Proof that math is creative! A unique way to learn math in context. Sorting, matching, organizing – all early math concepts for opening your own café. Also inspires dramatic play, language-building and social skills.

Up the ante on traditional pattern blocks. Beautifully designed by award-winning French author-illustrator Édouard Manceau. Curved shapes with unique pattern cards.

Bugs, scoopers, magnifiers – kid favorites jam-packed into one toy. Plus a pinch of counting, hand-eye coordination and muscle control. Creepy fun!

It’s rare that we find an ‘engineering’ toy for small hands. This nifty set has large and colorful pieces specially designed for just that reason. Makes 10 vehicles using foundational S.T.E.A.M skills.

“If you love building, this is the perfect toy. It has really fun things that move your brain. Like gears.” (Said a 5-year old tester.) Learn about simple machines in 6 experiments. Compact design for easy clean-up.

Celebrate problem-solving through woodworking. Made by (their own) hands, made with love, built for purpose. For something more open-ended, try this toolbox set.

Deceptively simple. Rolling, bouncing, banking, stacking, nesting – your choice! An excellent game for developing concentration (key for executive functioning), hand-eye coordination and motor planning.

Strategy + fun. Add dexterity…now you’re firing all sorts of brain connections. A game of skill that everyone can play.

So clever. Learn letters in 4 languages (English French, German, Italian). Innovative wooden sheets feature illustrations that correspond to each language’s alphabet.

Use bath time as a giggly play space for learning letters. (Ditto for learning numbers and quantities.)

Feed the b-e-l-l-y! A glove puppet with an actual belly bag. Great for back-and-forth conversations. P.S. Puppets are a great tool for helping children navigate their social world from a different perspective.

Just about everything kids love in a register: credit card reader, till, item scanner, number counter, push buttons. Check, check, check! Learning to count through role-play is effective + fun.

Because kids love little things hidden inside little things – do it with letters. Guess what’s hidden in each acorn? Clue: it’s a fun way to make connections between letter names and letter sounds.

Imagine how much little brains grow when they have to guess, “What am I?” All that question-asking is aces for building literacy and critical thinking skills.

Scavenger hunts made easy. Use these clever cards to lead your kids to an unexpected surprise. Encourage sight word recognition, multi-step directions and persistence (all important parts of Kindergarten Readiness).

A fresh way of learning in context. Stencil cheeky messages on sidewalks, driveways, fences. The reusable stencil sheets means your gift of laughter keeps on giving.

A novel way of developing motor planning and hand-eye coordination. Bonus points for creativity and language when your little one tells stories about the cute characters inside.

We love an all-in-one self-guided activity. This set has everything you need – extruder, tubs of dough and sweet picture boards. Great for travel, planes, post-nap quiet time. Excellent for building fine motor skills and for following directions.

The king of drums. A whopping 16 inches wide with a double-sided head. Play with it hands or mallets, or recreate the sounds of rolling and crashing waves. Just hear why it’s magical to kids of all ages.

Small boxes with big learning targets. Little fingers love finagling the locks to discover color and shape attributes. There’s more – hone visual perceptual skills by manipulating shapes into coordinating tops.

Sad, scary, kind, creepy, cute – your monster, you choose. This kit comes with all the bits and bobs your child needs to flex their creative muscles (and fine motor skills) to create their very own stuffy.

A lovely example of learning-by-doing. Color, construct, then explore the Earth’s geography. Your child’s sense for scale and perspective will come alive. No need for glue or scissors; assembly is easy with the built-in stand.

Curious minds love to dig + discover. Throw in some real gemstones and you’ll have some happy explorers. This excavation kit will keep kids exploring (and strengthening their pencil grip) for hours.

Specially made by a toy manufacturer from the Netherlands. It’s the favorite at BBQs and birthday parties. Fun for all ages, fun to play in a group. (Also fun to show off your hand-eye coordination and gross motor skills.)

A creative take on a classic stacking toy. Great for developing visual perceptual skills. Plus, it looks so pretty on a toy shelf.

A spin on a common toy – there’s something hidden underneath each piece. Even more motivation to keep working on those dexterity and concentration skills.

Quite possibly the most unique stocking stuffer and party favor. Fill the whistle with water, then blow to sing like a bird. Handmade in Germany.

Kids love cute + tiny. This toy is both…plus it has tweezers for pincer grasp practice. Match the bee to the hive to enforce matching, an early math skill.

Just precious. Perfect for on-the-go. A PlanToys best-seller for good reason.

A timeless game elevated with Djeco’s trademark artistic design. The engaging artwork is what makes this version especially challenging. Ideal for travelling. Designed in France.

Traditional Rummy, but kid-style – that means animals and funny rules. Thumbs-up for kids. Packed neatly in a small tin case. Thumbs-up for grown-ups.

A unique hybrid of watercolors and colored pencils. Dip them in water, sketch a design, then use a water brush to turn a drawing into a watercolor. Sure to wow every budding artist.

Play hide-and-seek with Momo. Can you spot this darling (mischievous!) collie? Great for honing visual discrimination skills.

An interactive book that explores a tree throughout the seasons. Tap it, wiggle it, jiggle it, kiss it – this magic tree needs your care for it to grow. “There is magic in every tree.”

Once and for all – is a tomato a fruit? Find out in this battle between the fruit bowl and the crisper drawer. Lively illustrations that will keep little ones entranced with fruits and veggies.

See the world’s beauty through the eyes of animals. A moving experience with stunning illustrations. The modest text allows you to use the cueing system for emerging readers. Continue to inspire perspective with I Wonder.

Breathtakingly beautiful. A wordless book where a picture tells a thousand words. Excellent for building storytelling skills, a key step in literacy development. In the same genre, try Tiger vs. Nightmare for something more animated with words.

Magical + fantastical. Daydreams are made of stories like this. An excellent read aloud that easily allows you to increase critical thinking and curiosity.

A fascinating explanation of what goes on underground from topsoil to the Earth’s mantle. Food for curious minds. The novel foldout format will take your little one on a journey for hours.

Otherworldly illustrations. “Reading Moonshot gave me the feeling I was back up in space.” -Michael Collins, Command Module Pilot, Apollo 11. Meanwhile back on earth, Mountains of the World is also captivating.