Hello again! Here is another Gift Giving Guide to take the guess work out of what the heck to buy for kids these days. Keep reading for the best gifts for kids 4-8 years old!

In case you missed my first part of this post for kids aged 0-4 years, check it out here. If you purposefully bypassed it because you need ideas for older ages, here is a quick update for the categories included in each age range.

Categories

• Books are wonderful for language development, social emotional learning, developing play schemes, and motor tasks such as pointing and page turning. Encouraging readers and enjoyment of reading is done by reading early and often.
• Manipulatives include some of my favorite toys for free play, developing fine motor skills such as finger strength, dexterity, two handed play, and visual motor integration.
• Play will include toys or items that encourage all types of play: sensory, imaginative, reciprocal, representative. Kiddos oftentimes lack play skills and utilizing these types of toys can continue to promote this important part of development.
• Subscriptions or passes are ideas for monthly mail items or ways to go out and do awesome things in your community. Sometimes people don’t need more “stuff”.
• Gross Motor objects are toys, games, or gear that encourage your child to move the big muscle groups in their body. This type of movement is excellent for developing strength, coordination, balance, mobility, and body awareness!

I mention this in the last post, but feel free to flow between age ranges, especially if your child has varying abilities. I can’t give specific recommendations on items if I don’t know your child, but you can take a peek and use your judgement to consider other items in that category that might be appropriate.

Anyway, let’s get on with it.

4-5 years

*This post contains affiliate links and I may receive commission when you click on links and make purchases. However, this does not impact the price you pay!

Books

Kids are really getting into books at this age. They continue to develop their cognitive skills, so continue books with lessons in them. I love using books to help kiddos understand situations that you can refer back to and say, “Remember when Brother Bear ate too much candy and got a belly ache? That will happen to us too if we eat too much candy!”
-Berenstain Bears
-Where’s Waldo: Kids are starting to show longer attention spans for books with search-and-find concepts. These are great books for visual scanning, fixation, and perception.
-Skippy John Jones
-Diversify your library! I literally scrolled through this list, read the descriptions, opened tons of tabs with intention to purchase, and smiled the whole time. (I will mention this list is for a wide age range, some books seem to be for older kiddos.)

Manipulatives

-Art supplies: Finally! Kids can attend to and participate in crafts! Consider paint brushes, watercolors, clay, canvases, drawing pads, gel pens. I’m told that it’s a bonus if you can find these things that wrap up into a bag, purse, or case.
–Squigz: These are another OT necessity. They are perfect for establishing a finger tip grasp, great for dexterity, and just plain fun.
–I Can Build It Toys: Another toy that can be used for years to come. I love this because it gives kiddos that feeling of doing something that is for “older kids”
–Kinetic sand: Love this stuff. It doesn’t get gummy, it doesn’t smell, and it cleans up nicer. Also I could play with this stuff all day thanks to my own sensory preferences.
–Water beads: These, on the other hand, while also awesome, can get really messy! The options are endless on these for sensory play.

Play

Get ready to explore and dig a little deeper with play!
–Bug catchers
-Jewelry making kits and music boxes
–Window markers
-Board games: Yay! I love when kids can play games! Games are amazing for socialization. Also, most of them have a motor component, a visual processing piece, and sequencing or strategy skills necessary to participate. Also, it is SO GOOD to learn how to lose. This is a great time to introduce Uno, Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Memory, Giggle Wiggle, Sneaky Snacky Squirrel.

Subscriptions

-Highlights Magazine
–Radish Kids: This is an adorable concept. It’s a cooking subscription. Each box sends recipe cards, an activity, a kitchen utensil. And this is appropriate for ages 4 and up. At this age, you would be cooking with your kids. But as an OT, I love when kids participate in cooking for lifeskills purposes as well as exposing them to different foods. Kids who cook, typically are more likely to eat what they cook!
–Green Kid Crafts: This subscription sends activities and learning opportunities. Like other subscriptions mentioned, they serve a wide range of ages, so check them out for other age ranges too!
-National Geographic for Kids: Guys, I get sucked into these!

Gross motor

-Bike with training wheels 
-A variety of balls, hula hoops, jump ropes!
–Razor scooter and helmet 😉
-Ball and velcro pads: throwing and catching is an emerging skill and it can be hard! This takes out pieces of it and makes it a little easier. This is likely for older 4 year olds, almost 5 year olds.
-At any time, a Figgy or a Nugget couch. These are just awesome for all ages!

5-6 years

Books

Kids are starting to love books with facts in them around this age. They are realizing so many things and starting to choose preferences.
–Animal Fact Book
-Books with consistent characters and lessons such as Fancy Nancy, Little Critter series, Pete the Cat
-Don’t forget about the classics at this stage: Paddington, Charlotte’s web, Winnie the Pooh. These are excellent stories to have kids know about.

Manipulatives

-Science equipment such as jars and eye droppers. Or here are some science lab kits: one that seems to be a little easier, and one that seems slightly more advanced.
–Pot holder loom! This little tools helps kids learn how to weave. How cute is that?
-Magnatiles: I mention these in the Gift Giving Guide for younger kids as well, but they are worth mentioning again. This tool is awesome for building and construction for kids of many ages. As mentioned, there are many variations, so check out the other post for options.
-Floor puzzles or 25-50 piece puzzles

Play

–Walkie talkies, binoculars, lanterns for outdoor exploring and play
-Board games: Step up the level of difficulty with these bad boys: Twister, Don’t Wake Daddy, Eye Found It, Guess Who, Yetti in My Spaghetti, Don’t Break the Ice
-Animal figurines and accessories
-Figurines of characters from shows, movies, books. Kids love imaginative play at this time, so they are developing awesome play schemes in their heads. “Guys” that they know help this process.

Subscriptions

–Little Passports: This is such a cool concept for teaching kiddos about our world! Each pack has activities and booklets, stickers, and trading cards
–Literati: This is a book subscription. It is fairly inexpensive and you get to read the books before you send them back. So really, you get to keep the books that you really love. This one is excellent for the readers in your life.
-Gift Cards to get ice cream. I remember my niece getting a $5 gift card to Dairy Queen and she said, “My own credit card!” She was so excited I couldn’t believe it.
–Oyster Kit: This is a neat concept. A subscription box that introduces kids to careers and professions!

Gross motor

–Aero Disk
-Bike and helmet 😉
-Sports gear like balls, bats, gloves, simple golf clubs
-Tickets to a sporting event/musical venue (also appropriate for older ages, but this is likely the first age that they are able to engage and enjoy)

6-7 years

Books

This is a fun age where you can read to your kids more advanced stories. They also start reading their own “chapter books” as well. So many options! I really liked this website to guide choices for reading out loud as well as ways to continue to encourage self reading.
-The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
-Shell Silverstein: His books are awesome at any age (even adults!) but I think the messages start resonating at this age.
-Series like Clementine, Percy Watson, Henry and Mudge, Elephant and Piggie

Manipulatives

-standard legos 
-Pearler Beads or crafts to follow a pattern
-Here are some cool Jixels. These are tiny puzzle pieces that you use to follow a pattern to create a picture. These would be great for visual motor integration, fine motor precision, and planning and sequencing!

Play

-Board games: Mouse Trap, Battleship, Chinese Checkers, Sorry! These games have a bit more strategy and competition involved in them.
-Figurines such as Barbie Dolls, Army guys, Polly Pocket, preferred characters, and all of the accessories. It seems that the more accessories the better. Are these annoying? Yes. But do they promote imaginative play and fine motor skills? Also yes.  
-American Girl Doll sets and books

Subscriptions

-Sports Illustrated for Kids
-Movie passes
-Local theme park passes
-Put together a “Night Out/In” for him and a friend. Provide a pizza pass, movie rental pass, microwave popcorn, and a box of candy.

Gross motor

–Stepping stones or gear to create obstacle courses
-Balls, gloves, rackets, sports stuff!

7-8 Years

Books

-Roald Dahl books (Any of them! They’re a favorite from my childhood.)
-Harry Potter Series; seriously, such a great age to start this series
-The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
-Weird But True or Guiness Book of World Records books
-Diary of a Wimpy Kid
-Comic Books! (Hey, they’re reading.) Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield

Manipulatives

-More advanced craft supplies such as acrylic paint, canvases, modeling clay, model trains/planes to paint, sewing kits. There are a ton at craft stores. I found myself (again) getting sucked in to all the options.
-Doll house and pieces
-Puzzles! You could go up to 200+ pieces at this age.
-Lego sets with themes; Star Wars, Harry Potter, Frozen

Play  

-Advanced science kits like these National Geographic ones
-Board Games: up the level of strategy for kids at this age! Checkers, chess, Life, Stratego, Risk, Banangrams or Scrabble
-I’ll put these words: Minecraft and Fortnight– and you can decide what to do with them. Kids love this stuff at this age. But honestly, I don’t know what this means (ha!). Sometimes part of my job is to stay up on “kid stuff”. This is one area of actively chosen to avoid. If someone could give me a brief tutorial, that’d be cool.

Subscriptions

-Local YMCA passes
-Water park passes
-Trampoline parks
-Sports camps passes or money towards one
-Movie passes 

Gross motor

Sports gear like rollerblades, hockey stick and puck, batting gloves, ice skates. Kiddos are starting to show preference of sports at this age, so giving them more specific gear towards that sport is pretty awesome.

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Alrighty! I love feedback (be kind though). Let me know what Im missing and which toys your kiddos love to play with, which books are their favorite, which subscriptions are awesome, and which items strengthen their development!

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Brightly: Raise Kids Who Love to Read