Tag: presents

Creative Thinking, Education, Fun Friday, K-5, Parenting

DIY Gifts for Kids

Terri Eichholz
DIY Slotted Building Discs from Made by Joel
DIY Slotted Building Discs from Made by Joel

It’s Friday!  And you know what that means, right?

Okay – other than the fact that tomorrow is Saturday, or that many of us in the education world are about to have a two-week break.

Friday + December + Engage Their Minds = Another Installment of the “Gifts for the Gifted” series.

Since it’s a bit close to the Big Day for some of us, I thought I would spotlight some cool ideas for gifts that would not require mail order.  One of my favorites is the “DIY Explorer Activity Kit” detailed by the women at the Merry Thought blog. Inspired by the Child’s Activity Kits carried by Anthropologie, this post describes how you can make your own for your adventuresome child.  The photographs are helpful for those of us who may not be quite as creative.  Of course, you could do any number of variations of this kit, depending on your child’s personal interests.

I found some more ideas for DIY kits on the Kids’ Activities Blog.  There are 101 suggestions, but here are some that I think are particularly suited for gifted kids in elementary school:

Build a Fort Kit

A Marble Run Kit – (You don’t have to be able to understand the language on this page to love the concept!)

Slotted Building Discs Made from Recycled Cardboard

Popsicle Stick Building Kit

For more installments of “Gifts for the Gifted”, check out my Pinterest Board!  Next Monday – a bonus post of recommended apps to load up on new tablets!

3-12, Critical Thinking, Education, Games, Problem Solving

Craniatics

Terri Eichholz

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Here we are again; it’s Friday, and time for another holiday post on “Gifts for the Gifted”.  You can see last week’s post here, and it will also give you links to my other recent Friday posts.  You might also enjoy my Pinterest board of “Games and Toys for Gifted Students”.

I have not had personal experience with Craniatics – yet.  I was skipping along on the web, looking for new ideas, and ran across the Parents’ Choice Toy Awards.  As I hunted through the lists, I found an intriguing description of Craniatics, and decided to do a little more research.  I then found this blog post that gives a very good in-depth review of the game.

Craniatics is packaged in a magnetic box, which makes it a good choice for long car or plane rides.  As Gabriel Fernandes described, “The included brainteasers are a mix of solitaire logic puzzles and multiplayer games with difficulties ranging from fairly easy to demanding.”

The recommended minimum age for Craniatics is 8.  My daughter is 10, and I have a feeling this might show up under the tree this year…