Looking for toys that can educate as well as they entertain? Toy Insider Mom Laurie Schacht stopped by The Street on Canada’s BNN to talk about the best toys that teach for the young ones on your holiday shopping list. For more on the products featured in this segment, check out the notes below, and for a full rundown of the best toys of the year, check out our complete holiday toy guide.
- Will you be able to place your pieces on the teeter-tottering base and get it to stay? Or will you upset the balance and watch as it all comes crashing down in front of you?
- Completely self contained, package doubles as playing surface and storage container, clean-up is fast and easy, learning to play takes less than 1 minute!
- Ages: 7+
- MSRP $28.99
- Available: Amazon
Coggy - Get your mental gears spinning with this bending, clicking, shape-shifting brainteaser!
- Moving from one challenge card to the next, it’s up to you to fold this connected collection of sixteen colorful gears into the perfect positions that match each image.
- Start out with the first card and it might seem easy. But keep on working through medium, hard, and extra hard – “Wait, if this color’s here, then how can that one be way up there?”
- And that’s just with the color gears…Flip Coggy over to reveal gears of alternating black and white and then find one of the black and white challenge cards.
- With almost no frame of reference, you’re sent clicking and folding into an intense trial-and-error conundrum!
- Need to take a break from the mental workout? – With its clicking movements and 255-degree flexibility, this brainteaser doubles as a great fidget toy, too.
- Ages: 6+
- MSRP: $22.99
- Available: Mastermind, Mind Games, Pharmasave Pharmacies, Guardian Drugs
VEX Robotics Zip Flyer (Hexbug)
- Ready, set, take to the sky! The VEX Robotics Zip Flyer is a re-envisioned take on airborne adventures.
- This robotic gadget is capable of shooting propellers more than 30 feet in the air once kids build the structure using snap-together pieces.
- Pull the zip-cord stick to release, the faster you pull, the higher they’ll go.
- The excitement doesn’t stop there, the VEX Robotics Zip Flyer can be built for both handheld and tabletop action; two ways to build, two ways to launch.
- Once it’s up and running, this model is fun for hours. Includes 3 propeller flyers.
- Challenge yourself and your friends, how far can you make your propellers travel?
- Ages: 8+
- MSRP: $16.89
- Available: Amazon, Target, Toys “R” Us
VEX IQ Robotics Consctruction Set Kit (Hexbug)
- Take advantage of the unmatched, versatile VEX IQ system with the VEX IQ Robotics Construction Kit!
- Follow step-by-step instructions to learn the basics, and then use that knowledge to build anything you can imagine!
- Customize your robot with a variety of sensors including color, bumper switch, touch LED and other built in rotational sensors on the motors;Includes free VEX IQ Curriculum for all users!
- Ages: 8+
- MSRP: $389.99
- Available: Amazon
3Doodler Create (WobbleWorks Inc.)
- Bring your art to life with the 3Doodler Create. This inspiring 3D printing pen brings a new level of artistic expression and allows artists and crafters to bring anything they can imagine off the page.
- With over 65 colors of plastic in six different finishes, the possibilities for what you can create are endless.
- This innovative product is the perfect gadget for hobbyists, tech-enthusiasts, and makers of all levels.
- Ages: 14+
- MSRP: $129.99
- Available: retailers nationwide
Y Flicker Air (Yvolution)
- Watch your child take off on the Yvolution Air Series Y Fliker Scooter.
- The Fliker’s unique design enables your little rider to propel forward with simple side-to-side hip movements.
- The performance-rated wheels contribute to the sleek design and enable your child to perform carving and drifting actions in smooth motions. When he or she grabs onto the handlebar grips, a quick-response handbrake is within reach for a quick stop, providing control for the ride.
- When your little adventurer is ready for a break or wants to take the scooter on the go, the twist-and-stow folding system offers a compact fold for convenient storage and portability.
- Ages: 7+
- MSRP: $179.99
- Available: Toys “R” Us, Walmart
Hatchimals- Hatchimals are magical creatures that live inside of eggs. Who’s inside? It’s a surprise!
- Each egg contains one of two interactive Hatchimals. Kids must and care for their egg as its eyes will light up as it makes cute sounds, telling you how it’s feeling!
- Once kids have played with it enough, they’ll see rainbow eyes, meaning it’s time to hatch! But, Hatchimals can’t hatch on their own. Kids’ touch encourages them to peck their way out of the egg—it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience!
- Now, kids get to raise their furry Hatchimal through 3 stages, from baby to toddler, to kid. Hatchimals sing “Hatchy Birthday” each time it enters a new stage!
- Kids will teach them how to walk, dance, play games and more! It will even repeat what they say in its own voice.
- Ages: 4+
- MSRP:$69.99 US
- Available: Amazon, Toys “R” Us, Walmart, with retail exclusive characters
