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Gift Ideas to Make your Kid Smart

A kid’s eyes shine bright while opening his present. When he sees that his presents are clothes, his bright eyes suddenly turn dim. Kids are not known for hiding their disappointment. But give them a toy as a gift, and you’ll see a display of appreciation that could warm the cockles of any gift-giver. It seems that instinctively, kids prefer something that will engage his mind, not just something that will make him look good.

But not all toys or gifts are equal. There are those that engages him for a long time, and those that amuse him for just a few hours, and then forgotten.

Educational gifts get your child’s attention for a longer time, as they feed his or her stimulation-hungry.

More importantly, the impact of the best educational gifts lasts a lifetime. These gifts give him a head start in reading, math and science. They develop his love for learning, the most important attitude to make your kid grow up smart. A great educational gift even triggers what will be your kid’s lifelong passion.

Because of the internet, you do not have to waste time and energy going through the mall looking for the best educational gifts. You could shop right in your bedroom in your pajamas!

The following are the top 10 educational toy and other unique educational gift ideas that you can find on the internet:

1. Educational Toys

The best toys and gifts are those that make your child learn while he is having fun. This way, learning happens while he plays. And the more he plays, the more he learns! Make sure that the toy you give is appropriate for his age and gender, and that it is safe. Avoid toys that can only be played with one or two ways. The more activities a kid can do with a toy, the better it is. For younger kids, find one that can be opened, closed, twisted, pulled, dragged, formed, changed, preferably all at the same time. For older kids, the best toys are those that stimulate the imagination.

2. Hobby and Science Toys

Brilliant engineers, inventors and mechanics get their beginnings from tinkering with toys when they were kids. Chemists begin by mixing stuff and biologists play with their ant farms.

Hobby Toys help your kid discover his lifetime passion by offering hundreds of educational toys that catches his interest. Examples are science projects, electronic kits, Lego Mindstorms and robot projects, chemistry, biology, anatomy and physics sets.

3. Nature Toys and Pets

Nature toys make your child explore the wonder and mystery of the world around him. These can make him eternally curious and thus be a lifelong learner. Examples are microscopes, telescopes, planetariums, and globes.

Pets are also great gifts. An aquarium can teach your kid about aquatic life, and kittens and puppies can be a great way to introduce your kid to love for animals. Seeds will fascinate your kid when he sees it grow into a plant. Who knows, your kid’s appreciation of nature may be key to his being able to help save the planet in the future.

4. Personalized Gifts

Studies show that children learn when their activities are personalized. When they are a character on a book they read, they are fascinated and their minds open up. Personalized books, music, and toys also improve your child’s self-confidence and positive view of himself.

Babies and kids will love hearing their OWN name sung in songs, printed in books, built with trains, or just hanging on the wall.

5. Computer Software and Games

The best educational software and fun and entertaining and helps your kid achieve success in school. They help build math, reading, and critical skills, as well as instill confidence, joy and excitement around learning. With the best educational software, your kid will beg to learn!

The best computer games are those that teaches him strategy and problem-solving, and not merely “fragging” the enemy. Although “fragging” the enemy is said to develop hand-eye coordination, some psychologist are concerned that the violent nature of these games can desensitize your child to hurt in others.

6. Magazine Subscriptions

Aside from books, magazines can be a great way to start kids off on a life-long passion for reading. Since magazines feature what is current and up-to-date, it is always interesting to your kid.

7. Puzzles and Board Games

Puzzles and games exercise the brain. And like any part of the body, the more exercise your kid’s brain gets, the more powerful and tougher it becomes when faced with challenges. The best puzzles and board games teach your kid how to plan, decide, think and think through a difficulty. Board games, when played with friends or family, enhance social skills. He learns about taking turns, following rules and cooperating with teammates or opponents.

8. Musical Instruments

Many studies have proven that learning music has a profound effect on your kid’s brain. Music is shown to increase IQ, improve school grades, and prepare your kid to learn the advanced concepts of math and science.

Most kids are interested in learning to play guitar, the drums, and the keyboard, although they may also want to take up the violin and brass instruments.

9. Educational Videos

Educational videos have proven beneficial to preschool and above kids. (Videos for kids aged 2 and below are more harmful than helpful) Kids who watch informative and educational shows as preschoolers tend to watch more informative and educational shows when they get older. They use TV effectively as a complement to school learning. On the other hand, kids who watch more entertainment program watch fewer informative programs as they get older.

There are educational movies on the internet where kids of the “You Tube” generation not only watch, but also interact for a great learning experience.

10. Books.

This list will not be complete without books! Books are and will always be your kid’s brain’s best friend. Among other benefits, reading builds the language neural connections in your kid’s brain and expands his chain of knowledge.

About the author

Chacha Tumbokon studied Psychology and Early childhood Development. Her expertise, experience and interest inspired her to create a website about smart kids where she shares all kinds of information on raising smart kids based on key findings on brain research and child psychology.

Richard Scarry Busy Town $11.74 Race around town solving mysteries! How many objects can you find? Join Huckle Cat and Lowly Worm on a fun-filled race around Busytown to solve mysteries and find hidden objects. Drive through lively city streets, an activity-filled farm, an action-packed airport, and a bustling harbor full of silly boats. There’s much to discover on this gigantic, colorful game board that’s over six feet long! As…

Scooby-Doo! Haunted House Game $15.99 Ready for another mystery with Scooby and the gang? In this 3D game, you move around the haunted house and try to reach the top. Secret booby traps are out to get you, like a moving ghost knight, a creaky staircase and a haunted moose head. There are seven traps in all that could keep you from moving ahead. Be the first to overcome the traps, make it to the top and uncover the villain, and you win…

Clue $12.20 Discover the secrets of this updated game that’s packed with more suspense than ever before. Reveal, withhold and discover with the “new Clue” that is all about today. It’s the same classic strategy — and all the usual suspects — but with new settings, new weapons and new rooms. There is also a new deck of cards that will either help you with the game play or knock you out. For three to six play…

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Suicide Club (Suicide Circle) $5.99 A Japanese detective investigating the mass deaths of 54 female high school students who threw themselves in front of a speeding train uncovers a series of bizarre clues: a website predicting further suicides, ribbons made of pieces of skin from the next to die, and a rock band that seems to link the grisly goings-on. Can the cop uncover the secret behind the shocking events before more young peop…

Pretenders $9.45 All products are BRAND NEW and factory sealed. Fast shipping and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed….

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Blue’s Clues – Blue’s Big Treasure Hunt [VHS] $9.95 Nickelodeon’s favorite pooch, Blue, and her owner, Steve, have a new episode debuting on video. It’s a double mystery as Steve and Blue go on a treasure hunt and must find out who set up the adventure. Blue’s Big Treasure Hunt has pretty much the same lively mix that has made Blue’s Clues a favorite for the 2- to 6-year-old set. The older kids will be able to read the treasure clues with Steve, …

Cloak & Dagger [VHS] $14.24 Who should a kid’s hero be? In this underrated adventure-comedy, that’s the central issue. Henry Thomas, fresh from E.T., plays a San Antonio kid whose father (Dabney Coleman) doesn’t spend nearly enough time with him. So the boy loses himself in video games–and even has an imaginary friend (also played by Coleman), a super-resourceful secret agent. When he accidentally comes into possession of a…

stephen king’s It $3.95 Is there anything scarier than clowns? Of course not. And who knows scary better than Stephen King? You see where we’re going. It puts a malevolent clown (given demented life by a powdered, red-nosed Tim Curry) front and center, as King’s fat novel gets the TV-movie treatment. Even at three hours plus, the action is condensed, but an engaging Stand by Me vibe prevails for much of the running time….

The January Green and Gold Mystery $4.99 The super-sleuth: Bethany Graham: Beth lives with her mother, Bridget Graham, a single parent. A loner, precocious, “almost fourteen”, as she keeps telling everyone, Beth is very sensitive about her height and size (she feels she’s built like Fort Knox). A computer whiz and a word collector, she loves reading. Beth is very close to her mother, but there are times when she wishes Bridget would remember that they live in a democracy. How could Mama arrange an after school Math tutor for Beth, without even discussing the matter with her first? Worst of all, the tutor she’s picked is their neighbor’s mother from India. When the other kids see Mrs. Naidu in her sari, they are going to die laughing; and Beth’s going to die from embarrassment. Desperate to have company in her misery, and to keep word about her strange tutor from spreading, Bethany tells Cody, her good friend, that she and Mrs. Naidu have formed a secret “Mystery-Solving Club”. Gullible Cody begs to join “the club.” Soon all of Bethany’s friends are members. Then, out of the blue, a burglary occurs nearby that no one can solve, and all of the tutoring group work together, with the help of Mrs. Naidu, to figure it out. Geeta Kakade is a writer with considerable experience who writes a flowing, likable piece with a variety of characters. Mrs. Naidu is especially believable, as the logical ’sleuth’ behind the teens’ snooping. She is their inspiration and their guide. For a book that will appeal to a wide variety of ethnic groups and types of readers, this mystery is a fun read, and teaches a bit about cooperation and persistence! This book makes an excellent addition to our new ByteMe Line of books for teen-readers.

John Dee’s Five books of Mystery $41.25 This book is in New – Excellent condition

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