Obviously, they don’t buy their own toys, so when you are trying to find things to keep them engaged and happy, it’s also a great idea to get them toys which encourage learning and get them thinking about the logical concepts they can comprehend when they are five.
This is exactly the problem when it comes to buying your kids toys that are educational.
Firstly, you don’t want to buy something that is genuinely boring, even to a 5 year old.
Secondly, you really don’t want to buy them something that is beyond their current logical capacity, namely, toys that are too old for them. This could frustrate them and is simply a waste of your own money.
We feel we have found what we think are some suitable, fun, and educational toys for your 5 year old that are suited to their age and aren’t a waste of your money. Read on to find out more!
Brought to you by the education experts at National Geographic, look no further than the classic but revitalised marble run.
The marble run has been used to entertain children since the 80s and is something you may remember even using yourself.
Marbles can practically educate your child on concepts such as gravity, foreplanning, construction as well as a whole host of other STEM related ideas.
The marble run is also pretty safe, they rarely fall down unless pushed or knocked over and the biggest thing to keep an eye on is the choke hazards of a marble, they do look kinda tasty if you don’t know better.
Moreover, as this product glows in the dark, there's little chance your 5 year old won’t have some fun with this.
One thing we enjoy about the marble run is that if you have more than one child around the same age, a slightly older child can play with their 5 year old sibling and teach them things while playing with the marble run.
This is one of the best educational tools, a teacher you look up to!
Picasso tiles are some of the best magnetic tiles on the market and they are the best value for your money in this department.
While other magnetic tiles are unnecessarily expensive, Picasso remains reasonable in price while also having great build design to keep kids safe.
Magnetic tiles are a great way to get your child to start creating structures that are beyond simply stacking blocks and knowing them down.
Picasso tiles encourage your child to create complex structures with the help of magnetic tiles. You can create anything from a cuboid to a whole palace.
Again, this is another one worth looking at if your 5 year old has an older sibling, while these are perfect for 5 year old to play with on your own, you will even find yourself playing with these tiles, as we did, which we think only proves their universal charm and interest which even a 5 year old will enjoy.
Needless to say, if you leave your child alone with these tiles you will be shocked to see what their little brains are capable of building.
This is a STEM toy made specifically to get girls into STEM. The one kit creates 20 different models from nearly the same pieces.
This can teach your child some complex scientific ideas quite easily, concepts such as being able to build multiple things from one set of resources.
While LEGO is great, the bricks you are given often make one structure at the end.
With Engino Toys 20-in-1 model set your child can understand the versatility of resources, an important concept to break at this age.
The color choices are obviously directly targeting girls, while stereotyping isn’t the best marketing method, it certainly works on 5 year olds.
Beyond teaching them just how to build things, there are detailed descriptions of basic physics theory in the handy booklet you are given with the pack.
While your child might not quite be able to grasp Newton’s first law of motion, reading this to them while they actively tussle with these concepts in real time while they build something is sure to seep through into their heads.
These rock sets, while not necessarily the first thing you will think of, are actually great for kids to learn about science topics as well as how history and science meld together.
Moreover, this set can solve some practical issues.
I don’t want to speak for other parents, but our kids, especially the boys, pick up and collect rocks like it is nobody's business..
Usually when they are asked why they picked that specific rock, it usually has some abstract reason we can’t quite access without their imagination.
This set provides some scientific context for your kids to enjoy and explain rocks as well as minerals.
Some of the particularly shiny stones will really grab their attention and they can learn all about where they came from and why, but also when they came from.
They can learn about dinosaurs almost hand in hand with this set too as it targets the same part of old world history that kids seem to find interesting.
On a practical note, this set actually will help more than you think, it means your kids will stop picking rocks up off the ground which are dirty and of a mysterious origin.
Rather, they will simply look to this set, rather than the ground, and learn all about the earth and its history.
If you have a parent who is particularly green-thumbed, or even if you want to get into gardening yourself, there’s no better way to get your kids into STEM topics than by getting them to interact with their natural environment.
Gardening is an eternal leveller when it comes to learning about anything.
Gardening teaches patience, care, manual labour skills and appreciation for the environment.
Once your child respects the environment, they will love anything to do with it such as Environmental Sciences and Conservation.
More than anything, it encourages them to get outside and learn about the world with their hands and eyes.
Once your child grows a plant from seed to harvest they will never have an experience that will encourage them into the STEM world better than this success!
More than anything, this specific set allows your child to learn about caring for equipment while they garden, useful in any STEM career.
It also gives them a sense of responsibility and duty of care to protect things that are important to them and their learning.
Final Words
We think these are a good display of some of the types of toys out there that you can buy for children to encourage their development into a STEM based career or education.
These toys show the variety of toys out there as well as their uses. Kids love toys and playing with their imagination, so learning while they play is super easy once you know how to encourage it.
Hi, my name is Elena Jones, and my full-time job is a teacher. Through teaching, I have discovered that children learn in many different ways, and have seen the positive impact both STEM and Montessori toys have on children.
Through this site I hope to educate parents and adults about these toys, providing them with useful information on how they can be used, and provide some in depth reviews of different toys to consider too.
