fifth birthday ideas

[umami_mommy]

my daughter has a friend who is pretty darn smart. my DD is almost a full year older and this kid is, in some ways, ahead of her. (in others, not so much, but that's another story)

she doesn't get much stimulation or parental focus at home. all the kids (brothers) are homeschooled and mom works nights while dad is on disability. so most of what she does is playing pretend with boys or video games. 

she loves arts and crafts, books, board games, etc. but mom isn't into cleaning up messes, so everything is very controlled. she doesn't get much chance to just explore. 

attempting to think of a gift for her b-day in 3 weeks. needs ideas, since i don't want to just give her another pink jewelry box or  my little pony. 

i am not adverse to making something, i am considering a busy basket for her. 

TIA!

[ollyoxenfree]

Hm. A few crafty ideas that aren't too, too messy: 

-Pattern blocks

-Tangrams

-Origami - there are simple books and kits for preschool and kindy age

-Knitting looms

Games - I guess it depends on whether there is an adult who can help her learn the rules at first, but a couple of ideas: 

-Mancala - an ancient African strategy board game played with coloured beads. I'm pretty sure my DD was about that age when we first started to play it with her.  

-Chess - a little more complicated, but there are kids who start playing at that age

[umami_mommy]

she told me she wants megnetix. like we have. but of course they don't make them anymore cause so many kids swallowed them. 

i'm gonna go see if i can find something similar at the toy store. 

anymore ideas??? 

[moominmamma]

Buckyballs are similarly magnetic. They're no longer sold in toy stores because they're not considered safe for children because of that swallowing thing, but you can get them as "executive toys." A set of balls and a set of bars would be very similar to small Magnetix. My middle dd got a set of balls for her 11th birthday and she and her then-6-year-old sister (and the rest of us) have had hours of fun with them.

www.getbuckyballs.com

Miranda