Gifts for three and four-year-olds
Yoto Mini Audio Player
We love our Yoto Mini. There are a wide selection of books and audio cards available on the Yoto website or you can record your own audio cards. The cards (and player) are easy to travel with (not bulky) and it is easy for kids to put the cards in/out of the audio player independently. There is also a Yoto Radio Station and Podcast that you can listen to while the player is connected to Wifi.
My kids are fans of the Gruffalo and Friends audio card set. The largest selection of Yoto audio cards can be found on the Yoto website.
Magna-Tiles
This is currently my older children’s favorite toy. If you are just starting your collection, I would recommend a large set like the Metropolis Set or the 100 piece set of clear tiles. One thing that sets Magna-Tiles apart from other magnetic tiles are their animal sets. My kids love the animal figurines. Each animal is magnetic and includes a moving part. They are a great addition to their magnetic tile play! The Dino World XL and Forest Animals sets were even finalists for the 2022 Toy of The Year Award!
Find the largest selection of Magna-Tiles sets here.
Pretend play items
Around the age of 3 years old, my kids became more interested in pretend play, especially pretend play that involved food. Some of their favorites include this coffee maker and ice cream shop set. This sandwich shop set also looks like a good one!
Coffee Maker
Pretend Food: Make a Sandwich
Ice Cream Shop Set
Doctor Kit
Another favorite for pretend play is a doctor kit. I like this one by Fisher Price because it doesn’t include too many pieces.
Games
Around age 3-4 my kids became more interested in playing games. These are a few games that we enjoy.
“Guess in 10 Junior” and “Found It!” by Skillmatics
Guess in 10 Junior is a great game for preschoolers. The game play does not require reading and my 3 and 4 year old can play by themselves. There are different themes available, my kids love the Animal Version.
Found It is another engaging game by Skillmatics. I love that this game gets kids moving as you play! There is an indoor and outdoor version.
Find Guess in 10 Junior here.
Find Found It! here.
Shopping List
Fun version of “memory” for preschoolers. Each person gets a unique list and you take turns picking tiles, trying to find all of the items on your list.
The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game
This game is great practice for taking turns, color matching and works fine motor skills.
Doll House
I love the simple and open design of this dollhouse.
Floor Puzzle
I love the realistic images in these puzzles. The rich scene in the image offers many opportunities for building vocabulary. I also love that the pieces are sturdy.
Travel Size Puzzle
We are big fans of the puzzles by Mudpuppy. This puzzle is smaller in size (good size to build on a table). It comes with a cloth bag to store the pieces. There are different designs available.
Find the travel size puzzle here.
We also love the floor puzzles by Mudpuppy. This one has 25 pieces.
Kinetic Sand
Have you tried kinetic sand? It’s a fun sensory material for play. I love that this set combines sensory play and pretend play.
Find kinetic sand “ice cream treats” here.
Tap Tap Vehicles
This is a fun activity for spatial reasoning and hand-eye coordination. It includes pattern cards, and you add the pieces to the corkboard to create different vehicles. We got this for my son for his 4th birthday.
Magnetibook
This will be a gift for my 3 and 4 year old this holiday. The pieces are magnetic and you create different images. There are different themes available.
LEGO
We first got LEGO sets for my son’s 4th birthday. They are a great STEM toy that develops problem solving skills, spatial reasoning and fine motor skills. At 4 years old, we work on building the sets together, looking at the photo directions and finding the pieces. For beginners, I recommend starting with a set with fewer pieces.
Mud Kitchen
This is one of those items that your child will continue to use for many years. We LOVE our mud kitchen outside during the warmer months.
This is the mud kitchen we have.
