Around age three, children enter a developmental stage filled with tremendous growth. They are learning to socialize with others and control big emotions while learning to count to 10 and recognize their ABCs. The best way for children to grow to their full potential is not with worksheets or coloring books, it's through play!
For over 50 years, Kaplan has supported early learners and the caregivers who guide them. We know that play is the best way to build a foundation for learning. That is why we provide safe, durable, thoughtfully designed toys to inspire curiosity, encourage exploration, and grow with children through these crucial years.
If you are looking for meaningful gift ideas that children will enjoy long after the holiday season ends, you're in the right place. Continue reading to see our list of the 10 best educational gifts for children ages 3 to 5.
Wild Pines Wooden Train Set – 95 Pieces
Ages: 3 years and up
Embark on a woodland train adventure with the Wild Pines Wooden Train Set. This train set invites creativity and storytelling as young children build and design their own logging world. They can push the logging truck and loader around the track, past a sleepy bear and serene lake, to pick up logs using magnets.
Skills Taught: Children will build fine motor and problem-solving skills as they rotate and connect pieces to create train tracks and forestry scenes. Storytelling skills emerge as children send their train cars around the track to gather cut logs, trees, and more.
Gift Companions: To add a few more enriching qualities to play time, pair this train set with some Wooden Stacking Garden Friends or a set of Big City Building Blocks.
Cuddlebug the 35" Vibrating Sensory Caterpillar
Ages: 3 years and up.
Cuddlebug the Vibrating Sensory Caterpillar is the ultimate plush companion for sensory seekers. This 35" long caterpillar provides comfort and relaxation through five soothing vibration modes. The sensory-rich materials and numbered feet blend tactile stimulation and interactive learning for young children. You will need 2 AA batteries for this cute and cuddly holiday gift.
Skills Taught: This is the perfect gift for children who fidget and love to explore and cuddle with plush materials. Children can practice number recognition by counting Cuddlebug's legs. The tactile materials and vibrations' sensory engagement helps children regulate their emotions and stay calm during periods of overstimulation.
Gift Companions: A Warmies® Microwavable Plush Cow or one of our many social-emotional support toys are fun options to pair with this cuddly caterpillar.
Needoh® Pocket-Sized Sensory Pack
Ages: 3 years and up.
Another fidgety favorite for the 2025 holiday season is the Needoh® Pocket-Sized Sensory Pack. These textured, squishy puppies, balls, and cubes are great for quiet time and stress management. All items can be slowly squished and will return to their original shape once children release them.
Skills Taught: This Needoh pack may look like simple fidget toys, but they help immensely with self-regulation and decrease anxiety and overstimulation. Squeezing and releasing the items in this pack helps children strengthen fine motor muscles and finger dexterity, which they'll use as they eat, write, and draw. You can even encourage color recognition by prompting children to name the color of each Needoh item they play with.
Gift Companions: For a gift that focuses on fine motor development, pair this Needoh set with some Tangle Jr.® Textured Metallic Fidgets or a few tubs of Kaplan Dough.
Waggy Tails Dog Salon Wooden Playset
Ages: 3 years and up.
Get "dog show ready" at the Waggy Tails Dog Salon, where pups get pampered in style. This charming wood playset features seven adorable dogs, a washing area, three towels, a grooming table with a brush, a hair dryer, and a winning trophy. It is scaled to fit alongside most traditional dollhouses to enhance children's play.
Skills Taught: Pretend play sets like the Waggy Tails Dog Salon offer countless ways for children to use their imaginations and creativity while they play. They can craft stories about the dogs that come in to get pampered, and those that go on to star in a playroom dog show. As they encourage the wooden dogs to take turns being washed and dried, they are also teaching themselves life skills such as turn-taking and collaboration. Encouraging children to follow a proper sequence of events as they move dogs from one salon station to another is a great way to introduce early math concepts.
Gift Companions: Pair the Waggy Tails Dog Salon with Wooden Stacking Farmyard Animals or any of our wooden animal toys to give children a variety of animals to pamper.
Furnished Wooden Classic Dollhouse
Ages: 3 years and up.
The charming Furnished Wooden Classic Dollhouse brings imagination and storytelling to life. The open design offers easy access to four rooms for dolls to watch TV, read a book, take a bath, or cook a meal. This set includes mini furniture such as a sofa, bed, tub, kitchen stove, lamp, and more.
Skills Taught: This dollhouse provides countless ways for children to strengthen their storytelling skills and let their imagination run wild. As they practice role-playing with dolls or mini animals, they can help their characters practice negotiating, sharing, and solving problems together. Children will also expand their vocabulary by discussing activities their characters perform inside the dollhouse.
Gift Companions: Pair this dollhouse with a set of Wooden Community People or a Multi-Generational Family Set for even more realistic, enriching ways for children to play.
Snip & Style Hair Salon Kit
Ages: 3 years and up.
The Snip & Style Hair Salon Kit is the perfect gift for little barbers and hairstylists in the making. This fun, interactive set features a battery-powered toy hair clipper, wooden scissors, wooden hair treatments, felt mustaches and beads, and even a mirror. All accessories fit neatly inside an included fabric bag, making clean up and storage a breeze.
Skills Taught: As children trim, style, and shave, they will develop fine motor and hand-eye coordination skills. These essential skills help children (and adults) write, eat, and dress themselves. Along with these skills, children will learn to think creatively, follow instructions, and practice communicating with others.
Gift Companions: To make this gift extra special, pair it with a Modern Pretend Play Cleaning Set so children can clean up after a day of salon appointments.
TinkerTar Tiger Guitar
Ages: 3 years and up.
Get ready to rock with the TinkerTar Tiger Guitar! This 1-string guitar is an ideal beginner instrument that will ignite a passion for music and musical expression. Why one string? This is intentional and makes it easier for beginners to concentrate on coordination, finger placement, and pitch so that learning to play a musical instrument stays fun and frustration-free. The included songbook contains 12 ready-to-play songs that children know and love.
Skills Taught: For musicians in the making, this guitar uses colored and numbered finger positions to help children with color recognition, counting, and hand-eye coordination. This toy also provides a pitch-perfect introduction to sound and vibrations, especially as the children pluck the single string while strumming a tune.
Gift Companions: Combine the TinkerTar Guitar with a "Groovy Beats" Piano or "Groovy Beats" wooden drum set to gift a whole musical ensemble.
Wooden Doll Wellness Kit
Ages: 3 years and up.
When cuddly dolls aren't feeling their best, the Wooden Doll Wellness Kit will help them recover in no time! With this kit, children can serve meals using the included plate, bowl, and utensils or groom their doll with a mini brush and comb. For check-ups and illnesses, young aspiring doctors can give their doll a once-over with the included blood pressure monitor, stethoscope, and reflex hammer. The accessories are easy to store in the included fabric carrying case.
Skills Taught: By playing with this wooden wellness kit, children will develop empathy and compassion, especially as they check temperatures, offer comfort, and nourish their dolls. They'll start to understand the relationship between their actions and outcomes, like when they give the doll medicine, they'll start to feel better. Pretend play is also an excellent way for young children to improve their language and literacy skills.
Gift Companions: The best way to gift this wooden doll wellness kit is by pairing it with a 15" Doll with Vitiligo, a 12" Bebe Calin Caroline Doll, or any of our dramatic play dolls and doll accessories.
Design and Drill® Robot Workshop
Ages: 3 years and up.
Young engineers can build for hours with the Design & Drill® Robot Workshop. This set includes 150 colorful pieces, enough to make six robots. The interchangeable pieces allow children to create as many robot variations as they can dream up. To secure and connect the pieces of their robot, children can use one of the included drills, gear socket bits, or a screwdriver.
Skills Taught: This set is a great way to help children develop their fine motor and coordination skills. They must also use cause and effect and problem-solving to determine which pieces will fit and create a robot that mimics what they see in their minds. Building alongside friends or family can also improve children's communication and sharing skills.
Gift Companions: A colorful robot pairs perfectly with the Gears! Gears! Gears!® Robot Factory STEM Set or any of our fine motor and manipulative toys.
Wooden Lacing Jewels
Ages: 3 years and up.
Add a touch of shimmer and shine to playtime this holiday season by gifting a set of Wooden Lacing Jewels. Framed in smooth, chunky FSC® beechwood, the brightly colored acrylic jewels are long-lasting and durable. Children can lace the jewels onto one of the three included strings to create necklaces, bracelets, shiny ribbons, and more.
Skills Taught: When creativity is a part of play, there is no stopping how much children can learn. Lacing toys improve fine motor skills, coordination, and early math concepts like counting, sorting, and pattern recognition.
Gift Companions: Pair this gift with a Beehive Lacing Activity or any of our other fine motor manipulatives to encourage even more lacing fun.
Wooden Chicken Coop Playset
Ages: 3 years and up.
Bring the barnyard to your playroom with this Wooden Chicken Coop Playset! This delightful set includes a cozy wooden coop, a rooster, two hens, a tiny chick, and nests for freshly laid eggs. The durable wood construction ensures long-lasting play for years to come.
Skills Taught: Playsets like this turn imaginative play into overdrive, inspiring storytelling, role-playing, and creative chicken-led adventures. While playing, children will build language skills, practice caring for others, and strengthen the fine motor muscles in their hands and fingers.
Gift Companions: For more gift options, pair this chicken coop with a set of Little World Farm Animals or a few Farm Hoppers® Inflatable Bouncing Cows.
Need more gift ideas for 3- to 5-year-olds?
Browse the Kaplan Toys That Teach Holiday Gift List to see this year’s best and most exciting gift options. You'll find toys for children of all ages and developmental stages. Happy shopping!
