Fun Activities for You and Your Preschool Child

1. April 26th is National Kids Day. Help your child plan an activity to celebrate it with the entire family.
2. Make tonight a "No TV" night with your family. Ask your child to help select games or stories, and spend some quality time with him/her.
3. Help boost your child's self-esteem by taking pride in his/her achievement and accomplishments today and everyday.
4. Make learning to write letters and number fun for your child. Roll play dough or clay into long thin worms and ask your child to create letters or numbers with them or spread shaving cream or pudding on to a cookie sheet and have your child write letters or numbers on the cookie sheet.
5. While on a walk or driving down city streets, have your child/children hunt for shapes, numbers or letters on signs and in buildings.
6. Turn laundry day into game day and have your preschooler help pair up socks. Talk about the similarities and differences in sock colors and patterns.
7. Go to the park and take a nature hike with your child today. As him/her to point out different animals and plants. Talk about how they are similar, different, or what they need to have or eat to survive.
8. School's on the way. Help your child make a countdown to school calendar. Help him/her count down and cross off the days.
9. Help your child to make a "to do" list and check items off as they are accomplished. This is a good beginning for goal-setting.
10. Help your child make a kite today. He/she can fly it at the park.
11. Teach your child about recycling. Show him/her how to recycle items such as paper, glass and aluminum
12. Take your child to a petting zoo today. Ask him/her to draw pictures of the animals.
13. Visit a library with your child today. Encourage her/him to borrow books about numbers, letters, books with predictable rhyme, books with a sequencing format and books by favorite authors.
14. On a rainy day, set up a tent with your child in the living room. He/she can pretend to be a forest ranger.
15. Help your child practice math skills. Ask him/her to count to ten, identify shapes and colors, sort change into piles of pennies, nickels, quarters, put jelly beans in groups of two or three or sort them by color.
16. Teach your child about the importance of preserving nature. Help him/her plant a tree in the yard, and explain how littering hurts the environment.
17. Have your child draw a picture of himself/herself or the family. Talk about the parts of the body.
18. Help your child write a letter to a friend or grandparent.
19. Make bedtime special by reading with or to your child each night at a regular bedtime. Make it your bedtime ritual.
20. Tell your child that you love him/her today and every day.