I have two preschoolers at home with me right now: Kate just turned 3, and Emma is 5. I keep a list on our fridge of all of our favorite activity ideas- things that we love to do over and over again. And today I’m sharing it with you: The big list of preschool activities.
(By the way, if you want to see what our daily schedule looks like, and how our family uses this activity list, you can read more about that here.)
Preschool activity list
Before I start listing off activities, I wanted to share this free printable schedule and activity list with you. It includes all of our favorite preschool activities and links, along with space for you to write out your own daily schedule:
Click here to download your preschool activity list.
You can also enter your email address below, and I’ll send you my entire preschool-at-home planning pack.
These 5 pages include a blank and pre-filled preschool planning sheet, a year’s worth of preschool theme ideas, and a blank activity list for you to customize.
Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post contains affiliate links, meaning that if you choose to click through and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
OK, let’s get right to it: Here are all of our favorite preschool activities to do at home.
1. Move
It’s tough when your options for leaving the house are limited, but it’s still good for everyone to get moving at least once a day. Here are a few ideas that we keep coming back to:
- Go Noodle: This is a website (or app) with fun videos of songs that kids can sing and dance along with. The best channels for preschoolers are Koo Koo Kanga Roo, and Moosetube.
- Dance party: We love to put on music and dance! As a variation, the girls will put on dress up clothes and “put on a show.” We also like to use scarves, bean bags, rhythm sticks, etc. You can see a list of our favorite movement songs here.
- Take a walk
- Play in the backyard: We have running races, play in the sandbox, water the garden with the hose, practice our cartwheels and summersaults, etc.
- Ride bikes: Sometimes we drive to a nearby park where there is a walking path away from traffic. Sometimes we just let the girls ride in circles around the driveway and in the garage.
- Go on a hike: AllTrails is my favorite app for finding good hiking paths in your area. I like that you can plot your progress the entire time you’re hiking, so you know exactly “how much farther” when your kids start asking you. Ha!
- Yoga or workout videos: Our favorite kid-friendly workouts (that also get me sweating!) are on Zumba Kids.
2. Play
We do a lot of good old independent play time- the girls play with their toys, invent new games together, and use their imaginations. But when they get tired of that, we sometimes direct them towards one of these ideas:
- Water table/pool: We love spending hours in the inflatable kiddie pool in the backyard. We use our water table all year round, and the recycling bin has proven to be the best source of water toys. Sometimes we add water beads for something different.
- Make a fort: If you do anything else on this list, but you do it in a fort, it’s like a whole new activity.
- Board games: Our favorites for young preschoolers are Yeti in my Spaghetti and Pengoloo. For our older preschooler, we love Candy Land and Race to the Treasure.
- Dress up
- PBS Kids: There are a lot of games and activities on the PBS website that are perfect for little ones. We also like the app.
- Play-Doh
- Pretend play: We keep coming back to this post over and over: 32 Free Pretend Play Printables. We’ve used almost all of them, from the vet forms, to the pretend menus, to the grocery shopping lists, to add to our playtime fun.
3. Create
We almost always incorporate art into our day in some way. Often, we just set out some art supplies and let the girls create whatever they want. Sometimes we supervise a more difficult craft project. Here are some of our favorites:
- Art for kids Hub: This is a YouTube channel that has step-by-step directions for completing all kinds of drawings. They have videos for a range of ages. My kids are always asking to do this!
- Painting: What kid doesn’t love to paint? There are so many variations you can do with this one. Paint cards to send to friends. Paint cardboard or construction paper with water. Stamp paintings with leaves, marshmallows, your feet… anything you want!
- Coloring
- Sidewalk chalk
- Stickers
- Butcher paper art: We have huge rolls of paper from Ikea, and I’ve learned that every art project is much more exciting when you do a giant version of it that takes up the whole floor. We like making banners that say things like, “Happy Birthday!” or “Thank you!” and sending pictures of them to people.
4. Read
Our favorite way to read is snuggled up on the couch with a real book. But there are lots of other ways that kids can “read” (or be read to) as well. We especially appreciate these other options during quiet time.
- FaceTime or video stories: Ask your family members to send a video or voice recording of themselves reading a story. Or FaceTime for story time.
- Books on CD: You can buy books on CD, or just record yourself reading. (You can see how we created an entire listening library for our kids here.)
- Libby: This is the library app that lets you check out books electronically.
- Epic: This is another website where you can download digital books. I’ve found that it has a great collection of nonfiction texts for kids, which is great if you have a kid who asks a lot of questions. (Free trial available.)
- Audible: A collection of audiobooks
- Youtube Read alouds: If I have a specific book I want to “read” with the kids, I just type the title into YouTube, along with the phrase read aloud. There’s almost always something available.
5. Learn
I actually do a short play-based preschool lesson with the girls every day. (You can see what that looks like for us by clicking here.) But there are lots of additional resources available to support preschool learning. Here are a few of them:
- Science experiments: This is my list of 17 super easy science experiments that you can do at home with your kids.
- ABC Mouse: This is my kids’ favorite of the online reading programs we’ve tried. A free trial is available.
- Starfall: A lot of content is available for free. Pay for full access.
- Reading Eggs: A free trial is available.
- The Crafty Classroom: Preschool curriculum: (Great for older preschoolers) If you need a break from the screens, you can print out some of these resources. Some are free, and some are not, but they are all great quality. We especially like the science packets and the sight word curriculum.
- Playing Preschool curriculum: (Great for younger preschoolers) This is a good program if you’re looking for something structured and screen-free. I did this with Emma was she was about 2-3 years old, and she loved it.
- Activity workbooks: My kids like doing pages from their activity workbooks, especially if I tear out a page, write their name on it, and put it on a clipboard for them. I guess that makes it seem more special!
- Calendar time: We have a calendar like this one at home, and we like to spend a little time each day going over the date, the weather, and the season.
- National Geographic Kids: This website has tons of interesting videos, especially about all different kinds of animals.
- Khan Academy Kids: This app is full of free learning resources.
6. Help
Preschoolers aren’t too young to help out around the house. Here are a few ideas for chores they can do or ways they can help brighten someone else’s day:
- Wipe surfaces: I hand each kid a wipe and direct them towards one specific thing to clean: the fridge door, a specific baseboard, the wall above the trash can, etc.
- Dust: My kids love to use Swiffer Dusters.
- Put away their own laundry
- Cook or bake: We love this website for kid-friendly cooking ideas.
- Put away toys
- Feed pets
- Help clean up a meal
- Send a card
- Water plants
- Donate unused toys
- Play with a sibling: Sometimes the most helpful thing my kids can do is to talk or sing to the baby for a few minutes while I get something done.
7. More
Here are a few more of our favorite preschool activities:
- FaceTime a friend of family member: My kids have especially enjoyed playing games and doing art projects with family members over FaceTime.
- Dictate a story: Emma and Kate both love to tell me a story while I type what they are saying. Then I print out the paper and let them illustrate it.
- Sunday School: Some churches will put out a video version of a Sunday School lesson once a week.
- Picnic snack/lunch: We snack a lot. If the weather is nice, we eat our snack outside. No mess to clean up, and it’s something different.
- Highlights for Kids: We enjoy all of the Highlights magazines (there are 3 different magazines for 3 age categories, and they are all fantastic.) But they also have a great website with lots of activity ideas for preschoolers.
- Library story time: Check your library to see if they are putting out a video or FaceBook version of story time.
Do you have more ideas for preschool activities?
Let me know in the comments! I’d love to keep adding to this list. 🙂
Printable checklist
Don’t forget to print out your checklist and start creating an activity list that’s perfect for your own daily schedule. This idea list keeps me from getting too bored, because it’s easy to mix things up with something new while still being consistent with our basic routines.
-Laura
You might also like:
Eric Carle: Preschool activity ideas you can do at home
5 days of Eric Carle preschool activity ideas that you can do with your kids at home: My son is 4 years old, and the days can be long. BUT it always makes a huge difference when we have a small activity or two already planned to look forward to each day. Which is why…
Continue Reading Eric Carle: Preschool activity ideas you can do at home
Gift ideas for kids that they will actually use all year long
I have four kids, and I’ve noticed a difference between toys and gifts that kids play with over and over all year round, and the ones that lie forgotten in a closet once the holidays are over. The best type of gifts encourage creativity and imagination. These gifts can be used over and over in…
Continue Reading Gift ideas for kids that they will actually use all year long
Mud kitchen tutorial
How to make an outdoor mud kitchen for kids with running water, out of a potting bench Did you ever make nature stew when you were a kid? We used to have a blast “cooking” with dirt, grass, leaves, flower petals, and water from the garden hose. As a mom, I decided to make a…
Cardboard box car track
A few days ago, my 3 year old and I created a cardboard box car track. It was a huge hit, and was played with for many happy afternoons. When I posted about it on Instagram, a bunch of people wanted all the details about how we made it and how they could make their…
Summer activities for kids: Printable calendar
Summer activities for kids: Want some fun, easy activities to do with your kids this summer? I created a printable calendar with links to an entire month of themed activities, including snacks, science experiments, art projects, and trip ideas. And if you want to follow along while my kids and I try out these activities,…
Continue Reading Summer activities for kids: Printable calendar
Questions to ask when looking for a daycare
Below are five steps to follow in order to choose the perfect daycare option for your child. Then you’ll find a list of questions worth considering before making your final decision. Steps to take when looking for a childcare option for your baby Step 1: Ask yourself some basic questions. When will you need childcare?…
Continue Reading Questions to ask when looking for a daycare
Pin it for later:
Craig says
This is a fantastic list, thank you! We have been enjoying activities on Play Connect as well lately – they have a bunch of different activities to try
admin says
I’ll have to check it out- thanks!