Got some kids on your gift list this year? Here are some of our all time favorite kid things for kids aged 4-8+. All of these are tried and tested and loved by our kids. This post contains associate links. No additional costs are added.
Four years ago, our kids were given this book of Bible stories with companion CDs and for the past four years our kids have asked to listen to this as they fall asleep at night. The stories are beautifully written and the CD presentation is expressive and soulful. Our kids now have the stories memorized and they often play out the stories with their toys. Our big kids love reading the book with their much-loved stories and the illustrations are beautiful.
The "What's In The Bible?" series is awesome!! Our kids love watching them over and over. This Christmas special does an excellent job of explaining the Christian heart behind Christmas and also the historical background of Saint Nic etc. The content is solid and the delivery is quirky and fun. There is a LOT of information presented which has pros and cons. At first, a lot of it went right over our kids heads and I wondered if they were learning anything! But as we watch them over and over, they hear/understand something new each time. They are begging to own the whole series and I am very happy for them to have DVDs I know are giving them solid Biblical foundations.
After having a beautiful ceramic nativity broken by curious little hands, I wanted to find a nativity they could truly play with. This plastic version has been awesome! Our version has fewer pieces and doesn't make noises. But it looks like they don't make that simple version anymore. I personally don't like toys that make a bunch of noise… so I probably wouldn't use batteries with this new version. haha!
I want my kids to memorize God's Word and scriptures-set-to-music are such an awesome way to do it! Seeds Family Worship CDs are catchy and enjoyable. (And by "enjoyable," I mean: I can listen to them all day without going crazy. Some kids music drives me nuts. But Seeds Family Worship is great!) There are several CDs in this series.
"It looks gross but it's really not gross. It's a skeleton and organs that you can totally take apart. There is a cool book too. My favorite part is taking the brain out! They only problem is it doesn't have a spleen. And spleens are my favorite organ. But apart from that, this is the best thing ever. You should get it for your kids!" – Our 7-year-old Scientist.
Paper. Rolls of paper. Spread all the way down our hallway and into the living room. Add markers, crayons, stickers, chalk, toy cars. Equals unending possibilities and hours of fun! I get our rolls of paper from IKEA. I've found they have the best price in our area.
What is it about dominoes? They're just fun. And thanks to the "Robots" movie, our 4-year-old is very intent on developing cascading chain-reaction runs of domino tiles. When boredom strikes our household, I hand them the box of dominoes and walk away. All kinds of creative games burst forth. Down-side: I find stray domino tiles in all kinds of crazy places so I'm not sure we have a complete set anymore so we may never play an actual game of dominoes. ha!
Little plastic animals are my favorite kid toy. I hear the cutest and coolest stories unfolding as the kids play with little animals. They play out all kinds of scenarios with their toys. I hear them dealing with important social and relational things through the relationships of their little animals. A little cow is crying because she feels left out. A little lion gives important life advice to his son lion cub. Bullies are put at bay. Injustices are addressed. Group decisions are made. And Love always wins. I love listening in to their little animal adventures.
How about you? What are your favorite kid toys for ages 4-8? Share your favs in a comment. I'd love to know!