The 25 Best Toys for 4 Year Olds (Tested by Our Own Kids)

Eeboo's wonderful matching game helps sharpen budding concentration, memory, and recognition skills. The diverse group of faces is also a welcome update to your standard memory game themes.

Here's the gist of Scribble Scrubbies: Kids use washable markers to draw and decorate pets to their heart's content. Then they give them a bath and start all over again. It's the exact kind of whimsy-with-a-dash-of-do-it-my-way that 4-year-olds go crazy for.

Play-Doh isn't really Play-Doh until you have an extruder machine that transforms those hunks of dough into swirls, squirls, and other shapes.

This book about the sun is part of the Our Universe series, which also includes books about the earth, moon, Mars, the ocean, and a 2nd volume about our planet. They're charming and funny and full of kid-friendly facts.

It's a blast from the past, but also, according to one AT parent, a HUGE hit with her 4-year-old: "[Lite-Brite] is cheap, and my daughter has had hours of use from it. I would not have suspected such a simple toy would be interesting for so long, but it's been her favorite 'winding down' activity for five years (since she was 4). She plays the most complicated games with it I can't even comprehend much less explain."

Yes to paint sticks, always and forever. "My 7 year old still enjoys them, but she first got them at age 4 and wore them out from use," says a fellow AT parent. "Just be sure to have plenty of paper on hand because our home turned into an abstract art factory once she really got going (not a complaint, mind you)."

Let your 4-year-old go wild stamping stickers on things with this dino stamper, preloaded with 300 stickers. There's no worries because they easily peel off. The set also comes with a book, so you could direct your kid to keep the stickers in that. Buy sticker refills and other stampers, too, like a unicorn.

Help make learning to write more fun with traceable letters that appear and then can be immediately erased on the gel pad. They can use the pad for drawing, too, but having them try the letter cards at home can support what they're learning in preschool.

Attach this classic sprinkler to an outdoor hose for instant giggles on a hot day.

We know a few 4-year-olds who are smitten with these cat-topped gel crayons. They have just the right amount of cuteness while also being fantastic art supplies. If you add a little water to the paper when you use these gel crayons, you get watercolor effects.

Musical instruments are a wonderful gift at any age, and this polka dot ukulele is a good introduction to stringed instruments. It's sized just right for preschoolers, and paired with a ukulele chord book for kids, will help get them started on some simple songs.

This set, on our list of the best STEAM toys for kids, helps a 4-year-old hone number sense, an easy knowledge that 8 is twice as big as 4, for instance. This Numberblocks set turns numbers into manipulative blocks and characters. It comes with 30 activities that will help your preschooler start to grasp addition, subtraction and more in both a physical and mental way.

Your 4-year-old is ready for real LEGOs, so get them started with the classic Creative Brick Box (a great gift for a 4th birthday party!). The 484 pieces include wheels and a rainbow of colored bricks. There's an idea book included for kids who want inspo or practice following directions to make something cool.

Hey Clay always nails it. Their clay sets provide interactive 3D step-by-step instructions to teach kids how to mold things —animals, in this case —by doing it one shape at a time. The clay itself is non-sticky, nontoxic, stain-free, and soft and pliable.

Little Passports knows what kids love. Each monthly Animals Wild subscription box comes with pop-up playsets, games, mazes, and other activites that teach kids about animals and their habitats.

This talking microscope (yes!) comes with 60 full color images of plants and animals and two play modes (Fact Mode and Quiz Mode). It's the perfect gift for a kid who's curious about, well, everything in the natural world.

Kiwi Crates continue to top the list of parent-approved, kid-favorite toys, especially this pretend mixer, which in addition to including high-quality wooden pieces teaches beginner fractions (half an egg, a quarter of a stick of butter, and so on). Similarly, we love the brand's farmer's market set that introduces money.

A space-saving way to set the stage for a play! This doorway theatre from HABA can be used for puppet shows, concerts, performances, speeches - whatever your 4-year-old imagines!

Age 4 is a perfect age for a dollhouse, where kids can arrange furniture and act out pretend scenarios. Hape's wooden dollhouse has open sides, making it easier for two kids to use at once, and it comes with four room's worth of furniture. You can buy a family with light skin or dark skin separately.

Bounce, bounce, bounce! High-energy kids (and their grownups) will appreciate this sturdy fold-and-store indoor trampoline with a height adjustable handlebar, so they can get years of bouncy fun out of it. We wrote all about why we love it here.

We love this high-quality beechwood construction set made in Austria. It comes with pliers and hammers that lets your kid practice fine motor skills and dexterity. It's definitely a toy that can more or less complex depending on what you do with it!

Don't forget toys for the outdoors for your 4-year-old. If they've got their own playhouse they can busy themselves out there imagining all kinds of scenarios with the play grill, sink, doorbell and more. Tuck real or fake flowers into the flowerbox.

My sons have loved their Toniebox for years (check out their Tonie recommendations here). There are so many storytelling and music options, plus educational content and games, that it keeps them entertained for hours. I love that it's screen-free and takes the guesswork out of birthday and holiday gifts (just get another Tonie for the collection).

Their very own digital camera? Are you kidding?! That's what we imagine 4-year-olds say when they get this, which puts the power of photography right into their hands - with lots of photo and voice effects, of course. Kids view the photos on the screen, and there are four games built in back there, too. If you'd rather they be able to print out photos — nothing high-quality, just cheap and satisfying for the 4-year-olds — we also love the newer VTech KidiZoom PrintCam.

Complete with two tracks and two cars, this 24-inch Spidey set is great for races (and keeps my son occupied for a long time). Even my 2-year-old loves to push the cars down the track again and again. Part of the ramp also swings, which adds some excitement to the track.