with
Trish Corlew
hether you’ve kept to your regular homeschool studies through the summer, are slowly getting back on a schedule, or have an official “back to school” date circled on your calendar, I bet one thing is true—you want the transition into the new school year to be fun. (And so do your kids!) To that end, I asked homeschooling parents in our Hip Homeschool Moms Community to share the top toys and activities that today’s kids enjoy most. The result is this “top 10” list—all about kids’ favorites!
Your kids can have fun while nurturing creativity and critical thinking when you incorporate the things they love most into their homeschool day!
In the world of building toys, Magna-Tiles stand out because they can be enjoyed across a huge span of ages. These magnetic building blocks look like stained glass and connect effortlessly. They are big enough for little hands to manipulate but versatile enough that older kids can use them to build out-of-the-box designs. (As an adult, I admit that I have also enjoyed playing with them!) Magna-Tiles inspire creativity, help kids to think more spatially, and develop awareness of different shapes and symmetry. Children love the possibilities of constructing colorful towers, houses, or entirely unique creations.
2. LEGO Sets
LEGO sets have long been a kid-favorite across various ages, beloved by boys and girls alike. The story-driven build designs are versatile, engaging, and inspire so much creativity. LEGO sets also have plenty of benefits that support learning. The step-by-step instructions help kids develop greater focus and sequential thinking—skills which are helpful in all subjects! It’s also easy to incorporate a little LEGO time into your daily homeschool, whether it’s as a brain break or as a specific challenge to build something your kids are studying!
3. Creation Stations
Kids always love making things with their hands, and there’s something even more fun about it when the supplies they need are in a dedicated and accessible space! Creation stations can be as simple as a designated table set up with coloring supplies and paper. They can also be more involved, including multi-sensory materials, sewing supplies, clay, engineering supplies (think tape and straws) or anything else you can imagine!
Many families who homeschool using the Montessori method frequently use creation stations in their homeschool, but it’s really a wonderful concept that all types of kids enjoy exploring. Creation stations give kids a chance to have independence and express themselves in a hands-on way.
4. Outside Play
Among the moms in the Hip Homeschool Moms online community, outdoor play consistently ranked as one of the favorite activities of kids of all ages. In a high-tech world, it’s nice to know that kids still love some old-fashioned dirt and sunshine. Whether your kids are climbing trees, building forts, or simply running freely, outside playtime is always good for their overall development and happiness. If you’re looking for some new ways to incorporate more outdoor play into your child’s day, look into some fun ideas for outside games to use as brain breaks!
5. Sensory Exploration
Water tables and sensory bins provide fun and beneficial tactile exploration, especially among little kids. With water tables, kids can splash and cool off while they observe the behavior of floating objects. With sensory bins, they can pour, sift, and sort materials. Kinetic sand and slime are also winners in the “sensory exploration” category!
Whether they’re scooping kinetic sand, digging in bins for hidden treasures, or playing in water, sensory-driven activities like these encourage scientific thinking, cause-and-effect understanding, and sensory development—and they can keep little ones happy for hours at a time.
6. Minecraft
Whether you love video games or not, Minecraft undoubtedly ranks high among kids’ top choices for playtime. And if you’re open to gaming, this one can be valuable for creative thinking skills!
Minecraft is a popular virtual world game that offers limitless opportunities for creativity and problem-solving. The game also offers a safe “maker mode” wherein kids can build elaborate structures, collaborate with friends, and even experiment with coding. Because Minecraft involves sequencing and building, it enhances critical thinking and spatial reasoning while teaching concepts of architecture, engineering, and resource management.
7. Card Games and Board Games
Traditional games are still a top kid favorite too, maybe even more so because they are guaranteed to come with quality time. Card games and board games aren’t strangers to homeschooling. We already use them all the time! Of course, there are some classics, including homeschool staples like Scrabble and Monopoly.
Newer games like Exploding Kittens or Poetry for Neanderthals can also be great for developing communication and strategic thinking skills in a way that is so much fun, your kids will want to play all the time.
VR is the newest item on this list of kids’ favorites, and that’s not too surprising! Virtual reality presents a whole new dimension of learning and entertainment, and it makes us feel like we’re living in the future. With devices like Oculus Quest, kids can take virtual field trips to historical sites, museums—even the ISS. They can play games that teach math, science, and history concepts while immersing themselves in memorable experiences. VR also offers fitness games and I will admit, I have an Oculus and exercise to Beat Saber on a regular basis, which promotes physical activity in a new and fun way for mom and the kiddos. In moderation, VR can be a super fun way to engage your kids in things they could never otherwise experience.
9. Adventures!
Most homeschool families would say that truly important learning extends beyond the four walls of a classroom, and apparently kids agree: taking trips and having adventures is among kids’ favorite activities! Field trips and Homeschool Travel Adventures also expose children to new environments and cultures, as well as history. Visiting museums, landmarks, or natural parks provides hands-on learning opportunities and fosters kids’ deeper understanding of the world around them.
It’s also a great way to make learning more memorable as it combines with the formative experience of travel. The thing about these types of adventures is that they’re fun while they are happening, but they’re also still fun to remember, even years later! If you are interested in learning more about these, please visit my website to see what trips are planned!
10. Imaginary Play
Imaginary play can mean a lot of different things, but it truly is the original toy! A child’s imagination can take a stick and turn it into a sword, create stories and art with no effort or insecurity, give life to a Barbie, or ignite the engine of a toy car. In our poll among homeschool parents, various types of imaginary play were still reported to be a top choice among kids. I have to say that it’s good to know that imaginary play is still—and will hopefully always be—a kids’ favorite!
rish Corlew loves to teach and mentor homeschool moms in how to adopt the hands-on, fun, and active learning style she fell in love with when she was involved with her kids’ Montessori school before homeschooling. As the owner of Hip Homeschool Moms, Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers, Only Passionate Curiosity, and Love These Recipes—Trish has been equipping homeschool moms to spark their children’s interests in order to become life-long learners. One of her favorite ways to do this is through travel! With her popular community, Homeschool Travel Adventures, she has taken homeschooling families on incredible educational adventures for nine years.
She’s married to David, her best friend and husband of 26 years, and they have three adult sons. Originally from the coast of North Carolina, she now lives in rural West Tennessee on a forty-acre farm. In her spare time—her very spare time—Trish loves to travel, write, and work in the garden. You’ll often find her trying to learn something new, modeling that learning is indeed a life-long endeavor!