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75 Awesome Preschool Activities

When planning learning activities for preschoolers, it isn’t one size fits all! Preschool teachers and parents like yourself need to have preschool activities for lesson plans that are easy for young students to understand, many who are not yet reading, and are FUN! Here are some simple and playful preschool activities your preschoolers will love!

How To Make Preschool Fun

Your time is limited, so your preschool activities for the school year and beyond must be easy to set up and provide valuable learning experiences for the youngest students.

Create a lifelong love of learning with these simple preschool learning activities! We have made it easy for you and divided the activities into STEM, including science and math, art, and literacy. Plus, you’ll find plenty of sensory-rich experiences.

Making preschool fun for kids involves engaging their curiosity, creativity, and natural desire to learn through play and exploration. Here are some easy tips to make preschool a delightful and enjoyable experience for young children:

1. Create a Colorful Environment

Use bright and cheerful colors in the classroom. Decorate walls with educational posters, art, and children’s work to create an inviting atmosphere. Colorful preschool art is fun to display!

2. Hands-On Activities

Incorporate hands-on activities like painting, crafting, building with blocks, playing with playdough, simple science activities or engineering projects, and sensory bins. These activities stimulate creativity and fine motor skills.

4. Thematic Learning

Plan lessons around fun themes like animals, seasons, outer space, or community helpers. This approach keeps children engaged and excited about learning.

5. Read Books

Regularly read aloud to kids. Use expressive voices and props to bring stories to life. Add books to different thematic units. Check out these preschool book activities.

6. Outdoor Play

Outdoor playtime is essential. Set up a safe and stimulating outdoor play area where children can run, jump, and explore nature. This helps develop gross motor skills and a connection to the environment. See our fun exercises for preschoolers.

What Is Playful Learning?

We have found many fun ways for kids to play and learn together! Playful learning is about creating joy, wonder, and curiosity. Developing this sense of joy and wonder starts at a young age, and adults are a big part of that.

Set up invitations to discover and explore!

• This fosters a huge sense of success in young learners when they make a new discovery. Undoubtedly, they will want to show it to you repeatedly.
• Many early foundations in literacy, science, and mathematics can be achieved through play instead of worksheets.
• Learning activities improve social skills and aid language development.

Set up preschool Science Centers for different themes and let the kids explore a new theme every 1-2 weeks! We have printable packs to help you get started.

Kids love to share what they are doing with you. If you listen and ask questions, they will too! If you encourage them to think about an idea, you will be amazed at what they can develop.

Questions you can ask…

• What do you think will happen if…
• What is happening…
• What do you see, hear, smell, feel…
• What else can we test or explore?

75 Hands-on Preschool Activities

Never run out of ideas for fun preschool activities at home or in the classroom. What do preschoolers learn? They learn about the world around them!

Sensory Bins

Sensory bins are a popular choice for sensory play in preschool! You can easily pair them with different themes or books to create a sensory-rich learning experience. Try one of these sensory bin ideas or create your own!

You can learn how to assemble a sensory bin, the best sensory bin fillers, including non-food fillers, and how to clean up the mess with our How to Sensory Bin Guide.

• Pumpkin Sensory Bin
• Apple Sensory Bin
• Tropical Summer Sensory Bin
• Dinosaur Sensory Bin
• Butterfly Sensory Bin
• Ocean Sensory Bin
• Dr Seuss Sensory Bin
• Spring Sensory Bin
• Garden Sensory Bin
• Rainbow Sensory Bin
• Space Sensory Bin
• Winter Sensory Bin

Sensory Activities

Besides sensory bins, kids can also explore a variety of tactile play materials and sensory play recipes that are on the messier side!

• Rainbow Spaghetti
• Kinetic Sand
• Cloud Dough

Playdough Activities

Engage your preschoolers in learning with our free printable playdough mats you can download! From weather, rainbows, flowers, bugs, and more, playdough mats are an excellent activity for improving fine motor skills, language development, as well as awesome sensory play for young kids.

Make up a batch of our favorite no cook playdough , or try one of these fun playdough recipes ! Kool-aid playdough, Jello playdough, fairy dough, super soft dough and more. Then pair it with one of these playdough mats below!

• Bug Playdough Mat
• Shape Playdough Mat
• Rainbow Playdough Mat
• Recycling Playdough Mat
• In the Garden Playdough Mats
• Weather Playdough Mats
• Flower Playdough Mat

Science Activities

We love playful hands-on science activities around here. Preschool science offers room for play and exploration without adult-led directions. Kids will naturally start to pick up the simple science concepts presented just by having fun conversations with you!

Below is a list of fantastic preschool activities and themes introducing chemistry, physics, earth science, and biology!

• Explore Shadows and Light
• Friction and Forces
• Bridge Building and Community Helpers
• Nature Exploration
• All About Me Collage
• 5 Senses Sensory Station
• 5 Senses What’s Inside Game
• 5 Senses Taste Test
• Baking Soda Science
• Seeds and Plants
• Weather Fun
• Sink or Float
• Dinosaur Fossils
• Is It Magnetic?
• Four Seasons Activities

Math Activities

Preschool math focuses on introducing young children to fundamental mathematical concepts in a playful and hands-on manner. The goal is to build a strong foundation for later mathematical learning by making math engaging, relatable, and fun.

Early math skills start with lots of playful opportunities that don’t have to be extensively planned ahead of time. Check out these simple preschool activity ideas using everyday items.

Read more about Preschool Math Concepts and Activities here. Our Preschool “I Can Explore Math” pack is done for you!

• Counting 1-10
• Snap cubes number recognition
• Transportation number mats and game
• Number pattern blocks
• Art with shapes
• Gingerbread I Spy Number Mats

Printable Math Games

Our printable board game pack is a fantastic opportunity to give it a try! Add a single die to the game. When kids roll and count spaces, they are having fun working on counting and one-to-one correspondence (as well as turn-taking).

Try a free Roll a Reptile game to get started (add your own die for math play).

Art Projects

Preschoolers need the freedom to explore and experiment. Art allows children to practice a wide range of skills that are useful not only for life but also for learning.

• Blow Painting with Straws
• Bubble Painting
• Cinnamon Salt Dough
• Corn Painting
• Finger Painting
• Fly Swatter Painting
• Edible Paint
• Handprint Flowers
• Ice Cube Art
• Magnet Painting
• Painting with Marbles
• Rainbow In A Bag
• Salt Painting
• Splatter Painting

Looking for more fun and easy preschool art ideas? Check out our process art activities , famous artists for kids as well as these easy homemade paint recipes .

Printable Preschool STEM Pack

Get ready to explore this year with our growing Preschool STEM Bundle !

What’s Included:

There are 12 fun preschool themes to get you started. This is an ” I can explore” series! This is also a growing bundle. Buy it now and receive all future updates!

Includes: Math, science, shapes, 5 senses, all about me, fall, apples, pumpkins, farm, winter, and more!

Each unit contains approximately 15 activities, with instructions and templates  as needed. Hands-on activities are provided to keep it fun and exciting. This includes sensory bins, experiments, games, and more! Easy supplies keep it low cost, and book suggestions add to the learning time. 

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PreKinders Preschool Activities

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Free early learning worksheets.

Use these worksheets to learn about  letters, sounds, words, numbers, colors, shapes and other early learning topics related to reading, writing and counting.

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Short stories with comprehension exercises.

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Identifying and drawing the basic shapes.

Recognizing basic colors.

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Recognizing numbers, comparing numbers and counting.

Learning simple math concepts including addition and subtraction.

Plants, animals, weather, energy, the environment and more.

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Improving self-awareness, social skills and self-control.

Basic concepts such as "before/after", "above/below", etc.

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Hands-on learning through play and imagination

April 8, 2020 by Where Imagination Grows

Free Preschool Printables for Learning at Home

Need FREE preschool printables for learning at home or in the classroom? 

We all have those days when we are out of ideas and patience. If you are looking for easy no-prep activities then this post is for you!

Below you will find some of our favorite printables to do with preschoolers. Learning activities that teach preschoolers about colors, numbers, and the alphabet. Low prep worksheets and hands-on activities you can print and do right away. 

These preschool printables for learning at home are all 100% free! No Teachers Pay Teachers or Paypal accounts needed! Just print these free preschool printables start learning at home. 

Just click the title of each printable to be taken to the free download! 

Pre-Writing Practice with Letter A – A great printable that helps younger preschoolers with letter formation and pre-writing skills. Strengthens fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination needed for future writing. Great for toddlers too! 

Free Printable Sight Words Game from Brain Power Boy – Download, print, and play! Teach kids to recognize sight words though play. 

LEGO Letter Building Activity from Little Bins for Little Hands – Printable alphabet pages that you can pair with LEGO for hands-on preschool learning! A simple way to learn letter recognition and practice forming letters. 

Editable Secret Code Words Game from Fun Learning for Kids – Let preschoolers solve the secret code and discover what sight word is hiding! This free printable is editable so you can change up the words as your kids continue to learn. 

I Can Write My Name [Editable] from Mrs. Jones Creation Station – This is a perfect free preschool printable to do at home with kids! Help young children learn to write their names with the creative but simple printable! 

Uppercase Handwriting Practice from Wildflower Ramblings – An uppercase ABC practice sheet for kids. Preschoolers can practice tracing and writing uppercase letters at home with this free printable. 

Letter Recognition Practice with Rocks – Use rocks from your backyard to build and learn about letters. A simple activity that you can do at home but offers lots of learning. You can even 

Dinosaur-Themed Learning Pack from 123Homeschool4Me – Learn math, literacy, fine motor skills and much more with this dinosaur printable pack for preschoolers. This set has over 20 printables that require no prep! Just print and go. 

Transportation-Themed Alphabet Mats from The Choas and the Clutter – Alphabet playdough mats are such a great way for kids to learn through play. They can explore the shapes and formation of each letter. This transportation pack lets kids learn about letter sounds and different modes of transportation too! 

Backyard/Garden Scavenger Hunt from Crafts on Sea – Get kids outside with these two fun scavenger hunt printables. I love these because they have real things you can find in your backyard no matter where you live. I also really like the bonus hunt questions, the focus on things you can discover with your senses!  

Flower Counting Booklet from Fun-a-Day – This adorable little printable book will be a hit with your preschoolers! This booklet helps emergent readers with reading skills while teaching colors and numbers as well! definitely worth a download! Perfect for spring! 

More or Less? Math Game with Blocks – Learn and play with blocks and a free printable sheet. This easy learning activity helps preschoolers with counting, number sense, and even beginning addition! 

Number Formation Cards from Stay at Home Educator – These number cards are a hands-on way to get kids learning to write numbers. They are a perfect addition to your preschool writing center or maybe try them with playdough? There are several ways to use these! 

Color Words Coloring Sheet from Kindergarten Connection – Learn color words with this printable for preschoolers. A great way for preschoolers to start recognizing colors and color words. 

Printable Weather Chart from  A Little Pinch of Perfect – Download and print this fun weather chart for kids. Kids learn weather terminology, graphing, scientific observations, and more! 

Apple Counting Mats from Fantastic Fun and Learning – These mats are full of number learning for preschoolers! Use them with playdough, beads, and more! 

Here are more fun activities for preschoolers. Just click the image to learn more about each activity:

Looking for more crafts and activities? Check out our  index for 100+ plus kids activities ! Find activities by theme, materials, skills, age and much more!

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56 Preschool Activities and Games for Learning and Fun

Simple and budget-friendly!

Preschoolers are all energy and curiosity, which is perfect because preschool is all about learning through movement and play. Here are our favorite preschool activities and games that will keep your preschoolers busy, engaged, and learning.

Preschool Activities for Reading

Reading in preschool is about exploring language, letters, and, eventually, words. Create opportunity for young readers and writers to explore on their own, as well as with you, every day.

(Just a heads up, WeAreTeachers may collect a share of sales from the links on this page. We only recommend items our team loves!)

1. Read aloud every day

Read-alouds are perfect preschool activities you should do daily. Try reading aloud with the whole group, small groups, and one-on-one. Reading boosts students’ language and prepares them to learn to read and love it. Some of the best picture books were written with preschoolers in mind, including classics like The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats and Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson, and modern favorites like Everybody in the Red Brick Building by Anne Wynter and Boxitects by Kim Smith.

Here are our favorite books to read with preschoolers.

2. Create a letter parking lot

Create a parking lot with capital letters and write lowercase letters on cars. Students drive the cars to park so that the lowercase and capital letters match.

Learn more: ABC Parking Lot/Pre-K Pages

3. Make a book

Preschoolers will love to read books they write and illustrate. Start on the first day of school by having them make a book all about themselves. Then, record what they learn about anything and everything. At the end of the year, send the books home with students as a memento.

Learn more: Bookmaking/PreKinders

4. Play kick the cup

Write letters on cups, then have students use a ball to knock the cups over. This combination of gross motor and literacy skills is an activity that students can do during literacy centers or recess.

Learn more: Kick the Cup/Fun Learning for Kids

5. Do interactive writing

Use a writing prompt, which could be a question from a book or a general question that you want students to discuss. Then record students’ responses to create a bulletin board or book. Interactive writing—when you model writing students’ contributions—shows students how writing works and that they can be writers.

Learn more: Early Literacy Activities/Fun-a-Day

6. Play syllable Head and Shoulders

Help students practice breaking words into syllables by saying words and tapping their head, shoulders, knees, and toes for each syllable they hear. So, for the word banana, they would tap their head (ba), shoulders (na), and toes (na).

7. Practice rhyming with blocks

Rhyming is a cornerstone of phonemic awareness, a skill kids need to learn to read. Practice rhyming with activities like:

• Put rhyming words on blocks and have students stack the rhyming words together.
• Write rhyming words on the board or draw pictures of rhyming things on the board. You say one word and students use a fly swatter to swat the rhyming word or picture.
• Put images that rhyme in a row on the floor and have students walk along the row, saying the rhyming words as they go.

Learn more: Rhyming Activities/My Teaching Cupboard

8. Mail pretend letters

Provide students with paper, envelopes, and a mailbox and encourage them to write letters to you, each other, or characters they’ve read about.

Learn more: Mailbox Literacy Activity/No Time for Flash Cards

9. Explore an alphabet sensory bin

Fill a sensory bin with letters—form, magnet, paper—and other sensory items, like beans, beads, rice, or corn and have kids explore.

Learn more: Letter Sensory Bin/No Time for Flash Cards

10. Match magnetic letters

Put paper with letters on it on a cookie tray, then have students match letter magnets to the letters on the paper. When students have mastered matching letters, use paper with pictures on it and they can put the letter magnet of the first sound on each picture.

Buy it: Magnetic Letters at Amazon

Learn more: Magnetic Letter Activities/No Time for Flash Cards

Preschool Activities for Math

Preschoolers cover a lot of ground in math, including number sense, graphing, patterns. These activities give them important work in math foundations and let them work independently as mathematicians.

11. Match shapes and colors with blocks

Using the blocks in your block center, trace shapes onto butcher paper. Have students use blocks to match shapes and colors, and combine blocks into new shapes. Create patterns with the blocks and have students extend the patterns beyond the page.

Learn more: Block Shapes and Colors/Hands On As We Grow

12. Count patterns and numbers with bears

Counting bears are a must for every preschool classroom. Use them to teach for a number of preschool activities that focus on sorting, patterns, and number sense.

• Use counting bears (or any colored counters) to create and extend AB, AAB, and ABC patterns.
• With counting bears and number strips, students count out the number of bears to match the number on each card.
• Have students sort the bears by color, size, or another attribute they see.

Buy it: Bear Counters at Amazon

Get it: Number Strips at Fun Learning for Kids

Learn more: Bear Counter Activity/Teaching Mama

13. Sort pom-poms

Create space to sort by color, and have students sort pom-poms. Start with two colors and work up to six. Students are practicing basic classifying and fine motor skills.

Learn more: Pom-Pom Sorting/Teaching Mama

14. Use counting mats

Use play dough and a counting mat for students to practice making numbers and completing 10-frames. As they get more mature, students can use a marker to trace the number and complete the 10-frame.

Learn more: Free Dough Mats for Counting/Life Over C’s

15. Learn symmetry with LEGO bricks

A LEGO board and a pile of LEGO bricks are a great way to start teaching kids about symmetry. You can start them off with a pattern on one side and have them build the same pattern on the other side. Then have them create their own symmetrical sculptures.

Buy it: LEGO Building Board at Amazon

Learn more: LEGO Symmetry/Fun Learning for Kids

16. Practice geometry with Popsicle sticks

Put out a bin of Popsicle sticks and see what students will make—shapes, patterns, bridges. Point out the lines, angles, and other geometric features that they’re creating.

Learn more: Geometric Shapes/Little Bins for Little Hands

17. Teach numbers with mini eraser 10-frames

Ten-frames teach number sense, and mini erasers are fun. Use your favorite mini erasers or other counters (buttons, pom-poms, little LEGO bricks, Unifix cubes) to teach numbers starting with 0 to 10.

Buy it: Mini Erasers at Amazon

Learn more: Printable Ten-Frames/Fun-a-Day

18. Graph with dinosaurs

Using a graph and markers, students roll the dice 10 times and record which dinosaurs they get on a graph.

Learn more: Dinosaur Graphing Activity/Artsy Momma

Plus, get more graphing activities here .

19. Measure hands and feet

Trace students’ hands and feet, then have them measure them with Unifix cubes. Anything can be a unit of measurement in preschool, as long as it’s standardized. So, add Unifix cubes, Matchbox cars that are the same length, small Duplo blocks, and more to the measuring center.

Learn more: Measuring Activity/Little Bins for Little Hands

20. Compare weights

Provide students with a bucket balance and different things to compare. Which weighs more, dried blueberries or fresh? Corn kernels or sunflower seeds? Toy animals or LEGO bricks?

Buy it: Bucket Balance at Amazon

Learn more: Bucket Balance/Little Bins for Little Hands

Plus, get more math games for preschool here .

Preschool Activities for Social-Emotional Learning

Preschoolers need lots of teaching and support to learn how to make and keep friends, solve problems, and manage the big feelings that come their way.

21. Play friend bingo

Since your preschoolers will come to school likely not knowing anyone, use bingo to help them learn names and routines. Create bingo cards using images from around the school, friends’ faces, and teachers’ faces. Then, play friend bingo by having students put cubes or buttons on the pictures when you name them.

Learn more: Friend Bingo/PreKinders

22. Use your cozy corner

When preschoolers are having big feelings or need a break, a classroom cozy corner is a space to calm down. Once a child is calm, you can talk to them about problem-solving and rejoining the class.

Learn more: Cozy Corner/Preschool Inspirations

23. Toss a get-to-know-you ball

Spend some time getting to know students and helping them learn about each other with a ball toss game. Using a soft ball, throw or roll the ball from student to student. When each child has the ball, they say their name and one favorite thing. Repeat this activity as necessary throughout the year.

Buy it: Soft Soccer Ball at Amazon

24. Make choices with green and red boards

Preschoolers are learning a lot about the impact they have on themselves and others. Reinforce good and bad choices with “red” and “green.” Teach which choices are appropriate and not appropriate for school, then when students have made a red choice, talk them through which green choice they could have done instead.

Learn more: Green and Red Choice Boards/Pocket of Preschool

Preschool Activities for Gross Motor Skills

Use these ideas to help preschoolers develop body awareness, strength, and flexibility, while working on following directions and, of course, having fun.

25. Play with parachutes

Parachute games and activities help preschool students learn how to cooperate and work together. Have students hold on to the parachute and all lift at the same time to create a mushroom. When they stand around the parachute edges and walk in a circle, they can make a merry-go-round. Practice listening by playing fruit salad; give everyone a fruit name (apple, banana, etc.). Then lift the parachute and call out a fruit. The students who are that fruit must run under the parachute to the other side.

Buy it: Parachute at Amazon

Learn more: Parachute Games/Kid Activities

26. Exercise with dice

Roll a number die and a die with an exercise assigned to each side. Have children do the exercise the number of times shown. For indoors, try toe touches, arm flaps, jumping jacks, side-to-side jumps, twists, and star jumps, or choose movements that fit the physical needs of your students.

Learn more: Exercise Dice/Education.com

27. Do body bridge poses

For a fun, core-strengthening, and cooperative task, ask some children to hold poses like hands-and-knees, plank, or Downward Dog while other children drive cars and trucks under the “bridges” those poses create.

Learn more: Body Bridges/The Inspired Tree House

28. Walk on a homemade balance beam

Challenge students to construct homemade balance beams using spare boards. For an indoor option, use large wooden blocks. Can they walk all the way across? Can they go backwards? For students who might find it difficult to balance on a raised surface, use masking tape lines on the carpet or cut pieces of cardboard boxes they can use to make a path.

Learn more: Balance Beams/Hands On As We Grow

29. Cross the river

Arrange floor spots in a line that snakes across your classroom. Invite children to be “ants” who have to cross a “river of hot chocolate” by stepping on “marshmallows.” Have them hold hands in a line and work together to get across. Vary the activity by moving some marshmallows closer or farther apart, so children have to use different tactics.

Buy it: Poly Spots and Adventure, Play, Peace by Nancy MacPhee Bower at Amazon

30. Spend time in Savasana

Yoga is a way for students to slow down, move their body in different ways, and stretch. Use videos like Cosmic Kids Yoga or books about yoga to lead students through yoga sequences.

Learn more: Toddler Yoga/Yo Re Mi Kids

31. Play Yogi Benders

Another yoga idea: Call out two body parts and tell students that only those two parts can touch the ground. Try “one foot and one hand,” “two knees and two elbows,” “one bottom and one finger,” or “two knees and one head.” For an adapted version, have two or three students share a large exercise ball and work together to try to hold the ball still using certain body parts.

Buy it: Yoga for Children by Lisa Flynn at Amazon

32. Play Hula-Hoop Islands

Place Hula-Hoops around your classroom. Play music and ask children to move around the hoops. When the music stops, they must stand inside a hoop. Take away a hoop each time you stop the music. In the end, how many preschoolers can fit inside one hoop?

Learn more: Hula-Hoop Islands/Outdoor Movement Project

33. Do Hula-Hoop movements

Set up a line of four to six Hula-Hoops across the floor of your classroom. Have students wait behind the first hoop, then call out directions for how to move through the hoops. Try bunny-hopping, giant-stepping, tiptoeing, or scurrying like mice. Play music with different tempos to encourage students to move at different speeds.

Learn more: Hula-Hoop Games/Learn Play Imagine

34. Play Land, Sea, and Air

Designate one area to be the “land” and one area to be the “sea” using your rug and floor tiles or masking tape. Students must hurry to the correct area when you call out “land!” or “sea!” and jump as high as they can when you call “air!” Keep students laughing with surprise commands like “earthquake!” and “tornado!”

Learn more: Land Sea Air Game/What Do We Do All Day?

35. Do indoor relay races

Stuck inside because of the weather? Set up an impromptu relay race. Ask students to carry bean bags or other objects on different body parts across the room. Or try this partner relay activity in which two children must work together to hold a ball between themselves.

Learn more: Wacky Relay/The Inspired Treehouse

36. Play indoor tennis

Get some wiggles out and spark some laughs by setting up this “tennis” game with balloons and fly swatters. Students can try to pass balloons back and forth or work together to swat balloons into a bin, cardboard box, or across a masking tape line. For an adapted version, use large traffic cones as stands for the balloons.

Learn more: Balloon Tennis Activity/Little Bins for Little Hands

Preschool Activities for Fine Motor Skills

Preschool is all about working those pincer fingers, the small muscles in the hands that kids will use to write later on. This means activities are more about squeezing, pinching, grasping, and releasing than holding a pencil and writing.

37. Paint with pom-poms

At the painting station, pom-poms make a great tool. Have students pick them up with their fingers and paint, or create a pom-pom brush by using a clothespin or tweezers to pick up a pom-pom and dab it around. Let students make their own painting or give them tracing pages to “trace” with paint.

Learn more: Paint With Pom-Poms/Fantastic Fun and Learning

38. Squeeze tweezers

Tweezers or tongs are a staple in many early childhood classrooms. They’re great for strengthening pincer muscles, and they’re versatile. You can get them in any size, from large tongs to small tweezers, which works for all kinds of hands. Some ways to use tweezers:

• Sort objects into piles or bins by color (pom-poms, beads, etc.).
• Give students a pile of seeds or beans and have them sort them by type.
• Have students use tweezers to place objects (pom-poms, marshmallows, cotton balls) on a line or letter.
• Put a pile of yarn in a bin (not tangled) and have students pull out the “spaghetti” piece by piece.
• Have students use tongs and colored beads or pom-poms to cover designs.
• Using a Connect 4 game, have students play or fill the game using tongs.

Buy it: Learning Tongs at Amazon

Learn more: Ways To Play With Tongs/Mama OT

39. Write with shaving cream

A tray and shaving cream are all you need. Put a dab of shaving cream on each tray and have students spread it out. Then, they can write letters, numbers, and shapes and “erase” it each time. Add food coloring to the shaving cream to match a theme or mix it up.

Learn more: Shaving Cream Writing/Gift of Curiosity

40. Pinch water droppers

Water droppers (or pipettes) are another way for kids to use their pincer grasp and strengthen eye-hand coordination as they pick up the water and transfer it from one place to another. One center idea: Put out a cup of water, a water dropper, and a bunch of bottle caps. Students transfer the water from the cup to the bottle caps.

Buy it: Water Droppers at Amazon

Learn more: Water Play With Eye Droppers/Learning 4 Kids

41. Cut and cook

Preschoolers love to learn how to do everyday activities with real tools. Teach students how to safely use a knife to cut up soft, manageable fruit, like bananas. Then, use the bananas for snack time or a recipe.

Here’s a recipe for banana pudding.

Learn more: Slicing Skills/PreKinders

42. Make a mosaic

Cut-up squares of paper and a blank paper canvas provide another versatile way for students to practice pincer grasp and get creative. Provide cut-up paper squares for students to use to make a mosaic design, or have students cut paper into squares before they make their mosaic. Give students ideas for how to craft their mosaic, or let them do their own thing.

Learn more: Mosaic Pattern Art/Hands On As We Grow

43. Cut and Paste

Being able to use scissors is a skill that will serve kids well when they’re in kindergarten and beyond. Give your preschoolers lots of practice using scissors with tasks that ask them simply to cut, not necessarily on a line or with precision. For example, put pages from a magazine at a center and have students cut them any way they choose. They may cut out images or just cut the pages to shreds. For students who are learning to use scissors, loop scissors are a good starting place.

Buy it: Safety Scissors and Loop Scissors at Amazon

44. Try finger plays

Finger plays are beneficial for so many reasons. Once you have a favorite finger play, change it up so that students are using their thumbs, forefingers, and pinkies to act it out. Here’s a favorite finger play:

45. Hide-and-find items in modeling clay

Add small items to your modeling-clay station to encourage hide-and-find exploration. All that squeezing and pushing is great for fine motor development, as well as persistence.

Learn more: Play Dough Activity/What Do We Do All Day?

46. Add water beads to the sensory table

Mix up the water play table with water beads. Playing with animal toys and other fine motor toys in the water beads adds a sensory experience. (Note: Do not use water beads if any students still put things in their mouths as these should not be eaten.)

Buy it: Water Beads at Amazon

Learn more: What To Do With Water Beads/Artful Parent

47. Play finger soccer

Have pairs or small groups play “finger soccer” on the rug, using only their index and middle fingers as “feet” to move a small ball. You can even make felt jerseys!

Learn more: Finger Soccer/Your Kids OT

48. Feed a monster

Create a “monster mouth” out of a flip-top container and ask students to use clothespins or large tweezers to pick up puffballs or other small items to “feed” the monster. They won’t want to get their fingers nibbled!

Learn more: Feed a Monster/Therapy Fun Zone

49. Hang the laundry

String up a clothesline in your pretend play area and have students use clothespins to hang a doll’s laundry to “dry.” If you’re short on space, set up a tray clothesline like the one illustrated above.

Learn more: Hang Laundry Activity/PreKinders

50. Make snowballs or peas in a bowl with clay

These two preschool activities are perfect for mixing pretend play with fine motor skills practice. First, gather a collection of plastic animals and tell students they are preparing for a BIG snowball fight. Then show students how to roll small balls of modeling clay in between their thumbs, middle fingers, and index fingers and make a stockpile for each animal. Or set out a bowl and spoon and ask students to roll “peas” to make a bowl of pea soup.

Learn more: Playdough Snowball Fight/OT Mom Learning Activities

Preschool Activities for Science

Preschoolers are curious about the world and how it works. Science activities teach them how to ask questions, what happens in a process, and how to form and test hypotheses.

Check out these preschool science experiments .

51. Make bubbles

Are you looking for preschool activities for kids who love bubbles? Try making your own bubbles using dish soap and water and see how big you can make the bubbles, or how long bubbles will last before they pop.

Learn more: Make Giant Bubbles/Make and Takes

52. Do a penny boat challenge

One way to teach creating hypotheses is to build aluminum foil boats and test which sink and which float. Which boats do students think will float? How many pennies will it take to sink each ship?

53. Color flowers

Study how plants work with a classic experiment. Put white flowers (carnations, roses, and tulips all work) into cups, each filled with a different food coloring and water. Over the next few days, watch how the flowers change. Be sure to leave one cup without food coloring as a comparison.

Learn more: Color-Changing Flowers/Fun Learning for Kids

54. Make a water wall

Use everything from plastic bottles to toilet paper rolls along an outside wall or any vertical surface to create a water wall.

Learn more: Water Wall/Happy Hooligans

55. Make a rain cloud in a jar

During your unit on weather, or any time you want a cool experiment, create a cloud in a jar.

56. Raise and release butterflies

There so many different butterfly activities that are perfect for preschool students. In the spring, read about butterflies and raise your own. Then plan a party to release them.

Buy it: Butterfly Kit at Amazon

Get even more ideas with Tips and Tricks for Teaching Preschool.

For more articles like this, be sure to  subscribe to our newsletters., what are your favorite preschool activities share in the weareteachers helpline group on facebook ..

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45 Easy and Fun Science Activities for Preschool

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Homework in Preschool and Kindergarten

Homework from vanessa on Vimeo .

Preschool Homework

To do or not to do, that is the question! The topic of homework for young children is one that is fiercely debated in the field of early childhood education. Many parents and administrators are all for it, many teachers are against it.

Some schools mandate homework for Pre-K because they think it’s going to close the achievement gap, others do it because they think parents “expect it” and still others assign homework because it’s what they’ve always done. There’s a little something here for everyone, no matter what your situation.

Different types of homework has been shown to benefit different populations. The type of program you work in may also dictate the type of homework you send home, if any.

Parents and Homework

My goal for homework in my own classroom is to support and encourage parents as partners in their child’s education. It is my responsibility as the teacher to teach the required skills, but it is the parent’s job to help support me in my efforts. In other words, “It takes a village…” Some parents need more help and encouragement than others, it is also my job to offer that help and encouragement to those who need it.

Reading Aloud to Children as Homework

If you’re interested in reading more on this topic I encourage you to check out the online book study I hosted for The Read-Aloud Handbook .

Meaningful Homework Activities for Parents to Do With Children

The book Just Right Homework Activities for Pre-K offers many meaningful activities that parents can do at home with their children. It includes detailed instructions for parents for each activity as well as blackline masters.

Structured Homework

When working with Title 1 and programs that serve at-risk populations it may be necessary to provide parent training through educational sessions. All parents want to help their children, but not all parents know how to do so.

I created the video at the top of this page to show to parents at our “Homework Help” educational session.

Printable Personalized Practice Cards

With just one click of a button in ESGI , you can quickly generate parent letters for each child in your class along with corresponding flash cards, specifically aligned to each child’s individual needs.

Click HERE to try ESGI free for 60 days and use promo code PREKPAGES to save $40 off your first year!

In the beginning, some components of a structured homework program might include:

• First Name Identification & Writing Practice
• Number Identification and Counting
• Color Recognition- for those that need it
• Shape Recognition-for those that need it
• Letter Recognition
• Books for parents to read aloud to their child (See my take-home book program )

As young children mature and their needs change some changes to the homework may be necessary, such as:

• Last Name Identification & Writing Practice
• Sight Words (for those who are ready)
• Number identification, 20 and up
• Rhyming and other phonemic awareness skills
• Letter sounds

Of course, differentiation for students performing above or below grade level expectations should always be taken into consideration when assigning homework.

How Do I Get Started Setting Up a Homework Program?

Step 1 : Prepare your materials. Prepare the following materials to give to each child.

• Name Card and Letter Tiles : Prepare a name card for every student using ABC Print Arrow font (see resources section) then print on cardstock and laminate. You could also use a sentence strip and a permanent to create name cards. You can use letter tiles from Wal-Mart or Staples or you can cut a matching sentence strip apart between the letters to make the name puzzle.

• Number Flash Cards: You can use a simple font to type the numbers into a document in Word, print, laminate, cut, hole punch, and put on rings. The rings are highly recommended so the cards don’t become lost. You can also find free, printable number flash cards on-line.

• Letter Flash Cards: The letter flash cards at left were made in Word using the ABC Print font, just print, laminate, cut, hole punch, and put on rings. Don’t forget to make one set of upper and one set of lowercase. The rings are highly recommended so the cards don’t become lost.

• Color Flash Cards: The color flash cards pictured above were made by placing color stickers on paper. You can also find free, printable color flash cards on-line. The rings are highly recommended so the cards don’t become lost.
• Shape Flash Cards: You can also find free, printable shape flash cards on-line. Just print, laminate, cut, hole punch, and put on rings.

Step 2: Next, you will need to create a system to communicate what activities you expect your students to do each night. One of the most effective ways to do this is by creating a monthly “Homework Calendar.”

You can download free calendars online that you can customize to meet your needs. In each space on the calendar indicate which activities you want parents to focus on each night, this helps parents from becoming overwhelmed. At the bottom of each space on the calendar there is a place for parents to sign indicating they have helped their child complete the assigned tasks. You can mark each space with a stamp or sticker to indicate your acknowledgement of homework completion. The homework calendars are kept in our  BEAR books and carried back and forth by the child each day in his or her backpack.

If this method is too much for you then you may prefer the simpler Reading Log method .

Step 3: To implement a successful Pre-K Homework Program in your classroom you must meet with all the parents to explain your program. Do not expect your program to be successful without this critical component. Have an informational meeting or “Parent Night” and send home flyers to invite the parents. Make sure to include this event in your weekly newsletter as well.

When having parent education sessions such as this it is best to have some sort of prior arrangements made for the students and siblings to be outside of the classroom in an alternate location so the parents can focus on the information that is being presented.

• After parents have arrived and you have welcomed them and thanked them for attending, show them the homework video (see top of page).
• Next, use your document camera to show them the actual materials they will be receiving. Model how to use the materials and how to do each activity they were shown in the video.
• Show them a sample homework calendar and what to do with it.
• Explain your system for sending materials home in detail, for example will materials be sent home in a bag or a folder?
• Make sure parents thoroughly understand the purpose and expectations for your homework program as well as your system.
• Allow parents to ask questions and thank them again for attending.

You could also create a video like the one at the top of this page to show to parents.

Additional Information:

• Homework should last no more than 5-10 minutes total each night including the book that parents read to their child.
• Worksheets should never be sent home as homework. This sends the message to parents that worksheets are an acceptable form of “work” and it is a good teaching practice when the exact opposite is true.
• Homework at this age should be fun and children should enjoy doing it. Advise parents that if their child does not seem to enjoy homework time they should make an appointment to see you so you can help them determine what is wrong and how to make it fun.
• Emphasize that reading to their children every day is the single most important thing they can do as parents. It is also highly recommended that you show the parents one of the following short video clips about the importance of reading to their children:

How to Help Your Child Read (English) How to Read Out Loud to Your Preschooler (English) Como ayudar a tu hijo leer (Spanish)

Homework Links

• Homework Tip Sheet
• Name homework explanation
• Ways to Help Your Child Learn the Alphabet at Home
• Supporting Math Skills at Home

More Teaching Tips from Pre-K Pages

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25 Amazing Homeschool Preschool ideas

Homeschool preschool activities.

No matter why you’ve decided to do preschool at home or want to supplement their learning at home you may feel overwhelmed at trying to figure out what exactly to do.

What should your kids be learning? What sort of schedule should you keep? What activities can you do to teach these various skills?

That’s why I’ve gathered these 25 amazing ideas for preschool at home to help you come up with homeschool preschool activities for your child. We’ll also cover schedule ideas and a list of things your child should be learning at preschool age.

Just remember that every child is different so you will need to adapt things to your child’s learning style and where they are at developmentally.

Homeschool Preschool Lessons/Curriculum

Preschool age is definitely a time when the focus is play rather than academics. Kids actually learn a lot of important skills through simple open-ended play.

However, there are some things kids will ideally know by the time they finish preschool…and only some of them are academic! These include:

• How to wait their turn
• How to sit quietly for short periods of time
• How to put on their own shoes
• How to put on/take off their own coat
• How to use the restroom independently
• How to wash their hands properly
• How to cover their cough/sneeze
• Recognize their own name
• Recognize letters A-Z
• Recognize numbers 1-20
• Count to 20
• Basic cut/paste skills
• Basic Shapes
• Basic Colors
• Sort/Classify items in various ways
• Fine motor skills (important for later writing)
• Gross motor skills

Homeschool Preschool Schedule

These schedules are just a place to start! Definitely edit it based on your own kids & lifestyle. This is your child’s first introduction to learning so you want to keep it fun!

Some days they may be more interested and other days you may have to cut learning time short if they’re just not into it.

Keep learning times short and work learning into other activities whenever you can so they feel more like play than actual learning. For instance, an art project or sensory bin are both great ways to sneak in a little extra learning.

My 3-year-olds current favorite activity is to make a “project”. She gets a piece of paper and cuts, colors, and glues it into whatever she wants. To her, it’s just fun but she’s also working on her cutting and gluing skills at the same time…and learning to clean up her mess afterward!

Click the button under the image to print the sample schedule and your own blank copy.

Homeschool Preschool Ideas & Activities

When I went to put this together I thought it would be easy to find 25 ideas that I thought were good and could consider using with my own preschool age child…I was wrong. It actually took me quite a while to sift through things and settle on these 25 homeschool preschool ideas.

They cover a wide variety of learning categories and I’ve grouped some together into categories where appropriate.

Days of the week

A fun & easy way to start teaching your kids the days of the week and help them to know what to expect each day.

Where Do I Live? Kid Activity – Introducing Geography and Teaching Kids Their Address

I love this idea! Teach your while where they live in easy manageable pieces.

The Parents’ Guide to Gross Motor Skills for Preschoolers

Lots of ideas for working on gross motor skills with your kids. Gross motor skills are large movements like running and jumping.

5 Circle Time Lessons About Emotions

Learning how to identify and process their own emotions and the emotions of others is an important life skill. Here are various ways to talk about emotions with your preschooler.

Your child may not leave preschool being able to write their name by themself, but they should at least be able to recognize their name. Here are ideas for working on learning their own name.

Name Activities for Toddlers — Oh Hey Let's Play

The first letters that preschoolers and toddlers learn are the letters in their names. Here are some fun ways to learn those letters! Practicing in several different ways will help to keep kids interested.

Name Writing Practice - Handwriting FREEBIE

Customize this for your child's name and they can practice tracing it. (All children may not be ready for tracing letters yet. Shape tracing is a great pre-writing activity.)

Learning Letters

Eventually, you'll child will learn to read and write. That all starts with letter recognition and learning the sounds that they make!

Letter Recognition Alphabet Sticker Sorting

Kids love stickers. Use them to help practice letter recognition in this easy activity.

Preschool Letter Recognition Activities

Learning upper and lowercase letters? Here are various ways to match the upper and lower case of a particular letter.

Counting and Number Recognition

Another important skill is counting, and eventually number recognition. Although, counting and understanding the concept of a number is more important than simply memorizing what each number looks like.

Number matching game for toddlers {printable}

This easy game uses post-it notes or printable cards to practice numbers in various ways.

Sun-Themed Math: Count and Clip Cards

Count and clip is great for practicing counting and fine motor skills clipping on those clothespins.

Paper Roll Number Match Activity

Here's an easy set up involving a toilet paper roll and stickers. This one would be easy to take on the go or stick in a busy bag.

Easy and Fun Games to Teach Number Sense to Preschoolers

Various fun games to help your preschooler get "number sense".

Sorting is another great skill for preschoolers. You can sort in lots of ways! By color, shape, size, category, etc.

Attribute Sorting Activities for Preschoolers

I love this idea as you can sort the same items by shape and then again by color challenging them to think of the same objects in different ways.

Fruit or Vegetable Game for Kids

Which are fruits and which are vegetables? Sort them out in this fun activity.

Shorter and Longer: Measurement, Cutting and Sorting Activity -

Cut strips and then sort them into shorter and longer pieces in this fun and engaging activity.

Cutting/Scissor Skills

Kids should also know the basic of using scissors, as well as scissor safety. Be sure to get a left handed pair if your child happens to be a leftie.

Tips for Teaching Scissor Cutting Skills

This page is full of tips for teaching your child how to use scissors.

Preschool cutting strips

Once they have the basics down they can learn how to cut various lines and patterns!

Tracing is great for fine motor skills and it's also a pre-writing skill as they prepare to trace letters and eventually write them on their own!

Rain Cloud Pre-Writing Tracing Cards

These cute rain cloud cards have various patterns for your child to trace.

Letter Tracing Worksheets

Is your child ready to trace letters? It's ok if they aren't, kids develop at their own pace. For those that are ready you can grab this set of 26 letter tracing worksheets.

Preschool Science

Science for preschoolers?! Sure! You can start introducing basic science skills to kids, they love to explore, discover, and learn about their world.

Fun Garden Preschool Science Experiment

An easy way to start exploring science by learning how to best grow a plant.

At Home Chemistry: Cleaning Pennies with Ketchup

Kids will love this experiment involving pennies and ketchup!

Flower Science Experiments & Parts of a Flower Activities

This one doubles as an art activity as they learn the various parts of a flower.

Additional Resources

Here are a few additional resources.

35+ Best Educational Apps For Kids

If you're open to using apps for some learning check out these 35 educational apps for kids.

Spanish resources and printables — Lorena & Lennox Bilingual Beginnings

Want to try some activities in spanish? Here are some to get you started.

I hope this preschool schedule and activity list help you plan your very own homeschool preschool!

Follow us on Pinterest or Instagram for more great ideas.

Educational Activities for Preschoolers

Thanks for sharing!

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Teaching Tips

Building skills & learning at home: parent handouts (aka fun homework for preschoolers), share this post:.

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Parents are a child’s first teacher.  Building skills and learning at home is paramount for kids of all ages to be successful.  I created Building Skills & Learning at Home:  Parent Handouts to give parents fun and simple suggestions and games/activities that they can do at home.  These activities help their child reinforce skills at home using materials they already have around their house.

This post contains affiliate links.

Learning at Home parent Handouts

The activities are fun and hands-on using materials families already have at home.  You don’t need to send anything home but the handouts!  It’s super simple: just print and send home! Print on colored paper to make them stand out (and hopefully less likely to get lost).

Preschoolers DO NOT NEED worksheets sent home as homework.  Preschoolers NEED to learn through play WITH their families.  These handouts will give them tons of ideas to continue the learning at home through play.

Parent handouts are great to send home

• at the beginning of the year
• parent nights
• parent-teacher conferences
• before summer vacation
• in students’ homework folders or backpacks anytime during the year

Every year, I always send them home at fall and spring parent-teacher conferences.  I also send them home randomly throughout the year, attached to my newsletter or reading logs.   Often, an individual student will need reinforcements at home, or a parent requests additional support ideas.  The handouts work great then, too!

Parent Home Notes Included:

• Reading at Home (2 pages)
• Writing at Home (2 pages)
• Learning about Letters at Home (2 pages)
• Math at Home (2 pages)
• Fun Fine Motor at Home (2 pages)
• Playdoh & Goop Recipes (1 page)

Go grab Parent Handouts from my TPT store by clicking on the photo below.

All you have to do is just print it and send it home!

Like it? Pin it!

hey, i’m jackie!

I’m Jackie, your go-to girl for early childhood inspiration and research-based curriculum. 

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THE Best Way to Handle Kindergarten and Preschool Homework

Shared by Mary Catherine 30 Comments

Learn how to create a meaningful preschool homework plan for your students using a homework calendar. Be sure to check out the rest of my free preschool printables next!

Below I’ll share how to incorporate a preschool homework calendar into your plans. These homework activities are perfect for preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten students.

Be sure to note that this isn’t a “traditional” homework plan. Not by a longshot! Instead, it’s focused on hands-on, age-appropriate activities (rather than inappropriate worksheets and such).

“Miss Mary Catherine, what about homework? Her brothers have homework most nights, and I could really use some help in that department.”

Questions like this one aren’t unusual at preschool and kindergarten Back-to-School Nights or Meet the Teacher gatherings. At least not for me.

Parents want the best when it comes to their children’s education, and it’s often assumed homework is an integral part of that.

But early childhood educators want to do what’s developmentally appropriate and best for their students – and research has shown that traditional homework doesn’t fit into that. So how to do we merge each of these viewpoints?

Table of Contents

Do We Really Need Preschool Homework?

As I mentioned above, I’ve noticed that many parents ask about homework. I think some people assume school and homework go hand-in-hand. I’m referring here to the traditional view of homework, with kids sitting down at the kitchen table to fill out pages and pages of worksheets.

I’m inclined to disagree with that, especially when it comes to early childhood students. Young kids need hands-on learning experiences , both at home and at school, to grasp important early learning concepts. I most definitely don’t think the traditional worksheet homework is appropriate for young kids.

Listening to books read by their parents, free play time at home, and maybe some additional hands-on learning activities are more along the lines of the kind of homework I recommend.

The BEST Way to Handle Kindergarten and Preschool Homework

So we’ve established that sit down, pencil to paper homework isn’t that great for preschool and kindergarten. How, then, should homework be handled?

My suggestion: create a preschool homework plan centered around monthly activity calendars.

Explain the research to the parents, and have a quick chat about developmentally appropriate practice . Stress the importance of down time after school, and encourage daily reading snuggled up with the kids.

At this point, parents might still want something more. That’s where the homework calendars come in.

Kindergarten and Preschool Homework Calendars

The printable homework calendars I’ve sent home are definitely not preschool worksheets . They include a variety of tasks that kids can do – sometimes with their families, and sometimes on their own. My goal is for my students, and their parents, to see how learning can take place in a wide variety of ways. Additionally, kiddos with older siblings love having their own “homework” to complete like their big brother or sister.

To put together homework calendars for your students, brainstorm ideas that cover topics such as:

• Fine motor skills
• Gross motor skills
• Helping others
• Self-help skills

Try to keep the daily activities simple, with some ideas the kids can do on their own and some they can try with their parents or siblings. Some of the calendar ideas can relate to your preschool themes , seasons or holidays, or everyday helping tasks.

These homework calendars can go home in their personalized folders at the beginning of the month, with the kids returning them at the end of the month. They can also just be used as suggestions when parents ask about homework for preschool kiddos.

Preschool Homework Ideas

As I mentioned earlier, using monthly calendars for preschool homework is NOT like traditional paper-and-pencil homework. The calendars are meant to be filled with developmentally-appropriate activities kids can do at home.

If you need some ideas to add to the calendars, here you go:

• Go for a walk outside and count the trees.
• Tell your family about what you did on the playground today.
• Listen to a family member read a book.
• Try to do 5 jumping jacks.
• Draw a picture of your favorite animal.
• Sing a song to your family.

As you can see, these are simple and very appropriate activities for young children. And none of them are focused on tracing the number 1 twenty times.

I’d love to hear your thoughts now! How do you handle preschool homework (or kindergarten homework)?

A Year’s Worth of Preschool Homework Calendars

I’m so excited to share with you how you can get a hold of the rest of the calendars now! I’ve received a lot of wonderful emails asking for an entire year’s worth of calendars. Thanks so much for reaching out – I love hearing from you!

So here it is – a full year’s worth of editable homework calendars. It’s a set that includes homework calendars for every month of the year. Each calendar is an editable printable, and there are three versions:

• One has seasonal clip art,
• One has non-seasonal clip art, and
• One doesn’t have any clip art. Each month has a version that’s already full of activity ideas, along with a blank version (but you’re able to edit every single version).

Click on the image below to get your own set of preschool or kindergarten homework calendars from Preschool Teacher101:

Be sure to join The Pack from Preschool Teacher 101’s waiting list . Members get access to all we have to offer – fully-developed lesson plans, digital games, dramatic play packs, circle time song activities, STEM challenges, and so much more!

Free Printable Preschool Homework Calendar

I’m happy to share one of my homework calendars with you. It’s even editable! That way, teachers (and parents!) can put their own spin on the homework.

How to Use the Activity Calendar

Grab the September homework calendar PDF and open it up. Click on any of the editable areas and make your own changes. You can change:

• The directions at the top of the calendar
• The date (just the number)
• Each of the homework tasks within the squares

Then print out the calendar and share with your students’ parents. You’re welcome to leave everything the way I’ve written it too. That’s what I am loving about editable PDFs – the flexibility of customizing documents.

Take a look at the homework calendars in action in the video below:

Get the Free Printable

This free printable preschool homework calendar is available to members of Fun-A-Day’s free email community . If you’re a member, fill out the form below and the download links will be sent to your inbox. If you’re not a member, you can join us by entering your information in the form. Then you’ll receive the printable as a welcome gift!

You can also access the form in a new tab if you’d prefer.

Supplies to Keep at Home

Our homework calendars have some great examples of short learning prompts to give to challenge your children with. On top of those prompts, I think it’s really important to spend quality time playing with your children each day as well.

But it can be difficult to bring out our-inner child to play with our actual child. That’s why I’ve created this list of some things to play with your kids. Check it out below!

I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

• Build with blocks
• Play with toy vehicles
• Pretend play with various play sets
• Play dress up with costumes and masks
• Work a puzzle
• Play age-appropriate games with the whole family
• Bounce, throw, and kick playground balls back and forth
• Color in coloring books or draw pictures
• Read stories
• Draw with sidewalk chalk
• Create crafts
• Let your child decide!

Just follow your child’s lead and the two of you are sure to have a blast! Remember – your child will cherish any time you spend with them. They’ll cherish that quality time even more when you’re investing in them and doing something they love. So don’t worry about embarrassing yourself or looking silly. In my book, the sillier – the better!

Originally published August 8, 2016

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August 8, 2016 at 10:52 pm

What a great idea and the clip art- so cute! I could definitely use this with my little ones!

August 9, 2016 at 12:39 am

Thanks so much, Dana!

August 9, 2016 at 9:27 am

will you have the rest of the months available? this is good!

August 9, 2016 at 10:46 am

Thanks so much, Mary! I’ll be working on the rest of the months soon, yes. Glad you like it. 🙂

August 9, 2016 at 5:21 pm

I would love to win this CD! I am a preschool teacher and would use it for my class. 🙂

August 9, 2016 at 6:39 pm

Wonderful, Stephanie! It’s pretty awesome. 🙂

August 9, 2016 at 7:01 pm

Thank you so much. This calendar is perfect for “homework.” I’d love to buy the rest of your calendars, if you chose to create them!

August 9, 2016 at 9:19 pm

You’re so sweet, thanks Christina! I’ll be working on the rest of the calendars soon! 🙂

August 11, 2016 at 8:48 am

What an awesome calendar and a fun way for “homework” I would use the CD for my preschool room!

August 11, 2016 at 5:00 pm

Thanks, Olivia. 🙂

August 11, 2016 at 2:08 pm

As a kindergarten teacher that is reticent to give “homework,” this calendar is perfect! I can’t wait to utilize it and to see the future months.

I love making different signs and worksheets for my classroom to make things cute and bright and the Kiddlywinks CD would be perfect! No more searching! Thanks so much!

August 11, 2016 at 5:01 pm

Thanks, Maegan! It is a pretty versatile clip art collection! 🙂

August 11, 2016 at 11:33 pm

What a great idea. This is my kind of homework!

August 12, 2016 at 10:02 am

Thanks so much, Danielle!! 🙂

August 12, 2016 at 1:24 pm

Great giveaway! I would love to win and use for these for creating printable for my Homeschooling students.

August 13, 2016 at 9:51 am

Thanks, Jenny! 🙂

August 25, 2016 at 8:21 am

I would love to have the kidillywinks CD for newsletters and preschool activities. I love all of DJ Inkers ciparts and fonts! This CD has some really cute things! Thank you for the homework calendar!

August 26, 2016 at 10:36 pm

Glad you liked it! 🙂

September 19, 2016 at 2:30 pm

Hi!! I really like this calendar! Do you have the rest of the months? I have parent’s who WANT their children to have homework. So I have been looking for easy things to “assign” my 3s. Your calendar is PERFECT!!

September 22, 2016 at 12:11 pm

Thanks, Mary! 🙂 Yes, that’s part of why I started setting up homework too – parents and kiddos who want it coming home. I just updated this post so it has links to where to find the year’s worth of homework calendars , along with where to check out the Preschool Teacher 101 community .

September 19, 2016 at 3:19 pm

I absolutely love this Calendar and want to start using it with my preschool class. I look forward to seeing the other month Calendars that you create! Thank you so much for this!!! It’s such a great way to get the parents more involved.

September 22, 2016 at 12:09 pm

I’m so glad that you like the calendar, Sarah! I just updated this post with the information about where to grab the year’s worth of calendars –> Here at Preschool Teacher 101’s shop . I’d also love for you to check out the resource of Preschool Teacher 101 here .

September 24, 2016 at 9:51 am

Hi Mary Catherine! Love your blog! What a lovely job you’ve done. Was hoping to print out the calendar for use at home, but when I click the link it’s a blank template. Is there another link for the filled out version? Thanks so much and looking forward to following you! 🙂

September 24, 2016 at 8:35 pm

So glad you stopped by Fun-A-Day! 🙂 Here’s the direct link to the printable – https://fun-a-day.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Sept-Cal.pdf . It should pop up as a PDF with the ideas already in there (although you’d be able to edit it). Click in a box to change up the text if you’d like to. 🙂

September 27, 2016 at 1:51 pm

I want to buy your homework calendars but can’t figure out out to purchase them. I am able to put them in a cart but that is all. Do I have to purchase a membership in order to buy them?

September 28, 2016 at 10:41 pm

No, you don’t have to become a member to get the calendars. Once you’ve clicked “Add to Cart”, select “View Cart”. Then click on “proceed to checkout” and enter all the details regarding billing. If you are doing those steps and it is still not working please let me know specifically where you are having trouble, so I can help. Can’t wait to hear what you think of the calendars! 🙂

July 31, 2017 at 5:06 am

Any early childhood teacher that has had child development knows that that kind of pressure on young children is not age appropriate. I would not put recommend a preschool or kindergarten that required their students to do real homework.

I have sent home games that children really like and want to share with parents. I have also suggested games and activities that parents can do with their child to help develop a skill but I always emphasized the need to be careful not to force a child to do an activity.

July 31, 2017 at 11:21 am

Love your ideas! That’s why I like the activity calendars – suggestions for families but no stress if it gets done or not. Definitely no traditional homework (I honestly don’t like it for elementary school either).

September 29, 2022 at 11:12 am

How can I get October- May homework calendars? I will pay for them if you have them for sale on your site. I love your philosophy about hands-on age appropriate activities to foster the love of learning.

October 4, 2022 at 9:49 am

Hi Kristen! You can get an entire year’s worth in our Preschool Teacher 101 shop here . They’re all editable and come with variations for you to choose from. Thanks so much for the kind words! That’s exactly what these are meant to be – hands-on activities that encourage kids and families.

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Littles Love Learning

Let's Teach Your Child to Read Together

PRESCHOOL LEARNING ACTIVITIES TO DO AT HOME

Looking for FREE & easy preschool learning activities to do at home? You’re in the right place! Keep reading for 8 weeks worth of activity ideas for your little one!

Is your little one at home with you (maybe for summer break, a long vacation, or virtual learning) and you need some activity ideas to keep them busy?

Or are you a teacher looking to send activity ideas home with your students that are low prep but high engagement?

Then these  Preschool & Pre-K At-Home Activities  are perfect for you!

For each weekday (Monday – Friday) for 8 weeks, you’ll have 4 activity ideas to choose from. These activities cover the most important preschool skills:

• Gross Motor

That’s 20 activities per week for 8 weeks, which is a total of  160 preschool learning activities to do at home!

You can have your little one complete 1, 2, 3, or 4 activities per day…it’s totally up to you!

And the best part?

These activities are  VERY low prep , so there’s no need to spend a ton of money on supplies!

Most of these learning activities require only basic supplies that you probably already have at home, such as paper, markers, scissors, post-it notes, and paper plates.

A few of the activities require printables, but those can be downloaded for FREE from our Free Activity Library .

Ready to check out the activities?

Click on each week below to get started learning at home with your preschooler!

• BLOG SERIES MAIN PAGE

If you’d rather have these activities in a printable PDF format (instead of having to navigate to all the different pages on my website), you can purchase them from my shop HERE :

If you use any of these activity ideas, let me know! You can comment below or find me on  Instagram  ( @littleslovelearningblog ). I’d love to know how your little ones liked them!

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