Educational toys & games for children

Alphabet Animals Game

Each letter of the alphabet represents an animal in this learn-your-letters game. Players combine letters to form both pictures and animal names, trying to complete as many animal alphabet cards as possible. If you've ever wondered what a xenops is (it's a bird), this is the place to find out! There are 90 illustrated puzzle pieces in this game for one to four players. The directions require some pondering, so an adult presence is suggested. --Lee Strucker (Amazon Editorial Review)

Ages: 4-8 years
Amazon Price: $14.99

Sea Monkeys Ocean of Light

You are about to begin a new amazing hobby that is so fantastic it staggers the imagination! You will create instant life! Single-handedly, you will give rise to the world's only living, breathing, instant pets--live sea monkeys! The instruction book for the Sea Monkeys Ocean Zoo is an entertaining read, packed with enthusiastic revelations about those ubiquitous brine shrimp from your comic-book-reading days. They're fascinating creatures, able to live up to a year or more, reproduce ("dozens of adorable babies!"), even "perform tricks" in their 5.75-inch magnifier-studded "Micro Vue" aquarium. The kit comes with shrimp eggs, food, plasma, a water purifier, and a handbook. Just add pure water. A great set of pets for a smallish domicile, they'd also make a scintillating science project. Plus, they're just plain fun! --Julie Ubben (Amazon Editorial Review)

Ages: 6 years +
Amazon Price: $11.99

Hopscotch Playmat
Everybody knows kids get into manias, where they have to play the same game over and over, be it jacks, marbles, or... hopscotch. The only problem with hopscotch is that it's subject to the whims of the weather gods. But with this indoor/outdoor hopscotch mat, kids can hop from 1 to 10 any time they please. At 83 by 25 inches, the thing is as generously sized as one you'd draw on the sidewalk, and with its red, blue, orange, and green squares of washable polyester, it's twice as colorful. The set even includes a couple of stuffed markers, for equal opportunity hopping: one's a boy and one's a girl. --Claire Dederer (Amazon Editorial Review)
Amazon Price: $29.99

My First Bowling Game

Your toddler will really get into the swing of things with this entertaining soft bowling set. Visually stimulating, each of the stuffed cloth balls and 8-inch-high pins is covered with a different red or black patterned cotton material. Easy for small hands to manage, and safe for teething infants, the set includes six bowling pins and two balls. But watch out--these are also great for bopping the competition on the head. Machine washable and dryer safe. --Marianne Painter (Amazon Editorial Review)

Ages: 1-6 years
Amazon Price: $19.99

Potato Sacks (Set of Six)

Potato sacks are an old idea reproduced with new twists that add fun to cognitive learning. Children will love racing in these bright, roomy sacks. You'll love the durability and extra chance to teach numbers, colors and languages. Set up races in ascending and descending numerical order or by color sequence with the winners solving mathematical problems before the next team member races away. You can also require the racers to count correctly in one or all four languages! Great cognitive challenges, plus movement and cardiovascular benefits. Machine washable and dryer safe.

Ages: 3 - 8 years
Amazon Price: $64.99

Climb and Slide Playmat

A chance for your kid to learn to claw her way to the top by virtue of good deeds, rather than back-stabbing and maneuvering. This giant (83 by 25 inches), rainbow-hued playmat is a variation on the old favorite, Chutes and Ladders. Kids roll a giant plastic die and move their characters through this oversized game. Good deeds such as helping a friend or brushing teeth are rewarded with a climb up the ladder, while bad deeds such as writing on the wall send you shooting back down again. --Claire Dederer (Amazon Editorial Review)

Ages: 3 - 6 years
Amazon Price: $24.99

Uppercase Alphabet Stamps

High quality rubber stamps for practicing alphabet and number sequence, spelling, math, playing store, sign making and more. Great for hard-to-motivate children, special education, and ESL students. Each set comes in a sturdy, reusable, clear plastic case. Numbers have math symbols, letters include punctuation marks. Grades Pre-K and up.

Ages: 3-5 years
Amazon Price: $14.99

Lowercase Alphabet Stamps

High quality rubber stamps for practicing alphabet and number sequence, spelling, math, playing store, sign making and more. Great for hard-to-motivate children, special education, and ESL students. Each set comes in a sturdy, reusable, clear plastic case. Numbers have math symbols, letters include punctuation marks. Grades Pre-K and up.

Ages: 3-7 years
Amazon Price: $14.99