I’m trying to become more structured before Little Boo comes along, so I’ve made a list of “activity centers” and fun activities (indoor and outdoor) to keep my preschoolers occupied. I figured we will not be getting out as much in the winter (during my 3rd trimester/delivery/adjusting to a new baby) so I am trying to plan ahead so Mara and Micah don’t get bored!
A lot of these activities are taken from a Gymboree’s book Toddler Play (the page numbers reference that book).
This is an ever-growing list, so I would love to receive comments and input from other moms to add to or enhance the activities listed!
| Activity Centers | Supervised/Unsupervised | |
| Playdoh/clay | Supervised | |
| Watercolor Paint/Paint Book | Supervised | |
| Coloring w Crayons/Markers/Pencils | Supervised | |
| Finger Paints | Supervised | |
| Felt Board Stories, etc. | Supervised | |
| Trains!! | Supervised | |
| Playing with Dolls | Supervised/Unsupervised | |
| Puzzles | Unsupervised | |
| Dollhouse | Unsupervised | |
| Blocks | Unsupervised | |
| Daisy & Stacking Cups | Unsupervised | |
| Reading Books (Book Time!) | Unsupervised | |
| Legos | Unsupervised | |
| Shapes to Fit | Unsupervised | |
| Cars & Trucks (when he’s older) | Unsupervised | |
| Lincoln Logs (when he’s older) | Unsupervised | |
| Together Games | Inside/Outside | Gymboree |
| Unwrap the gift (favorite toys) | Inside | p.87 |
| Plastic/Cardboard Tube w tennis balls (Where’d the ball go?) | Inside | p.96 |
| Magnet fun on a cookie sheet! | Inside | p.103 |
| Pony Rides | Inside | p. 111 |
| Pretend “Aquarium” | Inside | p.117 |
| Scarf Tricks (Throwing, catching) | Inside | p.118 |
| Phone Fun (Practice talking on the phone with old/pretend phone) | Inside | p.119 |
| Bean Bag Bowling | Inside | p.121 |
| Playing Dress-Up (container of clothes/hats/scarves/shoes/boots) | Inside | p.124 |
| Bathtime for BabyDoll/other doll play | Inside | p. 126, 142 |
| Memory Game with Magic Cups | Inside | p.131 |
| Purse Treasures (real stuff that’s ok to play with: old keys, mirror, notepad; wallet; etc.) | Inside | p.135 |
| Feel & Guess what’s in the pillowcase?! | Inside | p.136 |
| Matching shoes w their mates | Inside | p. 140 |
| Wiffle balls threaded on rope between chairs | Inside | p.144 |
| Flashlight Hide and Seek (objects) | Inside | p.149 |
| Blindfolded: Guess the Scents?? | Inside | p.154 |
| Cut & Glue Magazine Pics: Collages | Inside | p.161 |
| Mimes/Acting: Tea party; Baking a cake; flying an airplane; cleaning house; galloping around on a horse | Inside | p. 164 |
| Matching colors of cars/trucks on pieces of construction paper | Inside | p. 166 |
| Dancing w Flying Streamers (Ribbons) | Inside | p. 170 |
| Sorting shapes; balls & blocks mixed up | Inside | p. 175 |
| Count and seek (3 or more similar items: cups, shoes, spoons/balls) | Inside | p. 176 |
| MusicMakers (Plastic bottles w beans, rice, pennies,etc.) | Inside | p.67 |
| Family Photo Fun (learning, remembering, praying for relatives) | Inside | p.70 |
| Open Shut Them | Inside | p. 104 |
| Puppets | Inside | p.107 |
| Recording voices on the computer | Inside | p.58 |
| Parachute/Blanket Play | Inside | |
| Walk/crawl the pillow course | Inside | p. 36 |
| Music from the Kitchen Cabinet | Inside | p.44 |
| Reading Books | Inside | |
| Plastic Jars: w interesting items | Inside | |
| Mirror Faces | Inside | p.60 |
| Nesting games (Cups/Bowls/Etc.) | Inside | p.64 |
| Parade (tie wheeled toys together; decorate w ribbons, streamers) | Inside/Outside | p.90 |
| Baby Basketball (w bowl/laundry basket) | Inside/Outside | p.93 |
| Walking on a balance beam (board) | Inside/Outside | p.106 |
| Pretend “Train Trips” around house | Inside/Outside | p. 108 |
| Throwing Balls into Water-filled Bowls | Inside/Outside | p. 145 |
| Jumping & Landing on Target | Inside/Outside | p. 158 |
| Paper megaphone: learning about tone, direction, volume of voice; amplifying silly songs; etc. | Inside/Outside | p. 169 |
| Magnifying Glasses | Inside/Outside | p. 172 |
| Sorting by size: 3 paper bags (S/M/L) and a big pile of leaves | Inside/Outside | p. 177 |
| Help groom/feed the dogs | Inside/Outside | p.179 |
| Imitating Animal Sounds/Actions | Inside/Outside | p. 180-1 |
| Roll the ball/Beach Ball Toss | Inside/Outside | p. 24, 105 |
| Hide and Seek | Inside/Outside | p.79 |
| Talk About the Body (Where’s your nose? Etc.) | Inside/Outside | p.82 |
| Nature Walk & Collage (Find feather, leaves, flowers, grass, sticks, stones, etc.) | Outside | p.85 |
| Tree Walk/Talk (Leaves, trunks, roots, branches; creatures’ homes; acorns, leaves, pinecones, bark, etc) | Outside | p.101 |
| Visit PetCo!!!! Find all the animals | Outside | |
| Blowing Bubbles | Outside | |
| Sand Play (Toys, kitchen utensils; garden tools) | Outside | |
Posted on September 19th, 2009 by Becky
Filed under: Becky's Thoughts, Preschoolers
Sounds like you’re thinking ahead.
My twin boys are four years old. They also love tinker toys, cutting with scissors, Mr. Potato Head, and playing dress up. They also love all the other activities you’ve listed
Definitely give them a box of costumes to dress up in. It will keep them busy for hours and hours. Batman and Robin are their current favorites.