The 19 Best Toys for 8-Year-Olds (Kid-Tested and Approved!)

Our National Parks are spectacular for kids (and next year, they'll qualify for the special free pass for fourth graders!).Prepare and plan for future adventures with this 70-piece National Parks map puzzle from Mudpuppy. It includes icons such as Yosemite, the Grand Canyon and the Everglades plus specially shaped animal pieces depicting wildlife that kids might encounter along the way.

Kids this age are better and molding and sculpting, making a pack of real modeling clay a treat. Kids may want to make creatures, mini vases, magnets or pretend food for dolls and dollhouses. Unlike with their preschool play dough, this clay can be baked in the oven to harden when they are finished with their design.

For about $16 per issue, this beautiful magazine feels more akin to a keepsake book. Founded by a children’s book author, each issue explores a theme, from Home to Symbols, Motion, Black and White and more. Among the pages are visual stories and D.I.Y art projects that, at this age, children can take on themselves.

Kids can weave a pompom hat and a cup cozie with this quick knit loom set, a great weekend activity or rainy-day project. Most 8-year-olds will need some help and guidance to get started, but then they should be able to take it form there.

This strategy-filled board game features a mythical forest packed with dragons, ogres, goblins, and other creatures. Kids play with 1 to 3 other players and role dice, read player cards and venture out on quests to score points. The game time is about 20 minutes.

Queens, kings, knights, dragons, sleeping potions and magic wands! Beyond the fantastical fun of flipping through cards with graphics featuring the likes of the Pancake Queen and the Tie-Dye King, this card game hones kids’ math skills and encourages problem-solving.

If you can’t beat ‘em, you may as well let them play sports in the house. This over-the-dor basketball hoop is easy to assemble and place over a standard bedroom or closet door. Nothing to do on a rainy day? Play basketball inside. Too dark to go outside and play? Play basketball inside. Trying to figure out how to start your essay homework? Practice hoops while you ponder.

There are 60 marble-run challenges that get progressively harder included in the Gravity Maze box. Building them requires critical thinking and logic, and the payoff is watching the three marbles successully roll through the shoots. It has more than 20,000 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Kids never seem to outgrow collecting. At age 8 they can forage, preserve and turn their assemblages into art. This small bontanical press is intuitive to use so projects don't become overwhelming. It's also a great way to make beautiful cards or presents for grandparents, aunts, uncles and teachers.

For the budding Buzz Lightyear in your household, consider the Astronaut Starter Kit from Kiwi Co. The kit includes several experiences, including building a pair of orbiter spaceships that blast off utilizing the power of pumps and painting and building model planets for spinning solar system.

Let your five-year-old’s imagination run free with this open-ended craft supply library. With over 1,000 pieces, they’ll have plenty of supplies for all their crafting needs: pipe cleaners, pom pom balls, beads, felt pieces, googly eyes, and craft sticks. It also comes with an inspiration sheet.

Most 8-year-olds already have a fascination with rocks (right?) but make them fancy and they’ll really be hooked. With this geode kit, kids get to crack open a series of rocks (hammer not included!) to reveal the sparkly, colorful crystals inside. They can use the companion book to read all about geodes, which also explains how they are formed.

Indulge a kid who adores music and performing with this wireless microphone. It’s fun and fancy, and comes in so many colors. Connect it to an app like Spotify to sing along, or kids can simply make up their own songs. It comes with a zippered, padded case and a USB for easy recharging.

It’s time for bed but your child isn’t tired and wants to stay up a little bit longer to read by themselves. (It’s basically the moment you’ve been waiting for!) Reward this milestone! This clip-on booklight is a wonderful little incentive to read more, and it's rechargeable.

Part of learning to draw is tracing, and for kids who love to draw this light-up tracing pad makes it fun and easy to redraw their favorites characters. The pad comes with traceable art, but kids can also trace from magazines, books and comics books. It’s portable, so kids can draw on their desk, bed, on the sofa, floor or wherever inspiration strikes.

If your kiddo is jam band ready but you don’t have the time to cart them to or from lessons, this guitar is the instrument for your family. This scaled, three-string guitar is easy for kids to hold and, with fewer strings, easier to learn on than traditional guitars. It comes with flashcards, an app, and free video lessons. Next thing you know, you’ll be clearing out the garage for band practice!

Curious future engineers will spend hours arranging snappable metal strips along the Snap Circuits plastic grid, working on more than 300 real but safe electronics projects with the help of a guidebook. They'll see how to power a fan, make a doorbell ring, set a burglar alarm and more.

This fantastic robotics kit lets kids build and rebuild their very own robotic creations! It comes with 10 challenge cards and more than 50 parts, including wood pieces, electric motors, and all the necessary hardware to tinker and test to their heart's content.

This isn't a play set, it's gorgeous, painted ceramic tea set for ages 8 and up. Kids can bake their friends cookies or treats and throw a party the fancy way. Four teacups, matching saucers and spoons plus a lidded teapot are included.