Here is a list of awesome homeschool gift ideas for boys ages 5-9. Firstly, I am a minimalist at heart. I don’t enjoy shopping or cluttering up my home with excess stuff. However, my son loves to tinker, build, and collect all the tiny little things, and he is definitely not into the minimalist aesthetic that his mom is into.
So here is a short list of stuff he loves (and mom loves too) that we actually have in our house because these keep him and his friends busy, learning, moving, and entertained for hours. Maybe your little boy, (or girl) who loves to tinker, move, and learn will enjoy some of these gifts as well. This homeschool gift ideas for boys list is in order of age, so the first gifts are great for the younger 5-year-olds, and towards the end of the list are gifts that are more appropriate for 7-8-year-olds.
1) Marble Runs
Marble runs are awesome, and kids of almost all ages can play together. I love that is a collaborative toy so when we have playdates a couple of kids can play together, and make all kinds of different runs. This set only came with a couple of marbles. We already had a set of quality marbles on hand, so this was fine with us. Honestly, this marble run set has provided hours and hours of entertainment for all the kiddos who come over to our house to play. And according to a friend, this one is bigger and better than the Nat Geo one.
2) Wooden Train Set and Electric Trains
There’s nothing like a good quality wooden train set, that is sturdy, lasts for years, and can be passed on. My kiddo wasn’t that into trains until we got him the electric trains that run on their own. Then he was hooked. We found a good deal on a wooden bulk train set for open-ended play that is compatible with Brio and other wooden train sets. I prefer the sets that can be set up any which way versus the ones that only have one way to set the track up. This way kids have endless options to make different tracks, and this is also a collaborative, fun thing to do when we have friends over.
- Brio Wooden Train Set – (if you want an expensive, quality train set with everything included)
- Wooden Bulk Train Set Pieces – (If you want to save money, these track pieces are great for open ended play and are compatible with other wooden train sets. We ended buying 2 of these bulk sets to make extra large tracks)
- Tunnel (Brio train track accessory)
- Train Bell (Brio train track accessory)
- Track Switches
3) Kinetic Sand
This stuff is awesome! Pinterest has some homemade recipes for kinetic sand, but I just bought this one on Amazon. It’s a great sensory activity and my son would put his little bulldozers and dump trucks in there to play. The box it comes in to play with holds the kinetic sand nicely and makes clean-up easy. This is a great rainy day activity when we can’t get outside to the sandbox.
4) Puzzles
We have a couple of different puzzles that we’ve gotten great use out of. As a homeschooler, puzzles are a great hands-on way to learn about geography, and also another fun, collaborative activity when friends come over.
- Transportation scene wooden puzzle, just for fun! It is 100 pieces, great for the 5-6 year olds.
- Europe foam puzzle– In this Europe foam puzzle, each piece is a country and I am legit learning where the countries are myself! I wish it came with a bigger reusable box, but we keep it in a large ziplock, which works fine.
- Asia Geography puzzle
- Africa Geography puzzle
5) Foam Swords and Capes
These are great for imaginative play, and they are used every week! I actually love this cape and mask set that I bought because they have some for boys and girls. I originally bought these as party favors but we had extras and the kids love to dress up in these and play fight with swords. The foam swords are great so no one actually gets hurt. We’ve had these for a couple of years and they have held up well.
6) National Park Quarters Collector’s Map
My son loves collecting things….. which can drive me crazy sometimes but I don’t mind him collecting quarters in this beautiful National Park Quarters Collector’s Map because it is contained and is a hands-on way to learn about United States geography and U.S. history. I also bought him the 50 State Quarter Display Map, which we like as well but the National Park Quarters Map one is nicer and better quality, and overall better for gift-giving.
The National Park Quarters were made from 2010-2021, and the 50 State Quarters were made from 1999-2009. If your kiddo is obsessed with history and quarters, there is a book that covers the history and making of each design of the 50 State Quarters titled A Pocketful of History: Four Hundred Years of America- One State Quarter at a Time by Jim Noles. This book would accompany the 50 State Quarter Display Map perfectly. It is not a children’s book however, it is written for adults.
7) Lego Gadgets
This Lego Gadgets set comes with a small number of Legos, and a book with many different projects to build. It’s fascinating how many things you can make with this one set of Legos. You do have to take apart one project before working on another. We used this set as a fun hands-on building homeschool activity, my son’s favorite part was working with the gear pieces.
8) Money Bags Game
The Money Bags game is a winner! It teaches kids all about money, counting, making change, and is actually really fun! (Way more fun than money math worksheets!) Your kiddo will not even realize they are learning money math! I also feel like it’s also the perfect length game, not too long or too short.
9) Pocket knife for Whittling
Every little boy will at one point want a pocket knife to take camping and make spears out of sticks. It’s great for kids’ brains to work with their hands. This pocketknife has a round tip and a sharp blade so there’s less chance of getting hurt.
10) Nerf Guns and Nerf Bow and Arrow and Accessories
Nerf Wars! Yes, there will be nerf bullets around the house, but no worries, because the kids will pick them up to reload. A group of boys learning to make rules, change rules, compromise, and discuss war tactics is a learning activity indeed! We have a small gun, a medium sized gun, a bow and arrow and accessories that have gotten a lot of use in the last year.
11) Human Body and Organ Model
This Squishy Human Body is the coolest! It comes with skeleton and muscle pieces, and all the main organs (which are squishy!) It also comes with plastic tweezers so it can feel like the kids are doing surgery. The instructions that come with it are very well done. Even if your kiddo can’t read it has pictures of how to put the organs in the body, and a separate little book that discusses the organ functions and anatomy. The only organ that was missing was a pancreas; the model just doesn’t include it. All the other major organs are included though (liver, intestines, esophagus, kidneys, lungs, heart, stomach, etc).
My son has spent hours disassembling and reassembling this human body model. It was the perfect thing to round out our study of the human body and organs, and would make a great hands-on, educational gift!
12) Lego Technics
Of course, Legos have to be on the list, and the Lego Technics go above and beyond. These are built very sturdy, and you essentially build your toy. We’ve dropped these from a decent height and they stay totally intact. My son loves this Jeep Lego Technic because it came with a tow hook to tow around other trucks and cars. We have 4 different Lego technics, including the Maximum Destruction and Grave Digger monster trucks, and they are all great quality.
13) Microscope and Slides
After watching Ant-Man, my son wanted to learn about the “Micro-verse”. This a high quality Amscope microscope that even older high school and college kids could use as well. I thought it would be better to spend the money on a good one that we can keep over the years and that would retain its value. This microscope also came with a set of high-quality prepared slides that were amazing to look through.
14) Snap Circuits
My son has been playing with these Snap Circuits for a solid 3 months, and I don’t see an end in sight. He’s learned a ton about electricity and circuits, and it’s already above my head. I would go ahead and just get one of the bigger sets, as they have more options for different projects. My son loves his Snap Circuit Pro and his Snap Circuit Arcade. Snap circuits would probably only be appropriate for ages 7 and up.
15) Bounce House
Okay, an inflatable Bounce House is not an educational toy, but if you have the space, this thing is awesome. Those days when it is raining or there is a freezing wind outside, it is so nice to have a place for the kids to bounce around indoors. This one is big (roughly 9′ x 11′ plus the air tube) but it does fit in our basement and has held up wonderfully despite groups of boys roughhousing in it on the regular.
I love that it can be folded up and put away easily as well. In the summer months when the weather is nice, we store it in the garage and encourage the kids to go outside instead. If you homeschool, this is a real treat to have.
16) Bow and Arrow
I searched high and low for a bow and arrow set that was good quality for a first timer but also wouldn’t break the bank. I settled on this bow and bought these arrows separately because the reviews said these arrows were a bit better quality but also safe. This is a great gift to get kids outside!
17) Climbing Gym
This climbing gym is awesome, and it is strong enough for adults! Climbing is great for grip strength, handwriting, integrating primitive reflexes, and rainy days. I only wish I bought this sooner. The directions to build it were not the best, but my husband was able to put it together without issues.
I can honestly say all of these homeschool gift ideas for boys have provided hours of educational entertainment, great for when Mom needs to get stuff done but wants to avoid screen time. Boys can be harder to shop for so it’s nice to share gift ideas. All of these would make awesome homeschool gifts for boys ages 5-8! Happy Shopping!
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The kinetic sand is so much fun!
Yes! It’s hours and hours of entertainment!