preschool activity ideas

One of the most common questions I continually get while homeschooling is this: what do you do with your younger kids while you homeschool?  Always a great question.

This is, admittedly, one of the most difficult aspects of homeschooling.  If I play my cards right and get my act together, I can usually make things go pretty smoothly for our family.

This year, during winter break, I came up with some easy "school time" activities for Amelia to complete while the older girls were working on school.  I geared these toward her current age at the time which was 4, almost 5.

The list that I put together is a little something I like to call "Operation: Distract Amelia".  I found a lot of these activities on Pinterest, blogs, and just by opening our game cabinet.  I brainstormed all kinds of ideas and chose the ones I thought I could tolerate and would take less than 5 minutes to get out each morning.

{If you need ideas for your toddler, please visit my toddler activity ideas post.}

I printed, laminated, and posted the list in my school cabinet so it's front and center each morning.  I chose two activities for each day.  Whatever day of the month, that's the day I choose.  Easy enough, right?!

These first 5 items are things that get put out each day.  Anything that I put in brackets {like this} are notes regarding my list.  Any games that you see listed/linked are just things that I pull out and let her play with the pieces...nothing formal.

-coloring page

-books on table {I choose about 5 books just for her to flip through...might be library/might be off of our shelves.}

-preschool skills activity page {Just a preschool skills page from one of those huge preschool books.  It might have drawing, cutting/pasting, circling, etc.}

-toddler swap box activity {We participated in a toddler activity swap a couple of years ago.  I just rotate through these each day.  I probably have 25.}

-puzzle {Amelia loves puzzles!}

The next activities listed are the ones that change each day.  I keep a special box on top of one of our cabinets that holds some of the "extras" that aren't regular toys so that they are new to her each time she plays with them.  

-activity of the day:

1.      Muffin tin sorting: buttons; cotton swab writing: alphabet {I printed off several alphabet pages for Amelia to use during these types of activities.  She uses a cotton swab and paint to trace the letters on an alphabet page.}

2.      Lacing beads; santa box

3.      Legos; stacking cups {these are just plastic solo-type cups that my kids love playing with and stacking}

4.      Rice and coins; Animal Logic lineup {rice and coins: store them dumped in a plastic bag kept in the special box}

5.      Play dough/spaghetti/cheerios; balloons {ball of play dough, uncooked spaghetti stuck into it, put cheerios on the spaghetti}

6.      Train bin; Uno cards

7.      Magnetic dress up book; sock match {I pull a bunch of my socks out of my drawer, mix them up in a basket, and have her match them.}

8.      Puzzles; pet shop box

9.      Muffin tin sorting: crayons; fill the bag: choose a color {fill the bag: choose one color, like red, and say find all of the toys that are red and put them in this bag}

10. Count the lights; zingo {I printed a bunch of pages with the numbers 1-20 on them, and she has to walk through the house and cross off a number each time she sees a light.}

11. Duplo blocks; cut magazines and make collage

12. Cookie sheet with flour; spoon matching activity {put a little flour on a cookie sheet and let her draw in it; spoon activity: plastic spoons with capital and lowercase letters...she matches them.}

13. Play dough; phone number practice {I write our phone number on a piece of paper, and she copies it several times.}

14. Chalk board painting; cotton swab writing: numbers {chalkboard, water, paintbrush}

15. Strainer/pipe cleaners; sticker book {picked up a huge sticker book where the stickers go somewhere in the book, she has to find the "shadow" of the sticker and put it in the right place}

16. Sorting pie; wash tupperware/plastic dishes

17. Wooden blocks; fill the bag: choose a letter {choose any letter and have her find toys that start with that letter, put them in the bag}

18. Count the windows; dry beans {same as count the lights; I have dry beans for play similar to the rice and coins}

19. Day and night activity; write name with pens, markers, crayons, etc.

20. Sort laundry; teddy bear counters {teddy bear counters are from our math curriculum}

21. Shape puzzlebox; plastic animals

22. Quirkle; count the cabinet pulls

23. Marshmallows/toothpicks; pattern blocks {build things with marshmallows and toothpicks}

24. Jenga blocks; table fort {throw a blanket over the table and play}

25. Build a letter; white board/markers {build a letter is a book that we have with pieces that allow you to build a letter along with the book...can't find a link for it}

26. Dominos; cutting practice

27. Legos; Rummikub

28. Popsicle stick free play; junk mail {I save our junk mail and let her open it, cut it, write on it, etc.}

29. Dot markers; memory match {basically a memory/match game that I picked up at a garage sale}

30. Chalkboard drawing; muffin tin sorting: coins

Hope this gives you some ideas for your own toddler/preschooler.  I can usually get at least 30 minutes of teaching time out of these.  She doesn't always want to do them, but most of the time if they're already out, she's itching to get started after breakfast.  

If you have any links or ideas to share, please do!