Holiday Presents for Four-Year-Olds
Giving Gifts and Toys to Preschoolers that are Educational and Fun
Nov 11, 2008
Education for preschoolers isn’t just about letters and numbers. Even more important than pre-reading and pre-writing skills, education for four-year-olds is about developing social skills and creativity.
Four-year-olds need time and materials to plan simple hands-on projects, learn to be flexible during projects and try out new ideas and problem solving while completing projects. Great projects for four-year-olds are things like pretend play with others, pretend play alone, experimenting with art supplies and building structures.
This list of age appropriate gifts and toys will help shoppers purchase Christmas presents that will be used for a long time as well as gifts that will support the educational development of four-year olds.
Dress up Clothes and Items for Pretend Play
Four-year-olds love to dress the part and create costumes and scenery for everyday pretend play. Engaging in pretend play is more than just play. Pretend play is both fun and educational for four-year-olds. As preschoolers make up story lines and solve conflicts during pretend play, they are developing social skills and creativity.
Great pretend play gifts and toys for four-year-olds include
- capes
- crowns
- hats, wands
- kitchen aprons
- nail aprons
- boots
- fairy/butterfly wings
- toolboxes, purses
- wallets, buckets
- play kitchens
- play workbenches
- small tents
Art Supplies that Promote Creativity
When buying art supplies as Christmas presents for four year olds, gift givers can best support healthy development by choosing art kits and art supplies that allow preschoolers to be creative. A craft kit that has step-by-step directions does not usually promote creativity and is not the best educational gift for preschoolers.
Plain pads of blank paper and items to mark on, paint on and glue on the paper make great Christmas presents that are educational, fun and that will be used over and over again. Simple sculpture building promotes creativity for four-year-olds as well, so three dimensional building supplies such as pipe cleaners, Wiki Stix and other geometric building supplies are great gifts too.
Art supplies that promote creativity include
- non-toxic washable paints
- painting easels
- plain paper
- easel paper
- paint brushes
- child safe markers
- crayons
- sticker dots
- yarn
- glue, glue sticks
- wooden craft sticks (ice cream sticks and tongue depressors)
- pom-poms
- colored construction paper
- child safe scissors
- pipe cleaners
- Wiki Stix
- ribbon
- tissue paper
Animal and People Figures
Plastic figures of people and animals allow four-year-olds to be in charge of an entire scene of dramatic play. The best choice for plastic people figures are plain ones that can represent any character that a preschooler wants the figure to be. Basic male and female adult and child figurines will be able to become a fire fighter, a doctor, a zookeeper or any role that a child can imagine.
Great animal and people figure toys and gifts for preschoolers include
- a set of zoo animals
- a set of farm animals
- a set of sea animals
- a set of arctic animals
- Playmobil brand figures
- Guidecraft Family Wedgie Play Figures
- Pretend and Play by Marvel
- Lego Duplo World People Set
- People and Accessories by Selecta
Predictable Picture Books
Because preschoolers are learning pre-reading and a few beginning reading skills, predictable picture books make great holiday presents for four-year-olds. Young children like to hear the same stories over and over again, which helps preschoolers recognize patterns in stories, hear patterns in language and practice other essential reading skills.
Age Appropriate Building and Construction Toys
Most shoppers know about the Lego brand of blocks. But there are other construction toys that offer four-year-olds the opportunity to build towers, bridges and other structures. The best fun and educational building toys for four year olds are ones that allow preschoolers to be creative and make up their own building construction plans. Block “kits” that are designed to make only one type of structure don’t encourage creativity and problem solving as well as a simple building set that can be used in many different ways.
Age appropriate building and construction toys to consider for four-year-olds are
- wooden blocks by Melissa and Doug
- Tinkertoys
- Imagability Wedgits
- Magna-Tiles
- Beginner Gear Sets
- Magneatos Construction Sets
- Krinkles, Bristle Blocks,
- wooden Blocks
- cardboard Blocks
Shoppers can choose age appropriate gifts for four-year-olds by focusing on the educational needs of children rather than what toy looks the most exciting on the toy store shelf. Toys that promote healthy development will be played with the most long after the holidays have passed.
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