Monday, October 18, 2010

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!

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