MommyMaestra’s
Holiday Gift Guide 2015 Holiday Season
MommyMaestraIP
MommyMaestra.com
My website, MommyMaestra.com, is an educational website for Latino families and educators. I am a Latina homeschooling mami who believes every child deserves a great education and that parental involvement is critical for our children’s success.
MommyMaestraIP The MommyMaestra 2015 Holiday Gift Guide features hand-picked products for your familia. I’ve set out to find products to help your children learn and strengthen their academic skills through fun but educational - games, toys, books, and other entertainment. This year’s issue has a strong focus on products that build your child’s skills in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM). Children who have fun learning are more likely to remember and master skills that are important for academic success. So let’s make learning fun! Happy holidays!
Un abrazo,
Monica Disclosure: This gift guide contains affiliate links. Purchases made through these links help me continue my work and take care of my family.
Children 4 and younger
MommyMaestraIP
Children 4 and younger Melissa & Doug Beginner Pattern Blocks Amazon, $19 Pattern blocks are a fantastic way to help children learn to identify shapes, colors, and patterns. This fun set of pattern blocks comes with 10 pattern boards and 30 shape pieces. Math, Hand-Eye Coordination, Problem Solving
Melissa & Doug Dinosaur Dawn Floor Puzzle Target, $14 My son, the dinosaurio lover, picked out this one for your child. This puzzle measures 2’ x 3’ when complete, and includes 24 extra-thick pieces. Logical Thinking, Hand-Eye Coordination
MommyMaestraIP Melissa & Doug Basic Skills Board Target, $17 I LOVE this little skills board! It’s a great way to help your nenes develop their zipping, buckling, snapping, lacing, tying, and other dressing skills as they help little bear get dressed for the day. Hand-Eye Coordination
Ab3’s Wooden Stand Target, $20 Part of raising a literate child is surrounding them in a printrich environment. I love this interactive alphabet and number abacus! It’s beautifully made with wooden blocks that sport engaging images. Teach your child their letters, numbers, and even emotions with this delightful set! Literacy, Socio-Emotional Skills MommyMaestra’s 2015 Holiday Gift Guide
Children 4 and younger Peel 'N' Play 13 Pc. Playset Amazon, $17
$89.95
This is just the cutest little toy food set ever! Help your kids make healthy food choices as they develop a love for veggies they can manipulate just like the real ones. They can peel and slice their way through onions, lettuce, aguacate, bell pepper, tomatoes, and more. Includes a pretend cutting board and knife. Health, Hand-Eye Coordination
Melissa & Doug Slice and Bake Cookie Set Amazon, $16 There’s nothing better on a cold winter night than baking some cookies to eat with Abuelita’s champurrado. This set includes 12 wooden, “sliceable” cookies that store inside a dough tube. Hand-Eye Coordination
MommyMaestraIP Hape Mighty Mixer Target, $25 How sweet is this little mixer? Do you have a tiny chef en tu casa? Then maybe he or she needs her own mixer for making cookies and tres leches cakes! Imaginary Play
Step2 Heart of the Home Kitchen Set Amazon, $125 This is such a fun set with a cozy design (don’t you love the brick hearth?) mixed with modern conveniences such as the dry-erase board and water dispenser. I especially love the recycling bin and pet bowls for your child’s plush animals, of course! Comes with 41-piece accessories and plenty of storage space. Imaginary Play MommyMaestra’s 2015 Holiday Gift Guide
Children 4 and younger
Woofer, Hound Dog Guitar
Round is a Tortilla & Green is a Chile
Target, $21
Pepper Amazon.com, $25
For little guitarristas! My kids absolutely loved this guitar when they were younger. Woofer lights up and plays 20 familiar songs. Develop your child’s love of music with this fantastic toy. Remember, music helps children remember and learn! Music
These fun board books teach important basic concepts (shapes and colors) to your bebé while incorporating culture. Illustrated by award-winner John Parra. Literacy, Math
MommyMaestraIP Melissa & Doug Magnetic Number Maze Target, $19 What a fun way to learn math! Teach your child how to count from one to 10 as they fill each animal’s basket with the correct number of red “apples” by sliding the attached magnetic wand over the acrylic cover. Perform math-magic with no removable pieces. Math (Counting)
Pet Vet Clinic
$15.95
Target, $22 For the child who loves taking care of animals, this little 9-pc. toy includes a slide-out exam table with vital signs display, a friendly owl popping from the chimney and an arsenal of medical supplies like stethoscope, thermometer and syringe. Imaginary Play, Hand-Eye Coordination = Bilingual/Spanish products
MommyMaestra’s 2015 Holiday Gift Guide
Kids 5 to 12 years old
MommyMaestraIP
Kids 5 to 12 years old
Crayola Color Alive Easy Animation Studio Amazon, $25
Wild Kratts 10 Pack Figure Gift Set
My kids absolutely love making stopmotion videos, so they’ll love this kit! Comes with a booklet of characters and backgrounds, plus an easier version of animation. Creative Thinking
Perfect for young Wild Kratts lovers, this set of action figures features the most popular characters from the hit PBS KIDS show! Encourage imaginary play with these and other fun Wild Kratts toys. Imaginary Play
shop.PBSKIDS.org, $22
MommyMaestraIP My First Lab Whodunnit? Forensic Microscope Kit Amazon, $86
Follow the clues and solve the case! This forensic microscope set incorporates both White LED light and a Black Light to help kids look for evidence, just like professional forensic detectives. Kids practice developing theories and then test those theories through experimentation. Science
LEGO Minecraft 21116 Crafting Box Target, $41 Keep your Minecraft-crazed kid busy off-screen with this themed LEGO set. Choose from 8-in-1 instructions or follow the inspirational pictures to complete other awesome Minecraft biomes. Includes Steve figure with an accessory, plus a skeleton and a mushroom. STEAM MommyMaestra’s 2015 Holiday Gift Guide
$15.95
Kids 5 to 12 years old
VTech Kidizoom Smartwatch DX Amazon, $54 This touch screen smartwatch comes with 3 fun activities, 5 games, 3 action challenges, a calendar, calculator, and a motion sensor. It also features a camera with photo effects, video camera, & voice recorder with voice-changing effects. STEAM
MommyMaestraIP The Sky Painter: Luis Fuertes, Bird
Artist
Amazon, $10
Rollable Silicone Mat for LEGO & DUPLO Amazon, $36
Louis Agassiz Fuertes is known as the father of modern bird art. He traveled with many scientific expeditions all over the world, and his art encouraged wildlife conservation. STEAM, Literacy
This is the ULTIMATE building set for young engineers. Your child’s imagination is limitless, but if they need a little help getting started, it comes with 100 building ideas. STEAM
How to Tell a Story Amazon, $14 Here’s an amazing resource for teaching your child the basic elements of storytelling! This full-color, 144page book and 20 six-sided, beautifully illustrated storytelling cubes make it easy for all children to start creating wonderful stories. Teach your child about conflict, characters, motivation, dialogue, theme, and the climax. As you turn the pages, you’ll be prompted to roll the story blocks. And that’s when the magic starts to happen. Literacy MommyMaestra’s 2015 Holiday Gift Guide
$15.95
Kids 5 to 12 years old
Osmo Gaming System, Genius Kit Amazon.com, $100 There’s an entirely new way to use the iPad! Do you know about Osmo? It’s an ingenious way to teach your child key concepts. This Genius Kit includes a set of 5 different games that allow children to explore science, math, art, and more: Words, Tangram, Newton, Masterpiece, Numbers. Math, Art, Literacy
Geek & Co. Science Geeker Speaker Lab Kit
MommyMaestraIP Amazon, $20
This is super cool science! Make sound waves visible and turn practically any surface into a large speaker! Experiment to see sound waves ripple through a tray of sand, water, and other substances. Pair it with signal generating applications to visualize sound wave patterns. STEAM
Little Passports Little Passports, $11.95/month Beginning with a box full of expedition materials, Little Passports will take your children on a learning adventure to two new states (USA edition) or a new country (World edition) every month. Geography
MommyMaestra’s 2015 Holiday Gift Guide
Kids 5 to 12 years old “Journey Through Time” Eye Found It! Game Amazon, $26 This is such a cool game. Players work together as a team of historians, scientists, and adventurers solving the world's greatest mysteries! Venture forth and find hidden objects throughout time and eight historical eras. Race to the end of the giant 6foot game board before your Timecraft runs out of fuel. But be careful not to go too far and end up in The Future! History, Science
MommyMaestraIP Invention Design Studio Kit
Compose Yourself
Uncommon Goods, $20
Amazon, $15
Budding inventors will love this innovative activity pack. Your kid is challenged to design various projects, such as a drink carrier for a fairy, a flashlight for a ninja, and more. This adventure in creativity is perfect for long car rides, rainy days, or an afternoon spent daydreaming. STEAM
Arrange the cards to make a musical pattern, then enter the card codes on the Compose Yourself website. Then your kids can hear their piece played by a symphony orchestra, make changes, and print the sheet music! Music
Maker Studio: Gears Set Amazon, $20 Do you have a budding engineer? Maker Studio by ThinkFun is an affordably priced collection of fun building sets to teach your child how to use gears, winches, and propellers. STEAM
MommyMaestra’s 2015 Holiday Gift Guide
$15.95
Kids 5 to 12 years old
Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? Amazon, $8 The Complete Series featuring Rita Moreno. Oh, how I loved Carmen Sandiego when I was little! And now my own kids adore this educational series. It is fun and action-packed, but the best part is that my kids learn about famous people and places from around the world and throughout history with this wonderful series. Your kids will love it, too! History, Geography, World Cultures
MommyMaestraIP Salsa: A Cooking Poem/Un poema para cocinar
Amazon, $13
Cooking has so many educational benefits! Kids can learn math and science science concepts while boosting their literacy skills reading the recipes. This remarkable book features full text in both Spanish and English. Literacy, Math, Culture
K'NEX 100 Model Imagine Building Set Amazon, $49
$15.95
This is the ULTIMATE building set for young engineers. Your child’s imagination is limitless, but if they need a little help getting started, it comes with 100 building ideas. STEAM
= Bilingual/Spanish products
MommyMaestra’s 2015 Holiday Gift Guide
Teens 13 to 18 years old
MommyMaestraIP
Kids 13 to 18 years old My Comic Book Kit Uncommon Goods, $30 Nurture your young adult’s creativity with this comic book kit. It comes with pre-formatted pages, a booklet of instructions, inspiration and helpful tips. Once your story is complete, simply seal it in the pre-paid envelope, slip it into the mail, and receive your very own, professionallybound copy of your original comic book! Literacy
DIY Smartphone Projector Uncommon Goods, $32
MommyMaestraIP Snap pictures of graphs, notes, and more with your smartphone, then blow them up at home so you can study them at your leisure. This projector works without a power source. Easy to assemble, the lens does all the work. Includes two holes for speaker or phone charger lines.
Logitech HD Pro Webcam Amazon, $65 For skyping with teachers and friends, recording video reports and more! This full HD 1080P video is faster, smoother, and works on more computers than other webcams. Full HD 1080p calls and clips in widescreen let teachers, friends, and family see your teen in the sharpest, smoothest video quality available.
MommyMaestra’s 2015 Holiday Gift Guide
Kids 13 to 18 years old
Samsung Ativ Book 9 Amazon, $1,150 Fast and light, this quiet 12-inch laptop is perfect for busy students. Features Windows 10 OS and a 9 1/2hour battery life. **Recommended by Consumer Reports
MommyMaestraIP Ninja Nutri Ninja Pro
Hour of the Bees
Amazon, $79
Amazon, $13
Help your teen boost their protein intake so they hit class prepared to learn with this awesome personal blender. The blending container doubles as a travel cup for mornings on the go!
While her friends are spending their summers having pool parties and sleepovers, 12-year-old Carolina - Carol is spending hers in the middle of the New Mexico desert, helping her parents move the grandfather she’s never met into a home for people with dementia.
USB Typewriter Uncommon Goods, $899 I miss my granddaddy’s typewriter. I used it all the time when I was little. So when I saw this Squeee! - I knew it would be an awesome gift for the teen or tween in your life! Make note taking fun again!
MommyMaestra’s 2015 Holiday Gift Guide
Kids 13 to 18 years old
Epson Expression Premium XP-620 Amazon, $87 Don’t spend a fortune on ink! This wireless all-in-one printer is not only great for printing book reports, but also photos. It even has an auto-duplexing feature that allows you to print on both sides of the paper. **Recommended by Consumer Reports
Fitbit Surge Target, $250
MommyMaestraIP Japanese researchers have found a direct link between mental fitness and physical fitness. Help your student stay active and make healthy choices with this Fitbit Surge that tracks their physical performance and sleep quality.
Rosetta Stone Latin American Spanish, Level 1-5 Amazon, $249 Give the gift of language this holiday season! Now’s the perfect time to teach your teen Spanish - or any other language - with Rosetta Stone, one of the most popular language courses available.
= Bilingual/Spanish products
MommyMaestra’s 2015 Holiday Gift Guide