The Best Gifts for 8 and 9 Year Olds
Based on Age and Development and Notes on Why They Work
Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza Card Game
This simple yet hilarious fast-moving game is a great fit for eight- and nine-year-olds who thrive on sharing humor with their friend group. It is a great game to build on their natural social emotional growth patterns and a great icebreaker game, too.
How Machines Work: Zoo Break
David Macaulay is at it again with another phenomenal book. Join Sengi and Sloth on their adventure to escape the zoo with page after page of pop-ups, pull-outs, and interactive hands-on elements here, all of which playfully explain the physics of simple machines — and more complex ones, too. Developmentally, eight- and nine-year-olds benefit from manipulatives to help teach abstract concepts, and this book utilizes this approach to create an engaging and educational reading (and playing) experience.
Gravitrax POWER
Typically, children of this age need to develop the life skill of breaking larger tasks into smaller ones to achieve their goal. Gravitrax is a self-motivated way for children to practice this important quality. By this age, many children have been playing with Gravitrax (or a very similar toy) for quite some time; this is an exciting way to make that play even more complex. Gravitrax Power includes screen-free programmable electronic elements that add POWER to the list of how they can send the marbles dashing to their finish line.
Ninja Line
Both eight- and nine-year-olds have a lot of physical energy and need to engage in gross motor activities often. Also, as they approach nine, they love to play in a more competitive way, even against themselves and a timer. Ninja Line allows for all of these developmental skills wrapped into one. Adults can set up and rearrange obstacle courses with swings, a trapeze, rope ladders, and more to facilitate endless iterations of fun.
Mysterious Benedict Society
A truly wonderful, original, and engaging story as rich with plot as it is with characters. This charming and brain-teasing adventure will be an instant hit with young readers and adults alike.
Snap Circuits Jr.
With over 130 projects, this GGGT Favorite enables children to construct myriad projects and to understand the foundations of electrical circuits all while playing independently. The instruction book is so much more than just that: it is a colored and illustrated guide that poses questions, teaches the do’s and don’ts of using the pieces, and empowers children to understand the whys behind their construction.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Hobby Rock Tumbler and Jewelry Making Kit
Watch the rock cycle come to life (and in significantly less time than nature’s version) with this exciting gift set. With it, young scientists can turn ordinary dull gemstones into polished beauties, then keep them in a glass jar for decoration or set them into one of the included jewelry settings.
Razor Electric Scooter
A scooter is a gift you will find in almost every gift guide age list because it is truly an enjoyable piece of hardware. As children get older, they are ready to take their scooting to the next level. This “my first” electric scooter from Razor is a great place to start. It has a wide deck for added stability and its pneumatic tires add to the riders comfort, balance, and enjoyment. Plus, it tops out at 10 mph, which is most likely a slower speed than that at which kids of this age ride a bike. In other words, it doesn’t go too fast for safety.
3Doodler Create+
Eight and nine year olds typically have the same pencil grasp as adults and have sophisticated fine motor skills, so using the 3Doodler is usually an exciting and rewarding experience for children. The filament extrudes plastic that cools almost instantly, so children can literally draw in three dimensions. The included materials ensure they can practice and create dozens of models in 15 different colors. And the instruction and activity guide provides steps and projects for those that prefer to work with stencils before moving to freehand construction.
Back to the Roots Organic Oyster Mushroom Grow Kit
Empower children to grow what they eat and allow them experience the gardening process first-hand with this year-round growing kit. With simple preparation, this GGGT Favorite grows exciting and delicious mushrooms that can be harvested and thrown on pizza or even eaten raw.
Plasma Orb
This visually stimulating experience not only produces a relaxing effect on most people (yes, kids and adults alike) but also gets the mind working and fills it with scientific questions prompting exploration and experimentation. The ball produces high frequency electromagnetic waves that convert contained gas into plasma, and as a result the plasma produces visible light. And the glowing plasma responds to touch, sending electrons toward the finger on the outside of the glass.
The Original Buddha Board Art Set
This unique “painting” set is designed to promote mindfulness as the user paints using only water, and shortly after watches his or her work slowly evaporate, completely leaving the canvas and once again leaving the artist with a blank slate. It is a wonderful independent activity for 8 and 9 year olds to use as a transition tool or even as a creative outlet.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Glow in The Dark Crystal, Slime, and Putty Lab
This Mega Science Kit teaches the why behind the experiments and the fluorescent experience while providing a more advanced sensory play opportunity for older children. And even though we don’t often think of eight and nine year olds needing sensory play, engaging in it still strengthens those developing nerve connections and can be both comforting and fun.
Klutz LEGO Chain Reactions
A well priced GGGT Favorite, this is a welcome addition to any LEGO lover's kit. Klutz adds a few new blocks to a child’s LEGO kit and takes them on an adventure in physics. Children of this age are typically industrious and curious, and building with a familiar toy in a new way is right up their alley. The book includes directions and the new materials needed to build 10 exciting moving machines.
