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A self-contained Kinetic Sand sandbox for sensory play that has a decent chance of not getting all over the place. Even if it does, Kinetic Sand can vacuum up easily, making it pretty low-stress for parents who struggle through messy play (*raises hand*). This set comes with plenty of sand and seven tools to keep your little one occupied.
A set of three paint with water books that will allow kids to make magnificent creations without having to worry about watercolors going everywhere when you're on yet another meeting that should have been an email.
1. A splash pad you can grab for toddlers and bigger kids alike. Splash pads are such a fun way to cool off in warm weather, and the ability to control the flow just by controlling the hose nozzle makes it fun for kids of all ages. You can even add a small slide for a little extra fun! Reviewers rave about how durable it is and how easy it is to store.
2. A giant bubble wand for when it's time to up those bubble-making skills into something more impressive. While young kids may still prefer to be the popper, reviewers love that older kids enjoy getting in on the action and creating the largest bubble possible. And, honestly, who doesn't need a little more bubble fun in their lives?
3. A DIY sunglasses kit to add a little extra *pizzazz* to those summer sunnies. Each kit comes with sunglasses, flower or dinosaur charms, letter beads, glue, and instructions — meaning you don't have to go scrambling to a craft store. Nothing like an affordable way to knock out a summer activity AND a summer essential in one swoop.
4. A set of sandwich cutters and sealers that's perfect for your Uncrustables-obsessed kid who refuses crust on their PB&J. With the rising cost of groceries, these can help ease the burden of picky eating — plus, they're fun to use! Say goodbye to the stress of putting together a whine-free lunch!
Promising review: "These have been a GAME-CHANGER in this house!! My son has always begged me for Uncrustables, but my wallet didn’t agree with them. I LOVE being able to make them at home and customize them to exactly what they would like them filled with! I make two weeks' worth of sandwiches at a time and store them in sandwich bags in the freezer, so in the morning during the school year, we can just grab and go! Love them!" —Katherine Smaczniak
Get it from Amazon for $17.96.
5. A sight word Bingo game perfect for any kid who loves games and for keeping some of that preschool info in their brain during the summer. Play is proven to be the best way for kids to learn, and this game takes the stress out of learning for even the most reluctant of kids. It's just like the game we all love, but it uses sight words instead of numbers. Get ready to have a little fun yourself!
Promising review: "Getting my daughter to do sight words has been a nightmare lately; she pretends she has no idea what anything is and refuses to sit down and try. But with this game, she wants to play for hours!!! I give her two cards, and we all play together as a family; she thinks it is the best game, and it really is helping her learn her sight words!! Finally something that gets her excited about learning!!" —Rebecca
Get it from Amazon for $12.99.
6. Or a pack of flash cards to help with number, letter, shape, and color recognition. Have a toddler that's desperate to learn? This can be a fun game to do together that's not just sitting down and drilling. You can look at them, talk about the colors and shapes, and start conversations. Plus, they are waterproof and tear-resistant for your more *hands-on* learners.
Promising review: "My 2-year-old mastered her numbers, alphabet, colors, shapes, and identifies all animals and objects on the cards. When I first received the cards I thought they may be a little too advanced for her age (18-month-old at the time), but I was dead wrong! After about a month and a half of using the flash cards, she mastered them! We usually 'play' with the flash cards for only about 10 minutes before her bedtime. This is a great tool in the early developmental stages for any toddler. I’m excited to get her the next card set. Material = durable, same as a normal deck of cards. Size = a little bigger than your typical deck of cards. Fits nicely in pocket or purse, great for keeping toddlers busy while traveling. Overall = A+." —M. Abdallah
Get a pack of 58 cards from Amazon for $13.99 (also available in high contrast and with numbers).
7. A pack of 100 long-lasting and WATERPROOF glow sticks because sweat shouldn't be the only thing making you glow this summer. Nighttime dance party? Tape some glow sticks to their clothes and record the dances. Slumber party? Glow stick central. Making summer extra cool? Glow. Sticks.
8. An "I'm Bored" jar that you can silently hand them every time they say: "But I'm booooooored." The activities vary between kid-led and family fun and will help inspire those classic summer memories with things you already have around the house.
9. A set of reusable water balloons for outdoor fun without the mess. My kids LOVE water balloons, but I hate them because of the cleanup involved. These balloons save all of the trouble, and reviewers say that kids as young as 2 years old can figure out how to use them. They are more of an investment upfront, but will save you from spending money on water balloons all summer.
10. A large water doodle mat to lay out for some creative fun that dries out so that you can start over. This mat is great for one kid or multiple and comes with six pens and stencils so they can draw freehand or have some guided fun. There's also something so magical about watching the water drawings disappear.
11. A tie-dye kit that's large enough to provide an entire summer of groooovy duds. There's something so exciting to kids about tie-dye, and this kit has almost everything: protective gloves, a tablecloth, a storage tote, a whopping 14 colors, and instructions for tie-dye novices.
12. A set of Bob Books for beginning readers who are ready to start school with some extra skills. These cleverly use only four letter sounds for the first book and gradually build in difficulty, allowing your child to gain confidence as they move along. It even comes with a parent card to help you utilize the books to their full potential. Reading is such a fun milestone, and these books make the process that much easier.
The set comes with 12 books.
Promising reviews: "My 4-year-old daughter has known letters and sounds since just past her second birthday and could 'read' a few sight words, but she had a hard time mastering the process of sounding out a word. For the last two years, she would read the word 'stop' as 'sss- tuh- ah- puh,' but didn't understand how to really blend the phonemes. But somehow, as soon as we got them for her, Bob Books finally unlocked the part of her brain that could really solve the puzzle of phonics! I'm thrilled by the amount of progress we've seen in just TWO DAYS — going from 'getting' phonics, but not really reading, to completely consolidating and understanding the two concepts. She's also very suddenly taken up a lot of initiative in independent writing and spelling. I couldn't recommend these books more highly. They are a miracle!!" —Juniper
"Miracle for my ADHD son. My 6-year-old son is in first grade, and teaching him to read has been nothing short of a major challenge and a battle of wills...until we received these books. When I told him I got some books just for the two of us, he was really excited. Let me tell you, his excitement was nothing compared to mine when he sat down yesterday and read ALL 12 OF THEM out loud in one sitting with very minimal help from me. I was in tears watching and listening to him and couldn't believe my ears. The look on his face when he realized he was reading by himself was absolutely priceless. I will definitely be purchasing the next set soon since he is loving these so much. They are very basic which is exactly what he needed to start building his confidence (and vocabulary) and are simple, cute little stories. I don't normally write reviews on products, but from a mom nearly at her wit's end, thank you! These products have given my little boy (and this mom) confidence that yes, he, too, can succeed!" —txmom78
Get a set from Amazon for $14.
13. A gardening set for your *budding* green thumb. Personally, I hate gardening and tend to kill every plant I touch, but my kids still use gardening tools to dig in the mud, pull up weeds to make "salad" for the birds, and just explore. For caretakers more in tune with Mother Nature than myself, these tools are an excellent way to start involving your kid!
14. A giant box of washable sidewalk chalk for hours of outside creativity from hopscotch to tic-tac-toe to colorful cement drawings. I also love that it's durable enough to stick around for a few days without water, but you can wash it off when you're ready for a blank slate.
15. A flying orb toy that will level up Keepy-Uppy and keep you from buying and blowing up balloons. Not only does this ball glide, float, and rise, it also comes back like a boomerang, ensuring that it doesn't go flying away.
16. A creative fort building kit that will allow your kids to create all kinds of forts in different shapes while leaving your furniture and cushions alone. Keep them busy with a new design every day — from one room, to a dome, to cool crawlspaces. Just add a sheet for the ultimate summer fort.
17. An explorer kit for any kid who loves to catch bugs and explore nature — whether you're in the backyard or on a camping extravaganza. This kit comes with everything for a budding entomologist: binoculars, a net, a "critter case," a compass, and even a hat and backpack.
18. A set of three good, old-fashioned water blasters for the ultimate *blast* of summer nostalgia. There's nothing quite like a water fight, strategically scouting out the perfect ambushing spots, and forming alliances for ultimate water play.
19. A set of Stomp Rockets that can launch a rocket 200 feet into the air because nothing is more fun than watching things shoot into the sky. This award-winning toy allows your kiddos to adjust the angles and pressure applied, creating different levels of height every time — a STEM masterpiece! With over 24,000 5-star reviews, parents are loving these, too.
20. A DIY birdhouse kit that makes the perfect inside or outside activity and can be enjoyed all year long. The kit comes with birdhouses that you or an older child can assemble and plenty of paint to put their own creative touches on. With any luck, maybe you can finally check the yellow-bellied warbler off your Bird Bingo card — but it's definitely for the kids...
21. A self-contained Kinetic Sand sandbox for sensory play that has a decent chance of not getting all over the place. Even if it does, Kinetic Sand can vacuum up easily, making it pretty low-stress for parents who struggle through messy play (*raises hand*). This set comes with plenty of sand and seven tools to keep your little one occupied.
22. A set of hovering soccer balls for afternoons where the heat is unbearable — and so are the energy levels. This disk has foam around it to protect walls, baseboards, and furniture from scuffing and uses air to keep it hovering to protect floors. Plus, they light up if you want to make the game even more exciting with the lights off.
23. An underwater seek and find game for leveling up pooltime and adding a little competition to the mix. Each waterproof card corresponds to a gem sinking toy, and kids dive down to grab the toys that match their card! The next time even the pool seems ~sooo booooringggg~, bring this game out and bring on the competition.
24. A self-contained arts and crafts starter kit for any parent for whom craft is not a verb. This set is a bargain because it comes with all you need for a decent, kid-led craft center that stores easily and can be organized quickly when it turns into a craft-splosion.
25. A set of three paint with water books that will allow kids to make magnificent creations without having to worry about watercolors going everywhere when you're on yet another meeting that should have been an email.
26. A set of parachute toys because there is something inexplicably fun about throwing things off of the stairs and watching them float down. This classic toy has been updated to stay tangle free and easy-to-use, meaning fewer frustrating episodes of trying to untangle a woebegone parachuter as you also try to keep your cool.
27. An adjustable, light-up scooter that will last for years and provide plenty of use. I see more kids riding scooters to school now than bikes, and speaking from personal experience, scooters have a hold on my kids like you wouldn't believe, so this is one outdoor toy I — along with 16,000 reviewers who gave it 5-stars — wholeheartedly recommend.
The reviews for this post have been edited for length and clarity.