9-year-old Archives - ResearchParent.com

Spirograph

Michelle — Wed, 06 May 2020 13:28:23 +0000

I remember LOVING Spirograph as a kid. I was always so impressed by the fun designs I was able to create. I would spend hours experimenting with the different combinations of outer and inner circles to see which would produce the most beautiful finished products. When my daughter broke her leg around her 7th birthday, I bought her a kit. I was so pleased that even a modern day child was able to enjoy it as much as I did all those decades ago.

Product: Spirograph Fun Shapes Set
Website: www.kahootztoys.com/spirograph-home.html
Recommended Age Range: 7 to 10 years
Price Range: ~$20
Amazon Product Page (Affiliate Link)

Comments: In an era when technology is grabbing hold of our kids, fun open-ended toys like Spirograph can still hold their attention for a surprisingly long time. Not only do kids get to practice fine motor control, but there is some covert math in these as well. Why do some combinations of inner and outer pieces create far more interesting designs than others. Why do some combinations seem to not work at all, but rather just repeat the same exact pattern over and over? Your child is not likely answering these questions, but their brain is stimulated.

When my daughter broke her leg, this gift was a lifesaver. She made designs for all of her friends and family and decorated them up by turning them into flowers. I’ll admit that now, over a year later, she hardly ever plays with it. However, I know that in a few years my next child will be able to enjoy it, then the one after that. When our family has reached it’s fill of Spirograph, it is the kind of toy we will be able to pass onto another family in near perfect condition.

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Bow and Arrows

Michelle — Sun, 08 Mar 2020 04:23:47 +0000

If you’re looking for a gift under $25 for boys between the ages of 7 and 9, a toy bow and arrows is almost a guaranteed hit. I don’t mean to be sexist. Honestly, as non-violent a female as I am, I find shooting a toy bow and arrow to be incredibly satisfying. However, I’ve never witnessed the sort of over-the-top enthusiasm from a girl that boys never fail to exhibit with a toy like this. (Nerf guns are pretty safe bets too.)

Product: Air Z-Curve Bow
Company: Zing
Website: zing.store
Recommended Age Range: 6 to 10 years
Price Range: ~$25
Amazon Product Page (Affiliate Link)

Comments: One year at Christmas time, we found bows and arrows very similar to this at Costco. It was a year when I was feeling particularly reluctant to deal with the hassle of Christmas shopping. As a result, basically every boy in our family got one, including uncles. Despite my laziness, overall they were a hit. They are pretty easy to use even for kids as young as six or seven. Even though they aren’t able to shoot them as far as older kids and adults, they still have a lot of fun. Also, with the padded tips, they are relatively safe.

A lot of times I like to put a lot of thought into a personalized gift that a child will enjoy. Other times, I’m looking more for the birthday present that will result in the most excitement when opened. I like instant gratification. When you really just want to see a young boy smile, give a gift like this. It’s a no-brainer. While it may not last forever, it will bring a lot of joy and get a lot of use before it either breaks or gets passed to a younger child.

Alternatively, if you want a more personal gift that takes more time, but is less expensive, try our homemade bow and arrows.

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Catan Junior

Michelle — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 13:00:51 +0000

This is an entertaining game for families with kids 5 years and up. It’s one of the few games I really like to play with my kids. Catan Junior teaches many useful concepts such as abstract math through the acquiring and trading of resources to purchase pirate ships and lairs. It’s also a good first introduction to strategy, requiring the child to make decisions at every step of the game.

Product: Catan Junior
Company: Mayfair Games
Website: www.catan.com
Recommended Age Range: 5+
Price Range: ~$25
Amazon Product Page (Affiliate Link)

Comments: My son received the game Catan Junior for his 5th birthday about 6 months ago. During that time, we’ve probably played it 8 to 10 times. The box says it is for kids 6 and up, and while it is probably the most “grown-up” game my son owns, I think it is perfectly fine to play with younger kids (though the youngest kids will obviously need help). At 5 and a half, my son is good at remembering the rules and what needs to happen all on his own. He’s not that great at strategy yet, but I think he’ll figure out that his decisions have consequences naturally as he gets older and as we play more and more.

What’s nice about this game is that it is appropriate for a wide age range. Unlike many kids games, this one is fun for grown-ups. My 3 and half year old is able to play with us as well, though really she needs step-by-step instructions on what to do at each point of the game. Honestly, she seems a little bored by this one and would probably rather play something else, but she is not the target audience and it’s nice that we’re able to include her instead of telling her she’s too young. I’ve played this game with 5, 6, and 7 year olds and they all had a great time.

Catan Junior is also great at subtly teaching useful concepts without being obviously educational. For example, it teaches abstract math and value concepts by having certain assets (like ships and lairs) that you can buy with resources that you earn (like molasses and gold). It also involves the use of a card that has algebraic type formulas. For example, one ship = one goat + one wood.

It teaches strategy in the number of decisions that need to be made at each point in the game. Do you want to trade any of your resources? Do you want to purchase any additional resources from the stockpile? Is it worth taking a chance and purchasing a wild card or should you just spend what you earn on purchases that will bring you directly towards your goal? Once you buy a ship or a lair, where will you place it on the game board?

This game is not simple by any means. Even though we’ve played this game nearly a dozen times, if it’s been more than a month since the last time we played, I always need to read the directions again to remember all the little subtleties of game play. However, it’s not so complicated that I need to keep the instructions next to me while we play. The rules are a bit complicated, but they are also fairly logical, so once you are reminded of what to do, the game progresses naturally.

I should also point out that this is a fairly long game. It’s not Monopoly long by any means, but game play really does take 45 minutes to an hour, especially including set-up. We can only play this game during the toddler’s naptime as he is still the sort that would eat the pieces when we weren’t looking and just generally cause destruction when he wasn’t ingesting pirate ships. As a result, we only get to play this game once in awhile, but my 5 and half year old always thinks it’s a special treat whenever we do.

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Fort Magic

Michelle — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 18:18:28 +0000

Product: Fort Magic
Company: Fort Magic
Website: fortmagic.com
Recommended Age Range: 5 to adult
Price Range: ~$100
Amazon Product Page (Affiliate Link)

Comments: In the months leading up to Christmas, I saw several bloggers with sponsored posts where they raved about their free Fort Magic kits. It looked pretty awesome, but while I was sure their reviews were honest, I was a little skeptical that it was worth the $150 price tag. As an engineer, I’ve been meaning to make something similar for my kids out of PVC pipe basically since I was pregnant with my first child, but as the mother of 3 young kids I’ve never gotten around to it. Honestly, I think this is better than anything I could have done myself and well worth the cost. It comes with a large number of pieces and connectors such that, so far, I’ve not been short a piece for anything I’ve wanted to make. We’ve made several of the suggestions in the accompanying booklet (a car, a rocket ship, a pirate ship, etc.) as well as many of our own creations such as a homemade Toothless dragon.

What I love most about this product is that not only does it foster creativity and spatial skills, but it is truly fun and accessible for everyone. My 3 and 5 year olds can fit the pieces together and make things for themselves while my 8 month old chews on the large connectors. We’ve had grandparents come over and say, “Man, I wish I had this when I was a kid.” I truly feel every child should have something like this. Interestingly, we also received the much less expensive construction fort building set by Discovery Kids and it is nowhere near as amazing. Don’t get me wrong, my kids love that we can build them spikey balls with the cheaper set, but they cannot get the pieces in themselves and after using our Fort Magic kit, we will not be using the smaller set to make forts.

Another point worth mentioning is how easy it is to cover your creations with fabric using the fabric clips (not included in the Discovery Kids set). When I saw the box, I thought, “Yeah, that castle/house/spaceship looks cool, but the covering must have been custom sewn.” I thought we would make a fort and then just throw a sheet over it and call ourselves done. That’s not how it works at all. With the fabric clips, you can take any piece of fabric, clip it onto the pipes to make a panel, and then twist the clips to roll the fabric onto itself to make it taut. We’ve used bed sheets, play silks, receiving blankets, and Hawaiian sarongs to cover our creations, and while it doesn’t look quite as amazing as the box, my kids don’t care, and I’ve been pretty impressed with what is possible. We got this set for Christmas and it has been used in some form or another nearly every day for the last month and a half.

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Snap Circuits SC-750R

Michelle — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 17:42:48 +0000

Product: Snap Circuits SC-750R Student Electronics Training Program (& other kits)
Company: Snap Circuits (Elenco)
Website: www.snapcircuits.net
Recommended Age Range: 4 and Up
Price Range: ~$125 (as low as $20 for smaller kits)
Amazon Product Page (Affiliate Link)

Comments: Snap Circuits are a widely and highly recommended, award-winning product (which is how I discovered them). I initially bought the smallest kit (Snap Circuits, Jr. around $21) for a 6 year old neighbor’s birthday party. He and his parents both loved it. After a few initial explanations, the 6 year old is now able to build the circuits entirely independently. In fact, he doesn’t want help and is proud to show off what he can do to visitors. As an engineer, I honestly couldn’t wait to buy this for my son who is only 4. However, I considered it more of an investment than a “toy”. With this mindset, I bought the biggest set available (SC-750R Student Training Program) which is regularly around $125. On the website camelcamelcamel.com, you can see the price history of a product and set price watches for the price you would like to pay. While I consider $125 a good deal for what you get, I wasn’t in a hurry, so I set a price watch for $100 and bought it when it dropped to that price briefly a couple months later. (Note: as of today, it has only dropped to $100 twice in the past year.)

While my 4 year old is not able to make the circuits all by himself like our 6 year old neighbor can, he is definitely learning. He can find nearly all of the components the circuit will need based on the diagrams, though I need to help him locate where they should go on the circuit board. I also love that he is learning the names of electronic components like motor, switch, diode, resistor, LED, etc. Another great thing about this product is that so far the pieces seem really sturdy. After spending as much money as we did, I of course tell my kids (4 years and 2 years) they need to be super careful, but we’ve built more than 30 circuits and I’m getting a little lax. I’ve even let the 2 year old “play” with the pieces with only casual supervision and she hasn’t broken anything. What is also awesome is that she is clearly learning too. When building a circuit using these snap together pieces, there are always at least two layers. The first layer puts down all the major elements of the circuit and the second layer connects everything together. After just the first couple projects, my toddler seemed to catch on before my preschooler the purpose of the second layer, effectively making bridges across the pieces. I was amazed when she started trying to put a few of the pieces intuitively in the correct locations. (The 2 year old still has trouble actually snapping them down though.)

Another great aspect of this product is that it’s fun and intuitive for adults as well. Yesterday I showed my 35 year old journalist friend how easy it was to make a circuit so she could see what it was like since she is considering getting it for her kids. Together, we made a doorbell with her doing nearly all the work. She was initially intimidated, but after building her first circuit, she felt confident she knew how to do it on her own. She was so proud of herself she took a picture of the finished product and when my husband came home, she said, “Did Michelle tell you what I did today?” Since it was hours later, I had no idea what she was talking about. She said in a very self-satisfied, pleased tone, “I made a doorbell.”

This is truly one of my favorite educational products in our house. I’ll need to see as time goes on what the upper limit of the educational value of this product is, but given the enthusiasm my kids have whenever I say, “Wanna build a circuit?” I’m sure we’ll get through all 750 projects eventually.

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9-year-old Archives - ResearchParent.com

Spirograph

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Bow and Arrows

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Catan Junior

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Fort Magic

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Snap Circuits SC-750R

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