Pre-K Activities -> 3 - 6 years

A short course on how to play kid games and preschool development stages

Pre-K activities are essential for growing minds. Young kids are making developmental strides and express an interest in the world around them. They want to touch, taste, smell, hear, and test things for themselves. They are eager to learn. They learn by experiencing and by doing. Preschoolers learn from their play. They are busy developing skills, using language, and struggling to gain inner control. They are more independent than toddlers.

Whether you call it nursery school, playgroup, pre-K or pre-school in your country, here you will find free pre-k activities and preschool activity ideas together with a short course on how to play kid games and playthings listing the skills associated with play, appropriate playthings and what caregivers can do for 3 - 6 year old preschoolers and how to guide them through this very important developmental stages. Some might call this age group ankle biters because of their inquisitive minds.

Ages Stages Child Development: 3 - 6 Years

SOCIAL & INTELLECTUAL:

• additional dress-up outfits,
• bathing and feeding doll,
• puppets and theatres,
• store-keeping toys,
• toy phone and toy clock,
• playhouses,
• housekeeping toys,
• toy soldiers,
• dolls for dressing and undressing,
• large puzzles,
• outdoor play equipment,
• board games

PROBLEM SOLVING:

• farm, village, and other play sets,
• small trucks, cars, planes, and boats;
• beads,
• blocks,
• buttons,
• peg board,
• simple construction sets,
• housekeeping toys,
• trains,
• race car sets,
• balls

FORM & SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS:

• simple puzzles,
• set of plastic measuring cups,
• large tricycles,
• sleds,
• cookie cutters,
• wagons,
• scooters,
• swings,
• backyard gym sets and jungle gyms,
• empty cardboard boxes,
• seesaws,
• monkey bars,
• rope swings

CREATIVITY:

• crayons,
• children's safety scissors,
• finger paints,
• clay,
• sketch pads,
• paste,
• rhythm instruments

LANGUAGE:

• story books,
• books on cassette tapes,
• radio,
• TV

What caregivers can do to promote toddler development and play in kid games:

• Reverse roles.
• Make-believe telephone conversations.
• Play hide-and-seek.
• Improvise characters doing routine things.
• Practice motor skills with card and board games. 
• Play games of courage.
• Play "counting" and "number" games.
• Provide children with the materials and environment needed for good, healthy play.
• Do gymnastics.
• Mimic animals and people. 
• Use hand puppets with different voices.
• Listen to and talk about dreams. 
• Tell "what-if' stories. 
• Act out fairy tales.
• Read to the children.
• Teach children to identify different sizes and shapes with cookie cutters and baking pans.
• Play "matching" games. 
• Describe activities that are taking place while you are doing household chores. 
• Encourage children to create stories while looking through books and magazines. 

Understanding their growth and development will help you guide your preschooler through this stage. Remember that all preschoolers are different and reach the various stages at different times.

I hope you found these Pre-K activities and curriculum for preschool children useful. Please let me hear some of your preschool lesson plans that you have used in your family.

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