Presents of Mind

Leave the Beanie Babies and Teletubbies on the store shelves. Forget about the latest Nintendo and Sega games. At least, that’s what your child’s teacher would probably like to say.

If many educators had their wish, parents would ignore the latest toy craze this holiday season in favor of some fun but more educational gifts that stimulate their children’s creativity and encourage exploration.

“If you get the latest fad toy, then it seems the interest in it can die even on Christmas Day,” said Pat Romero, a fourth-grade teacher in Brea. “You get so buried in the latest toys you stop using your imagination. The things that make you go outside and learn are the kinds that are worth getting.”

No. 1 on just about every teacher’s list is books--any books that will stimulate your child’s interest in reading.

Also on the list are board games, microscopes, educational CD-ROMs, hand-held calculators and building and molding toys that both encourage children to create and help them to develop sensory awareness.

And some teachers suggest that the best gift is free: more time and attention paid to youngsters of all ages.

But if you want something you can put in wrapping paper, teachers are loaded with ideas for gifts of lasting value. You might also want to ask your children’s teachers for suggestions that might either help your children in school or provide an exciting add-on to the curriculum.

For preschoolers, educators recommend simple gifts that won’t frustrate or perplex the youngsters. Wooden or rubber jigsaw puzzles with large pieces help students understand color and develop a longer attention span, teachers said. Large building-block pieces, whether traditional wooden blocks or interlocking plastic ones, help preschoolers with eye-hand coordination.

At the elementary and middle school levels, teachers recommend buying plenty of reading material. During an informal survey of her colleagues, first-grade teacher Amy Shively found that books led the list of gifts.

“Books, books and books is our No. 1 [choice],” said Shively, who teaches in Anaheim. “Everything else is kind of gravy.”

Teachers recommended that parents find books that match their children’s interest so that reading becomes a joy rather than a burden. Many suggested getting a magazine subscription in the child’s topic of interest--tennis, insects, astronomy--so that the child reads throughout the year. And most children of any age like getting their own mail.

Teachers also highly recommend the good old board games, such as Monopoly, Scrabble and checkers. Rather than watching a battery-operated toy do the work for them, children playing these games have to be more active, teachers said. Board games can teach children how to plan strategies, manipulate words and pictures and handle money.

One teacher suggested a gift of an arts and crafts table to stimulate artistic expression. Different media such as watercolors, clay, crayons and pens can be placed within easy reach. A toolbox can also be used to store art materials, another said.

To stimulate interest in science, it’s especially important to encourage exploration early on, Romero said.

“If you don’t capture this joy as a child, you never will,” she said. In her classroom, Romero says, students have been going wild over the hand-held microscopes she bought for $9.99 at Radio Shack. The kids have been using the microscopes to examine everything they can get their hands on, she said.

Kenneth Urbina, principal of an elementary school in Huntington Park, recommended that parents do their holiday shopping at stores that sell scientific paraphernalia such as microscopes, telescopes and chemistry sets. “Those are the things that get [students] stimulated because they have to learn by doing,” he said.

Some teachers advocated the use of technology to help students learn.

Claire Ratfield, who teaches sixth grade in Corona del Mar, said some of the best devices for her students have been the hand-held spell-checkers, thesauruses and fraction calculators that may range from $20 to $100 and can be purchased at electronics stores. Students, Ratfield said, sometimes need to know answers right away to help the lessons sink in.

Scott Malloy, a math teacher, advises parents to buy their children a graphing calculator that frees students from the tedious task of hand-drawing such math figures as parabolas.

The calculators, which cost about $100 and can be purchased at such stores as Best Buy and Target, “can help them get the mundane things over with so they can go after the big thoughts,” he said.

At Fountain Valley’s Kazuo Masuda Middle School, sixth-grade teacher Jane Carter frequently uses computer games to help children develop problem-solving skills.

One that she recommends is “The Secret Island of Dr. Quandry,” created by MECC. The game builds logic and problem-solving skills, she said.

And though there are plenty of new educational tools out there, some teachers suggested as a gift a family outing to an amusement park. “I think kids want to have fun and want to be with their folks,” said Lisa Fowler, a former music teacher and now president of the Pasadena Unified School District school board. “Those are special [gifts] to kids.”

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Times staff writer Nancy Trejos contributed to this story.