My daughter was thriving at preschool, as it helped her burn off energy, learn, and play with kids. However, now with this pandemic, it has been hard to keep her busy. I have also wanted to provide her with educational activities for preschoolers, but I have had no idea where to start. Should we be working on letters? Or is it ok to just let her play? I don’t know. I think the most important thing may be to provide a balance of educational activities with play. Kids learn so much through play, that it’s just as important for cognitive development.

There are some tips that can help you teach your kids at home even if you don’t want to worry about getting “supplies” or too involved in creating activities if that’s not your thing. For example, you can “make everyday routines a teaching opportunity.” When you are doing laundry, tell your child what you are doing. Say “I’m putting the detergent in the washer, so all the clothes can be cleaned. And then once, that’s done, we will put the clothes in the dryer, so they are no longer wet.” In doing so, your kids are learning new words and how things work. You might also create stories with your child, which can help build their language, thinking, and creativity!

With all of this being said, if you’d like some more “formal” ideas, I sought out ideas from my fellow bloggers for educational activities for preschoolers. These activities consist of some traditional ones that focus on learning colors, numbers, and letters. I also added some science activities at the end.  I got a lot of suggestions, and I’m going to try some of these!

Educational Activities for Preschoolers

1. Counting Worksheet

From Katie Cruz

This is a super easy and cute activity to practice counting at home! Just go to the blog post and download the counting activity page!

2. Preschool Color Activities

From Ten Thousand and Hour Mama

This post has several color activities that you can choose from. For example, there is a colored popsicle-stick sorting activity. You grab a clean yogurt tub, glue a white piece of paper to the top, poke holes in the top, and then color around each hole (in a shade that corresponds to the colors of your popsicle sticks). And then the kids stick the correct colored popsicle stick in each hole.

3. Pre-Writing Activity

From Fab Working Mom Life

For this activity, you start by making a colorful salt tray, which is done by mixing salt, food coloring, and water. You can also get some alphabet flashcards to use a guide as your preschooler writes their letters in the sand.

4. Colors and Numbers Worksheets

From For Mommies by Mommy

These worksheets focus on counting and colors. Preschoolers can learn colors and match the correct word with each color (for example, the word “red” goes with a red strawberry). They can also practice finishing patterns and writing numbers! Go to the post to download the worksheets!

5. Shape Houses

From Live Well Play Together

For this activity, you can use construction paper and cut out shapes for your kids to use. Once this is done, give your kids some glue and allow them to build their shape house. You can talk about the different shapes, the colors of the shapes, and you can also count how many of each shape was used.

6. Rainbow Paper Craft for Kids

From Live Well Play Together

For this one, you can create your rainbow template, or she has one you can download. You also need construction paper of each color of the rainbow, as well as cotton balls and glue.  You can use this to, of course, practice recognizing colors. But, you can also use it for science lessons and as a Bible Story Lesson.

Common Supplies Needed for the Above Activities

Science Activities for Preschoolers

1. Coffee Filter Snowflake STEAM Activity

From Fab Working Mom Life

This is a great activity for those who are fans of Frozen II, as Elsa’s spell involves snowflakes. My daughter loves Frozen, so this is one we will try.

First, you have your preschooler draw all over the coffee filter. Then, you fold the coffee filter a few times and cut along the straight edge to make pattern cuts (without cutting all the way across or across the tip). Thus, this is a great activity to practice scissor skills!

Next, comes the chromatography, which is “separation chemistry.” With this part, you are allowing the pigments of each marker to separate as they travel up the filter. In order to do this, you add water to a container and you place the coffee filter loosely unfolded into the container (without submerging the whole thing). Thus, you end up with a colorful snowflake decoration!

2. Sink or Float Experiment

From A Flourishing Rose

You can use any items you find around the house such as a penny, a rubber duck, or a pom-pom. You also need a container that you can put water in. Before you put each item in, you can ask your child if he or she thinks it will sink or float. You can also discuss how heavier items sink, while lighter items float.

3. Shaving Cream Rain Activity

From Milestone Mom

For this activity, you pour water in a container like the one above, and then put a thin layer of shaving cream at the top. Then, you squirt some drops of food coloring into the shaving cream. You should see the food coloring seep through and create “rain.” You can talk about how the shaving cream would be like clouds, and how the food coloring is like the rain that comes out of the clouds.

If you are looking for some creative activities for preschoolers as well, check out this website: Creative Activities for Preschoolers

Final Thoughts on Educational Activities for Preschoolers

Hopefully, this pandemic and national shutdown will end soon. But, this is also a great time for connecting with your children and helping them build their cognitive skills, as well as their creativity. You don’t have to be an educator to help your children learn. Do what’s best for you and the routine you have in your child!

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