Kendall Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 I'm sorry if this is in the wrong place, maybe I should post to the general board, but I need gift ideas for my 4 year old and my nephew who is 3 (both July bdays) My 4 year old needs her little mind challenged. My 3 year old nephew is, I think, very exceptional so similar ideas are needed for him. Neither of them are reading independently yet, but both know all of the sounds and can read simple words. My daughter is doing Miquon orange. Preschool learn the letters and numbers activities are beyond both of them. What educational, brain stretching things do your bright young ones do? We have Castle Logix. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 BOB books. Sylvia is loving hers. She can read the first four. If they know their letters and sounds, they'll be off and running with them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenneinCA Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Puzzles, Legos or Duplos, Kid Knex, Play-doh, Puppets, Play Silks, Thomas trains. The strange thing is that these little people, while totally capable of advanced academics, still need to play. I would encourage the academics to whatever level you and they are comfortable with and play a lot. My daughter read Harry Potter right before she turned 4. She played with Thomas trains and Duplos well into being 6. She could do amazing math things and she still loved puzzles and stuffed animals. She needed toys on her level, both intellectually and emotionally. My current four year old like Legos. And Legos. And Legos. He is very single minded. I hope you find the perfect toy. Jenne in AZ (now in California!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Things that we are getting my dd4: A couple playmobil sets for pretend play. Gears building set Audiobooks A kid-friendly digital camera (so she stops trying to use ours :D). Other things on her list: Foreign language DVDs Tons of books Beginner Chopsticks Kumon Workbooks Flower Press Folksmanis Puppets Blokus game Guess Who? game Yoga pretzels game Puzzles :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 My 4 year old needs her little mind challenged. My 3 year old nephew is, I think, very exceptional so similar ideas are needed for him. Neither of them are reading independently yet, but both know all of the sounds and can read simple words. My daughter is doing Miquon orange. Preschool learn the letters and numbers activities are beyond both of them. I'm guessing you meant to say the kids are beyond typical preschool activities, yes? My son (like your daughter) is 4 and a July baby. And like your daughter he is having a lot of fun with Miquon Orange (and a little Miquon Red). The Cusinaire Rods were a boon for us when he started with them (and remain so) so I would have said Miquon and Cuisinaire Rods, but you already know this. We have been mixing up the "math" using Singapore EB and a Japanese Math program as well. Then last weekend I came upon a British version of a Hungarian math program(me) available for downloads as PDFs put out by the Centre for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching called the "Mathematics Enhancement Programme" or MEP. The downloads are free, so it's not exactly a "gift" in the sense that you have to spend money, but what a great addition to their critical thinking skills if you have the time to work with the children. MEP has both workbooks, and a teaching guide. Both are very interesting. My son has had a wonderful time thus far working through the workbooks, and they are different enough from Miquon or Singapore to add a very new component to the mix. So if you haven't seen these materials you might check them out. They are mentally challenging and level 1 sounds like it would be just about perfect for your 4 year old. I am finding the MEP materials are taking a little more explaining on my part than Miquon, but this hasn't been a "problem" for us and I've been amazed by some of the things he's been able to do. B Here is a link: http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mep/default.htm There is a yahoo user group where parents can get the password for the few protected files, or the University is said to be good about giving them out upon request to homeschooling parents in the USA. I hope this helps. And I'll be reading the thread with interest to get other good ideas, as I'm in the same boat. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneC Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 My 3 and 4 year olds have also enjoyed games such as Rush Hour and Sudoku. The biggest hit here has been lego and that is what my boys are getting for Christmas this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KellyGirl Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 My gifted 4yo loves the kids k'nex (the bigger sized ones), and it is impressive the things he can build with them. I think that they allow for creative play while being a challenge. I would also second Bob books, my boys loved these when they first started reading, as they are written in such a way that knowing letter sounds is just about all you need to get through the early ones. (And I think you can get a set for around $15) Beyond that though, just books in general...books that can be read to them now and they can read themselves later. Maybe a Leapster 2...I've been thinking about one of those for my littles. But it is a video game....:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Tangrams, shape blocks (more flat than dimensional)... my children love creating all sorts of different shapes using those... old-fashioned wooden building blocks (squares, rectangles, triangles, columns, etc.) My 2.5yo is very much into Lego's, Duplos, puzzles and pretend play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in PA Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 My 3 year old ds loves any and every building toy. He is able to handle the regular size legos and k'nex, so we have gone ahead and allowed those. He loves puzzles, and needs increasingly complex ones. For my 5 year old dd, last year's big hit was the Playmobol take-along dollhouse. Both kids still use it most days, and have gotten very creative with it (it is now an animal rescue home filled with toys from various other sets and the original family "runs" the home and takes care of the rescued animals). Tangrams are a favorite of hers, as are craft and cooking materials. If you want something that seems more academic, DK has some games that might fit. I think one might be called "Silly Sentences" and encourages emergent readers to fit together sentences that are broken down into puzzle pieces to make various combinations. Playdough, sandbox toys, and fingerpaint are always winners here. This year both kids really want an ant farm, so I'm probably going to give that a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendall Posted December 4, 2008 Author Share Posted December 4, 2008 Thank you all for the great ideas. I can't believe I didn't think of legos for my nephew. I have vivid memories of his dad (my brother) at 2 years old bringing lego creations to show me, and they looked like what he said they were. He is a very successful engineer now:). Bill, I'm so glad you mentioned the math! I'm going to try that with my 4 year old today. Our 4 year old is our sixth and so we have most of what was mentioned, but there were a few things we don't have so I'll look into those - and a few things that were mentioned that we have I just hadn't thought to get out for her. Thanks again everyone. I'll keep watching this thread for more ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triadofchaos Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 my visual-spatial 2.5yo son adores the Wedgit building sets. He builds the craziest things that I never would've figured out how to put together myself. he also really likes tangrams and pattern blocks. board games are very popular with all three of my kiddos right now- scrabble, guess who, etc. also all three of mine love creating art, so real art supplies (not kiddie stuff) are always a huge hit-- things like liquid artist quality watercolors, terra cotta clay, pastels, etc. you can usually find versions that are still good quality, but don't break the bank to give kids amazing artistic experiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Maybe a Leapster 2...I've been thinking about one of those for my littles. But it is a video game....:tongue_smilie: Ohhh, judiciously used, they are a godsend! Sylvia has been playing with hers since she was a little over 2. We bought Becca one for her 4th birthday and quickly realized we'd have to get another one for Sylvia. I'm so picky about "video games" too, but the Leapster games are very educational, and I keep the Leapsters up and out of reach so they're not playing them every spare second. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in PA Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 I forgot felt boards! You can get some very nice sets of pre-cut felts with all sorts of themes, or make your own to go with favorite stories and themes if you are crafty. My 3 year old ds makes up elaborate stories by mixing all of our sets together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchel210 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 My little one has been playing board games forever. I dont know how advanced the child is you are buying for...I have my dd friends that cannot follow the rules of the game...but my dd has never had problems with them. A few that I can think of off hand... 1,2,3 Treasues in the sea Counting up to 30 by carson-dellosa publishing. It is a super easy game...but my dd loved it. They also make phonics games that match cards. and memory matching words Life Parcheesi sorry connect four chess make N break 100+ puzzles by doug and melissa trivial pursuit kids or disney edition Pattern block activity set by learning resources. My dc loved this! candy land chutes and ladders They also go for the basics...cars, blocks, those magnetic blocks are really popular, legos, mine do barbies, barbie houses, and such. The new digital camera is super cool ...I saw it on amazon with free shipping and it is waterproof for over 30 minutes. That would be cool! These are a few favorites in our house for the last few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Puzzles are a big hit as are building toys. Magnetix and k'nex both have kits for little hands. My ds5's favorite toys are the Imaginext line of castles and pirates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momsquared Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Ohhh, judiciously used, they are a godsend! Sylvia has been playing with hers since she was a little over 2. We bought Becca one for her 4th birthday and quickly realized we'd have to get another one for Sylvia. I'm so picky about "video games" too, but the Leapster games are very educational, and I keep the Leapsters up and out of reach so they're not playing them every spare second. :) Along the same lines is Leapfrog's new Tag Reader. I can really not say enough about this little invention. DD got the Tag with some books for Christmas and she loves it. It really makes reading interesting and fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 Lots of great middle school level science encyclopedias and books with pictures. The New How Things Work. Legos may have already been mentioned. Building toys and lots of free play time with toys that leave the imagination up to the child. PHYSICAL play is very important for a gifted child, so something to encourage that.. When my ds was 4 he was very much into physics, but there was no way his eyesight was ready for reading (he's far sighted, and his eyes are maturing late--he's improved 3-4 grade levels in reading in about 2 months now that that's happening.) This meant that I had to do a lot of reading to him and answering questions. Even though I'm not into using the computer for preschoolers, some of the tough questions were answered at some of the following sites: http://www.webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/index.html http://science.howstuffworks.com/light2.htm'>http://science.howstuffworks.com/light2.htm'>http://science.howstuffworks.com/light2.htm'>http://science.howstuffworks.com/light2.htm http://science.howstuffworks.com/ http://www.learner.org/interactives/parkphysics/ http://www.physicsforums.com/ http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/ (an online biology text) If they like "school" for gifts, http://www.gravitaspublications.com/ I suggest the RS4K 1 (or you could do the one before that. 1 is for grades 4-6). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 "Free" toys you can eat: My daughter was making molecules with big and little marshmallows and toothpicks for her chemistry. Little brother (3) loved it. He can barely draw, she drew great at his age, but he can build! He made some elaborate structures for a 3 year old, his were almost as good as hers. They've been constructing happily for days! My husband put of pictures of their creations at work, he thought they were great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VanessaS Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 My son loves baking with me, especially reading through the recipes together and measuring the ingredients. We practice counting and calculating fractions with that. Dominoes, wooden trains, LEGOs, board games, dice games, Sudoku, puzzles (he's doing 300+ pieces now), arts and crafts, dot-to-dot and color-by-number workbooks, mazes, word-search puzzles, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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