognition and counting. Parents love that the spikes can be easily stored so there’s no worry about losing any pieces.
11. Quiet Book for Toddlers
This is a travel friendly gift option and can help keep a toddler busy especially when you’re on the go.
The deMoca Quiet Book for Toddlers is a machine washable book featuring nine activities to keep toddlers engaged. Little ones learn to button up bottons, tie shoes laces, tell the time and match velcro colored shapes. It’s a great gift to promote a child’s dexterity and sensory development.
Educational Gifts for Toddlers: Toys PromotingImaginative Play
When your child engages in pretend (or dramatic) play, he is actively experimenting with the social and emotional roles of life. Through cooperative play, he learns how to take turns, share responsibility, and creatively problem-solve.
Get ready for some interactive pretend play play with plates, cups, food and more. Lay down the picnic tablecloth and let your child’s imagination take over with this sturdily constructed picnic basket.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that it comes in cute packaging and the sturdy built and quality of the basket make it a very giftable item
This LeapFrog Shapes and Sharing Picnic Basket has so many fun and educational features – the basket is a shape sorter and teaches kids about colors, shapes and food. The basket also speaks to the child, sings, asks questions and teaches table manners! It also encourages kids to play with one another and helps develop social skills.
I bought this for my toddler on her 2nd birthday and what I love most about this toy is that it appeals to a wide age range – my 2 and 7 year old both happliy play with it so its a toy your child can enjoy for many years. The second thing I love is that it encouarges open ended play – kids can pretend to be on a picnic, use the cute basket to carry their other toys or pretend to have a party for their stuffies.
13. Dress Up Costumes
Dress up costumes are a terrific gift for little ones with wild imaginations. But the biggest problem with dress up costumes is that they aren’t designed to be comfy and worn often.
If you have little ones you know that they want to wear their dress up costumes ALL THE TIME. And they want to eat, play and sleep while wearing their beloved costumes.
Looking for screen free ways to keep your toddler busy?
Busy Books Are Your Best Friend!
Busy books do just as the same suggests. They keep your child busy. And they do a fantastic job at it!
The Sweet n Sour Busy Bookhas been designed to not just keep your toddler highly engaged and busy but to also learn critical skills while having tons of fun.
Toddlers get to match, sort, count and trace away as they develop their gross motor skills, fine motor skills and critical thinking skills.
Say bye bye to screen time battles and hello to educational fun that buys you TIME and your SANITY!
A toddler sized kitchen set is an ideal gift to spark a little one’s imagination (pssst: it’s also a great way to keep them out of the real kitchen. Just saying.)
A kitchen set offers tons of opportunities for open ended and imaginative play whether it’s whipping up their favorite dessert, pretending to be their parents or cooking up a meal with their friends. It’s also a great way to develop your child’s language skills.
This ones a splurge worthy kitchen set gift for a toddler that offers their very own fridge, oven, microwave and over 40 kitchen accessories. Any kid would be over the moon to receive this as a gift!
Or if you’re looking for a more affordable one then this ones a great option for a pretend play oven.
15. Farmer’s Market Color Sorting Set
This Farmer’s Market Color Sorting Set an open ended toy that can be played with in so many different ways. Kids can sort the fruits and veggies into separate baskets, learn about colors and names of different fruits and veggies. When they’re done with matching and sorting, toddlers can use these for imaginative play.
16. Hape Wooden Shopping Cart
I sat in my toddlers playschool one day and quietly observed my 2 year old from a distance. Different play stations were set up and I was curious to see what she’d play with.
Both my kids LOVE imaginative play. So it wasn’t a surprise that she made her way to the kitchen set.
But then she grabbed the trolley, you know those miniature versions of the grocery carts we use. And she played with it for 45 MINUTES STRAIGHT. Wheeling it around, arranging items inside it, taking things out. She actually had a tantrum when we had to leave because she didnt want to stop playing with the cart.
Long story short: a play cart is an educational toy with many benefit that will hold your toddler’s attention for AGES.
Fun Educational Gifts for Toddlers: Toys Promoting Gross Motor Skills
Working on gross motor skills helps a child gain strength and confidence in his/her body. It also helps them get exercise and physical activity, which is important for a healthy lifestyle. Developing these skills helps a childs ability to do more complex skills in future activities, such as playing soccer with a team.
Climbing, crawling, jumping or sliding – your toddler has so much pent up energy that needs to be channeled in a positive way.
This 5 piece foam climbing set by SoftZone is a parent favorite. It offers tons of opportunities for open ended play. The pieces can be assembled in various ways to build structures or to crawl and jump.
Gross motor skills, fine motor skills, social skills and critical thinking are just a few of the many benefits of this versatile set.
18. Trampoline Little Tikes
This toddler trampoline by Little Tikes is designed to allow your little one to have hours of fun bouncing away. A great way for kids to burn off pent up energy. It features a large jumping surface and a handle bar for extra safety.
19. Sit n Spin Playkool
The Sit n Spin by Playskool is a great toy for active indoor play and helps kids practice balance, motor skills and coordination.
Toddlers get to control the wheel and can whirl, twirl and giggle away on this classic spinning toy for active kids.
Sharpening MemoryToys as Educational Giftsfor 2 Year Olds
There’s no denying the fact that a good memory can help one excel in different spheres of one’s life. It’s important that you work towards enhancing this skill in your toddler from a very young age. Doing it with games and play will make it much easier to learn.
Great for kids aged 2 and up, memory game cards are something both my girls (aged 2 and 7) love. It’s simple enough that a 2 year old can learn the game and so much fun that older kids and even adults enjoy playing it.
Kids learn to sharpen their memory and also learn to match, sort and learn new words with memory cards.
The Banana Panda Memory cards are made from thick cardboard material (so you don’t need to worry about your toddler tearing them up!) and feature bright colorful animal illustration. They can be easily stored and make a great travel game for taking along when on the go.
Stem SkillsToys as Educational Giftsfor Toddlers
STEM toys provide children with a variety of opportunities for hands-on learning. Playing with STEM toys can be a great way to encourage your child’s natural curiosity. These types of toys incorporate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics concepts in an engaging way that is fun for kids of all ages.
If you have a toddler who loves doing creative projects then a Green Kids Craft Box would make a perfect gift that’s super engaging, fun and highly educational.
You can choose from individual boxes or even a monthly subscription.
Each box is filled with 4-6 educator designed STEAM projects. These are award winning hands on activities that are created by a panel of child development experts.
The projects are designed to support key developmental skills for kids aged 2-10. It includes eco friendly toys and STEM kits that promote creative thinking, original creation and a sense of accomplishment and confidence as kids create projects they can truly be proud of.
“This is the best kid craft box around. Love it and so does my child. High quality and the NUMBER of activities! The magazine is great too. So much thought goes into these projects.This is the best kid craft box around.”
You can also choose to get a Green Kids Craft Gift Card and send it to the lucky kid in your life.
The idea of STEM might seem a little advanced for your toddler but there are toys such as these that can really help build problem solving and critical thinking skills.
The concept with this Take Apart Dino set is for kids to take the dinosaur apart and then reconstruct it using the child friendly tools provided.
There are so many different things that a chid learns including dexterity, hand eye coordination and problem solving skills. Most of all it’s super engaging and fun, especially if your child is a Dino fan. Appropriate for older toddlers 3+.
Shape recognition, tactile learning, fine motor skills and sensory development are just some of the benefits of this incredibly versatile toy. Huge bonus: the foam bricks can float in water, stick to the side of the bath tub and make an excellent bath toy too!
24. Montessori Color Shape Recognition Sorter
For more little toddlers, toys that can be taken apart and put together are a great starter to STEM skills. Help your child learn sorting and matching with these Interactive Color & Shapes Matching Egg Toy eggs. The inside of each egg has different shapes and bright colors that kids can easily take apart and join together with its matching piece.
Kids are learning many skills while playing with these including: fine motor skills, color and shape recognition and STEM skills.
FunEducational Gifts for Toddlers: Toys Promoting Artistic skills
We all know that when kids make art, it promotes creativity. We also know that creativity is extremely important for a child’s development. But artmaking at a young age has many more benefits to kids’ physical, emotional and mental well being
Every budding little artist needs a space where they can create. This Flip and Doodle Desk is a versatile art center that has it all. It doubles as an art Easel and a sit down table – simply flip the Easel and pull up the stool to convert it into a sit down desk.
The storage in this is amazing – 3 levels of shelf space, 4 large storage bins and a place at the back of the desk to store coloring books or paper.
It’s a brilliant 3 in 1 piece – easle, desk and art storage – which can really grow with your child and would make for a terrific educational gift for a toddler.
26. Aqua Doodle Mat
All toddler parents would agree that a toddler art activity that promotes creativity and involves zero mess is a win win.
The Aqua Doodle Mat comes with a magic pen that converts water into mess free color. The color disappears after a while so that your child can keep drawing on it again and again.
The mat is large, foldable, portable and comes in a bright colorful border.
Here are more ideas for gifts for toddlers to promote artistic creation:
I hope these ideas helped give you some inspiration for fun educational gifts you can get your toddler. What did I miss? Let me know if you have any more educational gift ideas for toddlers!
This post was all about fun educational gifts for toddlers.
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