Educational Toys & Books for 11 Year Olds

At 11 years of age, children converse and develop an understanding of the world that is becoming increasingly similar to that of an adult. Peer pressure may have more of an impact on your child’s behaviour, as children become more interested in friendships; therefore, healthy friendships tend to be incredibly important to 11 year olds. Children also demonstrate heightened control over fine and gross motor skills. Below are examples of what you may expect from children at 11 years of age, though each child will pass through developmental stages at their own unique pace.

EDUCATIONAL TOYS FOR 11 YEAR OLDS FOR COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Milestones: During this developmental stage, children begin to realise that their decisions have consequences and understand that situations are not always black and white, but that there may be grey areas. 11 year olds also begin to demonstrate better decision-making skills and display a strategic approach to problems they face. Children at 11 begin to understand more abstract concepts, such as justice, and can conserve number, mass and volume of objects. At 11, children learn how to multi-task, how to focus their attention on the tasks that are important, alongside an improvement in memory. Additionally, metacognitive skills improve as children begin to think about thinking; this can be further scaffolded by parents to help children acknowledge their own thought processes. Children can reason logically at 11 years old and draw conclusions. Also, children’s literacy skills increase, with better inference skills becoming evident and sustained reading periods can last over half an hour. Resources: Children may benefit from STEM resources such as creating a Brush Robot or enjoy conducting experiments a with Crystal Science kit. To develop literacy skills, the National Curriculum English Practice Book for Year 6 would be a fantastic resource. For comprehension, Reading Comprehension Cards for Year 6 can help nurture inference skills. Children may also relish in reading more complex books such as A Dangerous Crossing, A Chase in Time or 100 Things to Know About Space.  Furthermore, educational toys for 11 year olds such as a Maze Game or Qwirkle can help your child increase their strategic thinking skills, memory and socialisation in unison.  

EDUCATIONAL TOYS FOR 11 YEAR OLDS FOR SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Milestones: At 11 years of age, children may experience inconsistencies in their moods, as they encounter a rollercoaster of emotions. They may begin to question authority figures and test the boundaries. At this age, group identity is of high importance to children and peer pressure tends to have a increased influence. As a result, children form strong, complex friendships and display more interest in friends. They will also understand how there are other points of view and hence may feel self-conscious about other peoples’ perceptions of them. Resources:  With children juggling many different emotions, a fun activity book such as 50 Ways to Feel Happy is an excellent resource to help your child.  To develop friendships, children could participate in group games such as Brainbox Space, Katamino and Mini Quarto. Moreover, educational toys for 11 year olds such as a book of poetry may help your child’s awareness of topics such as friendship, bullying, arguments and secrets.  

EDUCATIONAL TOYS FOR 11 YEAR OLDS FOR PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Milestones: During this year, children may start to display signs of puberty, experience growth spurts and consequently eat and sleep more. As their fine motor skills have developed further, their handwriting is usually neater and children at 11 years of age can use a variety of tools. In addition, gross motor skills such as running, throwing and kicking can be performed more quickly with improved coordination, which is amplified by faster reaction times. Resources: With improved motor skills, children may love to build educational toys for 11 year olds like the nanoblock London Tour Bus, Taxi of London and Airliner. To boost reaction times, perhaps try a fun, fast-paced, interactive game like Yes! No! or Word Bits. To help children understand their body more as they go through puberty, informative books like 100 Things to Know About the Human Body and 3D Human Body Cube may be beneficial additions to a bookshelf.