Many homeschool families have at least one preschooler underfoot, overhead, and zooming all over the place. It can make things challenging when it comes to intentional learning time! Whether you’re looking for ways to teach your littles at home or just need tips for keeping them happy and occupied, these homeschool activities for preschoolers are for you.
Boisterous Activities
All of that toddler energy is just begging and bursting to be used! There’s a lot of development that takes place and preschoolers need to be able to try different things to gain spatial awareness, balance, skills, and the ability to take risks (under your supervision and guidance, naturally!).
Here are some homeschool physical activity ideas for your preschooler:
- go for a nature walk
- play on a playground
- ride the tricycle
- walk quickly from one end of the room to another end
- create and run an obstacle course
- jump from one end of the room to another end
- crab crawls
- bear crawls
- jump on a mini trampoline
- jump in puddles
- go on a backyard scavenger hunt
- dance to music (try hymns and worship music!)
- play hide and seek
Chores
Preschoolers can participate in some family responsibilities. Not only will they be practicing fine and gross motor skills, but they’ll be learning how to remember and follow instructions, obedience and diligence, resilience and perseverance when they are challenged, a sense of family cooperation, and so much more.
Here are some chores to try with your preschooler. Let them job shadow you with these chores. They can help with small steps and, over time, begin to learn how to do them on their own.
- folding and hanging up clean laundry
- matching and folding socks
- folding washcloths or handing them to you to fold
- helping you fold towels (or teach them how to lay them on the floor and roll them)
- aiding you in putting towels and washcloths away
- loading the wash machine
- unloading the dryer (if it’s front open)
- loading the dishwasher
- unloading the dishwasher
- setting the table
- gathering eggs (backyard chickens/farm)
- gathering food (from the garden/farm/u-picks)
- putting groceries away
- baking together
- cooking together
- wiping down cabinets
- wiping down the table
- sweeping the floors
- washing the windows
- cleaning walls, doors, and doorknobs
- cleaning out from under the couch
- tidying books
- picking up toys
- sorting laundry
- setting the table
- helping wash dishes
Imagination Stations
Foster your child’s imagination with “imagination stations”. These are fantastic homeschool activities for preschoolers! You can set up as many areas as you’d like to in a day. However, you may like to consider rotating these daily, every other day, or once weekly. Of course, it’s entirely up to you!
- “camping” in the living room
- host a “tea party” with dolls, family members, and friends
- play house with dolls, family, and friends
- kitchen sets with pretend toys
- music station with various instruments
- pretend to be a veterinarian by setting out stuffed animals
- turn chairs into a car or train by lining them up in rows. Where will you adventure to?
- art station with an easel, papers, washable markers, chalkboard (they can “paint” it with water to save mess)
- dress up (get out those costumes, set up the “stage”, and invent a story to dramatize)
- have a picnic on the floor and provide the supplies they need
- use boxes and make signs to set up pretend vendor booths or farmer’s market
- let them “paint” the house or fence with paintbrushes, roller brushes, and pans of water
- create a letter-writing station with stationary, fun writing implements, stickers, and a mailbox
Outdoorsy Time
As many homeschooling families know, homeschooling doesn’t mean that we’re stuck indoors. Get out and play!
- enjoy easy hikes together
- go on some field trips as a family or with friends
- observe big and small details that God has given His creation
- collect leaves in baggies together
- gather rocks together
- enjoy the variety of trees and discussing their similarities and differences
- consider having fun with a soft “pine cone battle”
- take some time to have fun at a play park
- stroll in your neighborhood
- go down to the beach and play
- watch the clouds as they float across the sky
- be amazed at the sunset
- listen to the birds signing in the early morning hours
- water the garden together
- weed the garden/yard together
Nature studies are a great way to incorporate outdoor time into your homeschool. Find out how to get started and Oregon destinations to try!
Games
Rainy days or restless moods can be saved by pausing to play a game! Start collecting games and activities that they can do on their own along with ones they can do with you or their siblings.
Try having a few minutes each afternoon where an older sibling does a game with the youngest! It can be wonderful bonding time and give you a chance to prepare dinner, too.
- wood puzzles
- large floor puzzles
- foam puzzles
- simple mazes
- board games
- card games
- dominoes
- memory games
Open-Ended Toys & Activities
Rotating open-ended toys, activities, and other collections is a great way to help keep your preschooler engaged. These are GREAT for keeping them occupied when you’re homeschooling the older kids, too. Pull out one container at a time, combine 2-3 container assortments, and switch out rooms to change up the play time.
- animal and dinosaur assortments (plastic)
- Magnatiles magnetic tile sets
- fort-building kits
- army figurines
- toy car sets
- Legos
- wooden blocks
- puppets
- stuffed animals
- train sets
- costumes
- baby dolls
- wooden peg dolls
- maker box
- marble run building kit
- natural collections from your outdoorsy time
Sensory Play
We’re designed by God to learn through our five senses. Find homeschool activities for preschoolers that engage them with sensory play (containers may be recommended for some of these).
- drawing letters / numbers in flour
- slime kits
- play dough (try homemade!)
- pouring and scooping beans
- colored pasta and yarn / pipe cleaners to string them
- colored rice with fun toys to play in
- water beads with plastic aquatic creatures
- pom poms to sort
- kinetic sand
- homemade bubble solution and wands
- feathers and foam balls to stick them in
- buttons and ribbon to string them with
- instant snow to scoop and shape
- water play with toys (baths can happen anytime!)
- a kiddie pool with plastic balls in it
Busy Bags
Another great activity idea is to have “busy bags” on hand. These can be pulled out for a quick learning or engagement activity. Some can be used independently and others may need an older child or adult to help.
- colored craft sticks with velcro dots for assembling patterns
- items to sort and group by color or shape (buttons, beans, pompoms)
- counting activities
- threading/stringing supplies
Get more ideas here and instructions for assembling 5 starter busy bags!
Somewhat Messy and Fun!
Moms will have varying levels of tolerance for messiness, depending on their personality and their season of life. If you can put up with some messy time (or even embrace it under the right circumstances), it can be a wonderful time of learning and fun. It totally counts as homeschool activities for preschoolers!
- make homemade play dough and let your preschooler mix the colors into the dough
- break out the watercolor paints
- draw and color with washable markers
- pull out crayons for your preschooler to use (regular, pearlescent, glitter, metallic, etc.) sort the by color and type
- get out the coloring books or print off free coloring pages and color together
- paint rocks to put in the garden or share with others
- use sidewalk chalk on the sidewalk, porch, deck, or nail-free boards (it washes off pretty easily!)
- blow bubbles together and pop them
- have a shallow container of water with some toys to play with (supervision required)
- slap together some mud cakes and “frost” them with picked flowers
- make finger print and hand print art
Snuggle Time
Preschoolers need some snuggles after a full day of play. So, this activity is essential for recalibrating from an eventful morning or afternoon. Being able to rest and self-regulate is an important life skill to acquire:
- read the Bible to your preschooler
- read short stories to your preschooler
- sit together with a blanket and snuggle
- turn on some soft and soothing music
- sit with a calm pet and spend time with it
- look at picture books and sit with a stuffed animal
Share Your Ideas with Other Parents!
What ideas have YOU found helpful for keeping your littles learning and occupied! Share your homeschool activities for preschoolers with us in the comments. ❤️
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