The Best Educational Toys for School-Age Children (2026 Gift Guide)

The best gifts for school-age children challenge them to build, solve, explore, and play together. From hands-on STEM kits and brain-teasing puzzles to games the whole family can join, our picks help children sharpen their skills while having plenty of fun along the way.

What should you look for in a toy for a school-age child?

At this stage, children are building more complex cognitive, social, and emotional skills that help them navigate school, friendships, and growing independence. However, play remains central to how they learn and grow as they move through the early elementary years. Look for toys that:

• Offer an age-appropriate challenge. Multi-step building sets, puzzles, and experiments keep children engaged and teach them to stick with a project until it’s done.
• Encourage independent play. Clear instructions and step-by-step guides allow children to lead their own projects and build confidence as they go.
• Bring people together. Games and team activities build communication, turn-taking, and good sportsmanship.
• Connect to real-world learning. Toys that explore science, engineering, math, or nature bridge the gap between school and home and help new concepts stick.

How did we choose these gifts?

Kaplan Early Learning Company has supported learning through play in classrooms and homes for more than 50 years. For this guide, we hand-picked favorites that give school-age children what they need most: more challenge, more independence, and more ways to connect with others.

Our top 10 picks for school-age children

From circuits and engineering kits to puzzles, games, and outdoor fun, these toys will keep growing minds busy. Dive in to find the right gift for the school-age children on your list.

1. T-Rex Anatomy Model — best for young scientists who love dinos

Ages: 8 years and up

Ever wondered what's inside a Tyrannosaurus rex? The T-Rex Anatomy Model gives young scientists a rare, up-close look at the dinosaur’s internal organs, muscles, and skeleton. Using the illustrated anatomy guide, children piece together all 36 detachable parts and learn how a T-Rex’s body systems fit together. Once it’s complete, the included display stand lets them show off their prehistoric masterpiece.

Skills Taught: Assembling the T-Rex builds scientific inquiry skills like observation and critical thinking, while introducing children to anatomy and how body systems work. Fitting each bone, muscle, and organ into place also strengthens perseverance as children work through the project from start to finish.

Gift Companions: Pair it with the Great White Shark Anatomy Model for a peek inside the ocean’s top predator. Like the T-Rex, it comes with detachable parts and an illustrated guide, so children can explore its organs, muscles, and bones as they build.

2. Making Change Money Math Game — best for early math and money skills

Ages: 5 years and up

Nurture your savvy spender with the Making Change Money Math Game! As children “shop” for everyday items, they use mental math to calculate the correct change while building real-world money skills. The game comes with 50 item cards in categories like gifts, food, and school supplies, plus play paper money and coins. To win, players collect items by making accurate change, and they can earn bonus points by collecting one item from each of the 10 categories.

Skills Taught: Figuring out the correct change builds mental math, subtraction, and real-world money skills, while each round sharpens critical thinking and problem-solving.

Gift Companions: Keep the money lessons going with Double-Sided Magnetic Money. The oversized magnetic coins and bills stick right to the fridge, perfect for playing store, running a pretend lemonade stand, or practicing counting and making change at home.

3. Wildlife of the National Parks Puzzle (100 Pieces) — best for budding puzzle pros and lovers of nature

Ages: 6 years and up

Help your child level up their puzzle skills with the Wildlife of the National Parks Puzzle. It features a beautifully illustrated scene of animals that inhabit America’s national parks, including a black bear, moose, raccoon, and fox. It’s a perfect screen-free activity for quiet afternoons or rainy days, and the whole family can pitch in as children practice patience and perseverance with every piece they snap into place.

Skills Taught: Assembling puzzles strengthens problem-solving, critical thinking, spatial reasoning, fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination.

Gift Companions: Is your child ready for a bigger challenge? Try the Selfies Goofy Grins Puzzle, a 200-piece scene of selfie-loving dogs flashing their silliest smiles, or the Iridescence Butterfly Jigsaw Puzzle, a 550-piece close-up of a blue morpho butterfly with a shimmering, reflecting light. Both are best for ages 8 and up.

4. STEM Explorers^™ Machine Makers — best for hands-on engineering fun

Ages: 5 years and up

Calling all future engineers! STEM Explorers™ Machine Makers challenges children to design, build, and power up their own machines using gears, pulleys, and belt drives. Inspired by real-world physics and engineering, the 50-piece set includes a challenge guide packed with ideas to get them started. Children can tinker, tweak, and try again until their machine twists and turns as intended.

Skills Taught: Each challenge introduces children to key STEM concepts like physics and engineering while honing critical thinking and problem-solving skills that support STEM mastery.

Gift Companions: Since Machine Makers works well with Gears! Gears! Gears!^® sets, add the Moving Monkeys™ or Robot Factory STEM Set to build on the fun. For older children (2nd grade and up), the K'NEX^® Introduction to Simple Machines: Gears set includes nearly 200 pieces for building working models like crank fans and egg beaters.

5. LEGO^® Technic^™ Aston Martin Valkyrie — best for future engineers who love performance cars

Ages: 9 years and up

Do you have a young car enthusiast in your life? With the LEGO^® Technic™ Aston Martin Valkyrie, your child can go under the hood of one of the world’s most iconic supercars. This 707-piece set features mechanical elements that bring the model to life, including functional steering controlled by a top-mounted knob, signature gullwing doors that open and close, and a detailed V12 engine. Bonus: when children turn the driver’s-side wheel, they can watch the pistons pump and see a working differential in action.

Skills Taught: Assembling the model car builds problem-solving and critical thinking. Exploring its moving parts turns playtime into a hands-on STEM lesson, introducing children to engineering and mechanical principles like gear ratios and steering systems.

Gift Companions: Add another ride to your child’s garage with the LEGO^® Technic™ Ford Bronco® SUV. Built for off-road adventure, this 943-piece model introduces children to more real-world mechanics, including working suspension with front and rear axles, opening doors, a V6 engine, and rear-wheel steering.

6. LEGO^® Friends Friendship Camper Van Adventure — best for builders who enjoy imaginative play

Ages: 7 years and up

Pack your bags and gear up for the ultimate road trip with the LEGO^® Friends Friendship Camper Van Adventure! This 778-piece set builds a camper van over 9 inches long that opens up to reveal spaces for cooking, sleeping, and relaxing on the road.

It’s stocked with camping essentials, from a kitchen and outdoor shower to a "flushing" toilet, plus fun extras like a bike, picnic table with chairs, and camping gear (binoculars, a compass, and a wrench). With three mini-dolls and a ferret along for the ride, children can dream up their own outdoor adventures, one campsite at a time.

Skills Taught: Building the camper van reinforces problem-solving and critical thinking as children follow step-by-step instructions. Once it’s built, role-playing road trips with the mini-dolls encourages imaginative play and creative storytelling—giving children a chance to practice communication, cooperation, and empathy.

Gift Companions: If your little builder loves imaginative playsets, expand their LEGO^® Friends world with the City Candy Store, complete with a pick ‘n mix selection, a gumball machine, and candy-making stations. Or try the Pet Accessories Shop, a two-story, dog-shaped building with a pet shop and grooming station where a conveyor belt soaps, washes, and dries furry customers.

7. Pickleball Paddle Set — best for outdoor movement and active fun

Ages: 5 years and up

Bring family fun to the court with this Pickleball Paddle Set! The regulation-size wooden paddles feature a sleek finish and a smooth, comfortable grip, making them a great gift for players of every skill level. Choose the 2-player set (two paddles and one ball) or the 4-player set (four paddles and two balls), and you’re ready for a friendly game of pickleball right out of the box.

Skills Taught: Whether they’re practicing their serve or rallying with a partner, pickleball helps children build hand-eye coordination, balance, and gross motor skills through active play. Double games also encourage teamwork, communication, and good sportsmanship.

Gift Companions: Have a well-rounded athlete on your hands? Pair this set with the Kickball Kit, which includes an inflatable ball, pump, three bases, home plate, and a storage bag, or the Soccer Pop Up Goals, which fold flat for easy storage and work indoors and out.

8. Snap Circuits^® Jr. — best for endless STEM experimentation

Ages: 8 years and up

This one’s for the little inventors! Snap Circuits^® Jr. makes electronics easy to explore, with more than 30 snap-together pieces and over 100 experiments using light, sound, and motion. The simple guide walks children through building everything from a flying saucer to a digital voice recorder, all on one plastic circuit board. With no wires to connect or tools needed, children can dive in and build on their own.

Skills Taught: These hands-on projects introduce core STEM concepts like circuits, switches, and motors, and how electrical energy turns into light, sound, and motion. Testing and troubleshooting each “invention” builds problem-solving, critical thinking, and patience.

Gift Companions: Add the KEVA^® Contraptions 200 Plank Set for a low-tech option that encourages trial-and-error building. With 200 pine planks and two balls, children can build tracks of tunnels, funnels, ramps, and chutes, then test whether the ball makes it from start to finish.

9. I SPY Eagle Eye Find-It Game — best for game nights with friendly competition

Ages: 5 years and up

Is your child a fan of classic seek-and-find fun? Then they’ll love the I SPY Eagle Eye Find-It Game, a fast-paced matching game with a dose of friendly competition. Players take turns flipping over an object card, then race to spot the matching item on the illustrated game boards. Whoever finds it first rings the bell and claims the card! With hundreds of detailed images and combinations, every round brings a new challenge for the whole family.

Skills Taught: Scanning the board for a match sharpens children’s eye for detail and strengthens focus, observation, pattern recognition, and visual processing. Through group play, they also practice turn-taking and good sportsmanship.

Gift Companions: Crank up the friendly competition with our full collection of board games for every skill level. From Operation to Clue^®, you’ll find everything you need for fun-filled family game nights.

10. Kanoodle^® Puzzles — best for screen-free brain-teasing challenges

Ages: 7 years and up

For the child who loves a good challenge, this one’s calling their name. The Kanoodle^® Puzzles packs 200 brain teasers into one compact case. Each puzzle starts with a few pieces already on the board, and children figure out how to fit the remaining pieces into the open spaces. With 2-D and 3-D puzzles across multiple levels, it grows with your child, and some of the harder ones may even stump the grown-ups.

Skills Taught: Working through each puzzle strengthens critical thinking, memory, and spatial reasoning. Children learn to test ideas, rethink their strategy, and stick with a tough challenge until every piece fits.

Gift Companions: Pair with Dive into Shapes!™ for another hands-on spatial challenge. Instead of fitting shapes together, children use sticks, curves, and connectors to build their own, from simple 2-D figures to cylinders and 3-D structures.

At a glance: Top 10 gift ideas for school-age children