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
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.
She needs a sword. It’s educational.
I bought my kiddo a book about robots that came with a simple, buildable bot. It was well received
A book maybe.
Thanks that would probably be a good idea
Maybe not in the “smart mind challenging” category but there are plenty of craft kits for your budget: paint canvases by numbers, make your own accessories with clay, bead jewelry, basic engineering kits (build your own robot types), dig your own fossil kits, build-this-or-that-with-LEDlights, gardening kits for kids, etc.
My point is to expand your horizon a bit, it’s perfectly fine that you want to cater to her intelligence and not just go for something girly in a cliche sense. But she can also enjoy crafting stuff.
Charades for kids. It uses her creativity.
mechanical 3D wooden puzzles are great! and if you get some time to hang around it’d be an amazing bonding experience to build one together :) and if not, nudge your sibling/cousin to build it with her
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.
Maybe a musical instrument, like those blowing organs or a tiny guitar?
Or a puzzle? Can she read yet? Or will soon, maybe a book?
Does she like chess? Maybe a chess board or similar?
I was about that age when I was gifted a microscope. No idea if you can still find them that cheap, though
Might be able to build one, could be worth looking into, thanks!
We gave our 5yo a microscope for his 5th birthday, and he loved it!
In my area’s thrift stores, $500 microscopes are available for $10, no joke. People buy them for their kids, kids never use them, into the box and off to the donation center!
Microscopes are definitely available in OP’s price range.
I had one as a kid, and LOVED it. It came with a bunch of sample slides, but I always took some small bottles with me on my daily summer bike trips (we were free range back then), and collected samples from swamps, puddles, drainage ditches, etc.
By the time I got to high school, I sailed through science classes, because I already knew how to make slides, and had already seen much of the stuff we were discovering.
I also got a microscope around this age - now I’m an environmental scientist
Another good one would be an easier STEMmy puzzle. I had one that was a bunch of shapes that had to fit together into its small case. Kinda of Tetris like.
Yes, also had a microscope at around that age, even with some sample plates that you could look at, such as a squeezed fly.
My niblings have liked the Kiwico and other sciencey kits I’ve sent them
My kids love the Kiwico boxes. They have different ones designed for different ages. You can buy a single one of get a subscription where they get a new one every month.
A microscope
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.
- Knex kit
- Gyroscope
- Sliding puzzle
- Trapped rings puzzle (there are many variants)
Great ideas, I am starting to wonder if I should start a instance on Lemmy or Piefed to host a gift idea sub, you guys have been wonderful
to add to the puzzles: there are dexterity puzzles like these that i know from ex-wifes job are a big hit in the age 6-10 bracket!
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.
Sent me back mentioning those snap circuits lol. Have her build the simple AM radio and watch her mind be blown OP, you won’t be disappointed
