Your kiddo is now eight years old. They're in third grade, and running head-first on that long path to adulthood. With their motor and learning skills now fairly well in place, now is the time to encourage your child to explore their environment, their likes and dislikes, their interests, and what they're good at! Through play, grown-ups can learn what skills their children have that they may want to develop. Or, there's that good, old-fashioned thing called fun!

Here are 8 of our best toys and gifts for 8 year-olds in 2021.

 Spirograph Scratch & Shimmer

Create amazing Spirograph art with this scratch design set! Use the stylus tool with the glitter wheel and gears to scratch designs on the special sparkle or rainbow scratch paper. You can also use your own pens to draw Spirograph designs on regular paper! Your Spirograph Scratch & Shimmer set includes a drawing stylus, a deluxe non-slip ring, 6 glitter wheels, 8 sparkly scratch sheets, a sparkly sticker sheet, 8 rainbow scratch sheets, a rainbow sticker sheet, a storage tray, and a guide book.

 Craft-tastic Inspire Poster Kit

Words speak volumes to kids. Do they want to “Collect moments, not things”? Or “Follow your heart”? Or “Rise by lifting others”? Whatever they aspire to, they can create a poster from 36 wonderful and inspirational quotes that speak to their heart, empowerment, strength, smart side, and personal journey. Kids put the quotes, along with poms, hearts, flags, stars, feathers and more inside or outside the 22 little boxes and arrange them any way they want. It’s a free-form style of crafting fun! This kit contains everything you need to make 1 poster.

 Shashibo

Looking for something to fidget with and stimulate your mind? You're in the right place. Shashibo is a shape shifting box that transforms into over 70 shapes. Plus, with its strong magnet system you can combine several cubes to build even larger shapes, sculptures, and structures. Can you create them all? Combine 2 or more Shashibo to build larger shapes and create more possibilities. Can you master the shape shifting box?

 All About Me Quiz Bracelets

Your answers to the 7 fun quizzes in the 14-page quiz book will guide your selection of thread, beads, and charms as you create 7 bracelets that are totally you! The 7 fun quizzes, each with a unique theme and multiple questions let you make a unique bracelet about each of these themes: personality, style, favorites, friendship, future self, your power word, and sense of adventure. Sample questions include “How adventurous are you?” and “What is your power word?”. This box encourages self-discovery and expression, and makes a great gift for young crafters!

 Dog Crimes

Dog Crimes is the follow-up to our top-selling deductive reasoning game, Cat Crimes. A stand-alone game, Dog Crimes features an all-new cast of characters – and 40 all new mysteries to solve. Each of the 40 challenge cards presents a canine crime and a series of clues to help you identify the culprit. The six dog suspects feature distinctive characteristics and traits, and the gameboard supplies additional supporting evidence to help you solve the crimes. It’s the perfect game for dog lovers, and anyone who loves a good mystery!

 Mega Cyborg Hand

Build your own BIG hydraulic hand, slip your hand into it like a glove, and operate the mechanical fingers with your own fingers. Assemble the cyborg hand using over 200 plastic pieces, fill the piston tubes with water, and adjust it to fit your own hand. The hydraulic pistons enable the fingers to open and close, and to grip objects with enough force to lift them. The hand can be configured in three ways by changing the position of the thumb: left hand, right hand, and claw-like (with the thumb in the center). The mechanical hand simulates the movements of the human hand, using hydraulic power for energy transmission without motors or electricity. The hand allows every finger joint to adjust to different angles for precision movement. Challenge yourself to configure the hand to grip various items like bottles, balls, pencils, small items — anything within reach! The cyborg hand is adjustable to fit virtually all hand sizes.

 OMG! Mega Pop Game Controller Keychain

Introducing OMG! Mega Pop - Game Controller Keychain, the fun bubble popping fidget toy that you can take on the go! Each keychain has a hard shell exterior with soft silicone bubbles inside.

 Plus-Plus USA Blocks

Kids and their parents find joy in using their imagination to create colorful puzzles and mosaics, or build 3D creations. Play, learn and grow together! These perfect, award winning, educational STEM construction toys stimulate fine motor skills, creativity, focus and patience! One Shape - Endless Possibilities. As an added bonus, the Plus-Plus factory and headquarters use 100% green energy from wind power. Plus-Plus runs a no-waste production line. All excess plastic is re-grinded and used as material for Plus-Plus, and Plus-Plus packaging is 100% recyclable!

Need more recommendations? DM our team via social media @beyondtheblackboard or visit one of our two Colorado toy store locations!