Educational Insights Boxineers Cardboard Vehicles ($17.99) How many times have we given presents to find the more enduring toy is the cardboard box it came in. Kids can turn them into airplanes, rocket ships, boats, or homes using a little imagination and some arts & crafts items. This kit takes the play a bit further by providing sticker, plastic bolts, and two tools to create vehicles out of boxes you already have at home. If your child’s taste tends toward animals rather than vehicles, there is a separate kit for that as well. Be aware that one of the tools is a “cardboard punch” that may require adult supervision and/or help.
Play With Matisse ($19.52) This art set includes an activity guide, stencils, and paper designed to introduce your child to the art of Matisse and the process of collage making. Isn’t it wonderful that a set can be so beautiful, engaging, and informative without any batteries? 5 & up.
Stickerbox Printer ($129.00) This has been one of the most controversial toys to ever come across my desk. Once connected to the internet you can tell the toy what you want you want on a sticker and it produces it on thermal paper in black and white coloring book style. Kids can color it in with their own crayons or markers or the ones included. My first impression was that this was essentially little more than an on-demand (and much more expensive version of a) coloring book. Others got caught up in the magic of getting tangible results with AI. They felt that the “imagination” went into what you asked for. The printer comes with four rolls of paper, colored pencils, and a USB charger. You’re going to want to order extra rolls of paper at $5.99 for three rolls. Marked 5 & up.
Spin Animator Studio ($34.99) stands in sharp contrast to the Stickerbox. No AI, no batteries, and magic that spins out of the mind of your children rather than a computer. This is a take on the centuries old zoetrope, a precursor to the animated film. Kids can start by spinning premade animation strips into the toy and watching how small changes can make objects seem to move. Then they can make their own animations. It comes with a set of 11 markers, no batteries needed!
Educational Insights Graphic Novel Kit x Brady Smith ($24.99)
There are kids that dream of playing for the Yankees. Still, others dream of creating the next great superhero comic book. This kit is for the latter: With it you get a light up tracing pad, some colored pencils, and art by graphic novelist Brady Smith that your child can incorporate into their own stories. The 400 pieces of art give a good starting point to get past the “blank page syndrome” that can stop budding artists before they’ve even started. Tweens.
Basic Fun Lite Brite Glowboard ($24.99) When my kids were young “Lite Brite” was a peg board that lit up from behind. Well, this is not my daughter’s Lite Brite. Instead of pegs, you can draw on the surface with dry-erase markers and then light up the scene. There are stencils, but it is best used as an open-ended and infinitely reusable art surface with a bit of high-tech lighting magic for good measure. 6 & up.
