Toys for 4-Year-Olds
When it comes to toys for your 4-year-old, you want them to be engaging, hands-on, fun and sneakily educational (lol!). Here are some time-tested classics for the 4-year-old crowd:
Crayola Kids Paint Set ~$13
Need a snowy or rainy day activity? This paint set, which comes with washable paint, brushes and a 5-page watercolor paint pad, is perfect for keeping children busy and engaging their creativity.
Never Forget A Face Memory & Matching Game ~$17
Each of the 24 faces in this memory and matching game represents a different place around the globe, so while you’re playing and having fun, you can also have important discussions with your kids about different cultures, ethnicities and places of origin.
Melissa & Doug Pattern Blocks and Boards ~$14
Kids can create their own designs — or follow the patterns laid out for them on the boards — using the brightly colored geometric-shaped pieces that come with this set. It’s great for early math skills, spatial awareness, color recognition and building creativity!
Kinetic Sand & Folding Box ~$31
Kids love digging their fingers into this soft, squishy, mostly mess-free sand. Comes with kinetic sand, mini sand toys and a case that doubles as a sandbox. *Note that many users complain the kit doesn’t come with nearly enough sand — you can get extra here.
Buddha Board ~$37
No-mess water art for kids (and adults — I seriously love this thing!). “Drawing” on this board is strangely soothing and peaceful, and kids get a kick out of watching/waiting for their art to disappear (or else it’s a lesson in learning to “let go”). We love that it’s eco-friendly compared to going through piles and piles and paper, too.
Educational Insights Design & Drill Activity Center ~$39
What 4-year-old doesn’t want to play with power tools?! Now they can… in a totally safe and kid-friendly way. This set comes with a variety of drill bits and bolts, plus a power drill, wrench and screwdriver. Kids can construct their own designs on the activity board or follow the pattern cards. Hard hat not included. 😂
Pretend & Play Calculator/Cash Register with Play Money ~$31
My kids spend hours playing “store” with this cash register and don’t even realize they’re learning basic math skills like addition, subtraction, the value of coins and bills, and how to count change. Comes with pretend coins, bills, credit cards and an activity guide.
Learning Resources Gears! Gears! Gears! Super Building Toy Set ~$47
This colorful interconnecting gear set gets kids learning about how pieces fit together and tinkering to make gears spin… perfect for budding engineers.
FAO Schwarz Castle Blocks ~$varies
These castle building blocks have the coolest design — young children can imagine and build far more intricate and exciting structures using these compared to “traditional” blocks… if you’re buying for a child with a big imagination, they are a real hit. (Also available at Target.)
Fort Builder ~$51
My littles love this kit — they have a blast making everything from airplanes to houses to cars to secret forts and so much more. Great for focus/concentration, following directions, manual dexterity, and using your imagination!
Hape Quadrilla Wooden Marble Run ~$144
This 147-piece kinetic wooden marble run, aptly named The Challenger, lets kids create a plethora of fast and fun marble runs. With 50 marbles, three twisting funnels, accelerators, blocks, levelers and more, the possibilities are truly endless.
We hope you found something here that will keep your 4-year-old engaged, inspired and having fun!