By age 9-10, many kids are ready to take on growing household roles and responsibilities. Once they might have pretended to walk a plush dog around the house. Kids this age might now have the coordination and be responsible enough to follow a pre-planned route and walk the actual family dog themselves.

This is something to consider when gift-giving! When kids have their own "tools", it can increase their drive to be creative and imaginative. You can take gifts a step further, too, by enrolling kids in classes, and buying books that cater to their interests. Kids this age want to feel more grown-up.

We asked Team BtB, as well as BtB families and kids, for gift recommendations for 9-10 year-olds. Don't see what you're looking for? Shoot us an email, or give us a call for personalized recommendations. We also encourage you to share your best ideas with us in the comments below, or on social media.

The Gift of Print

 Being a Girl Book ($17.99)

Papersalt are beautifully made books that invite the reader to revisit their colorful pages again and again. Each Papersalt book is devoted to positively framing topics (being a girl, being a friend, and being a boy among them). The pages prompt introspection and get minds moving for all kinds of reasons. Papersalt also presents books about TV shows, artists, and positive role models like Mr. Rogers. All Papersalt books are bursting with inspiration, and weave messages of compassion into each page.

Lovable Plush

 Go Fish Furry and Fleece Plush ($34.99)

Even older kids appreciate snuggling. Soft and squishy, contained in an infinitely cuddly pillow, these plush fish deliver on cuteness. (We've fallen for the fish; we have lots of stuffed animals to choose from, including Billow Manatee, Milo Shiba Inu, and Harry Panda Cub.) Oh-so-inviting, plush stuffed animals are great for family movie nights, but they also still find their place at bedtime.

A Strategic Puzzle Game

 BUILDZI ($24.99)
IQ Circuit ($10.99)

Created by the same guys that brought you the extraordinarily popular games TENZI, SLAPZI, PAIRZI, and ITZI, BUILDZI is a fast building block game that rewards creativity and quick problem-solving skills. It was awarded ASTRA Best Toys for Kids in the Games 8+ category. Flip over your Tower Card or Block Card and be the first to build your block tower. For a more challenging tower game, try using the yellow and black side of the Tower Cards, these towers are a bit trickier to build and don't have colors to help identify the blocks.

SmartGames IQ Circuit features 120 challenges. Players are tested to fit all the double-sided, shiny black and gold pieces on the gameboard – to connect the dots and create the circuits. And it’s all in the same compact, portable travel case. Even though this puzzle was designed to be a single-player game, you can turn it into a family affair and take turns. People often solve challenges in collaboration. See who can solve challenges the fastest!

Epic Science

 Survival Science Lab ($19.99)

Science kits are at their best when they match your child's interests. Survival books and shows are well loved by kids of various ages. The Be Amazing science lab kit will teach your children fun and scientific survival hacks, which they will be able to put to the test later. They can build a water compass so they can always find north, make hand warmers so their fingers stay warm, and many more unique activities that will keep them busy for hours.

Pop Culture Trivia for the Generations

 Mind the Gap ($29.99)

A beautifully designed trivia game that encourages bonding across generations. Mind the Gap lets kids build a team made up of players of all ages. The team that makes it around the board first is crowned the Greatest Generation. When you land on a Challenge Space, you’ll have to act out a famous scene, hum a well-known tune, or dance the hippest dances from all the eras. Play with everyone from grandparents to siblings alike.

A Glow-in-the-Dark Flying Disc

 Wingman UFO Frisbee ($9.99)

Nine year-olds may already have a favorite athletic activity, whether it’s baseball, soccer, or dance. But don’t underestimate the low-key group fun of tossing around a flying disc. Kids don’t need any extra equipment to play, and the game is as enjoyable if they play with one friend or with ten. You may already have a Frisbee (or several), but we think it’s worth spending a little more to get a disc that tosses and glides with ease. The Wingman UFO Frisbee is a favorite because it balances itself in flight and lights up with seemingly indestructible LED lights. The latter feature lets kids keep playing even when the winter days end early.

A Boredom Buster

 The Original Spirograph Animator ($29.99)

Spirograph can create an endless number of designs that kids can design. When Team BtB plays around with it, we feel like we're making pictures from an adult coloring book. But it’s when the kids, with no apparent plan or strategy, create free-form designs and animations, that it really shines. You'll find that the Spirograph will become something they gravitate to.

A Puzzle

 DJECO Summer Lake Gallery 350 Piece Puzzle ($16.99)

Young puzzle lovers are likely to be delighted by DJECO's beautiful jigsaw puzzles. The 350-piece version seems particularly fitting for a young puzzle aficionado.

LEGO Robotics

 LEGO Mindstorms: Robot Inventor ($379.99)

This set has won over the toughest critics: kids. And robotics pros, makers, and hobbyists agreed. With its LEGO-based design, built-in sensors, and expansive options for creativity, the 949-piece Code & Control kit was the most fun to build with. The app’s super-simple programming is easy to learn. Because the kit is LEGO-based (any LEGO block can work in a project), kids have a massive opportunity for expansion right out of the box, since they can innovate and experiment using pieces from their own LEGO collections.

We love finding gifts that are thoughtful, different, and well tested. Need even more gift ideas? Email our team at playmatters@beyondtheblackboard.com, or follow us on social media @beyondtheblackboard.