![]() They push the Play-Doh through a lever to create creamy swirls, while the 31 molds on the contraption’s side produce faux candies, sprinkles, cherries, gummy bears, and other toppings. This pretend ice cream maker lets my kids live out their sundae fantasies-from lemon ice cream with gummy worms to a rainbow unicorn concoction with sprinkles. My aunt is an elementary school teacher, and she always manages to find the gifts that delight my children the most, including the Play-Doh Kitchen Creations Drizzy Ice Cream Playset. (Just remember, since kids develop at different rates, all age recommendations should be taken with a grain of salt.) And please share your own best ideas in the comments below. We also have guides to gifts for tweens and teens. If you’re looking for more gift ideas for kids, check out our guides to the best gifts for 1-year-olds, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, 5-year-olds, 6-year-olds, 7-year-olds, 8-year-olds, 9-year-olds, and 10-year-olds, as well as crowd-pleasing stocking stuffers for kids. Many gifts for kids are appropriate for a range of ages. ![]() To identify memorable and engaging gifts for 4-year-olds, we relied on the advice of Olson and Ann Kienzle, of Chicago’s Play toy shop, as well as on advice from parents and other caregivers on our staff. (You may have noticed that STEAM-which adds an arts emphasis to STEM’s existing focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-has been picking up, ahem, steam over recent years.) “They refine their physical skills, including fine motor skills, as they push and pull pieces apart.” Gifts that encourage art and creativity-as well as games and movement toys that allow for silly and energetic play-are also great choices for kids of this age. “Children learn language and cooperation,” she said. ![]() Jena Olson, who was president of the STEM educational nonprofit Kid Spark Education at the time of our interview, emphasizes other, lesser-known skills that STEM toys can help preschoolers develop. In particular, building toys that feature magnets, gears, curves, and wheels allow 4-year-olds to problem-solve independently. Some of the best gifts for 4-year-olds engage their endless curiosity, rapidly developing physical skills, and desire to understand everything around them.Įarly STEM toys-those that help kids develop skills related to science, technology, engineering, and math-allow preschoolers to experiment with the strength, size, and shape of objects, and to explore cause and effect. Many 4-year-olds are learning to master their environments, and they’re starting to negotiate boundaries, push limits, and question everything.
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