Spring season will soon be arriving and it’s time to prepare to entertain your little toddlers and preschoolers. Whether you are a parent, grandparent or a caregiver who runs a successful day care center, you should be full of ideas when it comes to activities for little toddlers and preschoolers. If you are having a hard time thinking of some interesting and constructive activities for young toddlers and preschoolers, check out this fun collection of activities.
Spring Activities for Toddlers
Although toddlers are only just learning how to walk and express themselves through different vocal sounds, there are a lot of activities that will keep these little guys entertained for a long while. At the same time, these activities also teach the toddlers some cognitive skills and how to use their various muscles for gross motor development.
· Seat your child in front of you at some distance. Now roll a ball towards your toddler and let him catch it. For this, you must first show him how a ball is caught between two hands. Once he is able to stop the ball from rolling with both of his hands, you must clap to encourage him. This activity will not only keep him busy but will also develop hand and eye coordination.
· Spread some protective plastic or newspaper over the carpet or the floor and bring in some bowls which are slightly filled with non-toxic acrylic or poster paints. Put some large white sheets or chart paper in front of your child and dip his hand softly in the paint before pressing it on the paper. Your child is going to love the gooey texture of the paint and will enjoy patterns being made on the paper.
· Toddlers especially enjoy playing with building blocks and you are in luck because there is a huge variety of building blocks now available at toy stores. You can pick the ones which are smooth to touch and not very small so that the toddler may easily handle them. You can also buy them in different shapes so that he learns to categorize them.
Spring Activities for Preschoolers
Pre-schoolers are full of energy and are at a very interesting age where they constantly want some activities to keep them busy.
· Preschoolers love to play with paint and they will especially enjoy it if you hand them over little balloons filled with paints. However, for this activity use a room or space where you don’t mind some spilled paint. Let them explode the balloons together to learn how different colours are formed.
· If you had planned potting some plants, herbs or seeds then the spring would be the perfect time to do that. Have your little pre-schooler indulge in activities like this to expand his hands-on knowledge.
· And when it comes to pots, what better activity can you plan then painting some colourful shades on the pots! Your preschooler will love seeing the plants she helped pot grow in the pots she designed herself.
The great thing about activities for toddlers and preschoolers is that this age group knows how to have fun with just about anything you place in front of them. Get creative and use supplies that you already have on hand! Boxes, paper plates, crayons, and paints are just about all you need to have a great time.
About the author:
Olfa is the founder of MyKidsGuide where she shares educational games and activities for kids! You can find her on Facebook and Twitter as well as Google+
Katie G says
What a timely post! 🙂 Thanks!!
Janet W. says
Great ideas! I, too, have found that most everything I give my grandson to do that’s new for him, he really enjoys!
mykidsguide says
Thanks for the feature. Glad you enjoyed!
amber whitehead says
Thanks we love painting and I definitely want to get in some Spring Gardening.
Ari says
I love all these simple, but really creative ways to entertain kids! The herb gardening is a great idea that a preschool aged child would probably be very interested in doing. I also like the inclusion of color; the paint idea seems like such a fun and engrossing way to really allow toddlers to develop a feel for things and also gives a creative feedback so they will learn their abilities.
Olivia rubin says
I love the idea of painting the pots and then planting in them. My mon and I once did this when was 12 or so. It was a really nice time we spent together and we still talk a out it till this day, but for the wrong reasons. We realized after it rained outside that we used acrylic paints and all we did washed away! I remember I came home fro, the bus stop and asked why she put out plain pots!