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No, It Doesn't Walk, Talk or Light-Up

Gifts with Staying Power

By Donna Smith

Preschoolers love to work with their hands. Building blocks, stacking blocks and Legos will encourage creative play. Many blocks help teach basic shapes and colors, as well as help them with their motor skills and make them use their imagination. (Balancing blocks takes a steady hand!) Legos encourage children to be creative and inventive. The possibilities are endless on what a child can make out of these little, brightly-colored blocks.

Preschoolers are at the wonderful age where they are learning about themselves and the world around them. What could be a better gift than a book? Picture books and board books will delight and entertain over and over again. Bathtub books, homemade books and even non- fiction books are great for preschoolers. Find a book to match a child's interest. Books also encourage a parent and child to spend some quality time together. Parents should be prepared to read this book over and over again! Another idea is a magazine subscription. There are several magazines aimed at the preschool age group that the child will be excited to receive every month. Turtle and Humpty umpty

Want to see more?

• A Millennium Baby for the Berenstain Bears
• Nursery Rhyme Rhetoric -- Take this quiz to find out how nursery literate you are!
• Lincoln Logs or Logging On? Do Toddlers Need High-Tech Toys?
• What gifts do you enjoy giving to children? Tell us at the Preschooler Activities Discussion Board.
• Read a review of Puzzart's wooden dinosaur puzzle here!