Jeanette and I love doing the Left Brain/Right Brain Gifts for Kids list. She is taking the Right Brain art toys today and I’m tackling Left Brain STEM toys with a math or science bent. Is that even right? I looked it up from About Education:
The Right Brain
According to the left-brain, right-brain dominance theory, the right side of the brain is best at expressive and creative tasks. Some of the abilities popularly associated with the right side of the brain include:
- Recognizing faces
- Expressing emotions
- Music
- Reading emotions
- Color
- Images
- Intuition
- Creativity
The Left Brain
The left-side of the brain is considered to be adept at tasks that involve logic, language, and analytical thinking. The left-brain is described as being better at:
- Language
- Logic
- Critical thinking
- Numbers
- Reasoning
Recent research has shown that abilities in subjects such as math are strongest when both halves of the brain work together. The upshot? Get both sides of your kids’ brains working! This is the last day of our gift-giving series. Thanks for reading them!
November 3, 2015: Gifts That Give Back (Hers, Mine) (Last year’s: Hers, Mine)
November 10, 2015: DIY Gift Ideas (Hers, Mine) (Last year’s: Hers, Mine)
November 17, 2015: Gender Bending Gifts for Kids (Hers, Mine) (Last year’s: Hers, Mine)
November 24, 2015: Gifts to Steal from Loved Ones (Hers, Mine) (Last year’s: Hers, Mine)
December 1, 2015: Left Brain/Right Brain Gifts for Kids (Hers, Mine) (Last year’s: Hers, Mine)
12 STEM Toys for Kids
Anatomically Correct Dolls with STEM Careers!
Are you seeking an anti-Barbie doll that is anatomically correct thus subliminally sending a message of body acceptance to your kids? You might like the Lottie dolls!
Fossil Hunter Lottie Doll, $25
Build and Imagine Marine Rescue Center, $50
Use these 15 dual-sided illustrated building panels and dozens of magnetic accessories to guide Thea on her quest to save endangered sea animals.
Architecture Building Blocks
ARCKIT Architecture Building Kits for Kids
At first, I wasn’t sure if my 5th grade son would like the ARCKIT. The pieces press together and it requires good fine motor to construct. He built the first floor of a modern house and then called it a night. When I dissembled it the next day to clean up, he wasn’t happy. He then built his own house, going free form. I think this versatility is the genius of the architectural modeling building it. This is a great building toy for any child who might want to be an architect one day!
Arckit A10043 Go Plus 2.0, $69
Arckit 90 Architect Model Building Kit (230 Pieces), $129.99
Mini Unit Bricks Architecture Set, $35.
Middle Eastern Architectural Blocks, $24.
T.S. Shure ArchiQuest Master Builder Wooden Building Blocks Set (136-Piece), $17
STEM Kits That Are Actually Fun and Doable
DIY Gamer Kit, $110
My 11-year-old son built a remote control using the DIY Gamer Kit that came pre-soldered. Once you build the remote control, you can download software to play and program games.
Buy two small containers of Play-Doh or make your own to use this DIY kit to learn about electricity and circuits. Hands down, this is the best STEM kit we have tried so far. My son did not want to stop playing with it!
Kinetic Sand, $15
All three of my kids dug into the Kinetic Sand when I set it out in the kitchen and my oldest is nearly 16 years old! There’s something satisfying about the texture of Kinetic Sand; it makes you want to squish and sculpt. It’s like Silly Putty but with sand added. Combine Kinetic Sand with the DIY Electro Dough Kit and see if this stuff conducts electricity.
Build your own motorized racing car with this kit that comes with tools. It’s great for kid with a mechanical engineering bent. You can follow the instructions to build the kit exactly and then dissemble and create your own designs. Think of it as a mechanical engineering racing toy version of LEGOS.
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Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Massachusetts Book Award Long List
- Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
- Starred review from School Library Journal
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award Long List
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Love these ideas! Love love love (since I had not typed enough words)
And now I’m back b/c I’ve not spent enough time on the page. (during the 2nd time around)
Thanks so much Dee! WordPress can be so picky and weird about comments! It always tells me that I made a duplicate comment when I did not!
These really are great ideas for holiday gifts!
Thanks so much for your kind words Patricia!
I love those dolls, and my kids are big fans of Kinetic sand!
Thanks MaryAnne! I’m glad there are dolls for boys now!
I’ve always been looking for great STEM toys. I heard about this new education subscription box from Harvard called CubbyCase contains many amazing STEM toys for kids too! Would be great if you reviewed them! Just google CubbyCase to find it!
Hi Lara,
I’ll check out CubbyCase. Thanks for your great recommendation! There are so many of these types of subscription boxes lately.
If you give children some gifts, you can choose someeducational toys!can improve children’s hands-on ability!