A friend of mine recently posted these ideas on her blog, and I thought I'd pass them along to you all. Here are some great (and easy/little planning involved) activities to do with young, preschool age children. (One idea: print off this list, cut them into strips and put them in a jar. Draw out one idea each day to do together.)
1. Sorting (different colored beans, goldfish, whatever you have) into different cups
2. Stringing pasta or cereal to make a necklace
3. Lace ups
4. Rainbow name (write their name and trace the outline in different colors, like a rainbow)
5. Play dough
6. Typing letters
7. Tweezers/Tongs (moving objects from one bowl or basket to another with tweezers or tongs)
8. Ball/sports
9. Stickers
10. Giant drawing (trace their body and draw a life-size kid)
11. Boggle or Scrabble letters
12. Dominoes
13. Will it float? (have the child gather objects and then guess if they'll sink or float)
14. Follow the leader (sing the Peter Pan song while marching around the house, taking turns being leader)
15. Plant seeds
16. Where's my lid? (give a bunch of containers and lids and have them match them up)
17. Play a game
18. Color mixing (with cups of water and food coloring)
19. Concentration/Memory (play the game or create your own)
20. Bubbles
21. Pbskids.org
22. Fingers and toes (trace fingers and toes and color pictures of them)
23. Hide & seek surprises (have them open containers with screw-off lids with a surprise - toys you already have or tiny treats - inside)
24. "Piano lessons"
25. Bowling (make bowling pins out of household items and bowl)
26. Go for a discovery walk
27. Blanket fort (then story time in the fort)
28. Story writing (have child dictate a story to you; draw or take pictures to illustrate)
29. Paper toys (print, fold, and glue a toy free from The Toy Maker or Paper Toys.
30. Blow bubbles in a cup (using a small amount of dish soap in water, blowing with a straw!)
31. Finger-paint (with shaving foam, pudding, ketchup, or dishwasher detergent mixed with water)
32. Paint the sidewalk (with a bucket of water and paint brushes)
33. Sidewalk chalk
34. Puzzles
35. Play with magnets
36. Fire Drill (both stop drop and roll, and running out of the house to our meeting spot)
37. Act out a story
38. Tickle Monster
39. Dress-ups (mom and dad's clothes work great)
40. Leap Frog
41. Hide-and-Seek
