Building toys like LEGOs, blocks, and construction sets are some of the best toys for developing 5 year olds’ cognitive, creative, and social-emotional skills. The hands-on, open-ended play they inspire teaches problem-solving, spatial awareness, motor skills, and more.
As children approach the ages of 5-7, they start gaining more fine motor control and the ability to follow multi-step directions. Their attention spans grow, and they become more adept at building, balancing, and handling small pieces. This makes building toys an ideal way for 5 year olds to challenge themselves and feed their curiosity during this rapid stage of growth.
In this beginner’s guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about the many benefits of building toys and recommend over 40 of the top building toys and kits for 5 year olds so you can find just the right one to nurture your child’s development.
Benefits of Building Toys
Building toys have so many developmental benefits that they should be a staple in every 5 year old’s toy collection. Here are some of the main skills building toys help enhance:
Cognitive Development
- Spatial awareness and geometry – Assembling structures from blocks and pieces teaches shapes, patterns, proportions, balance, and geometry intuitively.
- Problem-solving – Building toys are inherently challenging, requiring trial and error to construct different structures and solutions. This teaches critical thinking, planning, and creative problem solving.
- Cause and effect – Seeing how the pieces come together and impact the overall structure demonstrates basic principles of engineering and physics.
- Math concepts – Counting, measuring, grouping, and comparing pieces reinforces early math skills.
Motor Skills
- Fine motor skills – Grasping and manipulating the smaller pieces in building toys develops dexterity, coordination, and strength in children’s hands and fingers.
- Hand-eye coordination – Visually assessing how pieces fit together and guiding them into place hones hand-eye coordination.
Creativity and Imagination
- Open-ended play – With endless combinations possible, building sets allow children to construct anything they can imagine, from towers to houses to robots.
- Role play – Building intricate worlds, vehicles, and structures fosters complex, imaginative pretend play.
Focus and Concentration
- Extended attention – The step-by-step process of following instructions or creating unique structures requires focus and concentration to complete.
Social Skills and Emotional Growth
- Cooperative play – Building side-by-side with peers teaches teamwork, communication, sharing, and compromising.
- Confidence – Successfully completing buildings and solving construction challenges without help builds self-esteem. Frustrations from failed attempts also build resilience when children keep trying.
With all these perks, it’s easy to see why building toys have such developmental value for 5 year olds.
Types of Building Toys
There are a wide variety of building toys designed just for preschoolers that cater to different skill levels and interests. Here is an overview of the main types:
Blocks and Building Sets
Classic wooden blocks, magnetic blocks, bristle blocks, and building sets made of plastic, wood, or foam stimulation 5 year olds’ minds while developing fine motor skills. These tend to include:
- Building/construction sets with shaped pieces for assembling structures
- Stacking blocks and cups for balancing
- Magnetic building sets (https://www.learningresources.com/magnetic- builders-60-pc-set) with tiles, rods, and connectors
Our top picks:
- LEGO Classic Creative Brick Boxes – medium or large sets with 1100+ pieces
- Wood World Builder Construction Sets – 131 wooden building pieces
- Magformers 62 Piece Set – magnetic building shapes, rods and rings
Construction/Engineering Building Toys
For kids who love trucks, cranes, and construction equipment, there are more realistic construction building toys that use nuts, bolts, gears, or motorized parts to resemble actual vehicles and structures. Popular sets include:
- Plastic/wooden construction vehicle sets
- Building kits with working lights, sounds, motors
- K’Nex – rods & connectors sets, roller coasters
- Erector sets – build working cranes, elevators
- Tech/robotics kits with programmable designs
Our top building engineering toys include:
- Melissa & Doug Construction Vehicles – 7 wooden vehicles
- LEGO City Construction Sets – cement mixer, forklift, and more
- TECHNO Kids Gearbox Set – learn how gears connect
STEM Building Toys
Blending building play with early engineering concepts, there are fantastic STEM toys introducing children to structures, robotics, coding, circuits, and more with hands-on learning. Our favorites:
- Botley 2.0 – programmable coding robot
- Engino STEM Circuits – build electrical circuits
- Roominate – dollhouse with circuits and motors
- Tegu magnetic wooden blocks – build and play with magnetic pieces
- Ozobot EVO – small programmable coding robot
The Best Building Toys & Kits for 5 Year Olds
With so many types of building toys out there made just for preschoolers, which are truly the best for 5 year olds’ developing minds and motor skills?
Here is our hand-picked list of over 40 of the top-rated building toys for 5 year olds across every category that will guaranteed spark their creativity and teach foundational academic and motor skills through hands-on play.
| Building Toy | Key Benefits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| LEGO DUPLO My First Toolbox | Introduces construction tools with oversized LEGOs. Fun vehicle builds. | $25 |
| Magformers Sky Track Adventure Set | Build endless track designs with magnetic pieces. | $50 |
| Melissa & Doug Stacking Rings & Links | Develops dexterity, hand-eye coordination, and color recognition | $15 |
| PicassoTiles 100 Piece Set | Magnet building tiles let kids build 2D and 3D creations | $50 |
| Play22 Toy Tools Workshop | Realistic toy tools for roleplaying and construction. | $28 |
| SmartMax My First Animal Fun Building Set | Build animals with chunky magnetic pieces. | $35 |
| TEGU Pocket Pouch Prism | Portable set of 18 magnetic wooden blocks for on-the-go play | $30 |
| Learning Resources Gears Gears Gears | Sort, stack, and build moving structures with plastic gears. | $27 |
| Playmobil City Action Construction Site | Detailed construction playset with vehicles, workers, fences, barrels, and more. | $50 |
| Mega Bloks First Builders Big Building Bag | Bright, chunky blocks in storage bag for on-the-go building. | $15 |
| Squigz Starter Kit | Suction cup pieces cling to eachother, windows, mirrors and build in 3D. | $25 |
We break down the key features of each of these top-rated construction toys to help choose the right one your 5 year old will love:
Best Blocks & Building Sets
- LEGO DUPLO My First Toolbox – Oversized LEGO blocks are specially made for little hands. This 108-piece building kit includes construction vehicles like a helicopter and excavator that kids can build using the charming toolbox of DUPLO bricks. Promotes creativity, fine motor skills, and early construction role play.
- Melissa & Doug Stacking Rings & Links – This classic toy set includes 8 double-sided wooden rings with different colors & textures for learning color names, shapes, and patterns. Links can be connected to form a flexibility ring chain while developing dexterity and coordination.
- PicassoTiles 100 Piece Set – These translucent magnetic tiles are designed by teachers specifically for preschoolers to build 2D mosaic creations and 3D structures while exploring STEM concepts. Compatible with leading magnetic building brands too.
- TEGU Pocket Pouch Prism – With 18 magnetic wooden blocks in mix-and-match shapes, kids can build tons of creations on-the-go. The pieces feature embedded magnets so structures defy gravity. Promotes creativity, problem-solving spatial skills, and color/shape recognition.
Best Engineering Building Toys
- Play22 Toy Tools Workshop – Budding builders will love roleplaying construction projects with this 201-piece set with toy versions of real tools like a power drill, wrench, saw, nuts, bolts, and more! Fosters STEM learning.
- SmartMax My First Animal Fun Building Set – These chunky, brightly colored magnetic pieces easily snap together to build 3D animal models, houses, towers and anything kids can dream up! Improves spatial skills, creativity, and manual dexterity.
- Playmobil City Action Construction Site – With a detailed city construction scene, over 85 pieces including vehicles like a rotating cement mixer, workers, fences, traffic cones, and more, this set will inspire imaginative building role play.
- Mega Bloks Big Building Bag – This jumbo pack of 60 mega-sized blocks encourages open-ended building play at home or on-the-go! The chunky blocks are easy to grasp for little hands. Promotes creativity and STEM skills.
Best STEM Building Toys
- Learning Resources Gears Gears Gears – Kids can problem solve how to sort by size, build structures, and create moving contraptions with the colorful plastic gears that link and spin. Visualizing cause & effect relationships develops early engineering thinking.
- Squigz Starter Kit – These vibrant suction construction toys can stick to each other, windows, mirrors and be compressed and connected in nearly endless combinations. Builds 3D spatial skills, creativity, and problem-solving through hands-on trial and error.
We encourage you to browse many other excellent building toys and kits from the 40+ recommended in our comparison chart above to find more top options perfect for your 5 year old’s unique interests and developing skills!
Choosing Building Toys for Your 5 Year Old
With so many benefits of building toys and endless options to choose from, how do you select the best developmentally-appropriate building toy for your 5 year old that matches their interests and skills? Here are the key factors to consider in your decision:
Safety First
Since 5 year olds still put things in their mouths occasionally, avoid any sets with small pieces that could pose a choking risk. Stick with age recommendations and larger pieces.
Skill Level & Attention Span
Think about your child’s current dexterity, patience, ability to follow multi-step directions, and interests to find an engaging set that won’t frustrate them with pieces that are too tricky or complex builds setting them up for failure. Building confidence comes from achieving accomplishments with the right level of challenge.
Gender Neutrality
While building toys tend to be aimed more at boys, many girls love construction play just as much! Seek out sets with inclusive color palettes and designs so all kids feel welcome.
Adaptability for Special Needs
For children with physical or developmental disabilities, look for adaptable features like easy-grip pieces or Velcro connectors to enable participation. Building side-by-side can also build social skills.
High-Quality & Durability
Since the pieces will withstand hours of play and probably some dropping, select toys made of durable hardwood, plastic or foam from trusted brands. Stay away from anything flimsy. Spending a little more upfront is worth it for extended use.
Storage
Can’t see the floor with scattered toy pieces everywhere? Opt for sets that come in their own storage bins, fabric pouches or bags so cleanup is easier. Storage cases also make building toys portable for travel.
By carefully evaluating your 5 year old’s skills when selecting the right building toy that lets them construct to their hearts delight without excess challenge or frustrations, you’ll give them an ideal learning tool promoting cognitive, social-emotional and motor development as well as creativity and confidence.
Encouraging Extended Building Play
Once you’ve chosen an engaging building toy matched to your 5 year old’s abilities, use these tips to encourage more prolonged play to leverage all the developmental benefits it offers:
- Rotating the building toys available keeps novelty and prevents boredom from always having access to the same sets.
- Mix materials by combining wooden blocks with magnetic tiles or LEGOs together. The variety sparks new ideas.
- Build collaboratively as a family by creating structures together and describing what each of you is working on to improve communication and teamwork.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best first LEGO sets for 5 year olds?
The best LEGO sets for new builders around age 5 are DUPLO sets made with bigger pieces sized for little hands, like the LEGO DUPLO My First Toolbox featured earlier. LEGO Classic medium Creative Brick boxes with 1100+ standard sized pieces are also great starter sets.
Should I choose wooden or plastic building blocks?
Both wooden blocks and plastic building blocks have benefits. Wooden blocks tend to be more eco-friendly and easier for kids to grip. Lightweight plastic blocks allow towering structures. We recommend having some of both materials. Melissa & Doug makes excellent wooden blocks while LEGO and Mega Bloks are top plastic picks.
What are the best building toys for teaching STEM skills?
Hands-on building toys that introduce concepts like gears, circuits, coding, gears, and motors are fantastic for early engineering and science learning. We highly recommend Botley 2.0 coding robot, Engino STEM circuits, Ozobot EVO, Learning Resources Gears Gears Gears, and building sets from ROOMINATE that let kids problem solve hands-on with early mechanical engineering.
Which construction toys are best for pretend building play?
To inspire imaginary construction role playing, we love the Playmobil City Action Construction Set with characters, vehicles, cones, and tools as well as the Play22 Toy Tools Workshop for acting out projects with toy versions of real hammers, wrenches, power tools and more!
What are the choking hazards and safety standards I should look for?
Any toys with small parts under 1.25 inches in diameter pose choking risks for ages 3-6. Certifications like ASTMS F963 ensure lead-free materials and safety standards. Avoid marbles, coins, magnets, and anything with pointy edges. Supervise play until kids learn not to put pieces in mouths, usually around age 5.