Best educational toys for kids aged 3+

Enjoy playing and learning together

Best educational toys for kids aged 3+
by Natalie Keeler

We've updated this list of our favourite educational toys for 3-year-olds, which help to support your child's learning. Take your pick from Numberblocks, fun card games, and CBeebies learning sets.

They'll help you feel confident teaching your preschoolers maths, phonics, and more. Plus, they’re our bestsellers, so catch them quickly before they go!

Alphablocks Magnetic Word Magic Set

Alphablocks Magnetic Word Magic

WHAT'S INSIDE? This nifty set contains 67 magnets, a magnetic board, and 120 stickers – plus a premium magazine with tons of activities, and 52 flash cards with extra learning ideas.

BEST FOR: Preschool and reception: age 3, 4 and 5

WHY WE LOVE IT: Phonics can feel a bit intimidating to start with, but this pack is designed to make learning letter sounds fun – whether you want to help your child get a head start, or you want to support what they're already learning at school. Little hands will find sticking the magnets to the board really satisfying too!

PRICE: £25

Numberblocks 1–10 Boxed Gift Set

Numberblocks toys

WHAT'S INSIDE? This neat set comes with 55 blocks and colourful stickers, so your child can build the Numberblocks 1-10. It’s perfect for fans of the CBeebies programme, and it’s also a fantastic resource to teach maths.

BEST FOR: Preschool and reception: age 3, 4 and 5

WHY WE LOVE IT: The friendly colourful blocks make it easy to explain maths. You can use them to add and take away, to learn times tables and even to show odd and even numbers (top tip: make two rows with one Numberblock: an even number will have an even top. An odd number will be uneven).

DON'T MISS: Numberblocks Block Play magazine is chock-full of clever ideas to try with the blocks. Craft a see-saw to learn measuring, play a blocks race game and try lots of fun ways to add and take away. It’s out now! 

WHAT YOU SAY: “FANTASTIC. Bought a few different sets of Numberblocks and my grandchildren love them. I am a nursery practitioner and I also use them at work. Children love them and can relate to the characters making maths fun.”

PRICE: £12.99

Pssst, we also recommend the Numberblocks Maths Programme below.

Numberblocks Starter Pack 52 Activity Cards

Numberblocks Activity Cards

WHAT'S INSIDE? 52 Numberblocks activity cards with quick challenges, plus 3 maths games.

BEST FOR: Preschool and reception: age 3, 4 and 5.

WHY WE LOVE IT: We love the handy format and inexpensive price. You can whip these cards out and find something fun and educational for your child to try, no matter where you are. You know that mid-afternoon hour when you’re stuck for ideas? Have these in you back pocket ready for then. We’ve also taken them to the beach, on picnics and they’ll be perfect for a train or plane.

PRICE: £3.99

Numberblocks Maths Programme

Numberblocks Maths Programme

WHAT'S INSIDE? This comprehensive set includes the Numberblocks 1-10 gift set, plus a set of magazines and stickers to help you get the most out of your Numberblocks toy. It follows the EYFS reception curriculum so you can be sure you’re teaching children what they will be learning in school.

BEST FOR: Preschool and reception: age 3, 4 and 5.

WHY WE LOVE IT: You can’t go wrong teaching maths with this pack. The magazine activities have been created by education specialists, so they’re pitched right and easy to understand. Plus, they’re fun! The gold star stickers to reward children are a nice touch, too.

WHAT YOU SAY: “I just want to say how amazing the magazines quality is and the Numberblocks to build alongside the magazines are fabulous. You have made home schooling my little boy so much easier. He was so engaged when we used the magazine this morning and couldn’t wait to finish the work on the page to then give himself a golden star! Thank you very much ❤️"

PRICE: £22.99

Giggly Let's Go Shopping Game

Giggly Let's Go Shopping Game 

WHAT'S INSIDE? There's 4 shopping games – complete with mini shopping baskets, shopping lists, and toy money – included in this fun-packed shopping set. You'll also get a premium Giggly Shop & Play magazine, filled with 100+ activities including sticker puzzles, colouring, number patterns, and counting games.

BEST FOR: Preschool and reception: age 3, 4, and 5

WHY WE LOVE IT: Any activity pack that combines fun and learning is a win in our book – and this colourful set gives you all that and more. What's great is that kids won't even realise they're practising their maths and literacy skills as they play. It comes in a handy box too, so you can take it with you wherever you go.

PRICE: £15.99

Alphablocks Reading Programme

Alphablocks Reading Programme

WHAT'S INSIDE? 108 letter tiles for building words, 6 magazines that help you to teach your child phonics, plus stickers and certificates.

BEST FOR: Preschool and reception: age 3, 4 and 5.

WHY WE LOVE IT: We find phonics daunting, but this Alphablocks set holds your hand and leads you through all of the letter sounds your child will learn – in the order they learn them at school.

The activities have been created by educational specialists and they cover everything... how to say the sounds, how to blend them, how to introduce common words. If you want to learn phonics, you can’t go wrong with this set.

WHAT YOU SAY: “I bought this for my 5-year-old as he was struggling with reading. By magazine 3 his reading and confidence has improved immensely. After just 2 weeks he can now read a level 2 book independently and loves it. The key was the magazines took it step by step and with a mixture of stickers, colouring in, letter writing, colourful illustrations. He was begging me to do more in the magazine. A complete u-turn from the boy who didn’t want to open a book.”

PRICE: £22.99

Mealtime Fun Activity Pack

Mealtime Fun Activity Pack

WHAT'S INSIDE? Inside there's a fabulous children's roleplay set, so your child can pretend to be a waiter, take orders, and serve fun meals. There's also a busy magazine with stickers, colouring pages, and puzzles, and a pack of crayons.

BEST FOR: Preschool and reception: age 3, 4, and 5

WHY WE LOVE IT: Ideal if you're going to a restaurant with your little one in tow, this bumper activity pack is what every parent needs for drama-free dinnertimes. It's also a fun, simple way to teach kids about food groups and healthy eating.

PRICE: £16.99

Alphablocks: My Stamper Set and Sticker Magazine

Alphablocks Stamper Set

WHAT'S INSIDE? This creative activity pack features a stamper with 27 letter stampers and 2 ink pads, as well as a premium 72-page Stick & Play magazine. There's also 130+ stickers, a writing pencil, and a pack of colouring pencils – plus a handy box to store everything in.

BEST FOR: Preschool and reception: age 3, 4 and 5

WHY WE LOVE IT: The stampers inside this set are a huge win for us – they're really fun to use, and they're a great way to get the muscles in your child's hands moving, which will help as they're learning to write. There's also tons of extra activities to try inside the magazine too.

PRICE: £20.99

Numberblocks Magnetic Number Magic Set

Numberblocks Magnetic Number Magic

WHAT'S INSIDE? 133 fun magnets and a magnetic board, 52 activity cards, a premium magazine full of ideas, and 130+ stickers.

BEST FOR: Preschool and reception: age 3, 4, and 5

WHY WE LOVE IT: This mega Numberblocks pack has got it all – and we love the activity cards and jam-packed magazine, which give your child even more maths challenges to try with their magnets. There's lots of tips and advice for grown-ups too, with learning ideas to help with specific pages. 

PRICE: £25

Keep Busy Activity Pack

Keep Busy Activity Pack

WHAT'S INSIDE? Inside you'll find a bingo travel game (with two ways to play), 52 play-prompt cards with quick 5-minute ideas, a busy book with stickers, colouring pages, and puzzles, and a pack of crayons.

BEST FOR: Preschool and reception: age 3, 4 and 5

WHY WE LOVE IT: This set has activities to suit every child and every mood. Need a bit of quiet time? Give them the magazine so they can stick, colour and write. The cards are good for shorter bursts of activity, which is ideal for busy kids who like to move around. We love the bingo game too – simply match the cute animal cards or roll the dice to learn colours and shapes.

PRICE: £16.99

Multi–Click Numberblocks 1–to–10 Play and Learn Set

Multi-click Numberblcoks

WHAT'S INSIDE? 55 durable multi-click coloured blocks, 10 clear Numberling blocks, a double-sided activity sheet, a handy stand to display your blocks in, and 2 sheets of peel-and-play face stickers to bring your blocks to life!

BEST FOR: Preschool and reception: age 3, 4, and 5

WHY WE LOVE IT: Your child can make the Numberblocks in all their amazing shapes – just like they see on TV! Pop the peel-and-play face stickers onto the blocks, then click them together from side-to-side and top-to-bottom. There's also tons of challenges and ideas to try on the double-sided activity sheet, so little ones can extend their maths learning.

PRICE: £18.99

CBeebies Learn and Play Pack

CBeebies Learn and Play Pack

WHAT'S INSIDE? This fun-packed set comes with 5 magazines (each covering a different area of the early years curriculum), a pack of play prompt cards, 2 reward charts and six sheets of stickers.

BEST FOR: Preschool and reception: age 3, 4 and 5.

WHY WE LOVE IT: If your child is about to start school, you might be wondering what they’re going to be learning and how you can help at home. Well, this fun pack does all of that for you – and then some!

The magazines feature all of the characters your kids will know from CBeebies, and they’ve been created with the help of an educational expert so they cover every part of the curriculum in depth – including maths, literacy, finding out (science), feelings and creativity.

Add in some play prompt cards, a bugs snap game, stickers and 2 reward charts and you couldn’t be better prepared for whatever this year brings.

PRICE: £17.99

Andy's Amazing Adventures Dinosaur Pack

Andy's Amazing Adventures Dinosaur Pack

WHAT'S INSIDE? It’s jam-packed with dinosaur-themed goodies, including an Andy’s Amazing Adventures toy set, fact cards game, huge poster and 3 magazines. 

BEST FOR: Preschool and reception: age 3, 4 and 5.

WHY WE LOVE IT: If you’ve got a dinosaur fan at home, this set will make their year! It’s packed full of facts about weird and wonderful dinosaurs – which make it onto a (really massive) poster, as well as into a trivia-based card game. It covers different parts of the curriculum, too. We like that there’s a creative magazine – a welcome addition to a dinosaur pack. 

WHAT YOU SAY: “My son is a huge fan of dinosaurs. The magazines are great, they gave him lots of fun activities to complete and work through at his own pace. He particularly enjoyed matching the Dino cards and the pull-out posters.”

PRICE: £17.99