Homeschoolers are some of the easiest people to buy for because we ( the kids and the parents) just love anything educational. We call them homeschool resources but they can be in the form of books, toys, games, sets and kits. We’ve been homeschooling ( worldschooling and unschooling) a long time with great results, these are the best gifts for homeschooled kids or homeschooling families that I can recommend this year. Some we own and love, some are new on the market, all would make amazing additions to any home educating family’s resources. We’ve got ideas from under $20 to big main presents, take your pick and find a great Christmas or birthday gift. We think all of these gifts are fun and educational at the same time.
Gifts For Homeschoolers
You can buy homeschoolers educational gifts but should you? Not necessarily. All toys, games, books, and sets have some educational value. If you’d like to help the homeschooling family you love to buy those expensive pieces of homeschooling equipment, look at microscopes, telescopes, and electronics sets. Small gifts could be art sets or books the children will love. We’ve broken down our homeschooling gifts into subjects so you can find the topic they are most interested in.
Scientific Gifts for Homeschoolers
Educational science toys games and books are big favourites at our house. I was a professional scientist, my degree is in science and I’ve passed that fascination and curiosity on to the kids. Take a look at some of the fun science gifts and accessories we use and learn from below.
This post grows and is updated often as I find the coolest new gadgets and equipment.
Learn All About Magnets and Magnetism
Magnets are fun and magnetism is absolutely on the school curriculum and from a very young age. They have to be able to get their hands on magnets. The repulsion between like poles ( in this set you can use it to push the little boat along) has to be felt, they can’t imagine it. We don’t think the bolts and nails were included, this was the kids experimenting with household objects. I bought my boys this kit when they were maybe 4 years old. They still get it out occasionally as teens. It was hours of educational fun at a very affordable price and in a nice box to gift wrap. Various magnet types and fun accessories are included to bring magnetism to life. A lower-cost gift for boys or girls new to science, probably best for younger kids with good adult supervision. See this set here.
Learn About Electronics and Circuits with Snap Circuits
I bought my boys the Snap Circuits Extreme Student Training mega set (below), but the best selling kit is the cheaper Snap Circuits Jr. The Snap Circuits extreme will take them right through high school and the instructions, explanations and project ideas that come in the big glossy manuals are superb, but for a smaller gift with more of a ‘toy’ feel, try the junior. We found the components tough and safe for even my 5-6 year old kids. The big electronics kit is a major piece of home science equipment, right up there with microscopes and a good chemistry set. The kids are expected to learn about electricity and circuits and doing it this way is fun. For a main present go with the big set here, for a smaller toy gift or stocking filler, go with the junior here.
Chemists Can Grow Their Own Crystals
Growing your own crystals is loads of fun and part of learning about saturated solutions and more. Hands-on Chemistry fun for kids in a box, with a home crystal garden like this one. As a side note, you can, of course, learn all about saturated solutions, evaporation, crystallisation and so much more with a stove, pots and pan, cups and glasses and simple table salt. But these are more spectacular. Good for girls and boys, of course. I won’t say that again, just take it as read. These are a one-off, use the kit and it’s done set, not a long term investment. The kit below is not the one we owned unfortunately, that one seems to be un-available. See it here.
Star Wars Fans and Science Geeks
Just wow! Do your homeschool kids love Star Wars? Mine do. They can build their own robotic R2D2. We don’t own it, but we want it. See it here.
Kids Who Want to Be Biologists, Doctors and Nurses
I dreamed of owning something like this as a kid. I never got it. But I did go on the be a professional hospital scientist. See my dream gift, as a child, here
Craft Your Own Computer With a Piper Computer Kit
The big, must have , top rated Christmas gift is this amazing build-it-yourself computer kit.
Art Gifts for Homeschoolers
I’m a scientist, so I have to learn art alongside my kids. We started learning art from books, YouTube and KhanAcademy. We learned about great artists, artistic styles and methods as well as drawing, creating and painting for fun. In all honesty, my kids were never into drawing or colouring as young children but now, surprisingly, I have a young teen who loves to sketch. A portable sketch set was a very well received and well-used gift last year. Art supplies are always a good idea, including paints, papers, coloured pencils, pens and modelling clay. Be mindful of plastic in coloured pens, some can be recycled and refilled, others are an ecological disaster. For keen artists or homeschooling parents building a well-equipped homeschool room, how about artist’s figurines like this. You can See sketching sets here.
Books as Gifts for Homeschoolers
It’s probably best to check which books your homeschoolers want or need and have read already. We homeschoolers buy and consume a lot of books. My best tip here when choosing a book as a gift for a homeschooler is to buy what the kids enjoy, follow their interests, not yours, and keep it modern. Old children’s books generally went down like a lead balloon with my kids. There were notable exceptions of course. As teens and tweens they devoured The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings, but most of my younger childhood favourites were failures. For younger kids try the Warrior Cats series, Eragon ( written by a homeschooler and much loved by my son), Percy Jackson and any of the historical and mythological books by the author, and, of course, Roald Dahl. Most are nice gifts as box sets. If you’re looking for educational books rather than fiction, take a look at this series and pick their favourite subject. Alternatively consider the Horrible Histories, Horrible Geography and Horrible Science sets.
History, Geography and Travel Gifts for Homeschoolers
Our favourite book, we carried it around the world for a year and still talk about the explorers and voyages within its pages. See it here.
There is so much more we could add and over time we will, right now, our selection represents some of the best gifts for homeschoolers on the market. We hope you can find something above for the home schooled kids in your life.
