Preschooler playing with wooden trains.

image shared by holly

Whether due to rain, sickness, or bad attitudes, we've all had those days when we need a simple idea to turn the day around. 

Or, maybe you feel in a rut and would like new ideas for your home for classroom.  This is the page for you! 

Below are 235 fun ideas filled with learning.  

 

  1. Pull out the photo albums or scrapbooks to look at.
  2. Paint rocks.
  3. Make a placemat by gluing pictures on a piece a paper and covering it with contact paper.  Makes a great gift.
  4. Paint and color with brown
  5. Gather some big boxes (appliance boxes are wonderful) and allow the child to decorate and play inside.
  6. Make Silly Putty
  7. Play I Spy
  8. Cut pictures out of magazines or papers of ideas the child wants for Christmas or birthday. Glue on a piece of paper.
  9. Glue an old picture, poster, magazine ad, or drawing done by the child onto cardboard.  Cut into puzzle shapes to make a homemade puzzle.
  10. Paint with a paint brush using paint or water

  11. Practice making small dots of glue
  12. Have a "snowball" fight with rolled up socks
  13.  Make Homemade Play dough
  14. Watch home videos
  15. Give the child a paintbrush and small container of water to paint things outside
  16. Make a cereal necklace using cheerios, fruit loops or other circular cereal.
  17. Have fun with a paper plate and a spatula.  Have races and flip the plate.
  18. Play Red Light-Green Light around the house, outside, or on the trampoline
  19. Using pillows, create mountains to climb, jump, and crawl over
  20. Make a placemat by gluing pictures on a piece a paper and covering it with contact paper.  Makes a fun gift.
     
  21. Put on a CD or the radio and dance
  22. Read a book
  23. Play Number Bingo
  24. Make breakfast food for supper
  25. Make today "Green Day" - wear, play, eat green things
  26. Make a noodle necklace - string macaroni or other noodle onto a string and paint the noodles. 
  27. Make a placemat by drawing a picture and covering it with contact paper. Make a great gift
  28. While preparing a meal, blindfold the child and let them guess what you are doing by making different sounds in the kitchen.
  29. Use your favorite sugar cookie recipe, decorate cookies with a paint brush and food coloring
  30. Throw rolled up socks into a box or laundry basket

  31. Create a tent using a card table and blankets
  32. Give the child stickers from junk mail to decorate on paper
  33. Give the child paper and a hole punch
  34. Collect things in a box that are similar - ie in color, size, shape, beginning consonant
  35. Gather some big boxes (appliance boxes are wonderful) and allow the child to decorate and play inside. 
  36. While preparing a meal, blindfold the child and let them guess what you are doing by making different sounds in the kitchen.
  37. Paint and color with green
  38. Play Red Light-Green Light around the living room, outside, or on the trampoline
  39. Throw rolled up socks into a box or laundry basket
  40. Paint with q-tips

Little painting with toilet paper rolls.

image shared by stephanie

  1. Give the child a paintbrush and small container of water to paint things outside
  2. Have the child count various things around the house - doorknobs, doors, windows, etc.
  3. Make a cereal necklace using cheerios, fruit loops or other circular cereal.
  4. Make today "Blue Day" - wear, play, eat blue things
  5. Paint and color with black
  6. Hide something in your home and have your child find it - Easter eggs, letters, numbers, toy 
  7. Have the child go and find something that is the shape of a circle or square, etc.
  8. Call a friend, relative, or neighbor on the phone
  9. Count ceiling fans in your home
  10. Have something in the house and have your child find it - Easter eggs, letters, numbers, toy

  11. Transfer water from bucket to another with a sponge or eye dropper or turkey baster
  12. Give the child a cookie sheet and magnets to play with (this activity works great in a car)
  13. Play post office - create letters to different people in the house and leave them in a box to distribute
  14. Go into a closet or dark place with a flashlight.
  15. Using playing cards, create patterns
  16. Lay in the grass and watch the clouds.  Draw the different shapes you see.
  17. Give the child golf tees, styrofoam, and a toy hammer to play with (Education.com)
  18. Make Homemade Ice cream
  19. Place 3 letters or numbers on the table.  Let your child look at them.  With their eyes closed, remove one.  Figure out which one is missing.
  20. Use your favorite sugar cookie recipe, decorate cookies with a paint brush and food coloring

  21. Have the child go and find something that begins with the letter "___" or the sound /___/
  22. Give the child a pile of paper clips and show them how to connect them to create a bracelet or necklace
  23. Hide a clicking time in the house and have the child try and find it before it goes off
  24. Make a collage of items that are rectangular in shape.
  25. Go for a walk and collect leaves
  26. Play music and dance around the room
  27. Put on your swimming suit and go swimming in the bathtub
  28. Watch a short children's video like Boz the Bear or Veggie Tales
  29. Make a domino train
  30. Play Letter Bingo 

  31. Swing
  32. Do a crayon rubbing by laying paper over various items and coloring to see the various textures.  
  33. Paint on a role of butcher paper to create wonderful wrapping paper 
  34. Build a tower with blocks
  35. Create a Memory Obstacle Course
  36. Act out a Bible Story
  37. Play Go Fish
  38. Draw with sidewalk chalk
  39. Color in a coloring book
  40. Look at various things through a magnifying glass
Preschool boy fingerpainting.
image shared by becky

  1. With a deck of playing cards, separate the colors, numbers from face, suits, etc.
  2. Make new crayons out of old ones
  3. Do a crayon rubbing by laying paper over various items and coloring to see various textures. 
  4. Write on a piece of paper with a white crayon.  Paint over the secret code with paint to reveal the picture or message.
  5. Play in a sand or dirt pile
  6. Blow bubbles
  7. Make Goop
  8. Try to keep a balloon in the air by hitting or kicking it 
  9. Make Pictures Soap  The Preschooler's Busy Book pg 254
  10. Paint on a role of butcher paper to create wonderful wrapping paper

  11. Make snowflakes by folding paper and cutting
  12. Paint and color with red
  13. Give the child a magnifying glass (make sure that they are mature enough to not drop it)
  14. Draw a picture of your family
  15. Make a collage of items that are triangular in shape.
  16. Write a secret message using a white crayon.  Paint over with watercolors to reveal the surprise.
  17. Play leap frog.
  18. On a black sheet of paper, color with a white crayon.
  19. Roll a ball back and forth
  20. Type a letter to a friend on the computer (it doesn't have to really say anything)

  21. Pretend to be various animals.  Guess which animal each person is.
  22. Using Legos or blocks, create a simple object.  Have your child reproduce it.
  23. Paint and color with orange
  24. Write a letter to an elderly neighbor or relative
  25. Cut toast or pancake into various shapes.
  26. Play with play dough
  27. Make today "Yellow Day" - wear, play, eat yellow things
  28. With a deck of playing cards, sort by colors, numbers, faces, or suits.
  29. Trace around cookie cutters using a pencil or crayons.  Then color the shapes.
  30. Have a Pajama Day - Wear Pj's all day

  31. Cut old Valentine's cards into puzzle shapes or create a collage using several cards.
  32. Wash rocks
  33. Use a scarf or handkerchief and dance
  34. Hide Easter eggs filled with pieces of paper with numbers, letters, shapes, or colors written on them. Find the egg and read the item on the paper.
  35. Have your child go and find something that is the shape of a circle or square, etc.
  36. Make today "Orange Day" - wear, play, eat orange things
  37. Create your name in play dough using cookie cutters or plastic knives
  38. Make graham cracker and frosting sandwiches for snacks.  Add food coloring to the frosting.
  39. Count how many windows you have in your house
  40. Clean out the toy box or toy closet and donate toys no longer needed to other families or charities

Preschooler doing a maze worksheet.

images shared by kira

  1. Paint and color with purple
  2. Play catch.
  3. Using number shapes or flashcards, arrange the numbers in order from 1-20
  4. Make today "White Day" - wear, play, eat white things
  5. Use a cookie cutter or bread to make fun sandwiches
  6. Help with laundry by matching socks
  7. Play Memory
  8. Hide a clicking timer in the house and have the child try and find it before it goes off
  9. Color a picture, cut it into puzzle pieces, and put it together
  10. Play with Legos, trains or dolls

  11. Create a pretend meal using real or toy kitchen items.
  12. Make cookies to give to another family
  13. Play a game in a small place - tent, closet, on a bunk bed, etc.
  14. Make an AB pattern with snack food (raisins and cheerios).
  15. Using a spray bottle of water, spray inside the shower
  16. Make a collage of items that are square in shape.
  17. Put a few small items (M&M's or beans) into a glass container.  Guess how many there are before counting.
  18. Have a family "show and tell" time
  19. Make a collage of items that are circular in shape.
  20. Sit in a tent and read a book

  21. Play "doctor"
  22. Make today "Brown Day" - wear, play, eat brown things
  23. Play kickball
  24. Draw a picture of your family
  25. Play catch with a balloon
  26. Visit a local park
  27. Have a tea party
  28. Make a house using Legos or blocks
  29. Practice saying your address and phone number.
  30. Play a game on the internet

  31. Fly paper airplanes
  32. Play baseball outside or inside with a balloon.
  33. Using a bag of various beans for soup, let the child sort them into a muffin tin
  34. Make cookies
  35. Draw a picture of your house
  36. Cut out pictures from a magazine
  37. Write a letter to an elderly neighbor or relative
  38. Count to 100 while you put away dishes or drive in the car
  39. Go for a walk and count how many yellow flowers you see in bloom
  40. Say, not sing, the ABC's

Preschool-aged girl lacing.

image shared by jaclyn

  1. Make today "Blue Day" - wear, play, eat blue things
  2. Give everyone a dust rag and dust furniture
  3. Paint and color with yellow
  4. Play hopscotch 
  5. Go for a walk and count how many birds you see
  6. Clean the bathtub with an old toothbrush
  7. Play post office - create letters to different people in the house and leave them in a box to distribute. 
  8. Help the child look up their phone number and address in a phone book
  9. Name all of the colors on your cereal box
  10. Ride bikes

  11. Help sort laundry
  12. Go outside and create a stick pile
  13. Find six different shapes in your house.
  14. Draw a picture of your pet or your favorite animal
  15. Color a picture and mail it to a friend or relative.  Have the child put it in the mailbox.
  16. Sing "Jesus Loves Me"
  17. Create an in-house bowling alley using a couple of tall containers or empty 2 liter pop bottles with a ball.
  18. Give the child a pile of paper clips and show them how to connect them together to create a bracelet or necklace
  19. Sit outside under a tree and read a book 
  20. Give your child a bag full of clothes pins to clip together and make different letters, numbers, shapes, or objects

  21. Do a Dot-to-Dot Worksheet
  22. Using Alphabet Cereal – sort the letters
  23. Make crayon rubbings - using the sandpaper letters and numbers, place a piece of paper over the sandpaper and have the child color.  
  24. Do a Maze Worksheet
  25. Match various lids with pots, pans, and dishes
  26. Count stairs as you go up or down.
  27. Make a quick bread - zucchini, pumpkin, banana - to give to another family
  28. Look at a map to see where you live compared to other friends and relatives
  29. Paint with ice cubes
  30. Draw ¾ of a shape and have the child finish the shape

  31. Have a pillow fight
  32. Using letter shapes or flashcards, arrange the letters in order from A-Z
  33. Lay a blue blanket or sheet on the floor to pretend it is the ocean - dive in
  34. Using a spoon, transfer beans or M&M's one at a time from one dish to another - counting each piece
  35. Cut out shapes.
  36. Using the letters in the child's name, create a name poster from letters cut out from a magazine or newspaper.  
  37. Play catch with a mini-football.
  38. Dress up using adult or pretend-play clothes.
  39. Create a collage using stickers
  40. Fingerpaint
Little girl vertical painting.
image shared by mandy

  1. Make new crayons out of old ones 
  2. Finger paint in a jelly roll pan with shaving cream 
  3. Have sword fights with empty paper towel or wrapping paper rolls
  4. Have a picnic - inside or outside
  5. Play with magnetic toys on the refrigerator or a cookie sheet
  6. Sing the fingerplay "Where is Thumpkin"
  7. Make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches together
  8. Use a towel or piece of material to create a cape for your child to wear and play "hero"
  9. Give the child a cookie sheet and magnets to play with (this activity works great in a car) 
  10. Play a card game like Old Maids

  11. Draw silhouettes outside with sidewalk chalk or inside on butcher block paper
  12. Make today "Purple Day" - wear, play, eat purple things
  13. Make a domino train
  14. Make today "Black Day" - wear, play, eat black things
  15. Put a puzzle together
  16. Make an AB pattern with blocks or beads
  17. Make today "Red Day" - wear, play, eat red things
  18. Have an "Opposite Day" - do things opposite of how you would normally
  19. Play hide-and-seek
  20. Create a Leaf Rubbing

  21. Hit a ball back and forth with tennis or racquetball racket
  22. Count how many doors you have in your house
  23. Build a road with blocks and drive cars or tractors on it
  24. Look at family photos or albums
  25. Make a collage of items that are diamond in shape.
  26. Cut letters out from the newspaper and glue them on paper to create a collage or words
  27. Make pancakes in the shape of Mickey Mouse, hearts, or bears
  28. Have the child go and find something that begins with the letter "___" or the sound /__/
  29. Use toilet paper rolls and make binoculars or a spyglass
  30. Paint and color with blue

  31. Make a ramp to race matchbox cars
  32. Use a hole punch to create a pattern around a picture on heavy paper.  Thread string through the holes.
  33. Paint using a piece of string.
  34. Transfer water from one container to another with a sponge, eye dropper, turkey baster
  35. Cut up old Christmas cards in puzzle shapes or create a collage using several cards.

 

Unless noted these activities are ones that I have come up with to do with my kiddos.  Of course most of these are not new, but have been passed down through the generations.

 

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