Things to do with preschoolers

 A while back I posted things to do with toddlers and two's... so here is another edition! (or addition... ;-D)
I know I always need activities to keep my 4 year old Mallory busy, and it is really nice to be able to pull out something fun and wonderful, as well as educational and entertaining at the same time! I;'ve gotten ideas from lots of places for this post. Some of these things I used to do when I was a preschool teacher ages ago. It was such a FUN job! Now I have my own kids and find myself needing to dig back in the depths of my memory for some of these things! I've gotten ideas from a few homeschool moms that have written books and articles, and from some magazines I subscribe to. So whether you homeschool or not, these are some great things to keep those little hands and minds busy! (And maybe the mouth! :-D)

Items to keep on hand for preschoolers:

        *Workbooks

Coloring pages and colored pencils

*Wooden puzzles

*Matching games

*Board books

Lacing boards (yarn goes through numbered holes to create a picture)

Flash cards

*Stickers (lots of stickers!)

*Blocks-small, cardboard, foam, wooden abc

Pipe cleaners and beads, pasta, etc... 

Pizza tray with magnets 

Sandpaper with crayons 

Sticky foam shapes

Nuts and bolts (especially for those little boys)

Hole punch w/paper

        Plastic canvas and yarn

Create a “Pretend Box”

Musical Instruments 

Kitchen Instruments (pots, pans, spoons, etc.)

Dress Up

        Hand and finger puppets 

Legos w/people and animals

Create an Outdoor Activity box:

Rice, pasta, beans, water, or sand play 

Sidewalk chalk 

Things to sort: bears, crayons, candy 

Stacking buckets

Block puzzles

        *Dry erase/chalkboard/magnetic board –tabletop 

Magnifying glass 

Plastic insect container 

Paper and pencil for drawing

Create an art box:

 Apron

 Easel/lapboard

Paint, paintbrushes

Crayons, colored pencils, etc.

*Coloring books and plain paper

Finger paint and paper

*Glue or glue sticks

*Construction paper (and plain typing)

*Scissors

Random counting/creating supplies: pop- sicle/stirring sticks, straws, pasta, etc.

Paint-finger, water color, tempera, dot, paint pens

*Play dough, clay 

Cotton balls, pom-poms, and tweezers

DVD/Video/Music box:

Favorite movies 

Educational tapes 

Audio books 

Library books

Switch these out weekly to keep them fresh!

MORE IDEAS:

Use tweezers with any small button, cotton balls, etc.,

Tray with spoon and styrofoam or sponge pieces

Eye dropper with water dish

Tongs with plastic balls

Spoon with miscellaneous pieces

spoon with letters

sort nuts into baskets (with shells on)

Sort bowl of buttons, marbles (be careful with little ones around- don't want to choke!)

Tongs with plastic worms

assorted spice containers with lids- open, fill, close, shake, etc,.

Poker chips into can

Ladle with misc. pieces

*Chalkboard with eraser

Rubber stamps

*These are things I use often and have found to be invaluable!

I've also got a buch of boxes I can pull out and use easily. They have different thigns to pour and scoop in them. It can be hard to keep them contained to the box, so keep them in the kitchen under supervision. In my plastic bins with lids there are: playdough and different rolling/ cutting items, bubbles and blowers, beans and different scoops/ spoons, (you could also do rice) and cotton balls with scoops/ spoons. 

You can find lots of great coloring pages on the internet under nearly any topic. If you want some Biblical ones, here is the best website: http://children.calvarychapel.com/site/curriculum.htm

Just click on the topic in blue toward the left and you'll get coloring and activity pages for a variety of Bible topics. I use that site every week!

Another book I use is called:

You can find it on Amazon.com for under $10 or so. Hope this helps you find something new to keep your little kiddos busy!