Toys That Teach: Holiday Gifts

3 years & up. Give block play a natural feel with our Branch Blocks. The intact textured bark on each building piece adds sensory exploration mirroring the organic benefits of outdoor play. These blocks empower children to construct all sorts of structures and develop key STEM skills such as sorting and stacking. The blocks' nature-inspired design will also deepen childrens’ appreciation of nature and may even make them feel like they are constructing their own habitats. Includes 36 wood pieces.

3 years & up. The TinkerTar Tiger Guitar is the easiest way to introduce children to the enchanting world of music! The 1-string guitar is the ideal beginner instrument to ignite a passion for music and foster creativity. Children will build confidence and develop essential fine motor skills as they work from simple to more challenging songs. The Kaplan TinkerTar Tiger Guitar includes an exclusive easy-to-follow teacher guide written by music teachers to make playing the guitar and teaching… More »

3 years & up. Invite children to experiment with sound using the Musical Wooden Marble Tree! Encourage children to hypothesize as they drop a marble at the top of the tree and listen to the beautiful, acoustic tones each branch produces. This musical toy enhances hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills as children grip each marble and visually track the path down the tree. Includes four glass marbles. Marble Tree measures 6.3"L x 6.3"W x 14.6"H.

Birth & up. Give babies captivating companions with this set of My First Black & White Puppets. These soft puppets have friendly faces and open arms that will put babies at ease. Adults can use them to narrate a story, play a game, or do many other things. The color schemes will also help babies develop early color recognition skills because black and white are the first colors babies recognize. Set includes 3 animal puppets.

3 years & up. Engage children's senses and strengthen their memory while playing this nature-inspired version of a classic matching game. Pieces representing flowers, spider webs, ladybugs, turtle shells, eggs, pine cones and other naturally occurring materials children already relate to the outdoors, allow for easy recognition and recall during play. Over-sized, wood cookie bases will naturally wear over time, revealing cause and effect behaviors and natural evolution to children. Set includes… More »

18 months and up. Bring any water or sand table to life with this fun play set. Offers children opportunities for sensory exploration, imaginative play, skill development, and learning in outdoor environments, a valuable addition to any play space. Floating boats introduces concepts like buoyancy, displacement, and water resistance in a tangible way, and helps develop an understanding of basic physics principles. Water and sand play is both fun and educational and has a range of benefits for your… More »

2 years & up. Serve up delicious pretend meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Young chefs can prepare nutritious food such as eggs, waffles, fried chicken, fruits, sandwiches, and more. This set makes a great addition to pretend play kitchens. Purchase all three meal sets together as one big set or buy them individually. Made from plastic.

2 years & up. Spruce up your child's art space with this appropriately sized two-sided wooden easel. Each side features a dry erase board and the paper can be pulled to either side. Each side measures 17" x 15" while the whole easel measures at 19.25"W x 21"H x 17.5"D. Includes four paint cups. Trays are removable, but would have to be unassembled in order to take them off.

3 years & up. Build to new heights with this fantastic collection of realistic pretend bricks, blocks, and rocks! This set of lightweight foam builders stack easily for endless creative building projects. The foam construction is water proof, but not UV-resistant; if kept outside for a long time, the colors will fade. Included: 20-piece Cinder Block Set, 25-piece Rock Wall Builder Set, 25-piece Brick Builder Set, and 25-piece Ice Brick Builder Set. Activity cards included.

3 years & up. Protect your clothes from splashes or spills with this wonderful Easy Clean Apron for Messy Classroom Arts and Craft Projects. This apron is great for projects using paints, glue, glitter, and more! Children will love getting messy without any detriment to their clothes. This apron promotes creativity and messy play. This vinyl apron is easy to clean with soap and water. Secures easily with a hook and loop closure. Measures 24.13"L.

Make puppet play possible with this Wire Puppet Stand. Puppet play is an invaluable addition to a preschool classroom for many reasons (including language development and emotional expression) but finding storage for puppets can sometimes be difficult. With space for 9 puppets, this Wire Puppet Stand helps solve that problem by giving puppets a home when they are not part of classroom activities. Measures 13.75"L x 6"W x 15"H.

3 years & up. Help children stay calm and focused with the Fidget Fun Kit. The wide variety of shapes, textures, and colors in this kit will reduce stress and anxiety as well as provide the sensory stimulation necessary for children to stay focused. The pieces' fun designs will also ensure that children have fun while maintaining their social-emotional health. Item styles and colors will vary, 7 piece set.

3 years & up. Bring out your child's inner architect with this classic log building set. A classic wood toy with solid pine logs in red, yellow, and natural; green roof planks and red gables. Contains 250 pieces in a heavy-duty canvas bag for storage. This set comes complete with instructions to build a log cabin, barnyard, and tree house all at the same time.

2 years & up. These puppets are a great way for children of all ages to learn about diversity through interaction and play. This set of eight puppets represents four multicultural groups of children with aspects of their culture represented in their clothing designs. Use these puppets in the classroom for a fun lesson about diversity and inclusion. For further learning, discuss the cultures these puppets represent and the history of their clothing. Puppets measure 12" long and are 10"… More »

3 years & up. Practice architectural theories, model scales and engineering with this 60 piece Little Bricks set. Included are 10 double-sided concept cards to give ideas for specific structures. Textured TPR plastic and weighted metal interior is scaled to miniature brick size for architectural building. Build models and scenery for pretend play, stop motion videos and more. Perfect for indoor and outdoor play. The four color gradients of the bricks provide an authentic building experience.… More »

3 years & up. What fun children will have as they discover the world we live in through the eyes of the many animals in this jumbo animal set. Children can imagine watching the lion roar through the jungle, riding a horse on the farm, swimming with the dolphins, or taking care of the many pets they have at home. Activity guides provide facts about each animal and early science discussion starters. Animals measure between 7.5"L x 3.75"H to 8"L x 15"H. Made out of durable BPA… More »

12 months & up. These musical books will brighten any day! Follow Ditty Bird on many musical journeys with 6 of his favorite bedtime songs and 6 of his favorite nursery rhymes. Through these two musical books, children will discover captive illustrations and familiar songs. Songs include 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star', 'Hush Little Baby', 'Itsy Bitsy Spider', 'Row Your Boat' and many more. Each book comes with three LR1130 batteries, instructions for replacement can be found on the back cover… More »

3 years & up. Introduce children to early weather concepts and teach them to dress for the seasons at the same time with the help of this cuddly friend! This fun bear set includes four outfits that are perfect for their corresponding seasons. Dress this bear for the appropriate weather conditions and encourage your child to model their outfits after it. For an activity, call out seasons and have children dress the weather bear appropriately. This Weather Bear Set promotes fine motor skills,… More »

12 months & up. Bundled exclusively by Ditty Bird for customers here at Kaplan Early Learning, these musical books will brighten any day! Canciones de Animales (Animal Songs) is a book in Spanish with 6 fun songs about animals. This book is full of sweet illustrations of adorable animals to encourage babies and young children to sing and to learn Spanish words. Canciones de Cuna (Bedtime Songs) is also in Spanish, and is filled with 6 beautiful lullabies to enjoy with your little ones before… More »

12 months & up. Bundled exclusively by Ditty Bird for customers here at Kaplan Early Learning, these musical books will brighten any day! In the Farm Animal Sounds book, follow Ditty Bird on many musical journeys with 5 of his favorite farm animal sounds, along with his favorite animal sounds song. In the Cute Animals book, explore 5 of his favorite cute animal real-life sounds and 5 beautiful textures. Through these two musical books, children will discover textured illustrations and animal… More »

3 years & up. E-I-E-I-O means fun on the farm! Spark your child's inner farmer as they have fun building their own barn consisting of a pig, cow and rooster, all while planting STEAM skills! With Magna-Tiles® Structures, the possibilities are endless! While your child plays, they strengthen STEAM and problem-solving skills. Every tile is printed on both sides so that each piece can complete the pattern, no matter its orientation. This set contains 1 six-inch square, 22 three-inch squares,… More »

12 months & up. Bundled exclusively by Ditty Bird for customers here at Kaplan Early Learning, these musical books will brighten any day! Follow Ditty Bird on many musical journeys with 6 of his favorite instrumental songs and 6 of his favorite classical songs. Through these two musical books, children will discover great composers and classic children's songs. Songs include 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star', 'Mary Had a Little Lamb', 'Fur Elise', 'Ode to Joy' and many more. Each book comes with… More »

Introduce the wonderful beings of the prehistoric era with these Jumbo & Soft Realistic Dinosaur Set. These lifelike creatures inspire hands-on exploration, nurturing fine motor skills as children move and manipulate the figures. Watch as they craft stories of ancient landscapes and interactions, fostering creativity and imaginative play. Encourage children to share and play together, strengthening social skills like cooperation and communication. The set includes 15" Stegosaurus, 18"… More »