Looking for activities for your preschooler? I prefer using activities that are in line with my belief that learning for young children should be play based. And this includes the preschool years!
Here are 5 quick and EASY preschool activities that you can set up in mere minutes! And, the BEST part is, you can feel great knowing that your children are learning valuable lessons needed for healthy child development and growth, all while they PLAY! Check out each activity below and see how it helps them grow, learn and develop!
1. Block Patterns
Patterns can sometimes be a bit tricky to teach young learners. Sometimes, they either get it or they don’t. The individual success with this easy block pattern activity is really setting it up at the level your preschooler is at right now. You want them to be successful. Sorting and patterns play an important role in early math skills. Children are learning important math concepts about sequence and recognizing a predictable order.
Any blocks will do for this easy activity. Start with just two colors your child knows really well. Try putting out only the correct colors for the pattern, so there is less confusion. The first few times you put this activity out, you may need to show your child how to put the blocks in a pattern.
If they need more help, try making some pattern cards! You can use crayons or markers and draw squares on a piece of paper that match the pattern. If you want, you can choose to laminate them, like I do.
As they show you what they can do, you can make the activity more challenging by switching up the basic demands.
Some of the basic demands are:
- Number of colors in the pattern.
- Using colors they aren’t as familiar with.
- Presenting blocks of other colors, so they have to choose only colors in the pattern.
2. Draw a Story
Instead of asking your child to draw a picture, try giving this prompt for them to draw a story. Then when they’re done ask them to tell you the story. This activity sparks creativity as well as encourages children to draw multiple parts of their picture, which is an important cognitive skill.
Children with short attention spans sometimes struggle with drawing pictures. Prompting them to draw a story can be a fun way to lengthen the time they spend drawing.
Encourage fine motor development by giving your child broken crayons. It’s a great way to promote a better hand grip, without the need to manipulate your child’s hand. Hand over hand support is intrusive and it doesn’t allow your children to develop the motor planning needed to get their hands in the positions they need to be.
Following an obstacle course requires gross motor skills, cognitive skills, and attention skills!
3. Obstacle Course
Encourage healthy gross motor development by making fun obstacle courses for your child! You can use anything you have on hand to create it. The basics are to add a few simple tasks together! I like to come up with 3 age appropriate tasks that I know my child can do by themselves. You shouldn’t be tricking your child. You want them to succeed. You can remind them as they go!
Following an obstacle course requires gross motor skills, cognitive skills, and attention skills! Your child may need varying levels of support to complete an obstacle course.
4. Car Wash
This simple and fun activity will keep your preschooler entertained for a long time! And the best thing about this activity is you can use whatever you have on hand. No cars? No problem! Use animal figurines, bath toys or anything else that can go in the water!
If your child has sensitive skin, then use their bath soap in the water. If you have a LOT of bubbles, you can even set up a rinsing bin in the sink as well.
This activity is great for fine motor skills and exposure to daily living routines. This is the precursor for washing dishes and self care! So, you can feel great knowing you’re starting the foundational skills your child will need as they grow.
5. Sticker Letters
This activity is perfect for giving children exposure to letter identification without the added pressure of worksheets or quizzing them (which I am against anyways!). Peeling stickers and putting them on the line requires a ton of attention and helps build fine motor skills!
You can use any stickers for this activity. I prefer to use dot stickers, but I also have a large stash of various fun stickers!
Sticker Tip: To make it easier for your children to peel the stickers, carefully peel off the paper surrounding the stickers. You can let them figure it out from there, OR you can also teach them how to peel a sticker by folding the paper close to the sticker edge.
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