Every time I need gift ideas for early readers, especially my own, I always think of that little rhyme. You know the one; “Something they want, something they need, something they’ll use, something they’ll read”.
This rhyme speaks to my soul!! Especially as a teacher, while I always want to gift something that they will love, I also want it to be useful or educational or practical. Yup, I’m that person! The running family joke is “Oh look, the teacher got books, shock!”
Well, the jokes on them because, books are the gift that keep on giving and the gift that lasts! In all of my siblings houses, I can see books that I have given their children down through the years and it makes me so happy to see them sharing them with their siblings!
But what about the children that are at the early reading stage? While books are always a great gift, there are plenty of other gifts you can get that will develop their reading skills!
In this post, you’ll find some fun gift ideas that won’t break the bank. They are all really reasonably priced and make great stocking fillers or small add on presents if you’re like me (or Monica!) and get one big present, two medium presents and a whole bunch of little presents!!!! I might be a secret ‘Friends’ fanatic!!
So. let’s get to it! If you were only here for book recommendations, don’t worry, I’ll sneak some in here!!
For the Ireland/UK gift guide, check out this post.
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Gift Ideas for Early Readers: 5 Gifts for Early Readers That Aren’t Books!
There are plenty of children out there that are learning to read but not necessarily reading yet. Gifts like the ones below will help to strengthen their reading skills without need to pick up a book.
Remember, your early reader may still be a little intimidated by books. Make reading and reading skills as fun as you can. Your child, and your sanity, will thank you!!!
Jigsaw Puzzles
Jigsaws are awesome “non-reading” reading activities. By doing jigsaws, your child will build up their visual discrimination skills which will help them when it comes to recognising and differentiating between letters.
Lego
I don’t think there is another toy in the world quite like Lego. From a reading perspective it builds up visual discrimination and, by following the instruction manual, they learn about handling books correctly, their orientation, etc.
Bonus that the fine motor aspect prepares them for writing! Not to mention the problem solving skills for maths, have I mentioned that I LOVE LEGO?!!
Boggle Junior
A super fun game where your child will get to practise their sounds and create words in the pictures.
It really gives them the feeling of playing a grown-up game and is super for consolidating their new skills!
Magnetic Letters
Love these! Fun to play with, watch how much fun they will have with these, especially when they have started blending!
See and Spell
An awesome little toy from Melissa and Doug. Super for getting them to sound out familiar words and match the letters!
Gift Ideas for Early Readers: 5 Non-Writing Gifts for Early Writers!
Play-Doh
Love it or hate it, there is no denying the benefit of playing with play-doh when it comes to developing your child’s fine motor skills and imagination!
Threading beads
Super for building up their fine motor skills. My son loves to make “necklaces” using his favorite colors!
Coloring books
An obvious one but only because it works! When coloring, your child is doing almost everything they will need to do when they are writing!
Maybe don’t tell them that if it’s going to put them off!
Scissors!
Hear me out!
Cutting is an amazing fine motor skill for your child to work on. The more precise they can be when cutting, the more precise they will be when writing!
Fine Motor Games
Most children want nothing more than to spend time with you. When giving them a gift, it can be great to give them something that you can play together. This game will have you playing together and developing their fine motor skills, winning!
Gift Ideas for Early Readers: Books for Early Readers
I will always recommend decodable readers. If you are using phonics as your reading strategy, you should only be introducing your child to decodable readers.
This means that the books only contain words that your child will be able to read based on the sounds that they have learned. They may also contain a handful of high frequency words that they won’t be able to sound out but they will become familiar with through reading.
Decodable readers give your child the opportunity to practise their skills and build their confidence in their ability to read.
If you’re not sure about phonics, have a read of this post to see why I recommend it.
When buying books for your early reader you want to buy either something that you will read to them or something they will read themselves. Bonus points if either of these books are based on a topic that is of high interest to them! My little boy will sit and listen to me read about Spiderman for a loooooong time!!
Best Group 1 Set
Phonics Starter Pack
This set from Scholastic is amazing for your readers that are focused on Group 1. Engaging books and pictures at the back to help them to retell the story! Amazing!
Best for Confidence
Dog on a Log
These are chapter books. They are aimed at children with dyslexia but are wonderful for any child that is learning to read phonetically. They are a huge confidence boost as your child feels like they are reading a “grown up” book.
Best for Phonological Awareness
Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss books are books that you are going to read to your child, though there are books suitable for not-too-early readers! The rhyming style of the book makes it easy for your child to identify rhymes and rhyming words, thus increasing their phonological awareness. Find out why that’s important here!
Best for Visual Discrimination
Where’s Waldo?
Remember, books aren’t just for reading! The visual discrimination skills required for books like this or similar will enhance your child’s skills when it comes to recognising, and differentiating between, letters and words.
Best for FREE!
Phonics Workbook
If you are starting to teach your child to read through phonics then download this phonics workbook. It has 21 pages and covers the first phonics group; S A T I P N. I may be a little biased but I think it’s awesome!
A Takeaway About Gift Ideas for Early Readers
Activities and books to support your child’s reading and writing don’t have to be complicated, or expensive, to be effective. If you’re looking for some ideas to make reading more enjoyable for your child, check out this post.
I hope you found this post helpful, please leave a comment below and let me know what your favourite gift idea was!