I’m trying to become more structured before Little Boo comes along, so I’ve made a list of “activity centers” and fun activities (indoor and outdoor) to keep my preschoolers occupied. I figured we will not be getting out as much in the winter (during my 3rd trimester/delivery/adjusting to a new baby) so I am trying to plan ahead so Mara and Micah don’t get bored!
A lot of these activities are taken from a Gymboree’s book Toddler Play (the page numbers reference that book).
This is an ever-growing list, so I would love to receive comments and input from other moms to add to or enhance the activities listed!
| Activity Centers | Supervised/Unsupervised | |
| Playdoh/clay | Supervised | |
| Watercolor Paint/Paint Book | Supervised | |
| Coloring w Crayons/Markers/Pencils | Supervised | |
| Finger Paints | Supervised | |
| Felt Board Stories, etc. | Supervised | |
| Trains!! | Supervised | |
| Playing with Dolls | Supervised/Unsupervised | |
| Puzzles | Unsupervised | |
| Dollhouse | Unsupervised | |
| Blocks | Unsupervised | |
| Daisy & Stacking Cups | Unsupervised | |
| Reading Books (Book Time!) | Unsupervised | |
| Legos | Unsupervised | |
| Shapes to Fit | Unsupervised | |
| Cars & Trucks (when he’s older) | Unsupervised | |
| Lincoln Logs (when he’s older) | Unsupervised | |
| Together Games | Inside/Outside | Gymboree |
| Unwrap the gift (favorite toys) | Inside | p.87 |
| Plastic/Cardboard Tube w tennis balls (Where’d the ball go?) | Inside | p.96 |
| Magnet fun on a cookie sheet! | Inside | p.103 |
| Pony Rides | Inside | p. 111 |
| Pretend “Aquarium” | Inside | p.117 |
| Scarf Tricks (Throwing, catching) | Inside | p.118 |
| Phone Fun (Practice talking on the phone with old/pretend phone) | Inside | p.119 |
| Bean Bag Bowling | Inside | p.121 |
| Playing Dress-Up (container of clothes/hats/scarves/shoes/boots) | Inside | p.124 |
| Bathtime for BabyDoll/other doll play | Inside | p. 126, 142 |
| Memory Game with Magic Cups | Inside | p.131 |
| Purse Treasures (real stuff that’s ok to play with: old keys, mirror, notepad; wallet; etc.) | Inside | p.135 |
| Feel & Guess what’s in the pillowcase?! | Inside | p.136 |
| Matching shoes w their mates | Inside | p. 140 |
| Wiffle balls threaded on rope between chairs | Inside | p.144 |
| Flashlight Hide and Seek (objects) | Inside | p.149 |
| Blindfolded: Guess the Scents?? | Inside | p.154 |
| Cut & Glue Magazine Pics: Collages | Inside | p.161 |
| Mimes/Acting: Tea party; Baking a cake; flying an airplane; cleaning house; galloping around on a horse | Inside | p. 164 |
| Matching colors of cars/trucks on pieces of construction paper | Inside | p. 166 |
| Dancing w Flying Streamers (Ribbons) | Inside | p. 170 |
| Sorting shapes; balls & blocks mixed up | Inside | p. 175 |
| Count and seek (3 or more similar items: cups, shoes, spoons/balls) | Inside | p. 176 |
| MusicMakers (Plastic bottles w beans, rice, pennies,etc.) | Inside | p.67 |
| Family Photo Fun (learning, remembering, praying for relatives) | Inside | p.70 |
| Open Shut Them | Inside | p. 104 |
| Puppets | Inside | p.107 |
| Recording voices on the computer | Inside | p.58 |
| Parachute/Blanket Play | Inside | |
| Walk/crawl the pillow course | Inside | p. 36 |
| Music from the Kitchen Cabinet | Inside | p.44 |
| Reading Books | Inside | |
| Plastic Jars: w interesting items | Inside | |
| Mirror Faces | Inside | p.60 |
| Nesting games (Cups/Bowls/Etc.) | Inside | p.64 |
| Parade (tie wheeled toys together; decorate w ribbons, streamers) | Inside/Outside | p.90 |
| Baby Basketball (w bowl/laundry basket) | Inside/Outside | p.93 |
| Walking on a balance beam (board) | Inside/Outside | p.106 |
| Pretend “Train Trips” around house | Inside/Outside | p. 108 |
| Throwing Balls into Water-filled Bowls | Inside/Outside | p. 145 |
| Jumping & Landing on Target | Inside/Outside | p. 158 |
| Paper megaphone: learning about tone, direction, volume of voice; amplifying silly songs; etc. | Inside/Outside | p. 169 |
| Magnifying Glasses | Inside/Outside | p. 172 |
| Sorting by size: 3 paper bags (S/M/L) and a big pile of leaves | Inside/Outside | p. 177 |
| Help groom/feed the dogs | Inside/Outside | p.179 |
| Imitating Animal Sounds/Actions | Inside/Outside | p. 180-1 |
| Roll the ball/Beach Ball Toss | Inside/Outside | p. 24, 105 |
| Hide and Seek | Inside/Outside | p.79 |
| Talk About the Body (Where’s your nose? Etc.) | Inside/Outside | p.82 |
| Nature Walk & Collage (Find feather, leaves, flowers, grass, sticks, stones, etc.) | Outside | p.85 |
| Tree Walk/Talk (Leaves, trunks, roots, branches; creatures’ homes; acorns, leaves, pinecones, bark, etc) | Outside | p.101 |
| Visit PetCo!!!! Find all the animals | Outside | |
| Blowing Bubbles | Outside | |
| Sand Play (Toys, kitchen utensils; garden tools) | Outside | |
Sounds like you’re thinking ahead. 🙂
My twin boys are four years old. They also love tinker toys, cutting with scissors, Mr. Potato Head, and playing dress up. They also love all the other activities you’ve listed 🙂 Definitely give them a box of costumes to dress up in. It will keep them busy for hours and hours. Batman and Robin are their current favorites.