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Juan MC Larrosa
Top Educational Kids Gifts for 2013
We’ve scoured the world looking for the absolute best gifts you can buy for your kids that will make them love you forever and maybe learn something at the same time.
Here are my picks for the top gifts:
1. Leap Motion ($79.99) - www.leapmotion.com
The Leap Motion is a tiny pack-of-gum sized device that lets your kids control any Windows or Mac computer with their hands and fingers like in the movie Minority Report. Despite the low price tag, the Leap Motion is extremely accurate - up to 100x the accuracy of Microsoft’s Kinect.
The device comes with an app store called Airspace which has hundreds of free games (including one called Block 54 which is a 3D version of Jenga) and great educational apps (my kids loved Balloon Bust which teaches counting and flying around the world with Google Earth). It’s been really amazing to see my kids learning and having so much fun at the same time - I feel like I gave them a chance to experience magic.
This is a drawing game that is fun even for people that aren’t artistic. Once you draw your picture (in 45 seconds) the next step is to select a category card. This card tells you how the artwork will be judged. If the category card says “used the most graphite” then the person with the most pencil marks “wins” that point. Some of the category cards were quite fun and since you don’t know what the category is before you draw, this evens the playing field for the non-artist types. My kids really liked this and it was great to see them thinking creatively.
3. LeapPad 2 ($109.99) -
This is the latest tablet from LeapFrog (the company that created the children’s tablet category). The device is starting to show its age but it is still an incredible first tablet for kids.
4. Brainbox ($14.99) -
This is not just for kids or just moms and dads to play with their children - it is for anyone who wants to keep up with geography and learn basic information about other countries and hone your memory skills. A brain game that helps you learn while exercising the mind. Easy to play for one or more. The cards are very sturdy and should last a long time. I guess eventually my husband and I will learn where all the countries are and be able to answer all the questions every time but so far not. We have a HUGE National Geographic world map on our wall to keep track of world events and this game has enhanced our map skills. My goal is to be able to fill out a blank world map and list all the countries on it.
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