Homeschooling with a Preschooler 2
Here are 17 more activities to keep preschoolers busy while you get homeschool and other things accomplished. Use appropriate activities for your child's age and ability. It helps to stay with your child for 4-5 minutes to get them interested. Just sit beside them and show them what to do until they are involved. If they don't seem interested in one thing, try something else.
1. Empty spools to thread on yarn or shoelaces.
2. A felt story board and felt objects. (You can easily make the board yourself with a quick visit to the fabric store using a leftover piece of wood or sturdy cardboard. Then, cut objects out with scissors using pattern books available at some libraries.)
3. Empty milk/juice cartons to build forts, doll houses, etc with. These can be inserted inside of each other to make a complete rectangular box after the lids have been cut off.
4. Shoe boxes with the lids glued or taped down make good building blocks also.
5. A cornmeal, oatmeal or rice "sandbox" to use on a porch or easy to clean floor area complete with funnels, measuring cups, wide handled spoons, recycled plastic bowls with lids, sand toys, etc. Use a rubbermaid container that is low and wide, but not too hard to handle when filled.
6. Give them a hole puncher (if they can squeeze it) and some paper. They can paste mosaics with the holes later.
7. Chalk drawings on paper grocery bags. Wet the bags with a spray bottle and let them draw in flourescent colors.
8. Glue on paper bags, cardboard, etc (not including the floor or kitchen table): crackers, raisins, Rice Krispies or Cheerios cereal, cotton balls, torn paper bits, scraps of cloth, cut out pictures, macaroni, egg shells, large buttons, small shells, dried beans, seeds, bits of wood, plastic tabs off bread bags, etc.
9. Dress up play. Use old clothing or inexpensive thrift store finds. For girls be sure to include ribbons, hats, artificial flowers, blouses, coats, purses, shoes, etc. For boys, include uniforms, wallets, hats, badges, cloth tool belt (available at Lowes) with ties cut shorter, etc. Paper bags make good masks, or can be cut to make a costume.
10. Give them the materials to make small paper bag hand puppets.
11. Let them set up a play store using small packages and canned goods from your pantry. Be sure to stop by occassionally and make a purchase. Take your change in hugs & kisses!
12. Let them do simple chores like sweeping, dusting low furniture, wiping around doorknobs with a damp rag, pick up toys, etc. Compliment them on the good job they do!
13. Set older preschoolers on a chair at a sink with a veggie brush and let them wash vegetables like carrots, potatoes, etc for dinner.
14. Make a bowling alley for older preschoolers with 10 old milk or soda bottles and a ball. Show them how to set up the pins and how to play.
15. Bean bag toss it games.
16. One thing my son loved at 3-4 was a thick wide board his dad had started several nails spaced widely apart. We gave him a light hammer and he would bang on those nails for a while. Peaceful? No. Kept him busy? Definitely. Remember to get a thick board and put it on a protected surface instead of your bare floor.
17. On a snowy day that was too cold for them to play outside, I brought the snow inside for Brandon and Amanda. It didn't make the mess I thought it would. I put it in a large wide pan with a thick towel underneath and let them play in it with toys, cookie cutters, cars and trucks, farm animals, and a little food coloring.