Shop UK Site 
Preschooler Easter Basket Gifts for Under $15
- Gabrielle Fischer Posted On Mar 15, 2021 | Easter
With Easter quickly approaching, I wanted to share some of my favorite Learning Resources products, which would make perfect Easter basket fillers for your preschooler. All of these items are under $15 and are great for encouraging purposeful play-based learning.
Explore Your Senses
You really can’t go wrong with these two products. We have been using both for several years now, and they never fail to entertain. The Helping Hands Fine Motor Tool Set™ is a must-have for sensory play. Four tools are included in the set (Gator Grabber Tweezers™, Handy Scoopers™, Squeezy Tweezers™, and Twisty Droppers™). They each have their own appeal. The Twisty Droppers and Handy Scoopers are awesome for water-based play, while the Gator Grabber Tweezers and Squeezy Tweezers are ideal for sorting trays and dry sensory bases. You can read more about each of these tools by clicking the link to my fine motor tool comparison blog.
My kids always get really excited when they get to experiment on a Beaker Creature®, but this is the first set we’ve explored, and it’s enjoyable. The Beaker Creatures 2-pack with Bio-Home includes two creatures, one of which is still enclosed in its Reactor Pod. Place the pod in water and watch the fizzing and color explosion ensue until the creature is freed. At this point, you can use the bio-home magnifier to try and identify key characteristics and classify the mystery creature. It’s a great combination of sensory play and scientific experimentation. The Helping Hands toolset goes perfectly with this Beaker Creatures set.
A Puzzle or Game
I always like to include a puzzle or game in my kids’ Easter baskets as it encourages quality family time over the long Easter weekend. I like the new Counting Puzzle Cards because they have entertaining illustrations, and they go up to 25. I often find that counting puzzles is just for numbers 1-10, leading to a lack of engagement after a while. These simple puzzle cards are bright and fun and hold enough challenge to use for the next year or so.
Learning Resources makes some entertaining small games, one of our favorites being Take 10! Color Bug Catchers. It is simple enough for my preschooler to follow, but the insect counters and colorful dice make it a fun one to repeat regularly. For that reason, we decided to give Take 10! Shape Finder Cookies a try. This one focuses on shapes and has the yummy theme of cookies. The idea is that you can enjoy several different versions of the game, and it only takes about 10 minutes to play (which, let’s face it, is about right for preschooler attention spans!).
Something for Outside
Spring is such a gorgeous time of year to enjoy playing and learning with your kids outside. I always try to include a few outdoor play gifts, this year opting for the Learning Resources’ Primary Science® Big View Binoculars and the Primary Science Color Mixing Lenses. Binoculars are a great addition to a nature walk or scavenger hunt in your yard. They are so fascinating to little minds, and these particular ones are preschooler-friendly with soft rubber eyepieces and breakaway lanyards. Using color mixing lenses outside might not be the most obvious choice, but my preschooler loves to study nature up close. It can be enjoyable to take the lenses outside and do a color nature scavenger hunt whilst learning about color mixing.
Let’s Get Creative
There’s got to be a building element for both my kids when it comes to Easter basket gifts, and this year I’m opting for really cute Gears! Gears! Gears!® CastleGears™ Set. Both my 4 and 7-year-old love the gears they already have, but I think my preschooler will particularly like having some new colors to build with, and the castle theme is right up her street. Adding in a role play item was also a no-brainer because it lends itself so nicely to open-ended creative play. My little one can often be found cooking up wonderful creations in her pretend kitchen, so I opted for the New Sprouts® Chef Set. She will get such a kick out of having her own little apron and oven glove.
I hope I’ve given you some inspiration for Easter basket filler ideas for your preschooler, which are affordable and durable. Try to pick items which encourage open-ended creative play, as well as those which lend themselves nicely to quality time spent learning and playing with your kids over the Easter break.
