🔥POPULAR 🔥 It’s sort of a mash up of Pictionary (sans pictures) and Name That Tune… but add kazoos. Kazoo That Tune is all about music and some seriously needed silliness. Comes with four kazoos, a sand timer, and 200 songs including a good amount of contemporary picks. Very affordable and highly rated with lots of happy commenters. Perfect for parties and family fun.
We got a 16 foot string of Govee LED Lights for each of our teens. Both opted to put them under their bunks and it’s completely transformed their bedrooms into colorful hangout spaces. We also put one in the inner ledge of our skylight to make a mini wannabe James Turrell installation. It turns on and off with sunset and sunrise, dimmed but still room shifting, and the kids pick a new color every season.
In 2019, I researched mini photo cameras and printers for weeks. Ultimately, I chose the brand new Fujifilm Instax Mini Link Smartphone Printer, above, and four years later, it’s been a solid purchase for us. It’s highly rated, the hardware and software makes it fun for the kids to use, the Instax Mini Instant Film has a vintage feel but I have editing control in the app, and most importantly, it works with our iPhones and any photos we’ve already taken. Great at birthday parties or for thank you cards after, for photo books, and more. It comes in a few different colors, too. A moment of analog with the benefits of digital.
NEW ⬆️ Exoplanets: A Guide to the Worlds Outside Our Solar System is a fantastic addition to the wave of smart picture books that demystify real world science for kids—in this case, breakthrough discoveries in astronomy and astrophysics.
What is an exoplanet? And how did we already find 5,000 of them? Exoplanets distills the 5 main discovery methods, shares some of the newly found planets, and answers key questions for kids and grown ups alike.
One of our kids took off on a pedal bike within 5 minutes thanks to years of balance-biking around the neighborhood. Looking back, it was probably one of our best purchases, especially since the bike covered both kids. We didn’t hurt our backs bending to guide the pedaling, and it was a confidence-builder for both of them to boot.
If you’re in the market for a balance bike, the Strider 12" Sport Balance Bike for ages 18 months to five years old is at the top of everyone’s best-of-the-best list. It’s sturdy, well-designed, and comes in six colors. And it’s smart: You can add Strider’s Pedal Conversion Kit when your kiddo is ready.
The 12″ budget-friendly Classic for ages 18 months to three years, the silver, slightly lighter Pro, and the 14x for ages three to seven are also best-sellers.
NEW ⬆️ There’s a world of delicious foods out there; if only there were kid-friendly visual guides for them. Enter the awesome small biz team at Gloo Books.
Fruity sinh tố, crispy dosa, delicate bánh ướt, scrumptious dahi, comforting sundubu-jjigae, versatile silog, salty pinakbet, gooey hotteok, and my favorites: bibimbap and everything ube. Read about Vietnamese, Indian, Filipino, and Korean street foods, staple foods, comfort foods, yummy desserts, and more. Plus, learn a bit about when, why, and how they’re made.
These Very Asian Guides for ages 3+ are perfect for libraries, classrooms, and for food and cultural literacy at home. Highly recommended.
When the kids were little, we would spend hours at our local science museum where we could build with Kapla blocks and set up marble runs. These Magnetic Marble Run components remind me a lot of the ramp pieces we’d hook into pegboards as we tested the marble’s path, adjusted, and tested again. It was a lot of fun and taught them so much about redesigning, trying new things, and fails = useful information.
This 150 piece set includes a motorized Archimedes’ screw lift! There’s also a 75 piece starter set. Bonus: More marble-related ideas.
We have three of Theodore Gray’s science and technology books, and they’re fantastic for all ages to explore. How Things Work will be an excellent 256-page addition to our collection this year.
It can be tough to find high-quality and sturdy electronics for kids, especially electronics that they use all the time… like headphones. This impressive wireless set from Puro Sound Labs is volume-limiting, an essential feature for kid eardrum-protection, and with Bluetooth and a cable included, you have options. They come in six colors and are highly recommended. Up to 18 hours of playtime and 200 standby hours, perfect for road trips, plane travel, and hanging out at home. Kids can listen to music or their favorite kid podcasts and audiobooks.
We also love Onanoff Kids Explore Foldable Headphones for ages 2-6 and JLab Audio JBuddies for ages 6-16.