Gift for a boy in the 4th grade

[taylor3297]

Our neighbor's son is having surgery tomorrow on his arm. I would like to get the son a gift. The surgery will be on the arm he writes with. So, I was trying to think of a movie or a toy that he might be able to enjoy. The child is in the 4th grade if that helps.

I do know he does not like to read too much so regular books are out. But I was thinking maybe comic books.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[taylor3297]

Anyone?

 

[DisneyDebbie]

I have a 4th grader and he likes Diary of a Wimpy Kid, they have a comic booklike feel. He also loves to listen to music (Parry Gripp) and watch his lava lamp, lol!

 

[taylor3297]

I have a 4th grader and he likes Diary of a Wimpy Kid, they have a comic booklike feel. He also loves to listen to music (Parry Gripp) and watch his lava lamp, lol!

I had thought about buying him an inexpensive MP3 player and an Itunes gift card.

I wonder if the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie would be a good idea?

 

[IDoDis]

I had thought about buying him an inexpensive MP3 player and an Itunes gift card.

I wonder if the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie would be a good idea?

Can you ask his parents? He may have already read the Wimpy Kid books. They are quite popular -- even the non readers read those books.

I may be wrong, but you'd need to buy him an iPod if you are going to buy an iTunes gift card. You can't download music or movies from iTunes onto a different device unless you are computer saavy and know how to mess with saving it to your computer, changing the file and then loading it onto a different mp3 player. My DH can do it, but I know many others who can't and always ask him how to get the iTunes music onto other devices.

If he has a DS, what about a DS game, or an Xbox or PS3 game? Or how about an ant farm?

 

[taylor3297]

Can you ask his parents? He may have already read the Wimpy Kid books. They are quite popular -- even the non readers read those books.

I may be wrong, but you'd need to buy him an iPod if you are going to buy an iTunes gift card. You can't download music or movies from iTunes onto a different device unless you are computer saavy and know how to mess with saving it to your computer, changing the file and then loading it onto a different mp3 player. My DH can do it, but I know many others who can't and always ask him how to get the iTunes music onto other devices.

If he has a DS, what about a DS game, or an Xbox or PS3 game? Or how about an ant farm?

Thanks for sharing, and I can download the music for him if necessary. As to the books, I don't think he would read them due to some reading issues.

The DS game is a great idea but he can't use his right hand at all. I asked him about that today.
I did ask his parents and since he plays outside so much they really didn't know what would be of interest to him to play inside.

I asked the kid himself, but he wasn't sure. He is not one to sit around inside.

Maybe just a gift card and his mom can take him to buy what he wants.

The ant farm would be fun, but not sure how is mom would react.

Thanks so much for the suggestions. THey really do help.

 

[Wishes]

I teach 4th grade and my boys are really into these little Bakugan ball type toys. They are like the old Transformer toys. They look like a little ball but can then change into these creatures. I'm not sure if he could do it one-handed but he might like having them to move around even if someone else had to change it for him.

 

[StitchFanZ]

How about books on CD or tape since he doesn't like reading much.

 

[IDoDis]

Thanks for sharing, and I can download the music for him if necessary. As to the books, I don't think he would read them due to some reading issues.

The DS game is a great idea but he can't use his right hand at all. I asked him about that today.
I did ask his parents and since he plays outside so much they really didn't know what would be of interest to him to play inside.

I asked the kid himself, but he wasn't sure. He is not one to sit around inside.

Maybe just a gift card and his mom can take him to buy what he wants.

The ant farm would be fun, but not sure how is mom would react.

Thanks so much for the suggestions. THey really do help.

If you decide to go with comic books, check out the Bone books by Jeff Smith. They actually graphix books which are a cross between a novel and a comic. They are real popular with kids that age (sold by Scholastic books, but you can also buy the books in bookstores and from Amazon). One book is large enough to last him a long time -- they are pretty thick unlike your typical comic magazine.

I teach kids with learning disabilities and the Bone books keep them engaged. DH teaches 4th grade and says his students eat them up, too!

http://www.scholastic.com/bone/books.htm

 

[castmember19]

If you want some crazy and unique ideas, try gifts.com. They have a section for everyone. The items are a little weird at times but there are some good ideas that pop up too- just click the picture and it'll tell you where to go to find them. Beware though, some can only be bought online.

I worked with fourth grade boys this year and I wish I had asked them more about what they did in their free time. With me, they only did Math and Reading.

 

[hambirg]

I had thought about buying him an inexpensive MP3 player and an Itunes gift card.

I wonder if the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie would be a good idea?

Yes, YEs, YES! My son is in 4th grade and he's not a big reader, but he liked the book, so I bought him the movie for Easter and he LOVES it. He and my DD8 still watch it on the regular. I even enjoyed it.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I would steer clear of books. My son had a hard time turning the pages on them without losing his place when he could not use his right hand so they ended up just being frustrating and he gave up on them.

If you get a movie--try to get one with lots of special features (including a game of some sort) so he gets more mileage out of it.

One of the little magnetic desk toys where he could "build" things with little magnetic pieces could be fun. Since it all sticks together anyway I am thinking the lack of using his right arm would still be okay--nothing will fall and get lost, etc.

 

[taylor3297]

Y'all gave me some great ideas which I am writing down to save for future reference. I ended up getting him the Narnia movies, (all 3 of them) He had never read the books but had mentioned in passing to his mom that he would like to see the movies.

Thanks again for all the help. I knew I could count on the folks on Dis.