We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed and its publishing partners may collect a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.
1. A Gravity Maze game to challenge your little brainiac to use spatial reasoning, planning, and engineering to figure out how to get the ball through the maze and on its target. Sounds super technical, but it's learning that feels like fun. Plus, it'll give you some time to chill on the couch.
The game comes with 60 challenges that range from beginner to expert so it will hold their interest as they work their way up to the trickier ones.
Promising reviews: "Fun and educational. My grandson is nine and he loves this game. He is autistic and does all the mazes himself. He plays with it over and over again. He can get through all 60 mazes at one time." —Wanda Schneider
Get it from Amazon for $27.63.
2. A Stomp Rocket launcher that your kids will have a *blast* with (while learning a thing or two about physics). These rockets launch up to 200 feet high when your child jumps or stomps on the launch pad — no need to stock up on batteries.
Promising review: "I bought this toy for my son last year and as presents for other children this year. When the kids opened the gift, I was almost as excited as they were, we played with it for several hours. One child would stomp and someone else would try to catch it. It is simple and fun; if the child is old enough to stomp their foot, they can get a reaction from the rocket. I would give it an age range of 3–13 and when your child is playing, it is both entertaining to watch and participate in the fun. It's educational and fun, but not durable enough for older children. It has foam tips that can tear when kids use the toy as a cannon (you know who you are). But launched in a clearing, it will last a long time. And my husband adds; 'They go super sky high.'" —Dianne
Get it from Amazon for $19.99+ (available in various pack sizes and with or without LED lights).
3. A math game because it will help your kiddo learn how to count, improve their memory, and help develop fine motor skills — without it feeling like a lesson.
This set incudes flash cards, figurines, numbers, and a scale. Your child will have to match the right number of monkeys or monsters (depending on the set you choose) to the correct number in order for the scale to be balanced, which will help them to associate numbers with the correct amounts.
Promising review: "Very educational and fun. It's probably the best educational game I ever bought for me and my child. It teaches him how to count and how to add numbers. Definitely worth the money and we have fun while playing. He loves this game." —Victoria Alfaro
Get it from Amazon for $19.99 (available in two styles).
4. A talking microscope for your future scientist that likes to ask a ton of questions. This includes 60 colorful slides and 100 facts and questions narrated by Bindi Irwin, so you can take a break from all the trivia your kiddo tosses your way. They'll learn about plants, animals, and space — just be prepared for them to tell you endless facts over and over again.
Promising review: "Fun and educational talking microscope! This is by far one of the coolest products I’ve ever seen! My 4-year-old loves this talking microscope! Every day while her baby sister naps I spend some quality one-on-one time with her and this was the perfect product for our special time together! She didn’t want to stop looking at all the different slides and I love how each slide has three images and the fact mode shares fun facts about the slide chosen! I love that she was learning new facts while looking at it up closely! She has been having so much fun using it and asks me daily to use her new microscope! This is such a great learning tool in a fun, different way for a 4-year-old and it is a big win in my book especially because it can be used for many, many years! It also includes a quiz mode that we haven’t used yet but it’s nice that it has different modes for older kids. Highly recommend for all preschoolers and older kids!" —JC Mommy
Get it from Amazon for $30.49.
5. A solar-powered DIY robot kit, a STEM activity where your child can tap into their engineering skills and build 12 robots that can move with the power of the sun! And while they're busy building, you can take a moment to read, scroll on your phone, or maybe even nap?!
The kit includes 190 pieces, a solar panel, and detailed instructions.
Promising review: "This was a really good gift for a 10-year-old boy. It was really good because he is interested in science. It got him to think. It was educational but also fun! The really good thing about this is that it helps him with school and for learning in the future. All the parts work. Not much experience is really needed to put it together." —Max Find
Get it from Amazon for $18.99+ (available in two colors).
6. A marble run set so your little one can create their own maze that marbles can roll through. This will keep them interested for a long time and help them *build* their problem-solving skills.
Promising review: "Super fun for my 7-year-old boy and I to build! We have played for hours and sometimes leave it up for a few days. We have a few sets so we can make it really big! Great for kids to learn how to build and problem solve! It’s fun and educational without your child realizing they are learning. 😊" —D. Heim
Get it from Amazon for $33.73+ (available in three different quantities).
7. A wooden puzzle that is like a real lifeTetris minus the screen time. This puzzle can be played over and over for some fun away from their tablet. It will help your child learn color and shape recognition and develop fine motor skills.
8. A sight word Bingo game if you want to make learning sight words easy and fun instead of a chore. Your child will have no idea that this game is actually helping them learn to read.
The set comes with 36 playing cards, 264 playing chips, caller's mat and cards, and a storage box. This version is a fun twist on the classic, but instead of calling out numbers, the leader calls out words (there are 46 most-used words), players search their cards for a match and place a red chip on the match. Once a player has covered the spaces on their card needed to win, they call BINGO!
Promising review: "Fun and educational. What parent doesn't want their child to have fun while learning? It is like they aren't even learning!! My son really enjoys this game. We have two different sets and each one has been very helpful for him during his school year. He went from a 2 on his report card for high frequency words to a 4 (the highest mark) in one quarter and stayed at a 4 from there on out. I think this was a huge help to him with the fact that he actually had fun doing it. Poor kids, they are in school six hours a day and then have to come home and do homework, so it was refreshing having something he liked to do to help him learn rather than a constant battle and fight to do it. I highly recommend this product." —Abbie K
Get it from Amazon for $12.99.
9. A 360-degree-rotating 3-in-1 LED globe so your explorer can learn about geography and the constellations. It also doubles as an out-of-this-world night light.
Promising review: "Super cool! Bought these for my niece and nephew, and they arrived very well packaged. The kiddos loved it! Especially the light-up feature displaying the constellations. This is a great educational gift that also makes learning fun. Highly recommend!" —SK
Get it from Amazon for $34.99+ (available in two sizes).
10. A pack of colorful laminated flash cards to help your little one learn their ABCs, 123s, shapes, and colors. Reviewers say it "makes learning fun."
Promising reviews: "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
"Great fun and educational. My son absolutely loves these. We use them every single day." —Rachel Ryan
Get a pack of 58 cards from Amazon for $9.47 (available in two versions).
11. A Melissa & Doug magnetic calendar that's a fun and interactive way to help your preschooler learn the days of the week, the months of the year, and the weather.
12. A Learning Resources Botley The Coding Robot 2.0 activity set so your tiny genius will learn the basics of coding without screen time. They'll be able to program Botley to follow a sequence of up to 150 steps and watch the robot battle obstacles and follow courses they created. Sounds reallyyy complicated, but reviewers say it's easy to use and provides hours of entertainment.
13. A retro "Speak & Spell" electronic game if you remember it from E.T. and you're feeling nostalgic. It's designed to help children learn to spell commonly misspelled words using a speech synthesizer. Your future spelling bee champ won't think they're learning because it's so fun to use and reviewers say it helps improve reading skills.
Includes three AA batteries
Promising review: "Fun and educational toy! Bought this for our son and it’s amazing. Our son played for hours and was learning and getting better at his spelling. This item brought back so many childhood memories and we are also big E.T. fans, which was a plus. Love that it includes stickers and comes with batteries already. 😁" —Customer Review
Get it from Amazon for $20.99.
14. A toy cash register so your kiddo will be able to learn some important math skills. And maybe after some pretend shopping, they'll learn the value of a dollar so your next trip to Target will be less expensive — OK, maybe I'm taking a leap here.
Promising reviews: "This is another great toy by learning resources. I bought this for my daughter when she was 2. Now 3, she still plays with it daily. She loves punching the numbers in, but her favorite part is the open button that ejects the spring-loaded drawer. I put the coins away until she is older because I fear she will choke on them. She loves the paper money and pretend credit card. I can see her and my son playing with this toy for at least 10 more years. It is very durable. She has dropped it many times and it hasn't skipped a beat. The plastic is high quality. I would definitely buy this product again." —Ecinoderm4u
"Great educational toy for kindergarten age child. Helps teach money and counting. Makes learning fun. Highly recommend." —Patti
Get it from Amazon for $40.54.
15. A National Geographic Volcano Kit because your future scientist will be able to create their own volcano — eruption and all! It'll feel like a cool art project but they'll learn a thing or two about chemistry, geology, and earth science. Plus, it also includes real rocks created by volcanos.
The volcano kit includes plaster, volcano mold, paints and paintbrush, eruption powder for three eruptions, pop crystals for exciting sounds, two volcanic rock specimens (geode and pumice) and a learning guide with easy-to-follow instructions.
Promising review: "Excellent way to entertain an impatient 5-year-old. The whole thing took us three days to do, but my son was always excited and not impatient as usual. Very educational and fun activity, particularly for bad weather days when you have to stay indoors. It's not super messy, just place some towels and a cookie tray underneath and you should be all set." —Flowers
Get it from Amazon for $16.99.
16. A set of incredibly realistic dinosaur figures with an accompanying sound book for the little Jurassic Park fan in your life. With the press of a button, they'll learn the names of and fun facts about various dinosaurs and discover the sounds they might've made.
This toy set includes 12 dinosaur animal figures and an interactive sound book.
Promising review: "This is by far the best and most educational and fun interactive toy I have purchased for my grandson. He is obsessed... each page we play a game, he picks the correct dinosaur according to the pages, then we read the facts and learn how to pronounce each dino's name."—Michelle H
Get it from Amazon for $22.99.
17. An interactive, story-based math game that connects to your child's tablet to help them learn how to count, add, subtract, multiply, divide, and more. Your kiddo will feel like they're playing a video game while they're actually learning. Reviewers are calling it a "fun way to learn math."
This game includes: one foldable gamepad, one count spike, four arithmetic pieces, and two sets of digits from 0-9.
Promising review: "This product is a wonderful addition to your current tablet! It can be hard finding educational games, but this is perfect. It's engaging and a fun way to learn math! My 5-year-old loves this Plugo Count and my 3-year-old also gets some use out of it! I will absolutely look into getting more Plugo extensions! We used this with their Kindle Fires." —Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $45.59.
18. A 100 Words Book, aka an interactive book that will help your child learn the alphabet and words. It has fun sounds, images, lights and activities to prevent that *boredom meltdown.*
Promising reviews: "Very educational and fun. My grandson who just turned two, couldn’t get enough. He loves books and this really kept him entertained." —Sandra Fondren
Get it from Amazon for $13.99.
19. A flower-building activity set so your *budding* genius can tap into their imagination and build amazing flower displays. This STEM activity comes with hundreds of pieces for endless possibilities.
Promising review: "I gave this flower building toy as a gift for my 3-year-old granddaughter. She loved it and began playing with it immediately. Besides being fun, there are many educational benefits as well — learning colors, learning names and parts of a flower, etc. There are so many endless combinations! I highly recommend this toy." —Book magnet
Get it from Amazon for $13.98+ (available in two sizes).
20. A Magna-Tiles set that parents are raving about (including myself) because kids and adults can't stop playing with them. Whatever your child creates will look like a work of art with these tiles.
The set comes with 32 translucent magnetic pieces to build 3D creations. Recommended for ages 3 and up.
Promising review: "I bought these for my 4-year-old niece for Christmas. She loves them and has played with them nonstop. They provide entertainment for all age groups and are a great interactive product. They are very durable and the pieces are large enough not to swallow in case there are younger ones running around. They are educational, fun, and worth every penny!" —Stephanie
Get it from Amazon for $49.99.
21. An Osmo Little Genius Starter Kit compatible with iPads and Fire Tablets to make learning various skills more fun. This set includes games, handheld pieces, and the base. Your kiddo won't even know it's educational, they'll just think they scored extra screen time.
Promising review: "We got this for our niece for Chanukah, and it was a hit! It was both fun and educational, it keeps her busy and she was so excited while we were setting it up! I really liked the fact that it would keep her entertained, but in a good way, and that she actually liked it as a gift. It's a really hard needle to thread, but I think that this company nailed it! She was so happy to spell her name out for us and everything." —Kim
Get it from Amazon for $79.47+ (available for iPads and Fire Tablets and with four or six games).
You, acting surprised when your kiddo's math skills have improved after playing a game:
