Every parent and guardian will agree to this: educational toys are a very useful pastime that allows children to spend pleasant hours, playing, and learning.
From toys with letters to numbers, music, up to the scientific ones with STEM concepts, these didactic toys and games improve the propensity for problem-solving while developing kids’ minds.
When playing, your 5-year-old can learn new things and memorize concepts better. With educational toys, usually boring repetitive activities can turn into a lovable and fun activity. So, what are the best educational toys for 5 year olds?
According to Roberta Golinkoff, Ph.D., head of the Infant Language Project at the University of Delaware, “the real educational toys are not the flashy gadgets and gizmos with big promises, but the staples that have built creative thinkers for decades.”
Contents
Top rated educational toys for 5 year olds in 2021: 32 Best Reviews
Below is a list of 32 educational toys for 5-year-olds, including their descriptions, pros, and cons.
- Obuby 120 Pieces Kids Construction Fort for Boys and Girls Indoor & Outdoor
For 5-year-old boys and girls who like to have fun while using their sense of creativity and imagination, the Obuby construction kit lets them build and design houses, castles, tents, rocket ships, and more.
With 120 pieces to play with, there is no doubt the kit is an ideal educational tool. The set includes 23 Blue Ball Connections with a diameter of 1.97 inches. There are also 22 Green Ball Connections with a diameter of 1.97 inches and 75 Reinforced Sticks with 14.96 inches of length.
Pros:
- Comes with construction instructions
- Feature a portable bag
- Giftable, thanks to the color gift box
- Stimulates creativity and sense of imagination
Cons:
- Choking hazard (includes small parts)
- Requires adult supervision
- Educational Insights GeoSafari Jr. Talking STEM & Science Microscope for Kids of Ages 4+
Your little kid has been talking about his dream life career. And you sense he may want to consider being a biologist, geoscientist, gemologist, or forensic scientist.
This is one of the best educational toys for 5 year olds to develop interest in science. Then you should get them a microscope for kids before upgrading it to the actual microscope later in life.
If we are on the same line of thought, one of the items you should get them is this microscope from Educational Insights. It’s a talking microscope that produces quality up-close images and features the voice of children’s wildlife personality, Bindi Irwin.
Pros:
- Helps kids look, listen, and learn
- Quality images with voice
- Perfect for stimulating interest in STEM
Cons:
- Battery not included
- Gamewright Outfoxed! A Cooperative Whodunit Multi-colored Board Game for Kids 5+
Recommended for children of age 5 and more, this plaything is for infinitely imaginative kids. In the game, Mrs. Plumpert’s pot pie has just gone missing, and the case needs someone who can crack it and catch the fox who will be on its way to the exit. Kids have to gather up clues by moving around the board. The Scanner is used to pick or rule out suspects.
Pros:
- A co-operative board game
- Easy to learn
- Easy to play
- Even adults can join
Cons:
- Rules of play are in Spanish
- MindWare KEVA Structures 200 Plank Set
For bolstering your 5 years old child’s creativity and encouraging his or her interests in physics and engineering at a very young age, the plank set offers children some fundamental brain-building challenges.
Featuring 200 well-designed pieces made out of timber, the plank set is cut precisely and designed to be stacked up into a stable structure. With the support of imagination and gravity, your kids can stack up towers that can reach the ceiling without using connectors or blue.
Pros:
- Teaches principles of physics
- Includes an instruction booklet
- Doesn’t require connectors or blue
- Better than kits with dominoes
Cons:
- Pointy edges may be unsafe for children
- Fat Brain Toys Teeter Popper for Ages 3 to 10
Sit, stand, rock, wiggle, tilt, or spin; how your little ones use this tool is limitless and up to them. The plaything, lined with suction cups, can improve your kids’ core leg strength and stability, balance, gross motor, and coordination skills. It wakes up their curiosity and engages their sense of imagination.
Pros:
- Improves stability and core strength
- Develops balance, gross motor skills, and a sense of coordination
- Made of 100% safe silicone
- Versatile shape; countless ways to play
Cons:
- Not built to last
- WowWee Untamed T-Rex by Fingerlings Interactive Collectible Dinosaur
This game features fierce, unpredictable creatures that grip the fingers of players. The plastic dinosaurs roar, chomp, and hiss in untamed mode and purr and nuzzle in tamed mode.
They are completely designed with gripping jaws and snapping jaws. The dinos are interactive and responsive to sound, touch, and motion. They are also great players with a greeting call as soon as they are powered on.
Pros:
- 40 sounds and animations
- Responsive to touch, motion, and sound
- Comes with batteries
- For 5 to 15-year-olds
Cons:
- Batteries run out quick
- Stomp Rocket 3 Foam Planes and Toy Air Rocket Launcher STEM Gifts for Boys and Girls
For your little aeronautical engineer or pilot, this kit features three planes made to perform amazing stunts and develop your child’s interest in STEM. It includes a loop plane, a gliding plane, and a wildcat plane.
The loop plane is designed to perform giant loops, while the glider plane can glide up to 100 feet. Your children can use the wildcat plane to perform all sorts of crazy stunts.
Pros:
- Helps kids to get interested in STEM early
- For boys of age 5 and up
- For performing crazy stunts
- Award-winning toys from industry experts
- Easy to assemble
Cons:
- Gets easily damaged
- Mad Mattr Super Pack Molding Kit
You can stretch your children’s imaginative fibers with this super-soft compound for building all sorts of shapes. For open-ended fun, your kids will find it easy to mold building objects into limitless creations.
The texture of the sculpted works is very smooth, and the formulas are non-toxic and wheat free. Mad Mattr comes in eight different colors, including pink, yellow, red, purple, green, blue, teal, and orange.
Pros:
- Easy to clean up and doesn’t stain
- Available in different colors
- Does not dry out
- Free from gluten, wheat, and casein
- Fosters social, developmental, and STEM skills
Cons:
- Can get messy
- AUUGUU Dinosaur Race Car Track
This set of race car track toys games will take your children back to the cretaceous period, about 146 to 65 million years ago while the Tyrannosaurus and the Triceratops were still roaming the Earth. It’s a playset that involves the use of 156 pieces. There are 142 track pieces and two realistic dinosaur toys.
Your kids will also have to themselves two motorized cars, four plastic trees, two ramps, a bridge as well as a two-door gate. They will have to arrange the race track and watch the toy cars go past the dinosaur figures, down the hills, and escaping the onslaught of the imposing creatures.
Pros:
- Environmentally-friendly construction materials
- For nonstop fun
- Flexible race tracks
- Fiercely realistic
- Non-toxic materials
Cons:
- None
- Scientific Explorer My First Science Kids Science Experiment Kit
Here is an imaginative, educational, and fun kit. It’s a DIY set that features experiments that will educate and delight your budding scientist kid. The toy kit involves children in growing their liquid crystals while also encouraging them to explore the science of color.
There are up to eight fun activities derivable with this. Including everything your child needs in creating his color mixing lab, it makes him or her know what it’s like to act, think, and learn as scientists do. This product features polyacrylamide, three color tablets, three mixing cups, three test tubes, a pipette, a mixing tray, a magnifier, caps with stand, and instructions.
Pros:
- Gets your child experimenting while as young as 4
- Provides great fun
- Giftable
- Sturdy and durable
Cons:
- Requires adult supervision
- Thames & Kosmos Kids First: Robot Safari – Introduction to Motorized Machines Science Experiment Kit for Ages 5 to 7
The introductory engineering set serves for building robotic animals, including a llama, unicorn, narwhal, otter, fox, bear, crab, and cat! The kit features a 32-page storybook manual, centered around the Omegas and Remus, the family’s teddy bear.It involves building models that help develop your child’s fine motor skills. It offers an introduction to robotics, engineering, and other STEM concepts.
Pros:
- Teaches the concepts of STEM
- For building up to eight moving models
- BPA free plastics
- Easy to assemble
Cons:
- Instructions not properly adapted for children to follow
- Hard to clip together
- Flybar My First Durable Foam and Bungee Jumper for Toddlers
Babies bounce all the time for all kinds of reasons. This is why they love things like trampolines and this Bungee Jumper made especially for young children. The Bungee Jumper offers the perfect way to recover all of her energy in a productive way that won’t push parents on the wall.
It can be used indoors or outdoors for fun anytime, anywhere. The game will provide endless entertainment and keep her physically active by improving her balance and coordination. Balance has a significant impact on concentration, ability to learn, and helps girls increase their attention span, a vital skill.
The Bungee Jumper has soft sponge grips for small hands and an elastic spring that allows you to adjust it to the correct height. At the bottom, a built-in squeaker adds fun to your child but can get repetitive and annoying for adults.
Pros:
- Vitalizes your baby train all-day
- Soft sponge grips for small hands
- Ergonomic and elastic spring
- High-quality and durable foam
Cons:
- Makes squeaky sounds that annoy adults
- Osmo – Pizza Co. Communication Skills & Math Learning Game For iPad or Fire Tablet
The game allows kids to start learning business skills through play, strengthening their communication, and mental arithmetic skills. The learning game allows kids to learn while playing, holding, and interacting with an iPad.
It’s an interactive and educational game that brings solution-focused thinking while developing the users’ math skills. To make it work, you just need to put the device in the base, install the reflector over the camera, and see the play pieces in front. The product includes the pizza board, 48 toppings, 40 money tiles, and stackable storage.
Pros:
- Builds kids’ communication skills
- Develops math and money skills
- Doesn’t require an internet connection
- Usable as kids evolve (for ages 5 to 12+)
Cons:
- Requires the Osmo Base and tablet (which are not included) to play
- Shifu Orboot (App Based) Augmented Reality Interactive Globe For Boys & Girls Ages 4+
A list of educational toys for children will never be complete without an educational globe. However, this isn’t like the regular globe. It’s an interactive globe that lets kids explore the world past the scope of geography.
An augmented reality (AR) object works with a fun and interactive app designed by Orboot. The globe doesn’t fill with names of cities, countries, or continents, nor borders. With the app, your kid can scan a region on the globe in a 3D view using a tablet or smartphone.
Pros:
- Encourages your child to explore and discover the wkd
- Develops cognitive abilities
- 1000+ cool facts
- 400+ highlights
- Powered by augmented reality
Cons:
- Poor app UX
- RoyalBaby Kids Bike for Boys and Girls with Training Wheels and Kickstand
Do we recommend bicycles for kids as young as 5? Yes, especially if they have training wheels. Designed by RoyalBaby, experts in children’s bicycles, this bicycle is a great way to staying healthy and exploring, developing young riders.
The product is a freestyle bike that has been 95% assembled, thus, easy to set up. The bike also comes with instructions and assembly tools. It features safety-first designs such as the handbrake, grips, caliper brake, rear coaster brake, and training wheels.
Pros:
- Features an effective braking system for safe riding
- Includes training wheels
- Comes 95% assembled with installation tools and manual
- Sturdy steel frame
- Smooth and easy to ride
- Bright, stylish, kid-friendly colors
Cons:
- Handlebars not completely rotating
- Learning Resources 73-Piece Pretend & Play Calculator Cash Register
You can make your 5 year old learn basic mathematical and calculating skis by running a pretend store. The cash register features a large number of display and oversized buttons, making it ideal for children of 3 to 5 years with varying ability levels. The kit features 73 pieces, including pretend money and credit cards in actual sizes.
Pros:
- Solar-powered
- For imaginative roleplay
- Almost realistic pretend bills
- Develops money and math skills
- Age-appropriate
Cons:
- Weak solar cells
- Materials could be sturdier and more durable
- Hot Wheels Criss Cross Crash Motorized Track Set
The piece is yet another motorized track set for children who love racing actions. It features four intersecting crash zones with over 16 track feet that can help challenge your little ones’ competitive spirit. There are hairpin turns, endless racing loops, and motorized boosters. The total wipeouts and near misses are fun hit and miss actions that will also challenge your kid.
In all, there are four high-speed crash zones, four-way boosters, four loops, and a DieCast Vehicle. It seems to be deafening when played indoors: suitable for kids, nightmarish for parents.
Pros:
- For ages 4 to 1
- Hit and miss thrills
- Improves children’s’ curiosity
- Develops problem-solving skills
Cons:
- Very loud
- Perler 5005 pcs Sweet Shoppe Fuse Bead Bucket Craft Activity Kit
The cylindrical bucket includes 5,005 pieces of assorted fuse beads, pegboards, pattern sheets, and a reusable ironing paper sheet. Easy to set up and play, the pack comes with an easy to follow instruction manual.
The bead set includes three pegboard shapes and 12 bead colors. The pack permits children to make colorful candies and ice cream treats. The activity kit is designed for kids of age 5, 6, and more.
Pros:
- Inexpensive activity pack
- More than 5000 play pieces
- Big and durable storage and carry bucket
- Perfect for afternoon and rainy day games
Cons:
- Poor quality wax paper
- CUKU 12pcs Magnetic Dart Board for Indoor Game and Party Games
With this magnetic dartboard, kids and adults can play! Especially ideal for boys of age 5 to 12, a fun dart game for it is for all ages. The 13-inch dart board is easy to carry by hand or in a backpack to parties or camp; it’s truly portable, easy to store, and takes up little space.
The pack comes with instructions on how to install it on the walls. The toy is a two in one board game: one on each side. It features the standard dartboard on one side and an archery dartboard on the backside.
Pros:
- Double-sided dartboard
- Features archery and standard dartboards
- Easy to fix
- Instructions on installation
- For indoor and outdoor games
Cons:
- None
- Toyk Store Flying Drone Ball with Infrared, Induction RC, and Built-in LED Light
For children who want to explore robotics’ technology and start drone-playing, this is a great toy that can enrich their playing life. Equipped with remote controls and LED lights, the flying toy provides more entertainment and looks cool at night.
Pros:
- Can be remotely controlled
- LED lights
- Safe, non-toxic ABS material
- USB rechargeable
- Great for children with autism
Cons:
- Crashes too often, reducing durability
- Wilson Traditional Soccer Ball
What’s a gift set that doesn’t include a soccer ball? Football for the young ones serves with their agility, strength, hand and eye coordination, and cardiovascular endurance. The soccer ball is made of polyester outer material, synthetic leather for higher durability, and a butyl rubber bladder for shape and air retention.
Pros:
- Durable and retains shape for long
- Helps with hand-eye coordination
- Builds kids’ agility and speed
Cons:
- Varying ball quality
- Hauck Lightning Pedal Go Kart For Boys & Girls
Built with an ergonomic and adjustable seat with sharp handling, this Go Kart will expanse your child’s strength, coordination, and endurance. For sports and racing lovers, the pedaled Go Kart is innovative, sporty, and durable. It features lightning that brings a unique driving experience.
Pros:
- Great handling features
- Child-oriented ergonomics
- Safe to drive
- Durable, innovative, and sporty
- Affordable price
Cons:
- A few users report problems with the chain
- VATOS 577 PCS STEM Robot Building Toys
Cultivate your child’s hands-on creativity and ability with this STEM construction toy; why not? Featuring 577 pieces, it’s a 25-in-1 toy for tomorrow’s engineering students and professionals. Ideal for boys and girls aged 5 to 11, the kit features creative building bricks that can be used to construct 25 models, including fighter aircrafts, helicopters, drones, robots, and more.
Pros:
- For 5 to 11-year-olds
- Can build up to 25 models
- Compatible with major brands
- Non-Toxic and free from Lead, BPA, and phthalate
Cons:
- Breaks a bit too easily
- Educational Insights 52 Piece Design & Drill STEM Space Circuits for Beginners
Combination fun with STEM learning, these circuits are designed for young astronauts-in-training. It offers kids power drilling tasks for completing up to 20 space-themed and circuit-building challenges.
Players are supposed to build their engineering skills while solving problems by spinning simple motors. The kit includes a circuit board, a battery pack, a power drill that is safe for children, and more.
Pros:
- Comes with an instruction guide
- Encourages problem-solving
- Develops fine motor skills
- Supports STEM learning
Cons:
- Doesn’t include batteries
- Hasbro Lost Kitties Multipack with 5 Lost Kitties figures
In this game developed by Hasbro, your kids have to look for lost kitty figures that are hidden in four colors of the molding compound. They have to squish around and look for all. And when they find them, they have to create cool stuff with the mixture. The set includes five meme stickers and ten accessories, which will add to the thrill.
Pros:
- Multi colored clay
- Arouse creativity
- Re-sealable storage bag
Cons:
- Can get messy
- Melissa & Doug Activity Book Bundle – Scissor Skills & Tape Activity Book
The Melissa and Doug activity book offers the young ones two of their most loved creativity games (taping and cutting with scissors). Ideal for helping them build their skills on-the-go or at home, the bundle includes a scissor pad and is perfect for children of age four and more.
There’s an included pair of safety scissors for practicing several paper-cutting techniques and projects. This toy bundle is for developing the crafts and handiness of kids. The scissors cut very well, made of plastic and without metal, they are safe.
Pros:
- For building basic skills
- Ideal for boys and girls looking to learn crafts
- Reusable picture pages
- Scissors are safe to use
Cons:
- Nothing to criticize
- Hape Quadrilla Wooden Marble Run Construction for Smart Families
Commended by the Wall Street Journal as a top toy for teaching kids STEM and code principles, this is a wooden construction play kit for smart families. With an engineering design inspired by Da Vinci’s methods, the toy set is designed for creativity-building and minds with spatial thinking. It includes seven color blocks with different functions.
Pros
- For building engineering and logical thinking
- Ideal for coding and STEM learning
- Adults too can play
Cons:
- Small parts are choking hazards
- Some kids can’t build the train independently
- HONBO 14ft R2F Rainbow Octopus Kite for Kids and Adults for Outdoor Games
No one can explain why we rarely see kids play with kites these days. But Honbo still makes them, but also in rainbow bright colors. For plays on the beach and other outdoor settings, the kite is easy to fly and colorful as well. It’s a soft kite with no frame and no need for assembly.
Pros:
- Soft and easy to carry
- No need for assembly
- Both for adults and children
- For cardio workout and eye exercise
Cons:
- Some users couldn’t get it to fly
- Pretty but not durable
- Hasbro The Game of Life Junior Game
Similar to the one for adults, the Game of Life is easy and fun-filled. It’s an intro to learning to play the actual classic Game of Life. The Junior version is designed for ages 5 and above. To win, players have to collect ten stars. Two to four players can play the game.
Pros:
- Easy setup
- Simple intro to the classic game
- 3D car movers
Cons:
- Requires assembly by adults
- Fstop Labs 2 Pack Archery Bow Set with Targets, Suction Cup Arrows and Quiver
There are several reasons the NFAA recommends archery for kids. It boosts their physical development, mental toughness, mindset, improve teamwork, sportsmanship, and teaches safety basics. This set from Fstop having everything needed in an archery kit for kids. It includes targets, suction cup arrows, quiver, LED lights, and ABS materials that are non-toxic.
Pros:
- Non-toxic materials
- LED lights attractive to children
- Lightweight
- Battery-powered archery set
- For indoor and outdoor practices
Cons:
- Poor quality ABS material
- LBLA Store 36-Inch Kids Trampoline with Adjustable Handrail and Safety Padded Cover
For indoor and outdoor use, a trampoline can stimulate your children to develop physically. According to the manufacturer, the LBLA trampoline pushes your children to practice safely and grow taller.
Pros:
- Helps children grow tall
- Builds muscle strength and the nervous system
- Adjustable handrail for safety
- Sturdy
Cons:
- Instructions could be better
- Squeakee The Balloon Dog
It’s no big deal if your child has a live pug and a toy balloon dog. This interactive toy dog lets its master inflate him, feed Him, pop him, teach him some tricks, and watch him deflate.
Pros:
- 60+ sounds and movements
- Responds to voices
- Very durable
- Inexpensive
Cons:
- Boring for preschoolers
- No replacement parts
Buying Guide
It is not easy to choose the most suitable ones based on the age we are looking at. In this section, we’ll tell you how to choose an educational game or toy for kids while answering some of the most frequently asked questions.
Below are a few things to consider before choosing an educational toy for 5-year-olds:
The development milestones
A good educational toy must offer physical, emotional, social, and/or cognitive development to your child. But what does each feature offer?
- Physical Development
Toys or games that offer physical development accelerate to build your child’s muscles, stability, strength, speed, and agility. Some of these include soccer balls, archery kits, and more.
These entertainments helping kids’ physical improvement are perhaps the most important of all the milestones. In the US and the UK, the CDC and the NHS respectively recommend that children get at least one hour of physical activity every day.
“Strong evidence demonstrates that, in children and adolescents, higher levels of physical activity are associated with multiple beneficial health outcomes, including cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, bone health, mental health and maintenance of healthy weight status,” said Craig Williams, the University of Exeter’s director of Children’s Health and Exercise Research Centre.
- Emotional Development
“Emotional intelligence in kids covers five main areas: self-awareness, emotional control, self-motivation, empathy, and relationship skills,” according to Bradley Busch, a registered psychologist as well as a director at InnerDrive. Some games serve to stimulate kids’ emotional sense and empathy. These are board games such as Monopoly Junior or The Game of Life Junior, which put the kids in their opponents’ shoes to understand how they feel.
- Social Development
At age five, your child should learn how to coexist with their environment, make friends, and adapt to the way of life acceptable to his society. Board games for 2 to 5 can also offer children some social developmental milestones. These games will boost their transition from preschool to pre-kindergarten and then to kindergarten better.
A research published in the American Journal of Public Health has shown a link between kids’ social skills in kindergarten and their performance in early adulthood. Expanding further on the report of the research as it relates to the consequences for kids who didn’t see much of social development, CNN’s Kelly Wallace writes: “The children who had problems resolving conflicts, sharing, cooperating and listening as kindergartners were less likely to have finished high school and college, and were more likely to have substance abuse problems and run-ins with the law.”
- Cognitive Development
It has been proven that a kid’s experiences during childhood will influence his or her brain development. “An early childhood surrounded by books and educational toys will leave positive fingerprints on a person’s brain well into their late teens,” according to CNN’s Alok Jha.
Interactive games that require creativity, the use of logic, and trigger the need for problem-solving thoughts will support your kids’ cognitive ability. These best interactive learning toys for 5 year olds improve their speech and writing skills and help them learn more effectively. “The more mental stimulation a child gets around the age of four, the more developed the parts of their brains dedicated to language and cognition will be in the decades ahead,” writes Jha.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- What are good gifts for a 5-year-old boy?
A good gift for a 5-year-old boy can prompt the child’s mind, from memory to teaching complex concepts. You can offer the boy a coding robot or a building kit. In any case, “the best toys are often the simplest ones, like blocks, because they allow children to be creative and spontaneous,” according to the WebMD.
- What toys should a 5-year old have?
Among the many toys on the market, you can find puzzles, memory toys, and board games. Manual toys are more recommended, so they can better boost their sensorimotor intelligence. Rotating globes, motorized solar systems, electronic pens, and information mats are great examples of the best electronic educational games.
- How do I keep my 5 years old busy?
One of the few options you have is by offering them a toy or game set as we have recommended. Keep in mind that the game does not need to make automatic and mechanical repetition of a movement, memorizing a pattern. These categories of games hardly stimulate reasoning and reflection and are not very useful.
- Which game console is best for a 5-year-old?
Aside from the construction kits, archery sets, and other types of kid toys offered in the review, there are also many educational game consoles for preschoolers. These include Sony PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch Lite, and iPad Air. These games assist your child develop interest not only in gaming but in gaming design and development, a core STEM career in today’s entertainment industry.
Conclusion
Thanks to this guide, you have been able to find out how to choose the top educational toys for 5-year-olds with special needs. These toys and games can be both manual and electronic, and the key thing is that they are suitable for the child’s age. In addition to developing problem-solving skills, the toys must encourage logical processes, imagination, and creativity.