Would prefer it to not be “hair” 'makeup" girlish oriented, but rather something challenging for her mind. I am her Uncle, and would like something maybe aimed at DIY outside of Lego if you know what I mean. Budget is small, maybe 39.99? Can move either way if needed
Advice, much needed as a 36 y/o male with no kids
I once bought my niece a marble run. I got some shit for it, because I guess some people just don’t get it? But she loved it, and my 6-year-old daughter now loves marble runs too.
My daughter also collects rocks, so a rock tumbler was a big one for her.
Another gift for a niece I got shit for was a drum. She loved it. She was so excited that it was a real instrument. My brother always said he’d get me back, but my daughter got a full-ass drum kit for Christmas, and I think it’s great.
Oh, and make your own slime kits are huge right now. It’s science-y, DIY, and kids love slime.
My 6 year old son absolutely loves the Snap Circuits kits. We’ve also started teaching him collectable card games (Pokémon, Yu Gi Oh , etc) which challenge his reading and strategy skills. Plus great quality time activity. There are tons of Stem kits out there for less than $40.
Yugioh and snap kits were my faves back then, now over 20y later I’m still playing yugioh and soldering, so I’d say it was a worthy investment of my family and my free time. Problem-solving card text is probably good for understanding programming logic, too.
K’NEX. I used to build all kinds of cool stuff out of those when I was a kid.
She needs a sword. It’s educational.
Spirograph, Crystal growing kit, search for stem toys for 6 year olds, ask her parents what she’s into.
I’ve been doing stem toys for my niece for a few years and she always loves them. She just turned 9 in August.
those crystal growing kits are awesome! I might get myself one for Christmas jijiji
Is she too young for an Arduino starter kit?
https://store-usa.arduino.cc/products/arduino-starter-kit-multi-language
Edit: the great thing about these is that you can eventually add a raspberry pi to the mix for even more functionality and learning fun!
Board games. Catan junior, Loopin Chewie, Robot turtles, Tsuro, Abracada…What?, camel up.
Regular price
Catan Jr, didn’t know that existed I’ll have to look into what games are around. I know her Dad taught our parents how to play Settlers of Catan a number of years ago before she was born, so that’s something that she may have parents/grandparents to play with. She has a brother that is 2 years younger, so maybe they’ll be able to play that together soon enough.
Ticket to Ride: First Journey and Qwirkle are also good choices for that age range. Qwirkle is great because it’s simple but fun for all ages. My kids loved it when they were young and still play it frequently at 16 and 25.
There are plenty of brain teaser type toys. Maybe something like Rush Hour or Snap Circuits
Books are always good too. When I was her age I was really into the Magic Treehouse series
Both of these are great and another cool one is laser maze!
Not a parent, but when I was a kid I loved rubik’s cubes. 4x4 or 5x5 ones are even more fun. (probably need a youtube video guide lol) Don’t get the cheap ones, those suck, get those high quality ones. Should fit within the budget.
Tobbie 2 - build and program a simple STEM robot.
Or an offline tablet with GCompris, Scratch(junior programming suite) and a selection of Kiwix libraries suitable for younger kids.
Or a few HABA boardgames.
A book maybe.
Thanks that would probably be a good idea
It’s a bit more than your budget, but Edison robot is a pretty fun way to get into programming. It’s also used by schools in some countries. You may be able to find a v1 or v2 cheaper. I have a v1 and it is pretty cool.
Modeling clay and good quality paints.
Artistic, technical, no real “rules”, and a good amount of skill building.
My daughter around this age loves to draw, dance, dress, up in constumes (dinosaurs and what not). She is definitely interested in science and we have little lab kits and what not. I highly recommend Snap Circuits which should be in your budget. As with most things, important to do it with her at least once to help guide her and create that spark.
People underestimate kids. Whenever possible get them the real real of something, even if more limited. For instance my old man got her a real (cheap) cordless drill and a toolbox and she loved it. Kids know fake from real.
At this age interests come and go and it’s more about breadth / exposure / exploration.
6 is a perfect time to introduce them to a musical instrument. Or music genres themselves! Chess with uncle? Use this chance to both bond and expose her to one of your interests, with mentorship.
Get her Minecraft; set up Scratch programming for her.
There have been a lot of great recommendations on here, and I want to add Perplexus balls. My 5yo played a LOT with the blue one and we recently bought him the next one that is more difficult. He loves them.
