

If you’re playing as a twosome, the 50 game cards offer supplemental questions or additional tasks for the child to complete, like using their newly found object to write the first two letters of their name. The cards direct players to find objects around the house (or indoor space), with prompts ranging from straightforward (“An object that you can write with”) to more complex (“Something that is the color formed by mixing yellow and blue”). Or you can play it with just one child, as we’ve often done with our son. If you have a bigger group, you can designate a reader to ask the “Can you find … ?” questions on the cards, with kids competing to be the first to locate a particular item. (Just keep in mind that kids develop at different rates, so all age recommendations should be taken with a grain of salt.) And please share your own best ideas in the comments below.Īn elevated scavenger hunt, the Skillmatics Card Game: Found It! Indoor Edition can be played at home without lifting a finger to prepare. We also have guides to gifts for tweens and teens. If you’re looking for more kids gift ideas, check out our guides to the best gifts for 1-year-olds, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds, 6-year-olds, 7-year-olds, 8-year-olds, 9-year-olds, and 10-year-olds, as well as thoughtful stocking stuffers for kids. We relied on the advice of Tenuto and other experts-as well as that of parents and caregivers on our staff-to identify memorable and engaging gifts for 5-year-olds. Books to build their library are wonderful choices, and board games are also great, especially cooperative ones that require working together as a group. You could look for gifts that complement a child’s natural curiosities, whether they love to create art, grow stuff, play sports, make music, or get up close and personal with insects.
Nytimes gift guide series#
Kids automatically get an educational benefit from any number of well-designed, engaging toys, said John Tenuto, a sociology instructor at the College of Lake County, in Grayslake, Illinois, who has studied toys and collectibles (and is an expert featured on the Netflix series The Toys That Made Us). Learning is at the center of a 5-year-old’s life, but that doesn’t mean they need so-called educational toys.

Toys and kits that let them engage in project-based inquiry-such as performing simple science experiments and exploring nature-can help them make connections between what they’re exposed to in the classroom and what they experience out in the world.

Many 5-year-olds are starting kindergarten, and they’re exploring new subjects and ideas in school for the first time. By the time kids are 5, they’re developing skills and more-specific interests that open up new gift-giving possibilities.
