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Activities For Eight Year Olds – See the best toys for children aged 5 to 9 years. This open toy list is filled with practical, playful ways for big kids to play without relying on batteries or screen entertainment. These toys are neutral and categorized by interest, not gender.
There is a shocking belief that as children get older, toys should be more tech-centric. That is simply not true. As children get older, toys don’t have to focus on the latest technological trends or pop culture fads.
Activities For Eight Year Olds
Instead, toys for older children should stimulate interests and passions, introduce them to new skills and expand their experiences.
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Our big kids need play: hands-on play that’s still based on imagination. Big kids need to still be in the driver’s seat of their game. Don’t let flashy, disposable, and ready-made “moment” toys take over these still-developing childhood years.
In my humble opinion, there are two categories of toys: “One-and-done toys” and open-ended toys. We want to fill our homes with outdoor toys.
“One-and-done toys” have a short lifespan for children: they quickly attract attention, but cannot keep it. The child will probably get over the toy in a few days or months.
We want children to be able to play constantly. This allows for deeper learning through play (and is more cost-effective: you don’t have to buy new toys to keep playing).
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By giving our children open-ended toys, we give them the opportunity to learn by doing. And that is the most powerful teaching we can give them.
At this age, our five to nine year olds can do some pretty amazing things with open toys and you can see them learning straight away. It’s not hidden.
In my previous two gift guides ( best toys for toddlers and best toys for preschoolers ), I laid a solid foundation of toys for a child’s home environment.
While those lists say “toddler” or “preschooler” – that’s actually misleading. These lists are designed to be the earliest age at which a child might be interested in a toy.
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Toys have a wide age range. For example: Toddlers are the first age group to enjoy wooden blocks. Nine-year-olds still play with them. We cannot limit wooden blocks only to small children – it is simply the first age at which a child might start enjoying them.
All of these toys are on the toddler toy list AND the preschool toy list because that’s when my kids first fell in love with them.
As our children grow older, they develop interests and skills through play. This list is different from my other lists: it is organized by “subject area”.
Some of them aren’t even toys – but they encourage our children’s growth, learning, skills and fun.
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We have to remember that even with big kids, we are still the gatekeepers of the toys in our homes and we decide which toys stay (and which get the boot).
We don’t need to switch to all electronics or flashy fad toys as our kids get older. As with everything, balance is key.
This list is gender neutral (as are all toys). Everything on this list is fantastic for both boys and girls, and everyone loves and uses them equally.
Our girls deserve the opportunity to engineer just as much as our boys deserve the opportunity to create. Please don’t give birth to toys.
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A very thoughtful gift for a budding artist, this travel watercolor set was a 10/10 for my 7 year old (suggested by an 11 year old friend). This is a wonderful gift for a child and makes it easy to take art with you on the go.
It’s a step up from taping wires to jeans or a school desk like back in my day, but the friendship bracelet maker is really cool. This helps children to be much more successful and self-sufficient in making bracelets.
I know you used to do them as a kid and how fun they were. Guess what? They still are (and the only thing I use my iron for). This set comes color sorted but does not include tiles so we got the Perler bead tile set.
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Have you had a spirograph? This is math and art and crafting at its best – I’m so glad they never stopped making this.
My 6 year old loves this at grandma’s so she is buying him his own set for our house.
We are now four years deep into paper airplanes in our house, all thanks to this book. The step-by-step guide is easy for kids to follow (and for adults who aren’t skilled at making paper airplanes).
A thin, lightweight board that helps kids keep track of their art. My older kids (7 and 9) really enjoy drawing with this. It was a big hit.
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I gave this to my daughter last Christmas and it was such a hit, we bought a second one for the boy next door. This is a great set of “just yours” art supplies for big kids.
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Sewing is such a lost art, but it doesn’t have to be. ALL children can benefit from learning this very real life skill. This is a great starter kit.
Magnetic tiles are amazing for older kids to build with – we have this Picasso brand (much cheaper and we haven’t noticed the difference).
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This is the marble path we have – we love it. The clickers are complicated to set up, but 5+ year olds can do it. After struggling with plastic sets for years, we upgraded to this wooden set and never looked back.
This is like a next level trail and is very much for the 8+ crowd. Incredibly. Challenging. A very very cool toy for big kids who like to tinker.
This is NOT a train product. This is truly a building kit. Even though the box says 3+, that is NOT true. This is at least a 5+ toy and it is AWESOME. This is a significant building for kids – and the expansion packs have motors that make their creations move or speak.
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By the age of 5, all children should have a box of LEGO bricks to build and create. Nothing invites invention and engineering like LEGO.
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Do you want your big child to love LEGO bricks? Take it to the next level with this kit. All the parts to make all the gadgets are coming – LEGO and systems and STEM are being raised to a huge level.
Do you have a child who likes to build forts? This is a kit and it is much better than any other similar kit. Trust me, I’ve tried others and this one is “The Ultimate” for a reason.
We got this for my now 8 year old last Christmas. What an amazing product! It’s definitely an 8+ gift.
Not ready for a full microscope (or no room)? I understand. We LOVE this pocket version (as do all my 6-9 year olds). He often comes with us to the park. We benefit so much from it.
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We have this, we love this, it’s shockingly good. I was skeptical when we got this (the other kits lacked luster). This was great. The supplies are good, the instructions are great, and my kids learned a lot.
Let your child build circuits and systems with this amazing hands-on learning toy. Easy-to-follow instructions allow your child to learn a lot about electricity. This is my standard birthday present for 6-8 year olds (regardless of gender).
Yes, these are real tools specially designed for children. You can decide if your child is ready for it, but there is no substitute for learning to work with the right tools. Tools are for all genders – all children can build. All children can create.
This became my 8 year old gift in 2020. I couldn’t find many colors of this online – but I see them in all the local toy stores (where I buy them). This 14.5 inch size is perfect for growing big kids.
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Good binoculars are everything for bird watching, jungle hunting and spying missions. They come in 6 different colors so you will find the right style for your child.
If your child has been in the classroom, they have already played with pattern blocks. Best to have them at home – does anyone else remember making huge flowers with them as a child?
My youngest spent about a year making complex designs with these shapes day after day.
He mostly plays with the new game from last year’s holidays. This maze was/is fun for all of us. From 5 to 65 years old (including grandparents), everyone is constantly trying their luck. It comes with 3 mazes of varying complexity.
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We’re not sure what category this belongs in, so we’re going to throw it into games. That’s great.
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