Inside: Fill your time at home with these simple to set up at-home preschool activities, ranging from literacy games to yoga poses. Each idea builds important skills, too!
Finding ways to entertain your children at home often feels overwhelming. Finding ways to do this while focusing on their skill development can sound even harder. Don’t worry, putting together activities at home is simple and requires fairly basic supplies! The sorted list below will inspire you to fill your afternoons with fun fine motor games and art activities.
For the most part, you probably have access to a good amount of the supplies used in these activities. If not, you can put together some great activities with similar structures with what you do have! Some of the common items used in these activities are tape, pipe cleaners, clothespins, and whatever toys you have on hand!
50+ At-Home Activities for Preschoolers (and Toddlers!)
Fine Motor Activities
Squeezing Water with Basters – Add mini basters to a tub of water to work on squeezing the hand muscles.
Pipe Cleaner Beading – Preschoolers will use their pincer grasp to slide beads onto the pipe cleaners.
Q-Tip Foil Painting – Provide sheets of foil, paint, and q-tips to use as paint brushes.
Garlic Press Playdough – Show children how to squeeze playdough through a garlic press or citrus squeezer.
Cut Straw Threading – Cut straws into smaller pieces for preschoolers to thread onto yarn, creating a necklace.
Hole Punching Paper – Preschoolers will hole punch various colors of paper to strengthen hand muscles. (The Resourceful Mama)
Bead Drop – Cut out a lid with four small holes to drop beads through into a jar. (Modern Preschool)
Peeling Tape – Lay strips of painter’s tape down on a table for toddlers to peel off. (Hands On As We Grow)
Squeezing Sponges – Include some giant sponges into a bin of water for squeezing. (Things to Share and Remember)
Pipe Cleaner Weaving – Preschoolers will weave pipe cleaners back and forth through a cooling rack. (JDaniel4’s Mom)
Pom-Pom Tube Drop – Tape toilet paper tubes to the wall to create a course for the pom-poms to drop through. (Teaching Littles)
Clothespin Clipping – Provide a wire basket for children to clip clothespins onto. (School Time Snippets)
Cutting Strips – Print off these strips with lines for preschoolers to cut, working on their scissor skills. (Planes and Balloons)
Easy Paper Tunnels – Tape pieces of paper onto the ground in an arched formation for toddlers to push cars or a ball through. (Mama Papa Bubba)
Rubber Band Pinecones – Wrap rubber bands around pinecones to work on coordination. (The Imagination Tree)
Math and Cognitive Skill Activities
Playdough Counting Mats – Roll balls of playdough to match the number on the printable mats.
Number Matching with Paper Cups – Match the number on top of the paper cups with the amount of dots on the paper. (Fun Learning for Kids)
DIY Counting Cards – Make your own counting cards using stickers or dots. (Learn with Play at Home)
Car Park Numbers – Tape numbers on top of toy cars and create a cardboard parking lot with numbered spaces to match them together. (B-Inspired Mama)
Shape Hunt – Hide different shape cut-outs around your space for preschoolers to hunt for and find.
Simple Shape Puzzles – Draw shapes onto multiple popsicle sticks for homemade puzzle pieces. (Toddler At Play)
Tape Shape Outlines – Put down outlines of shapes using painter’s tape to trace around with different small objects. (Learning 4 Kids)
House Color Hunt – Have a scavenger hunt where preschoolers have to search for different objects around the house that match the colors on the sheet. (Toddler At Play)
Shape Sorting – Sort toys and various objects into piles on the floor by shape. (Busy Toddler)
Fill to the Line – Draw or tape a line over a clear container for preschoolers to fill to that line. (Days With Grey)
Art Activities
Circle Stampers – Simply dip empty paper rolls into various colors of paint to make a stamp for circle shapes.
Watercolor Garland – Paint with watercolors and q-tips to create a beautiful decoration. (Artbar)
Sponge Painting – Clip sponges with clothespins to make sponge brushes. (Busy Toddler)
Paper Plate Sculptures – Decorate paper plates and cut the sides to connect the plates together. (Kids Activities)
Fizzy Flour Paint – Create your own flour paint that fizzes using flour and baking soda. (Playdough to Plato)
Sponge Rainbow – Paint the different colors of the rainbow on a sponge to swipe a rainbow onto paper.
Blow Paint – Use a straw to blow the watercolors around the paper, creating a fun effect. (Simple Everyday Mom)
Yarn Process Art – Drag the pieces of yarn around the paper through the paint. (Buggy and Buddy)
DIY Paintbrushes – Experiment with clipping various objects to clothespins to make unique paintbrushes. (The Inspired Home)
Painting With Bubbles – Use a paint and soap mixture to blow bubbles onto the paper, leaving an outline of them behind. (Early Learning Ideas)
Citrus Printing – Cut citrus fruits in half to stamp with paint, leaving behind a fun print. (Rhythms of Play)
Literacy Activities
Introduce Journals – Show your preschooler how journals are books for writing and drawing their thoughts in.
Cupcake Tin Letter Sorting – Preschoolers will sort out the letters into the correct cupcake liner. (The Imagination Tree)
Post-It Alphabet – Write down letters onto post-it notes for kids to stick under the matching letter. (Busy Toddler)
Playdough Name Prints – Push foam or magnetic letters into the playdough to make a print of the child’s name letter by letter. (123 Homeschool 4 Me)
Name Stamp – Glue foam letters backwards to a popsicle stick to create a stamp. (My Bored Toddler)
Touch and Feel Letters – Glue pipe cleaners onto pieces of cardboard to create letters that toddlers can touch. (Teach Me Mommy)
Sensory Letter Hunt – Bury letters in a sensory bin for preschoolers to dig through and match onto the paper. (Busy Toddler)
Hidden Letters – Write down the child’s name with white crayon for them to reveal with watercolors. (Fantastic Fun and Learning)
Large Motor Activities
Bubble Wrap Runway – Tape leftover bubble wrap down onto the ground for toddlers to walk on and pop. (Hands On As We Grow)
Hallway Maze – Tape streamers to the walls of your hallway to make a laser maze to move through without touching the streamers. (It’s Always Autumn)
Indoor Obstacle Course – Set up a simple obstacle course within your own home to promote movement. (How to Run a Home Daycare)
Walk the Lines – Lay lines of painters tape on the ground in various paths for toddlers to follow. (Hands On As We Grow)
Texture Walk – Tape various materials onto the ground for toddlers to walk on, experiencing all of the different textures. (A Cotton Kandi Life)
Yoga for Kids – Get the body moving and stretching with these yoga poses for young kids. (Kids Yoga Stories)
Toddler and Preschool Activity Plans
Looking for an entire year’s worth of learning activities? We’ve done the work for you!
I have helped create each of these packets, along with a team of talented educators and homeschoolers.
Easy to follow activity plans include activity modifications and adaptations to meet the needs of all learners.
Every theme comes with recommended reading lists, songs, material lists, and more.
Click on the graphics below for more details.
Toddlers (18 – 36 months):
Preschool (3 – 5 Years):
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