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50 Everyday Play Ideas for Toddlers and Preschoolers (Free Printable)

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50 Everyday Play Ideas for Toddlers and Preschoolers

My oldest just started school and I have been finding it a bit strange with just me and my almost-three-year-old in the house. I haven’t been used to so much one-on-one time with him and I will admit I’ve been a bit stuck for ideas of what to do!

After considering the reason for this, I have realized that usually we worked off my older son’s ideas for play… if he wanted to draw dinosaurs or look for bugs, for example, my youngest was more than glad to follow big brother’s lead.  But due to this pattern there are have been quite a few activities that were a bit too “babyish” for my older son that my youngest son has yet to fully experiment with.

Therefore I looked up a list of play ideas I created when my oldest was a toddler, and re-vamped it to use now with my youngest who turns three in a few months. My idea is just to choose one or two play ideas each day we have together, and go through the list to find out what he enjoys.  It is going to be so fun to have this special time together and I am excited to see his interests develop independent of his brother’s influence.

You can download this list to print out yourself using the link at the end of this post.

50 Everyday Play Ideas for Toddlers and Preschoolers

  1. Playdough
  2. Painting
  3. Coloring (marker, crayon, pencil, pens)
  4. Stamps
  5. Collage making (gluing magazine pictures or shapes cut from colored paper)
  6. Stickers
  7. Splash pool or sink play
  8. Sandbox
  9. Play with hose outside
  10. Sidewalk chalk
  11. Stack plasticware in kitchen to make a big tower
  12. Gardening
  13. Drumming (do a beat and have your child copy)
  14. Make a fun snack
  15. Baking
  16. Vacuum
  17. Reading
  18. Dance to music
  19. Learn a new song
  20. Create a birthday card for someone
  21. Set up a pretend restaurant
  22. Make a fort (great when you are removing sheets from bed, before washing them)
  23. Relay race
  24. Wash toys
  25. Bubbles
  26. Guess what’s in the bag
  27. Puzzles
  28. Play charades (pretend you are animals and guess)
  29. Picnic
  30. Ball play (throw, kick, roll, bounce)
  31. Finger puppets
  32. Bean bag toss into a basket
  33. Play school with dolls/stuffed animals
  34. Hide and Seek
  35. Dress up
  36. Let your child take photos
  37. Balloon play
  38. Puppets
  39. Doctor play (create a kit with cotton balls, lotion, bandages)
  40. Create a zoo with farm animals or dinosaurs
  41. Go fishing/do boat play
  42. Wash the cabinets and windows
  43. Legos or blocks
  44. Play store
  45. Make up a story with props around us
  46. Simon Says
  47. Painting
  48. String dry pasta onto pipe cleaners
  49. Play pictionary (draw pictures and have your child guess)
  50. Call or Skype friends or family living in another town

Click here to download the list.

If you would like to find activities to learn about specific character traits, such as kindness or responsibility, go here.

For more ideas, join me on Facebook and Pinterest where I share about connecting with children, developing character, and making a difference as a family.

What ideas would you add to this list?  What is your toddler or preschooler’s favorite type of play?

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Filed Under: Blog, My Printables, Parenting, Play Ideas, Positive Parenting

About Chelsea Lee Smith

Author, certified parent educator, and mother of three with a background in Communications and Counselling, Chelsea provides resources to parents and teachers who want to incorporate personal growth into everyday moments. Follow her @momentsaday on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Emma @ P is for Preschooler

    January 31, 2014 at 10:43 pm

    This is a great list! And since they don’t require much or any set-up, you can grab an idea from the list when you need it.

    Reply
  2. Maria

    February 1, 2014 at 6:21 am

    excellent! just what I was looking for this week – I was gonna write one myself, so you really saved me some time and effort 😉

    Reply
  3. Shonda

    February 21, 2014 at 4:50 am

    I love lists like this. I always feel like I’m scrambling to find something for the kids to do. I know what I need to do, but it’s hard to direct them sometimes. This quick list will keep things fresh.

    Reply
    • Chelsea Lee Smith

      February 21, 2014 at 7:42 am

      Yay so glad it will help! We’ve enjoyed using it 🙂

      Reply

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About the Author

Chelsea Lee Smith is an author, certified parent educator, and mother of three children with a background in Communications and Counselling. She provides resources to parents and teachers who want to incorporate personal growth into everyday moments. Browse the shop and blog categories to find practical inspiration for family life including tips, activities, printable pages, and resource recommendations.

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