Best Learning Gifts For Kids

Fun Ways To Build Skills!

Looking for the best learning gifts for kids? As an occupational therapist and homeschool mom, this is my handpicked list of toys and games that build crucial skills through fun play. I specifically focus on educational gifts that strengthen visual perception, planning and organization skills.

For each suggestion, I'll explain the developmental "why" behind the fun and provide convenient links to purchase (#Ad). I hope you find the perfect gift to help your child grow! 

10 best learning gifts for kids

For your convenience, I may link to products that are similar to the ones I use. I may receive a small commission if you purchase a product through my links, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my site!

Key Takeaways For Busy Parents:

  • Choose toys that build specific skills (visual discrimination, spatial reasoning, planning/executive) and that your child will genuinely enjoy using.
  • Start simple and increase the challenge as your child grows in confidence (eg begin Memory Game with a small set of pairs and add more as your child improves)
  • Cooking with kids develops their planning, sequencing and fine motor skills - so a small baking kit plus a simple recipe can be a high-impact gift.
  • Playing with construction toys can be balanced between following instructions (methodical thinking) and free-building (creativity and problem solving)
  • Strategy games are great for developing planning skills: explain strategies to your child and let your struggling child play with kind opponents who will take time to support strategic thinking.

Gifts To Help Visual Perception Skills

Visual perception skills play a very important role in reading and writing, as well as other school skills. For this reason, toys and games that build visual perception skills are among the best learning gifts for kids!

Seek and Find Books

Skill Building: figure-ground perception, visual scanning and visual discrimination skills. Seek & Find books may also help your child learn to focus on a task at hand.

Pro Tip: 

  • Younger kids who are not literate may prefer a book that has a visual representation of what they need to look for so they can use the book without adult help.
  • Older kids / good readers can use books which have a word list of the objects to be found.
great seek and find booksSeek and Find Books
inside a "seek and find" bookInside the books

View "Seek and Find" type books on Amazon:


Spot It!

Skill Building: visual discrimination and figure-ground perception skills; paying attention to small details (which may help kids who are learning to read)

Pro Tip: For younger children, or those with poor visual perception skills, read my guidelines for playing Spot It! here - these tips will help you to help your child master the game and build skills.

Spot It! is a great game to develop visual discrimination and figure-ground perception skillsSpot It!

View Spot It! on Amazon:


Memory Games / Concentration

Skill Building:  visual memory skills, which can help with reading and spelling.

Pro Tip: Start with 10 pairs of cards and increase the number of pairs as your child improves.

  • Choose a theme that interests your child! Kids often do surprisingly better than adults at these games, because we adults often have too many other things on our minds!
  • Get some tips on how to work on visual sequential memory with the same card game!
memory matching games make great giftsPlaying Concentration

View Memory Games on Amazon:

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Gifts To Help Planning and Organization Skills

Kaleidograph

Skill Building:  great for older kids who need to practice visual perception, spatial perception and planning skills.

Pro Tip:  Read my Kaleidograph tips for kids who struggle with organization and planning skills.

This is an activity for a child to use on his/her own. Pick a design on the challenge sheet and then replicate it using the Kaleidograph cards.

Great for road trips and quiet vacations!

View Kaleidograph at Red Hen Toys: 

Kaleidograph is a great gift to build spatial perception and visual perception skillsView Kaleidograph



ThinkFun Toys

ThinkFun toys make some of the best learning gifts for kids! I absolutely love the STEAM concepts behind ThinkFun and have bought my kids quite a few of their toys over the years. Rush Hour and Gravity Maze are their favorites.

Skill Building:  planning, reasoning and spatial logic skills

These toys are designed for the child to play individually (read - lots of quiet hours for the parents!) and the challenge cards range from easy to difficult.

Each challenge card requires the child to solve the problem (get the car out of the traffic jam or the marble through the maze). The answers are provided on the back of each card.

Great for the whole family - kids love watching dad tackle it, too!

View ThinkFun Games on Amazon:

Think Fun toys like Rush Hour help kids to work on reasoning, spatial logic and planning skillsRush Hour



Baking/Cooking Sets

Skill Building: planning and organization skills (following a recipe), math (measuring ingredients), fine motor and coordination skills. Read more about the skills your child learns when baking.

Pro Tip: Take time to show your child how to follow a recipe; involve them in daily food preparation. Kitchen supervision is required for kids of all ages. 

Measuring ingredients is good for kids' maths skillsMeasuring ingredients
kids can use coordination skills when baking in the kitchenusing hand-eye coordination to pour batter

Download my free printable cookie recipes to help you and your child get started!

View Baking and Cooking Sets On Amazon:


Learning Resource STEM Toys

If your child is in preschool or kindergarten, check out the amazing STEM toys by Learning Resources #Ad.

Aimed mostly at kids around age 4 - 5, your child can explore basic physics and technology concepts with beautiful, sturdy sets. In addition, there are also affordable sets that work on 3D spatial perception and basic coding skills.


Strategic Board Games

These games are particularly helpful as learning gifts for kids who are a bit older (age 8+ and teens). 

Although they may seem like an expensive initial outlay, strategic games can give hours of family fun for years to come!

Skill Building: strategic thinking and reasoning

Strategic board games can help kids develop planning and organizing and reasoning skillsStrategic Board Games

Pro Tips:

  1. Once your child has played the game to get the hang of it, take some time to explain how to think strategically for that particular game.Sometimes we need to spell it out for our struggling child as the strategy does not come easily.

  2. Losing all the time isn't fun, so where possible, give opportunities for your "planning-challenged" child to play against younger kids (where they have some advantage) or against kind adults who will gracefully lose on occasion!

  3. Have a word with your more competitive, strategically minded kids, to informally encourage their sibling and give tips during the game. It is great when our kids are "big enough" to help others on their way.

View Some Popular Strategic Board Games on Amazon:


Construction Toys (LEGO, Erector Sets etc)

Skill Building: following instructions, working methodically, problem solving, spatial reasoning skills, creativity.

Building a LEGO model helps kids learn to follow instructionsBuilding Lego
Constructing and adapting an erector model can help teach problem solving skillsErector Set

Pro Tips:

  • If your child is one who just likes to build by the rules, and only makes what is in the instruction manual, then take some time to create something "new" together, to unleash some creativity.

  • If your child tends to randomly just play and make their own creations, they may be doing so because they struggle to follow instructions and work methodically. So take some time to help them build the model according to the instructions.

Both skills are necessary for learning and development!

View Construction Toys on Amazon:

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An Educational Tech Gift:  The HeroMask

Skill Building: learning a second language, or reinforcing math concepts. 

The HeroMask is a virtual reality headset that enables kids to learn a new language, or gain confidence in math, in a fun, virtual reality world. It requires more physical activity than sitting with an educational app on a device. 

heromask virtual reality set

Pro Tip: It would make a good holiday gift for kids age 5-12 who enjoy virtual play. However, not all mobile devices are compatible - check your device's capability before purchasing (eg gyroscope functionality). 

View HeroMask on Amazon: 

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Jigsaw Puzzles: One Of The Best Learning Gifts For Kids!

Jigsaw puzzles are one of the best learning gifts for kids of all ages, and can create a lovely opportunity for families to spend time together.

Skill Building:  visual perception, visual scanning, spatial reasoning and planning skills

puzzles are great family gifts and can help with visual perception developmentDoing a puzzle together

Pro Tip: if your child struggles to do puzzles, check out the appropriate age-related page for tips and strategies to support your child:.

View Puzzles:

  • Cloudberries make funky, environmentally friendly puzzles (that ship internationally) that are perfect for teens or young adults.They have stunning, off-beat designs, which look even more fabulous if you frame them after completion.
  • You can also visit Ravensburger's Store#Ad on Amazon to view a range of lovely puzzles for hours of family fun!


Choosing a thoughtful gift is a rewarding way to invest in your child's development.

I hope that this list, compiled from my hands-on experience as a mom and as an OT, has helped you find a toy or game that will help your child grow in both skills and confidence.

Whether you are solving a puzzle together, following a recipe together, or strategizing in a board game, I hope you enjoy the connection with your child as you establish a foundation for success!

10 best gifts to build kids skills

Please read product reviews and keep your child's age and abilities in mind before making any purchases - my links are merely suggestions to inspire you, based on products I have personally used.

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Share this page to help others!



best puzzles for toddlersPuzzles for Toddlers
puzzles for teens - help them get interested in puzzlesPuzzles for Teens
kaleidograph is a super activity to build visual perception and planning skills (executive functioning)Kaleidograph
Tips and activities to help older kids build visual perception skillsFor Older Kids
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