Are you ready to explore the fun-filled world of preschool activities? Preschool is a time for exploration, play, and learning new things every day.
Whether it’s painting with fingers, building towers, or singing songs, every day is an adventure! Engage little ones with cutting and pasting activities, spark creativity with collage activities, and develop coordination with music and movement activities.
These activities are not only enjoyable but also help kids develop important skills like sharing, problem-solving, and creativity. Grab your crayons and let’s dive into a world where every day is a chance to grow and discover!
Amazing Preschool Activities for Kids
Pom Pom Art Activity
The “Pom Pom Art Activity” is a colorful project that allows kids to express their creativity while having fun. This activity involves using vibrant pom poms to create a unique piece of art. It’s perfect for children who enjoy hands-on activities and making something beautiful.
Materials: Colorful pom poms, glue, and construction paper. You will also need scissors and a small paper cup.
How to Do:
- Choose a piece of construction paper as the base.
- Cut a small paper cup in half and glue it to the bottom of the basket.
- Apply glue above the basket in a balloon shape.
- Stick colorful pom poms onto the glue to form the balloon.
Shadow Matching Activity
The “Shadow Matching Activity” is an educational exercise that helps children develop their visual perception and cognitive skills. By matching objects to their shadows, kids learn about shapes and improve their ability to recognize patterns.
Materials: A shadow matching worksheet or simply use our printable for same, a pencil, and an eraser.
How to Do:
- Give your child our worksheet.
- Connect each object to its shadow.
- Let your child draw lines to match objects with shadows.
Coloring Page Activity
The “Coloring Page Activity” is a relaxing way for children to explore their creativity. Coloring helps kids improve their fine motor skills and encourages them to express their artistic abilities. This activity is perfect for a quiet, imaginative time.
Materials: A coloring page with a giraffe image and colored pencils or crayons.
How to Do:
- Give your child a giraffe coloring page.
- Encourage them to choose different pencils or crayons and start coloring.
- Admire and display their completed artwork.
Paper Plate Fish Activity
The “Paper Plate Fish Activity” is a creative project that lets kids turn simple paper plates into colorful fish. This activity encourages imaginative play and helps children develop their fine motor skills. It’s a wonderful craft for a rainy day or as part of an ocean-themed lesson.
Materials: Paper plates, paints, brushes, and scissors. Additionally, we used glue and a plastic spoon.
How to Do:
- Give your child a paper plate to paint in their favorite colors.
- While the paint dries, help them cut out fins, tails, and eyes from colored paper and plastic spoons.
- After the paint dries, assist them in gluing the fins, tails, and eyes onto the plate to make the fish.
- Let the glue dry completely, and then your child can display their colorful paper plate fish.
Counting Activity
The “Counting Activity” is a simple exercise that helps young children develop their counting and number recognition skills. By counting and writing the numbers, kids can enhance their mathematical abilities while having fun.
Materials: Counting worksheet..for that use our printable, alongside a pencil and an eraser.
How to Do:
- Give your child our worksheet and a pencil.
- Explain the need to count each type of image in the rows.
- Encourage them to count carefully and write the numbers in the boxes.
Puzzle Play Activity
The “Puzzle Play Activity” is an educational way for kids to develop their problem-solving and fine motor skills. By assembling the pieces of the puzzle, children learn about shapes, colors, and patterns while having a great time.
Materials: Puzzle pieces, scissors, and glue.
How to Do:
- Give your child puzzle pieces and explain the task.
- Encourage them to match and assemble the pieces.
- Guide them to identify shapes, colors, and patterns.
- Supervise if they need to cut out pieces with scissors.
DIY Pinball Game
The “DIY Pinball Game” is a fantastic activity that combines creativity and engineering. Kids can build their own pinball game using simple materials and then have hours of fun playing with their creations. This activity helps develop problem-solving skills and hand-eye coordination.
Materials: A cardboard box or shoebox, scissors, glue, markers or paint, and a small ball.
How to Do:
- Cut the cardboard box to form the base and walls of the pinball game.
- Create ramps, bumpers, and obstacles inside using additional cardboard pieces, also glued in place.
- Decorate the game with markers or paint for added excitement.
- Launch the ball and aim to score points by landing in various sections.
Cut And Paste Activity
The “Cut and Paste Activity” is a fun exercise that helps children develop their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and understanding of shapes. By cutting out and pasting the correct shapes into the corresponding boxes, kids can enjoy a hands-on learning experience.
Materials: Child-safe scissors and glue for the cut and paste worksheet.
How to Do:
- Provide your child with a cut and paste worksheet and child-safe scissors.
- Instruct them to carefully cut along the dotted lines to separate the shapes.
- Encourage your child to match each shape with its corresponding box on the worksheet.
- Allow your child to work at their own pace, ensuring the shapes are placed correctly.
Bingo Cards Activity
The “Bingo Cards Activity” is an entertaining game that helps children learn about different shapes while having fun. This activity promotes shape recognition, hand-eye coordination, and social interaction as kids play bingo with their friends or family.
Materials: Various shapes and shape markers, along with scissors.
How to Do:
- Give each child a bingo card with different shapes.
- Explain the goal of matching shape markers to their bingo card.
- Supervise children using scissors to cut out shape markers safely.
- Call out shapes one by one for players to place markers.
- The first to complete a row, column, or diagonal shouts “Bingo!” and wins.
Boat Craft
The “Boat Craft” activity is a creative project that allows children to make their own boats using simple materials. This activity promotes creativity, fine motor skills, and an understanding of basic shapes and colors. It’s perfect for a nautical-themed craft day.
Materials: Paper plates, paints and brushes, colored paper, scissors, glue, and markers.
How to Do:
- Give your child a paper plate to paint.
- Help cut out sails, flags, and parts from colored paper while the paint dries.
- Glue the sails, flags, and parts onto the painted plate.
- Use markers to add details like windows.
Missing Letters Activity
The “Missing Letters Activity” is a fun exercise that helps children learn and practice the alphabet. By identifying and filling in the missing letters, kids can enhance their letter recognition and sequencing skills in an enjoyable way.
Materials: Missing letters worksheet or printout our printable, a pencil, and an eraser.
How to Do:
- Give your child our printable and a pencil.
- Explain they need to identify and fill in the missing letters.
- Encourage them to look at each sequence and find the missing letters.
- Let them write the missing letters in the circles provided.
Tracing Activity
The “Tracing Activity” is a wonderful exercise that helps children develop their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. By tracing the dotted lines, kids can improve their pencil control and prepare for writing. This activity also allows them to express their creativity through coloring.
Materials: A tracing worksheet with a butterfly image and colored pencils or crayons.
How to Do:
- Give your child the tracing worksheet and a pencil or crayon.
- Explain they need to trace over the dotted lines to complete the butterfly drawing.
- Encourage careful tracing, staying on the lines.
- Let your child color in the butterfly with colored pencils or crayons.
Dinosaur Craft
The “Dinosaur Craft” activity is an creative project that allows children to make their own colorful dinosaurs. This activity helps develop fine motor skills, creativity, and provides a fun way to learn about these fascinating creatures.
Materials: A dinosaur printout, colored pencils or crayons, scissors, paints, brushes, and clothespins.
How to Do:
- Give your child a dinosaur printout.
- Let them color the dinosaur with pencils or crayons.
- Help your child cut out the dinosaur.
- Paint the end of a clothespin to match the dinosaur.
- Attach the clothespin to the dinosaur as spikes.
Big & Small Activity
The “Big & Small Activity” is an engaging exercise that helps children understand the concepts of size comparison. By identifying and circling the big or small objects, kids can improve their visual perception and categorization skills.
Materials: “Big & Small” worksheet, a pencil, and an eraser.
How to Do:
- Give your child the Big & Small worksheet and a pencil or crayon.
- Explain that they should find the big and small objects in each row.
- Let your child carefully observe each pair and circle the correct object.
Cow Cuddling Activity
The “Cow Cuddling Activity” is a heartwarming experience that allows children to interact closely with cows. This activity helps kids develop empathy, relaxation, and a deeper connection with animals. It’s a perfect way to spend time outdoors and enjoy the calming presence of these gentle creatures.
Materials: A safe environment with cows and comfortable clothing, supervised by an adult.
How to Do:
- Ensure the environment around the cows is safe and calm.
- Dress your child in comfortable outdoor clothing.
- Supervise your child as they approach the cow gently.
- Guide your child on safe ways to pet and cuddle the cow.
- Allow your child to interact peacefully with the cow while supervising closely.
Candy Stick Butterflies Activity
The “Candy Stick Butterflies Activity” is a creative craft that lets children transform simple materials into beautiful butterflies. This activity helps develop fine motor skills, creativity, and provides a fun way to learn about these lovely insects.
Materials: Popsicle sticks, colored paper or foam sheets, scissors, glue, markers, googly eyes, and pipe cleaners.
How to Do:
- Give your child a candy stick to paint or color.
- Help them cut butterfly wings from colored paper.
- When dry, glue wings to the stick.
- Add googly eyes for the face.
- Attach pipe cleaners as antennae.
Caterpillar Craft Fun Activity
The “Caterpillar Craft Fun Activity” is a creative project that allows children to make colorful caterpillars using simple materials. This activity helps develop fine motor skills, creativity, and provides a fun way to learn about these interesting insects.
Materials: Colored paper, scissors, glue, markers, googly eyes, and wooden sticks or straws.
How to Do:
- Help your child cut small circles from colored paper or foam.
- Arrange circles in a line to form a caterpillar’s body; glue them together.
- Cut a larger circle for the head; glue it to the front of the body.
- Add googly eyes or draw eyes and a smiley face.
- Attach a wooden stick or straw to the back as a handle, if desired.
Crumbling Art Activity
The “Crumbling Art Activity” is a fun project that allows children to create textured artwork by crumbling and gluing pieces of paper. This activity helps develop fine motor skills, creativity, and provides a sensory experience as kids work with different textures.
Materials: A printed or drawn picture outline (like a lion), construction paper, glue, and crayons.
How to Do:
- Provide your child with a printed or drawn picture outline, like a lion.
- Let your child crumple the construction paper.
- Apply glue to the picture where texture is desired.
- Help your child press the crumpled paper onto the glued areas.
- Once the paper is glued, let your child color the lion with crayons.
Paper Craft Activity
The “Paper Craft Activity” is a lovely project that lets children create fun animal figures using simple paper. This activity encourages creativity, fine motor skills, and provides a fun way to learn about different animals.
Materials: Colored paper, scissors, glue, and markers.
How to Do:
- Provide colored or construction paper. Let your child choose colors.
- Help cut paper into cone shapes for bodies. Roll and glue edges.
- Cut heads, ears, and features from paper.
- Assist in gluing heads and features onto cones. Add details with markers.
Button Graph Activity
The “Button Graph Activity” is a fun exercise that helps children learn about graphing and sorting. By using colorful buttons, kids can improve their counting, sorting, and fine motor skills while understanding how to create and read simple graphs.
Materials: Colorful buttons and a graphing worksheet.
How to Do:
- Give your child a graphing worksheet and colorful buttons. Explain they’ll sort buttons by color and make a graph.
- Guide sorting buttons by color into groups.
- Help place sorted buttons into columns on the worksheet for each color.
- Count the buttons in each column and write the numbers at the top.
Make a Turtle Activity
The “Make a Turtle Activity” is a creative project that lets children craft their own turtle using simple materials. This activity encourages fine motor skills and creativity.
Materials: A paper bowl, yellow paint, a paintbrush, green construction paper, scissors, glue, markers, and green paper strips.
How to Do:
- Paint the bowl yellow for the turtle’s shell and let it dry.
- Cut flippers, a head, and a tail from green construction paper.
- Glue the flippers, head, and tail to the underside of the bowl.
- Use markers to draw the turtle’s face and shell details.
- Roll green paper strips into coils and glue them onto the shell for texture.
Learning Preposition Activity
The “Learning Preposition Activity” is an engaging way to help children understand and practice prepositions through hands-on play.
Materials: Small cups, pom-poms, index cards, and a marker.
How to Do:
- Draw diagrams on index cards for prepositions (e.g., on, under, next to).
- Arrange small cups with objects nearby.
- Show a card to your child and explain the preposition.
- Ask your child to place the object as shown (e.g., on the cup, under the cup).
Mode of Transport Activity
The “Mode of Transport Activity” helps kids learn about different ways people and goods move, using fun drawings or pictures.
Materials: Drawing paper, markers, crayons, scissors, glue, and pictures of transport.
How to Do:
- Explain they will create scenes of air, land, and water transport.
- Let them draw or use printed pictures of transport modes.
- Draw or glue airplanes and helicopters in the air section, cars and buses in the land section, and boats and ships in the water section.
- Add details like clouds, trees, and waves.
Emotions Activity
The “Emotions Activity” helps children recognize and understand different emotions through a fun and interactive craft.
Materials: Tissue paper, markers, scissors, paint, water, paint dropper, and small bowls.
How to Do:
- Give your child tissue paper.
- Draw and cut circles for faces.
- Help them draw various expressions (happy, sad, angry, etc.).
- Let them use a paint dropper to apply paint to the tissue.
Logical Thinking Activity
The “Logical Thinking Activity” helps children develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills by creating and following patterns.
Materials: Pattern cards, popsicle sticks, bottle caps, and glue.
How to Do:
- Show pattern cards with popsicle stick arrangements to your child.
- Give popsicle sticks and bottle caps for them to copy the patterns.
- Guide your child to place sticks and caps on a board to match the patterns.
Clipping Activity
The “Clipping Activity” is a fun way for children to develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination by using clothespins to complete pictures.
Materials: Printed animal pictures and colored markers or crayons, along with clothespins.
How to Do:
- Give your child animal pictures and clothespins.
- Allow them to color the pictures with markers or crayons.
- Demonstrate clipping clothespins onto the pictures (e.g., adding spikes to a hedgehog, legs to a starfish).
Puzzle Car Activity
The “Puzzle Car Activity” is a fun way for children to develop their problem-solving and fine motor skills by assembling puzzle pieces to complete a car picture.
Materials: A car puzzle template, colored markers or crayons, and scissors.
How to Do:
- Give your child the car puzzle template to color with markers or crayons.
- Assist your child in cutting out the puzzle pieces along the lines.
- Encourage them to match and assemble the pieces to finish the car picture.
Play with Slime Activity
The “Play with Slime Activity” is a fun experience that lets children explore textures and colors while enhancing their creativity and fine motor skills.
Materials: Colorful slime and a tray.
How to Do:
- Give your child various colors of slime in small jars or containers.
- Prepare a tray for them to play with the slime.
- Encourage your child to create letters, shapes, or imaginative designs with the slime.
Lacing Cards Activity
The “Lacing Cards Activity” is an excellent way for children to develop their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. This activity involves threading a string through holes in cards, creating various shapes and patterns.
Materials: Colored cardstock, yarn, and straw.
How to Do:
- Cut cardstock into squares, circles, and triangles.
- Stick small pieces of straw onto the cardstock.
- Let your child thread yarn through the straws.
Tissue Paper Craft
The “Tissue Paper Craft” is a colorful activity where children use tissue paper to decorate shapes, fostering their fine motor skills and creativity.
Materials: Tissue paper, construction paper, glue, and scissors.
How to Do:
- Cut shapes from cardstock like hearts.
- Tear or cut tissue paper into small pieces.
- Apply glue to the shapes.
- Let your child stick tissue paper onto the shapes to cover them completely.
Make a Paper Fan
The “Make a Paper Fan” activity is a simple craft project that allows children to create their own decorative fans. This activity helps develop fine motor skills and creativity.
Materials: Construction paper, scissors, glue, and string.
How to Do:
- Start with a square sheet of paper.
- Fold it in half.
- Fold one side in by half an inch.
- Accordion-fold the entire length of the sheet.
- Ensure the first and last folds face the same direction, especially for single-sided paper.
- Tie a string around the middle tightly with a double knot.
- Fan out each side of the string and glue the edges together.
Pipe Cleanser Bracelet Activity
The “Pipe Cleaner Bracelet Activity” is a fun project that allows children to make their own colorful bracelets using pipe cleaners and beads. This activity helps develop fine motor skills and encourages creativity.
Materials: Pipe cleaners, assorted beads, and scissors.
How to Do:
- Give your child colored pipe cleaners and beads.
- Teach them to thread beads onto pipe cleaners to make patterns.
- Twist ends of pipe cleaner to form a bracelet; trim excess.
- Your child can wear their bracelets or give them as gifts.
Shapes Matching Activity
The “Shapes Matching Activity” is an educational activity that helps children recognize and match different shapes. This activity enhances cognitive skills and shape recognition.
Materials: Colored paper, scissors, and glue.
How to Do:
- Cut shapes (circles, squares, triangles, hearts) from colored paper.
- Glue shapes onto small cardstock pieces to make matching cards.
- Give your child the shape cutouts and matching cards.
- Have your child match shapes to the correct cards to practice shapes and colors.
Community Helper Hat Craft
The “Community Helper Hat Craft” is a fun activity where children can create hats representing different community helpers. This craft helps kids learn about various community roles while enhancing their creativity.
Materials: Colored paper, scissors, glue, markers, and crayons.
How to Do:
- Give colored paper to your child. Have them cut out hat shapes for community helpers (firefighter, nurse, police officer, construction worker).
- Let them color and decorate the hats with markers or crayons.
- Cut long paper strips for headbands.
- Glue or tape the hats onto the headbands.
- Adjust headbands to fit your child’s head. Secure ends with glue or tape.
Handprint Craft
The “Handprint Craft” is a creative activity where children use their handprints to make fun and unique art pieces. This activity is perfect for enhancing fine motor skills and creating lasting memories.
Materials: Colored paper, markers, scissors, glue, and popsicle sticks.
How to Do:
- Trace your child’s hand on colored paper or cardstock.
- Let your child decorate the handprints with markers or crayons.
- Cut out the handprints.
- Glue popsicle sticks to the bottom of the handprints for handles.
Salt Painting
The “Salt Painting Activity” is a creative project that combines glue, salt, and watercolors to make beautiful, textured paintings. This activity is perfect for children to explore their artistic skills and sensory experiences.
Materials: White paper, glue, table salt, and watercolor paints. You will also need paintbrushes.
How to Do:
- Draw a design on white paper.
- Apply glue over the design.
- Sprinkle table salt to cover the wet glue.
- Shake off excess salt and let the glue dry completely.
- Brush watercolor paints over the salted design.
Cupcake Craft
The “Cupcake Craft” activity is a colorful art project that lets kids create their own adorable paper cupcakes. This fun and simple craft encourages creativity and fine motor skills.
Materials: Colored construction paper, scissors, glue sticks, and markers or crayons.
How to Do:
- Cut cupcake shapes from colored construction paper, one base, and one top for frosting.
- Decorate the cupcake base and frosting with markers or crayons.
- Glue the frosting piece onto the cupcake base.
- Add stickers, sequins, or glitter for decoration and uniqueness.
Make the Bee Activity
The “Make the Bee” activity is a buzzing fun craft that lets kids create their own cute bees using simple materials. This engaging activity helps develop fine motor skills and creativity while learning about bees.
Materials: Yellow and black construction paper, googly eyes, glue stick, scissors, and a black marker.
How to Do:
- Cut a large yellow circle for the bee’s body and smaller black circles for the head and stripes.
- Glue the black stripes onto the yellow circle. Attach the smaller circle on top for the head.
- Add googly eyes to the head and draw a smile and details with a black marker.
- Cut yellow paper wings and glue them onto the bee’s back.
Watering Plants Activity
Teaching kids to water plants is a wonderful way to instill a sense of responsibility and appreciation for nature. This activity is simple and provides an opportunity for children to learn about the importance of taking care of plants.
Materials: Water, a watering can or spray bottle, and plants or a garden area.
How to Do:
- Fill watering can or spray bottle with water, ensuring it’s light for the child.
- Demonstrate gentle watering at the plant base, avoiding leaves.
- Guide child to water each plant, ensuring roots get enough water without flooding.
Dancing Activity
Dancing is a fantastic way for kids to stay active, express themselves, and have fun. This activity is perfect for getting their energy out and improving their coordination and rhythm.
Materials: A music player and an open space for dancing.
How to Do:
- Choose fun songs your child enjoys. Use a music player in a spacious area.
- Encourage free dancing. Let them create their moves or follow basic steps.
- Join and dance together. Show how to follow the rhythm and try new moves.
- Take breaks and change songs for energy and excitement.
Build a Sandcastle Activity
Building sandcastles is a classic beach activity that sparks creativity and provides endless fun. It’s a wonderful way for kids to explore their imagination and improve their motor skills.
Materials: Sand, a bucket, a shovel, and water.
How to Do:
- Choose a spot with moist sand on the beach.
- Dig and collect wet sand with a shovel into a bucket, packing it down.
- Flip the bucket over and tap gently to release sand for the base. Repeat for towers and walls.
- Carve details with shovel or hands, adding doors, windows, and decorations to finish your sandcastle.
Playdough Activity
Playing with playdough is a creative way for kids to develop their fine motor skills and imagination. This activity is easy to set up and provides endless possibilities for imaginative play.
Materials: Playdough in various colors along with rolling pins and shape cutters.
How to Do:
- Set up a clean, flat surface. Spread out playdough in different colors.
- Demonstrate rolling playdough with rolling pins to flatten. Let them try different thicknesses.
- Use shape cutters to create animals, letters, or other shapes from flattened playdough.
Conclusion
In conclusion, activities for preschoolers should focus on fostering creativity, social skills, and basic motor development. Including a mix of play, art, storytelling, and simple educational tasks keeps them engaged and aids their growth.
Your feedback ensures these activities meet their developmental needs and interests.
I’m a former teacher (and mother of Two Childs) with a background in child development. Here to help you with play-based learning activities for kids. ( Check my Next startup Cledemy.Com)