By the age of 5 years to 6 years, your kids will be developing their skills and their personalities at school with new friends and new interests outside of the classroom. The problem is that with so many different toys and brands out there for boys and girls it can be hard to choose a gift that really taps into that new interest and pushes their development further. The following list of top toys for kids aged 5 years old and up will look at some of the more interesting toys for fashion and social play for girls, toys that bring out the creative side of your children or grandchildren and some other fun games that they will enjoy after school with their friends or siblings.
Best Toys and Gifts for 5 to 6 Years Old
Orb Factory Sticky Mosaics Jewellery Box
First up for the girls is the Orb Factory Sticky Mosaics Jewellery Box. By this age, many kids are paying more attention to the clothes they, and their mothers, wear and start to become interested in their own bangles and costume jewellery. This kit gives them a basic box to store it all in, measuring around 8x6x4.25 inches, but also everything they need to decorate it with a pretty butterfly mosaic.
This is a great way for young girls to build an interest in arts and crafts because it offers the sense of accomplishment of a seemingly intricate piece of artwork with the simplicity and ease of use to ensure that they can do it by themselves. The kit is essentially a mosaic by numbers with all the necessary adhesive squares of foam and jewels ready to use and promises to be a no fuss, no mess venture for keen, artistic girls.
ZOOB Car designer
The ZOOB Car designer is definitely one for the boys. This building kit, for kids aged 6 years old and up, uses a series of colorful parts, gears and tires to let kids build the very best vehicles that they can then race around the playroom.
There are instructions guides included in the box so that kids can follow clear directions to build the models seen on the box but once they get the hang of how it all fits together and the mechanics of the parts they can go on to test out their abilities on their own designs. Additionally, with 76 pieces in the box there is enough for three vehicles at once so children can build with friends. It may take a little patience and skill at times but it is the best next step for kids that want something more than their typical toy cars.
Fashion Plates Deluxe Kit
On the subject of fashion and art, there are many fashion-related drawing games and toys for children aged 6 years old and up that are designed to help provide an outlet for drawing and coloring skills and a different way of looking at clothes designs.
The Fashion Plates Deluxe Kit is a great place to start because not only does it provide fifteen mix-and-match plates with different designs for different outfits – which have apparently been updated with current trends – there is everything else that kids need to get started, such as the twenty sheets of paper, the rubbing crayons to create the outlines, the colored pencils for the creative designs and a case to carry it all in. There is also a folio of ideas to help newcomers with their first designs but the main aim of the set is to unleash their creative side and help them come up with their own wacky ideas.
ALEX Artist Studio Fantastic Spinner
An alternative option for artistic supplies for young kids is from the same company, ALEX Toys, but this time in the form of the Artist Studio Fantastic Spinner. Essentially this is a way for kids to create art on an energetic scale and feel as though they are making a mess without actually causing one – the splash shield protects against that.
In a sort of miniaturized, child-friendly version of the Damien Hurst-style process, kids can poor paint onto card within the machine, spin it and see what wonderful pieces of modern art they can make. There are four bottles of paint, 20 spin paper cards and some colored card to get kids started but once they figure out the motions and the potential of the spinner there is room to continue and get creative for a long time to come. Also, parents will love that this spinner is completely kid-powered rather than battery powered.
Melissa and Doug Princess Design Activity Kit
A similar product is the Melissa and Doug Princess Design Activity Kit which takes the same approach of providing a series of textured plates, pencils and crayons in a neat little carry case so kids can make rubbings of the outfits and color them in to their own designs. There are fewer plates and colored pencils provided here but that is because this is arguably for the younger users, those at the 5 year -6 year old girls end of the scale rather than the 6 and up.
This appears to be case because this set is less about fashion and clothes design and more about creating images of princesses to color in; there are different plates for the skirts and bodices but also ones for the heads with the flowing locks and tiaras. This could be a great starting point for developing drawing skills in younger girls and the travel-friendly design means it is great for play dates.
Disney Princess Enchanted Cupcake Party Game
The Disney Princess Enchanted Cupcake Party Game sounds like one of those toys that threw lots of concepts together and hoped for the best – princesses, baking, magic and party games – but the result is something that is actually quite charming and provides young girls with an alternative to a more grown-up board game with lots of pretty, magical cupcakes and a princess theme.
The style of the turn based game teaches them about social play and “healthy competition” with the different cards, rules and the sand timer but there is a lot of fun to be had too as kids race to build as many of the cupcakes as possible via the recipe cards before the timer runs out. Each cupcake is designed around a different Disney princess but the creativity of the game play and cards mean that players can “bake” some interesting recipes for the party.
ALEX Toys Artist Studio Draw Like a Pro
The best place to start with toys for children and grandchildren that want to unleash their creative side is the ALEX Toys Artist Studio Draw Like a Pro because it is currently rated as the best seller for arts supplies and craft supplies on Amazon.com. As the name suggests, this award winning lets children aged 6 years old and up learn to draw in a way where they feel as though they are starting to copy real artists.
This device, which also comes with its own paper and markers, is a clever projection unit that display an image onto the paper for kids to trace and embellish as they see fit. There are 124 slides for a variety in subject matter and the size can be determined by the angle of the projection. This is a fun toy for kids that are starting to draw that gives them guidance and creative freedom at the same time.
Games as Gifts for 5 to 6 Year Olds
Operation Game
Some games are classics that live on throughout childhoods and are passed on through generations because they are so simple, timeless and fun. Operation is one of those games that will excite 5 year olds now as much as it did their parents because of the silly concept of the operating table and the anticipation of setting off that buzzer and seeing the patients nose light up – especially if a grandparent does it first.
Hasbro still has a Classic Version of the Operation game available with fun ailments to cure and, as always, budding surgeons succeed by removing the offending objects with tweezers. Kids that have patience and a steady hand will successfully remove the foreign objects and receive their fee but those that don’t will get a shock and lose their turn. Not only does the game bring younger children into family playtime, it aids their development without them realizing.
Pavilion Scramble!
A game that may be a little less well known to the parents and grandparents playing along is the Pavilion Scramble! Pop Up Game from Hilco, but that doesn’t mean that they will not enjoy the fun of this simple, exciting game. This is a competitive two player game with a familiar concept – beat the clock to place all of the items in their correct home or face the consequences.
As young kids they were simply encouraged to find the right shaped hole for the right item but now the challenge is harder because when the timer runs out they are going to pop back out again. The great thing about this toy is that boys and girls can take it on holiday or on playdates with ease thanks to the storage compartments for the pieces and the carry handle on the side. Easy to set up, easy to play, easy to transport.
KEVA Brain Builders Game
They say that the best toys for young children are often the simplest ones and the KEVA Brain Builders Game from MindWare is an interesting and “unique” way of helping kids develop their skills through fun games and puzzles. There are some deeper concepts at play here in regards to the physics of the creations and the skill needed to follow the instructions but the beauty of using wooden blocks is that once kids have tried the models and challenges on the cards, they can then see what else they can build now they have mastered the basics.
There is also something pleasingly tactile about the wood that makes kids want to pick it up and build with it. The challenges offered, which range from building structures like bridges to balancing acts, come in different difficult levels so kids can really see their progression.
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