It’s the Christmas season and it can often be difficult to find that perfect toy for your child, niece or grandson that will stand the test of time, spark their imagination and get them learning through play.
Today I’m providing you with a collection of 27 amazing educational toys for the toddlers & preschoolers in your life! Whether you are on the hunt for the perfect gift for Christmas, a birthday or “just because”, I’ve utilized my early childhood background, 12 years in the classroom and 8 years of parenting experience to recommend great quality educational toys that will encourage imaginary play, develop fine motor and language skills and make learning about shapes, colours and numbers an exciting adventure! And, to save you TIME, I’ve also included the link to each toy under its picture! Alright, let’s get started!
This post contains some affiliate links of products that I use and truly love!
1. Isn’t this the most adorable workbench you have ever seen? It has everything your little one needs to get that next “home improvement project” done! Your child will enjoy hours of creative play while strengthening their fine motor skills & hand-eye coordination.
Crate&Kids Wooden Toy Workbench
2. This Melissa & Doug lacing beads set promotes shape recognition, counting, hand-eye coordination and creativity. I personally love how this set includes numerals as well as dots to foster matching as well as subitizing skills.
3. The IKEA train set and track is the biggest bang for your buck! Not only is the Lillabo set adorable & promises any train lover hours of imaginative play, it includes the train, track and all accessories pictured here! Problem solving, role play and language skills are all developed while your child plays with this set.
IKEA Lillabo 45 Piece Train Set
4. You can’t go wrong with a good set of DUPLO lego blocks. The blocks are great quality, easy for small hands to use and this particular set even provides the opportunity for your child to work on their counting and matching skills! Foster your child’s creativity and fine motor skills with this set!
LEGO Duplo All in One Box of Fun
5. Friends, I have done my fair share of research when it comes to kids kitchens! This Duktig play kitchen from IKEA is neutral and will fit into any play space, it’s durable and will last the test of time and the stovetop lights up to make your little one feel like they are truly cooking up a masterpiece! From firsthand experience, toddlers to early elementary aged children don’t tire of playing with this toy! Communication & social skills are fostered with this staple, especially when playing with a sibling or friend!
6. Allow your child to explore their world and mimic the grown ups in the kitchen with this 5 piece cookware set from IKEA. Children love to process the world around them through play and this set allows them to create their own culinary masterpieces!
IKEA Duktig 5 Piece Cookware Set
7. Add to the options in your child’s play kitchen by including this Melissa & Doug utensils set. They can flip, stir, mix, scoop and strain with this great selection of tools. I also love the handy container that is included to keep everything in its place when play time is done.
Melissa & Doug Cooking Utensils Set
8. This Melissa & Doug wooden fruit set is great for imaginative play and also develops your child’s fine motor skills as they use the knife to cut through each item. This set promotes matching, food recognition, language skills and simple fractions (1/2, whole, a quarter). When playing with a friend, sharing is easy with this cutting fruit set!
Melissa & Doug Cutting Fruit Set
9. Melissa & Doug offers a regular cookie set and this Christmas cookie play food set for the holidays! Encourage unlimited imaginative play as your child slices the dough, chooses a topping, follows pretend baking directions and creates their very own holiday cookies. This set also includes optional play ideas to guide educational and imaginative play.
Melissa & Doug Slice and Bake Wooden Christmas Cookie Play Food Set
10. Start hands-on math learning from an early age with this colourful IKEA Mula abacus. Children make connections to the real world as they count, slide and compare the beads. Concepts such as counting by ones, skip counting, comparing less & more, basic addition and subtraction, problem solving skills and naming colours are some of the benefits to this toy! In my opinion, every home needs an abacus!
11. This beautiful chunky alphabet puzzle is perfect for introducing letters to little ones. The upper case letters are easy to place in their matching space on this good quality wooden tray. Have fun thinking of items that begin with each letter as your child picks it up from the tray and have them repeat the letter sound after you as they place it back in the tray. Sing the ABC’s as you point to each letter to make the connection to letter recognition. Endless fun and learning… sign me up!
12. The IKEA Duktig cash register is the perfect addition to any play space. Suddenly a kitchen becomes a store, and your child can “buy” or “sell” items and learn their numbers while they are at it! Children role play familiar situations and develop social skills as they play. BONUS: the calculator runs on solar cells so no batteries required!
13. This farmers market colour coding set is one of my favourite toys of all time! It promotes endless fun and learning opportunities. The produce is realistic and excellent quality and the baskets are colour coded which encourages sorting. Children will engage in dramatic play and learn about good nutrition at the same time. This set also includes an activity guide.
Learning Resources Farmers Market Color Sorting Set
14. I love that this soft and sweet IKEA Latsas shopping basket comes with an array of food that encourages role play, fine motor development and creativity in the play kitchen or pretend grocery store. All of the food groups are covered with 1 cheese, 2 sausages, 2 bread pieces, 2 pasta noodles, 1 green pepper, 1 pineapple, 1 eggplant and 1 fish.
15. This GREEN toys car carrier is made of 100% recycled plastic milk jugs. It has no metal axels or small parts so it is great for both indoor and outdoor play. Your child will love using their imagination as they use the carrier cab, detachable trailer and 3 brightly coloured cars. Their gross motor skills will be developed as they maneuver this set all over the house and yard. And BONUS: It’s dishwasher safe with No BPA, phthalates, PVC or external coatings! This is just a great quality toy!
16. The weather is getting cooler and with the kids being cooped up inside more than usual, this adorable doorway bean bag toss game by Crate&Kids is the perfect way to help your little ones burn off some energy, work on their throwing and accuracy skills, and even improve number recognition & counting skills while they are at it!
Crate&Kids Doorway Bean Bag Toss
17. This beautiful wooden Melissa & Doug mixer set encourages creative thinking and imaginative play. Let your little one mimic all your mad baking skills with their very own mixer that promotes memory and number skills.
18. This pretend play wooden Melissa & Doug coffee maker set promises to engage your child’s imagination as they take coffee orders, use the dial to choose size and practice serving friends and family members. Great for toddlers to early elementary aged children!
19. This simple IKEA Mala easel will compliment any homes’ decor and will allow your child to express their ideas and feelings & bring their imagination to life! With one side a chalkboard and the other side a white board and a roll to store paper, the possibilities are endless!
20. The IKEA Mala drawing paper roll is the perfect compliment for the easel. I also like to use it on our island or coffee table so my kiddos can create a mural with paint or felts & stickers! Give your child the room to be creative with this drawing paper roll!
21. The short handles on this solid birch IKEA Mala paintbrush set make painting a breeze for little hands! Let their imagination flow as they paint with a variety of sizes of brushes. This set is super affordable and pairs perfectly with the IKEA easel and paper roll!
22. The Crayola washable kids’ paint is my go-to choice for painting projects with little ones! The paint is easy to clean, and the compact size of these bottles make finger painting a fun option. There are so many colour options, which makes an impromptu lesson on mixing primary colours possible!
23. I love the Melissa and Doug happy handles stamp set. Encourage fine motor control as your little one grasps the easy grip wooden handles and carefully presses their stamp into one of the 6 washable kid-friendly ink choices. Children can work on their patterning skills with the fun symbols!
Melissa & Doug Happy Handles Stamp Set
24. This beautiful Melissa & Doug geometric shape stacker is great for developing early shape, colour and size differentiation skills. Children will be engaged for hours as they stack, build and match shapes and colours.
Melissa & Doug Geometric Shape Stacker
25. Another classic must have toy in your home is this beautiful wooden shape sorter by sweet-casa. This toy promotes shape recognition, hand-eye coordination, matching and naming colours.
26. Alright friends, this toy packs a whole lot of learning into its sturdy plastic carton! Your toddler or preschooler will learn to count, sort, and match with 12 smooth eggs perfect for little hands that click together and pull apart effortlessly! Fine motor skills and finger dexterity are developed as children break apart each egg and then match it again by colour and number, with corresponding pegs and holes.
27. Christopher Franceschelli books are sure to be your child’s favourite pick over and over again. The Alpha Block board book features thick pages cut into the shape of each letter. As readers interact with the pages, they will familiarize themselves not only with the 26 letters and associated words, but also with each letter’s physicality—angles, holes, and curves, both front and back. With Peskimo’s animated, stylish visuals, this fresh alphabet learning book encourages readers to view and interact with the alphabet in a whole new way. Counta Block, Dino Block, City Block and Builda Block are all other great educational reads for your little one!
Christopher Franceschelli Board Books
And a BONUS Toy; perfect for stocking stuffers, birthday party favours, or to keep the kiddo’s occupied in the car!
I hope you have found this educational toy round up post useful! All of the products listed are ones that are sure to encourage lots of learning through play, are good quality products and are affordable!
Do you have any favourite educational toys for toddlers or preschoolers? I’d love to hear your suggestions! Share your must have educational toddler and preschooler toys with the rest of the OWK community in the comments section below!
