50 Fun Activities to Entertain Your Preschool Child

The activities I have listed below are all activities I have either used with my own children or children I have taught or babysat over the years. They are simple and don't require a lot of materials, yet provide lots of opportunities for you to spend quality time with your child as well as learning experiences that will help your child develop cognitively and creatively.

Read a book to your child, then have them read it back to you by looking at the pictures and describing what he sees as well as what he remembers hearing.

Re-use old books by cutting out pictures . . . sequencing: have your child put the pictures in order of the story; make up new stories, cut one picture into smaller pieces to make a puzzle.

Look through magazines and try to find all the letters in the alphabet, cut them out and then glue them to a piece of paper in order; cut out letters to make simple words such as cat, dog, car, bat and then have your child draw illustrations to go with the words.

Have an alphabet hunt around the house . . . you can look for the actual letters or you can look for items that start with each letter, depending on your child's abilities.

Write the letters out on pieces of sturdy paper and lay them out in a circle. Play some music and have your child walk around until the music stops. When the music stops, have him tell you what the letter is or you could have him tell you something that starts with that letter.

Cut out comic strips from the paper and cover up the words and let your child come up with what he thinks it should say.

Have your child practice writing his letters in an unusual way, such as in pudding on a tray with his finger or with sidewalk chalk outside.

Fill a big tub, bucket, or bathtub with water and find various items around the house (toys, coins, paper, wood, etc.) Have your child guess which items he thinks might float then do an experiment to see which items float or sink.