educational game activities for preschoolers

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75 Awesome Preschool Activities

When planning learning activities for preschoolers, it isn’t one size fits all! Preschool teachers and parents like yourself need to have preschool activities for lesson plans that are easy for young students to understand, many who are not yet reading, and are FUN! Here are some simple and playful preschool activities your preschoolers will love!

How To Make Preschool Fun

Your time is limited, so your preschool activities for the school year and beyond must be easy to set up and provide valuable learning experiences for the youngest students.

Create a lifelong love of learning with these simple preschool learning activities! We have made it easy for you and divided the activities into STEM, including science and math, art, and literacy. Plus, you’ll find plenty of sensory-rich experiences.

Making preschool fun for kids involves engaging their curiosity, creativity, and natural desire to learn through play and exploration. Here are some easy tips to make preschool a delightful and enjoyable experience for young children:

1. Create a Colorful Environment

Use bright and cheerful colors in the classroom. Decorate walls with educational posters, art, and children’s work to create an inviting atmosphere. Colorful preschool art is fun to display!

2. Hands-On Activities

Incorporate hands-on activities like painting, crafting, building with blocks, playing with playdough, simple science activities or engineering projects, and sensory bins. These activities stimulate creativity and fine motor skills.

4. Thematic Learning

Plan lessons around fun themes like animals, seasons, outer space, or community helpers. This approach keeps children engaged and excited about learning.

5. Read Books

Regularly read aloud to kids. Use expressive voices and props to bring stories to life. Add books to different thematic units. Check out these preschool book activities.

6. Outdoor Play

Outdoor playtime is essential. Set up a safe and stimulating outdoor play area where children can run, jump, and explore nature. This helps develop gross motor skills and a connection to the environment. See our fun exercises for preschoolers.

What Is Playful Learning?

We have found many fun ways for kids to play and learn together! Playful learning is about creating joy, wonder, and curiosity. Developing this sense of joy and wonder starts at a young age, and adults are a big part of that.

Set up invitations to discover and explore!

• This fosters a huge sense of success in young learners when they make a new discovery. Undoubtedly, they will want to show it to you repeatedly.
• Many early foundations in literacy, science, and mathematics can be achieved through play instead of worksheets.
• Learning activities improve social skills and aid language development.

Set up preschool Science Centers for different themes and let the kids explore a new theme every 1-2 weeks! We have printable packs to help you get started.

Kids love to share what they are doing with you. If you listen and ask questions, they will too! If you encourage them to think about an idea, you will be amazed at what they can develop.

Questions you can ask…

• What do you think will happen if…
• What is happening…
• What do you see, hear, smell, feel…
• What else can we test or explore?

75 Hands-on Preschool Activities

Never run out of ideas for fun preschool activities at home or in the classroom. What do preschoolers learn? They learn about the world around them!

Sensory Bins

Sensory bins are a popular choice for sensory play in preschool! You can easily pair them with different themes or books to create a sensory-rich learning experience. Try one of these sensory bin ideas or create your own!

You can learn how to assemble a sensory bin, the best sensory bin fillers, including non-food fillers, and how to clean up the mess with our How to Sensory Bin Guide.

• Pumpkin Sensory Bin
• Apple Sensory Bin
• Tropical Summer Sensory Bin
• Dinosaur Sensory Bin
• Butterfly Sensory Bin
• Ocean Sensory Bin
• Dr Seuss Sensory Bin
• Spring Sensory Bin
• Garden Sensory Bin
• Rainbow Sensory Bin
• Space Sensory Bin
• Winter Sensory Bin

Sensory Activities

Besides sensory bins, kids can also explore a variety of tactile play materials and sensory play recipes that are on the messier side!

• Rainbow Spaghetti
• Kinetic Sand
• Cloud Dough

Playdough Activities

Engage your preschoolers in learning with our free printable playdough mats you can download! From weather, rainbows, flowers, bugs, and more, playdough mats are an excellent activity for improving fine motor skills, language development, as well as awesome sensory play for young kids.

Make up a batch of our favorite no cook playdough , or try one of these fun playdough recipes ! Kool-aid playdough, Jello playdough, fairy dough, super soft dough and more. Then pair it with one of these playdough mats below!

• Bug Playdough Mat
• Shape Playdough Mat
• Rainbow Playdough Mat
• Recycling Playdough Mat
• In the Garden Playdough Mats
• Weather Playdough Mats
• Flower Playdough Mat

Science Activities

We love playful hands-on science activities around here. Preschool science offers room for play and exploration without adult-led directions. Kids will naturally start to pick up the simple science concepts presented just by having fun conversations with you!

Below is a list of fantastic preschool activities and themes introducing chemistry, physics, earth science, and biology!

• Explore Shadows and Light
• Friction and Forces
• Bridge Building and Community Helpers
• Nature Exploration
• All About Me Collage
• 5 Senses Sensory Station
• 5 Senses What’s Inside Game
• 5 Senses Taste Test
• Baking Soda Science
• Seeds and Plants
• Weather Fun
• Sink or Float
• Dinosaur Fossils
• Is It Magnetic?
• Four Seasons Activities

Math Activities

Preschool math focuses on introducing young children to fundamental mathematical concepts in a playful and hands-on manner. The goal is to build a strong foundation for later mathematical learning by making math engaging, relatable, and fun.

Early math skills start with lots of playful opportunities that don’t have to be extensively planned ahead of time. Check out these simple preschool activity ideas using everyday items.

Read more about Preschool Math Concepts and Activities here. Our Preschool “I Can Explore Math” pack is done for you!

• Counting 1-10
• Snap cubes number recognition
• Transportation number mats and game
• Number pattern blocks
• Art with shapes
• Gingerbread I Spy Number Mats

Printable Math Games

Our printable board game pack is a fantastic opportunity to give it a try! Add a single die to the game. When kids roll and count spaces, they are having fun working on counting and one-to-one correspondence (as well as turn-taking).

Try a free Roll a Reptile game to get started (add your own die for math play).

Art Projects

Preschoolers need the freedom to explore and experiment. Art allows children to practice a wide range of skills that are useful not only for life but also for learning.

• Blow Painting with Straws
• Bubble Painting
• Cinnamon Salt Dough
• Corn Painting
• Finger Painting
• Fly Swatter Painting
• Edible Paint
• Handprint Flowers
• Ice Cube Art
• Magnet Painting
• Painting with Marbles
• Rainbow In A Bag
• Salt Painting
• Splatter Painting

Looking for more fun and easy preschool art ideas? Check out our process art activities , famous artists for kids as well as these easy homemade paint recipes .

Printable Preschool STEM Pack

Get ready to explore this year with our growing Preschool STEM Bundle !

What’s Included:

There are 12 fun preschool themes to get you started. This is an ” I can explore” series! This is also a growing bundle. Buy it now and receive all future updates!

Includes: Math, science, shapes, 5 senses, all about me, fall, apples, pumpkins, farm, winter, and more!

Each unit contains approximately 15 activities, with instructions and templates  as needed. Hands-on activities are provided to keep it fun and exciting. This includes sensory bins, experiments, games, and more! Easy supplies keep it low cost, and book suggestions add to the learning time. 

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CONTENT TYPE

• Lesson Plans
• Math (1,060)
• Number Sense (775)
• Number Recognition (49)
• Number Recognition Within 5 (16)
• Number Recognition Within 10 (17)
• Number Recognition Within 20 (16)
• Number Tracing (460)
• Number Tracing Within 5 (135)
• Number Tracing Within 10 (125)
• Number Tracing Within 20 (200)
• Number Sequence (68)
• Counting (226)
• Counting Objects Within 5 (104)
• Counting Objects Within 10 (95)
• Compare Numbers (22)
• Addition (172)
• Add With Pictures (76)
• Addition Strategies (36)
• Compose And Decompose Numbers (25)
• Number Bonds (6)
• Count All To Add (7)
• Subtraction (72)
• Subtract With Pictures (45)
• Subtraction Strategies (10)
• Geometry (24)
• Positional Words (5)
• Shapes (19)
• 2D Shapes (19)
• Data Handling (6)
• Sorting Objects (5)
• Measurement (13)
• Word Problems (41)
• Addition Word Problems (17)
• Addition Word Problems Within 20 (17)
• Subtraction Word Problems (10)
• Subtraction Word Problems Within 20 (10)
• ELA (1,387)
• Reading (1,130)
• Phonics (1,130)
• Alphabet (807)
• Letter Recognition (807)
• Letter A (16)
• Letter B (16)
• Letter C (16)
• Letter D (16)
• Letter E (16)
• Letter F (16)
• Letter G (16)
• Letter H (16)
• Letter I (16)
• Letter J (16)
• Letter K (16)
• Letter L (16)
• Letter M (16)
• Letter N (16)
• Letter O (16)
• Letter P (16)
• Letter Q (16)
• Letter R (16)
• Letter S (16)
• Letter T (16)
• Letter U (16)
• Letter V (16)
• Letter W (16)
• Letter X (16)
• Letter Y (16)
• Letter Z (16)
• Lowercase Letters (174)
• Uppercase Letters (201)
• Matching Lowercase And Uppercase Letters (202)
• Alphabetical Order (64)
• Abc Song (20)
• Letter Sounds (104)
• Sight Words (155)
• Writing (490)
• Handwriting (490)
• Letter Tracing (335)
• Letter Tracing A (12)
• Letter Tracing B (12)
• Letter Tracing C (12)
• Letter Tracing D (12)
• Letter Tracing E (12)
• Letter Tracing F (12)
• Letter Tracing G (12)
• Letter Tracing H (12)
• Letter Tracing I (12)
• Letter Tracing J (12)
• Letter Tracing K (12)
• Letter Tracing L (12)
• Letter Tracing M (12)
• Letter Tracing N (12)
• Letter Tracing O (12)
• Letter Tracing P (12)
• Letter Tracing Q (12)
• Letter Tracing R (12)
• Letter Tracing S (12)
• Letter Tracing T (12)
• Letter Tracing U (12)
• Letter Tracing V (12)
• Letter Tracing W (12)
• Letter Tracing X (12)
• Letter Tracing Y (12)
• Letter Tracing Z (12)
• Word Tracing (25)
• Cursive Writing (130)
• Cursive Alphabet (130)
• General Knowledge (291)
• Vegetables (19)
• Fruits (24)
• Animals (57)
• Seasonal (28)
• Christmas (12)
• Kitchen (11)
• Musical Instruments (30)
• Art & Creativity (235)
• Coloring (181)
• Animals (32)
• Rhymes (25)
• Stories (10)

Number Sense

Count Along with the Stars from 1 to 3 Game

Shine bright in the math world by counting along with the stars from 1 to 3.

Count Along with the Stars from 1 to 5 Game

Count along with the stars from 1 to 5 with this number sense game.

Number Hunt : 2 Worksheet

A fun and engaging worksheet that challenges students to locate and highlight all the number 2s.

Number Hunt : 3 Worksheet

A fun-filled worksheet designed to enhance number recognition by finding and marking all the 3s.

Model to Add Numbers Game

Dive deep into the world of math by modeling to add numbers.

Build the Model to Add Numbers Game

Enjoy the marvel of mathematics by exploring how to build the model to add numbers.

Identify the Correct Group Worksheet

Learners must identify the correct group to enhance their math skills.

Count to Complete Addition Sentences Worksheet

Put your skills to the test by practicing to count to complete addition sentences.

Subtraction

Remove and Match the Number Game

Enjoy the marvel of math-multiverse by exploring how to remove and match the number.

Take Away to Match the Number Game

Apply your knowledge of subtraction to take away to match the number.

Complete Subtraction Sentence Using Pictures Worksheet

Help your child revise subtraction by completing subtraction sentences using pictures.

Represent Subtraction Sentences Worksheet

Make math practice a joyride by solving problems to represent subtraction sentences.

Sort Real-World Shapes Game

Add more arrows to your child’s math quiver by sorting real-world shapes.

Find Shapes All Around Us Game

Ask your little one to find and identify the different shapes around us to play this game.

Identify the Flat Shapes Worksheet

Reinforce math concepts by practicing to identify the flat shapes.

Squares and Circles Worksheet

Practice squares and circles by printing this playful worksheet.

Data Handling

Identify Objects by Color Game

Sharpen your skills by identifying objects by their colors.

Sort Objects by Color Game

Dive deep into the world of measurement by sorting objects by color.

How many Objects Worksheet

Pack your math practice time with fun by identifying how many objects.

Measurement

Identify the Object with Shorter Length Game

Use your measurement skills to identify the object with the shorter length.

Identify Which Object is Longer Game

Kids must identify which object is longer to practice measurement.

Read the Table to Compare Length Worksheet

Boost your child's skills in comparing lengths with this engaging, interactive worksheet.

Read the Ruler to Compare Length in Inches Worksheet

Enhance your child's length comparison skills with this engaging worksheet on reading rulers in inches.

Word Problems

Adding One by Making a Model Game

Treat yourself to an immersive learning experience with our 'Adding One by Making a Model' game.

Adding Within 5 by Making a Model Game

Add more arrows to your child’s math quiver by adding within 5 by making a model.

Add within 5: Summer Word Problems Worksheet

Engaging summer-themed worksheet with word problems to enhance addition skills within 5.

Add within 5: Halloween Word Problems Worksheet

Spooky-themed worksheet for practicing addition within 5 through Halloween word problems.

Can You Find the Uppercase Letter A? Game

To play this game, find the uppercase letter A.

Can You Find the Lowercase Letter a? Game

To play this game, find the lowercase letter a.

Find Letter A Worksheet

Discover the letter 'A' in various texts with this fun worksheet!

Spot Letter a Worksheet

This ELA worksheet will fill your child with zest as they spot the letter 'a'.

Tracing Big Letters With Sleeping & Slanting Lines - A, V, W, X, Y & Z Game

Practice tracing big letters with sleeping & slanting lines - A, V, W, X, Y & Z.

Tracing Small Letters With Standing & Curvy Lines - a, d & q Game

Practice tracing small letters with standing and curvy lines - a, d and q.

Trace the Uppercase A Worksheet

Master language arts by tracing the Uppercase 'A'.

Trace the lowercase a Worksheet

Add elements of fun to your ELA practice by tracing the lowercase 'a'.

All Resources

Quickly Tell the Number of Things up to 10 Game

Have your own math-themed party by learning how to quickly tell the number of things up to 10.

Add Two Numbers (Up to 5) Game

Ask your little one to add two numbers (Up to 5) to play this game.

Single Digit Addition within 5: Horizontal Addition Worksheet

Use this worksheet to practice single digit addition within 5 to strengthen your math skills.

Solve 'Take Apart' Scenarios Game

Take the pressure off by simplifying subtraction by solving 'Take Apart' scenarios.

Add and Subtract Numbers within 5: Horizontal Addition and Subtraction Worksheet

In this worksheet, learners will get to add and subtract numbers within 5.

Front and Behind Worksheet

Practice 'Front' and 'Behind' by printing this playful worksheet.

Add or Subtract within 5: Summer Word Problems Worksheet

Summer-themed worksheet for students to practice adding or subtracting within 5 through word problems.

Animal Tracing Letter A

Get the fun going with these animal-themed letter tracing worksheets! Let's practice tracing letter A.

Identify Embedded Numbers Game

Help your child take flight by learning how to identify embedded numbers.

Finding Sum (Up to 10) Game

Dive deep into the world of addition by finding the sum (up to 10).

Trace and Learn the Shape Worksheet

Make ELA practice a joyride by tracing and learning shapes.

Find One Less Game

Unearth the wisdom of mathematics by learning how to find one less.

Single Digit Addition within 5: Vertical Addition Worksheet

Solidify your math skills by practicing single digit addition within 5.

Add and Subtract Numbers within 5: Vertical Addition and Subtraction Worksheet

Use this printable worksheet to add and subtract numbers within 5 to strengthen your math skills.

Observe the Pictures and Identify the Position of the Object Worksheet

Boost spatial understanding with this worksheet on identifying objects' positions in pictures.

Add or Subtract within 5: Halloween Word Problems Worksheet

Spooky-themed worksheet to practice adding and subtracting within 5 using Halloween word problems.

Animal Tracing Letter J

Wild adventures await in our fun animal-themed tracing worksheets! Let's practice tracing letter J.

Solve 'Add To' Scenarios Game

Add more arrows to your child’s math quiver by solving 'Add To' scenarios.

Trace Along the Lines Worksheet

Enhance your linguistic skills by tracing along the lines with this worksheet.

Number Hunt : 1 Worksheet

A fun-filled worksheet designed to help students identify and mark all instances of the number 1.

Subtraction with Pictures Game

Shine bright in the math world by learning how to subtract with pictures.

Match Triangles and Squares Game

Enter the madness of math-multiverse by exploring how to match triangles and squares.

Add 1 within 5: Horizontal Addition Worksheet

Learn addition at the speed of lightning by practicing to add 1 within 5.

One More or One Less within 5: Horizontal Addition and Subtraction Worksheet

Reveal the secrets of math wizardry by practicing to find one more or one less within 5.

Identify Objects by their Name Game

Take a deep dive into the world of math by identifying objects by their names.

Identify the Object with Shorter Height Game

Shine bright in the math world by learning how to identify the object with the shorter height.

Identify the Position of Objects as Top, Bottom, or Middle Worksheet

Enhance your child's understanding of positional words with our interactive worksheet.

Compare and Order Objects Based on Their Height Worksheet

Boost your child's math skills with this engaging worksheet on comparing object heights.

Learn the Letters: Big A Game

Put your language skills to the test by learning the letter: Big A.

Let's Make the Letter A Game

Let's take a look at how to make the letter A with this game.

Add or Subtract within 5: Christmas Word Problems Worksheet

Fun, festive worksheet for students to practice addition and subtraction within 5, Christmas style!

Animal Tracing Letter K

Time to meet a koala and kangaroo in our animal-themed tracing worksheets! Let's trace the letter K.

Pre-K Curriculum and Educational Resources

Preschool, a key part of early learning, is a fundamental phase for children aged around 3 to 5 years.  During this crucial period, kids are introduced to basic essential Math and ELA concepts, promoting creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving skills, self-expression, and a lifelong love for learning. 

• Pre-K Math Learning: In the preschool curriculum for math, children start with basic number recognition, number sequences, counting , and simple addition and subtraction . They also learn about shapes and basic measurement concepts, all of which prepare them for advanced math skills in later years. 
• Pre-K ELA Learning: As a part of the Pre-K ELA curriculum, kids learn about letter recognition (both uppercase and lowercase), letter sequences , letter tracing , sight words , and more. 
• General Knowledge: In this section, kids learn about important general topics such as food items, animals and birds, seasons and festivals, kitchen items, musical instruments, etc. 
• Art and Creativity: As a part of the creative curriculum, this section aims to create a love for coloring, music, and stories in children through fun visuals and attractive themes.

Now, let’s take an overview of SplashLearn’s educational resources for Pre-K learning.  

Types of Preschool Learning Resources

SplashLearn’s Pre-K educational resources cover a wide range of preschool learning materials enriching the learning process for young learners. Our expertly designed learning resources help kindle a love for learning in young children by blending learning with enjoyment. Let’s take an overview of preschool resources by SplashLearn and their benefits.

Fun Preschool Learning Games

Preschool learning games are thoughtfully planned and designed by our curriculum experts. They cover the following subjects: Math, ELA, General Knowledge, and Art and Creativity. 

• Pre-K Math Games : This section features around 150+ interactive Pre-K Math games , teaching important math concepts like number sense, addition, subtraction, basic geometrical shapes, and measurements.
• Pre-K ELA Games : The ELA section includes around 450+ fun games designed for Pre-K kids, teaching essential reading and writing skills in an engaging manner. 
• Pre-K General Knowledge Games : There are around 300 games that wonderfully teach essential real-world topics, such as animals, birds, food items, etc. 
• Pre-K Art and Creativity Games : This segment has around 200+ games designed to spark art and creativity in kids through activities like coloring, music, and storytelling. 

These games are aligned with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Each game focuses on a specific concept, providing a bite-sized learning approach. Colorful graphics, fun characters, and attractive themes add to the overall appeal and effectiveness of games.

Interactive Preschool Worksheets

SplashLearn offers printable preschool worksheets designed by keeping all the key topics of Math and ELA in mind.

• Pre-K Math worksheets : The Pre-K Math segment features around 500+ worksheets , which offer structured exercises and fun practice.
• Pre-K ELA worksheets : There are about 900+ printable ELA worksheets designed for helping Pre-K children master reading and writing skills with ease.

Effective Preschool Lessons Plans

• Preschool Math lesson plans : For Pre-K, SplashLearn offers Math lesson plans for important topics, such as number sense, addition, subtraction, etc. 
• Preschool ELA lesson plans: Similarly, there are Pre-K ELA lesson plans designed for essential topics and subtopics.

Hands-on Preschool Activities

Engaging kids in fun educational activities is the key to effective, hands-on, and practical learning. Find 25 Easy Activities for Preschoolers that are age-appropriate, educational, and perfect for home or classroom learning. For each activity, there’s an attached tutorial to guide parents and teachers.

Preschool Live Classes

• SplashLearn also offers Live Classes for pre-kindergarten kids for both math and reading. These classes are conducted by experienced, qualified, and certified teachers. 
• Parents have the freedom to choose a time slot that fits their child's routine. 
• Parents with an active subscription/trial can easily find the "Live Class" page on the top of the dashboard. 
• Our grade-specific apps don't include the Live class feature at the moment. However, you can join these classes through our website using laptops, desktops, iPads, Macbooks, and Chromebooks.

What Are the Best Tips for Teaching Preschoolers?

Teaching pre-kindergarten kids can sometimes be challenging due to their age and short attention spans. However, the right teaching tools and strategies can make learning fun and enjoyable for them. Here are links to our informative blogs that can be very helpful:

• Explore our “ 5 Best Tips for Teaching Preschoolers ” blog for insightful ideas and tips that can be used as effective teaching strategies. 
• Plus, if you wish to learn more about core Pre-K subjects and their objectives, don’t miss our article “ 7 Things Kids Learn in Preschool .”

What Are the Best 5 Preschool Learning Resources?

Here are 5 engaging Pre-K learning resources offered by SplashLearn:

• Number Sequence from 1 to 20 Game
• Complete the Counting Worksheet
• Subtract Using Counters Game
• Addition Sentence Worksheet
• Math Lesson Plan — Magic of Making 5 & 10

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At Starfall, children have fun while they learn.

Starfall was founded by Dr. Stephen Schutz, who had difficulty learning to read as a child due to dyslexia. He was motivated to create a learning platform with untimed, multisensory interactive games that allow children to see, hear, and touch as they learn. read more...

Starfall was developed in the classroom by teachers and opened in August 2002 as a free public service to teach children to read. Since then it has expanded to include standards in language arts and mathematics for preschool through fifth grade and above. The program emphasizes exploration, play, and positive reinforcement—encouraging children to become confident and intrinsically motivated. Due to the engaging content that “feels like play,” Starfall serves as an educational alternative to other entertainment choices for children. read more...

Starfall activities are research-based and align with state learning objectives for English language arts and mathematics. Its emphasis on phonemic awareness, systematic sequential phonics, and common sight words in conjunction with audiovisual interactivity is especially effective for teaching emergent readers, children of all ages with special needs or learning difficulties, as well as ELL (ESL) students. It is widely used in schools and homeschools.

Starfall’s low-cost membership program expands the free content to include additional animated songs, mathematics activities, and reading. Membership supports the production of new books, educational games, and movies.

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The Inspired Treehouse

Growing healthy bodies and minds through play!

Active Learning Strategies: 25 Games and Activities to Get Kids Moving and Learning!

August 28, 2017 By Lauren Drobnjak

At The Inspired Treehouse, we’re big advocates of active learning  for kids. These awesome active learning strategies, games, and activities are the perfect way to get kids moving and learning!

 As kids come off of long summer breaks with days filled from with continuous movement from dawn to dusk, it can be hard for them to sit still and pay attention  to learning activities for any stretch of time.  We’re pretty sure that it’s hard for teachers to sit still all day too!

To us, nothing is more important, especially during the transition from summer to school, than getting kids up out of those chairs and inspiring them to move while they learn!

What the Research Says…

Research has shown that there are 10 critical reasons that active learning strategies should be used to enhance education.  Here are a few of those reasons:

-whole body movement makes learning more efficient

-it allows for implicit learning

-children are able to refocus their attention

-movement improves brain function, reduces stress and improves circulation.

* (Lengel, T & Kuczala, M (2010): The Kinesthetic Classroom Teaching and Learning Through Movement)

This time of year, teachers, parents, and therapists everywhere are looking for new active learning strategies to support kids in the classroom, the therapy room, and at home and we’re here to help!  Here are 25 awesome  ideas for learning through movement!  These ideas would be perfect for a therapist to use when offering push-in services in the classroom setting.

25 Active Learning Games and Activities

1 || Name and Fitness activity from 730 Sage Street

This activity is a hit with all ages!  Be creative!  You can also use this with spelling lists and other important words you want your kids to learn to spell.  Educational and good for healthy bodies, this activity really a win-win.

2 || ABCs of Movement  

These cards correspond to each letter of the alphabet and target a huge array of developmental skills and are perfect for any age.

3 || Don’t Drop the Cookies  

Tools to Grow features this fun game that helps children improve their fine motor coordination, upper extremity control, motor planning, visual perception, and early math skills.

4 || Moving and Learning on the Balance Beam  

Use a balance beam or make one out of found objects then use it to teach number recognition and sequencing as well as directional terms like forward and backward.

5 || Rhyming Reindeer  

Can you spy a great language activity from miles away?  We can!  This one works on positional concept terms, receptive identification of body parts, colors, pictures, objects, phonological awareness (rhyming), fine motor skills, visual perceptual skills, and cognitive skills.  Whew!  Who knew you could get so much out of moving to learn!  Tuck this one away for the holiday season!

6 || Special Delivery  

We did this activity with a Valentine’s Day theme, but you could substitute the hearts and pink paper with Christmas trees cut out of holiday-themed paper, or you could make the cutouts look like letters in envelopes for a fun “mailman” activity with preschoolers during a Community Helpers unit.

7 || I Spy with a Twist

“I spy something that begins with the letter A”!  A classic game that every kid loves that can be changed up a bit to target all kinds of academic and preacademic skills.  Add a movement component like “skip to the letter A and show me where it is” and you’ve got a double whammy!!

8 || Personalized Caterpillars

This fun little name craft for kids can be played with again and again so kids can get some repetition along with a great fine motor strengthening boost!  Once you make the craft, place clothespins on either side of a balance beam and have kids squat or bend while balancing to retrieve them and complete their caterpillar!

9 || Spell Your Name Hopscotch

This Spell Your Name Hopscotch Game  is designed to help them learn how to spell their names through movement by playing a hopscotch-like activity!

10 || Alphabet Yoga  

Learning the alphabet doesn’t have to be boring!  Try this alphabet yoga activity to get kids moving and learning .

11 || Giant Alphabet

Find a vertical surface  and get kids moving up and down to create giant letters with window markers, chalk or paint!

12 || Sight Word Mix-up

Combine reading sight words with various movements and students will have tons of fun while being physically active.

13 || Learning Numbers at the Beach

Just say the word beach and I can think of a million ways to get kids moving and learning.  This activity couples homemade dice with movement in a follow the leader style game.

14 || Fun Ways to Teach a Child Their Phone Number

These 3 fun ideas are a great way for teaching kids their phone numbers through movement. Working with manipulatives during hands on activities creates an awesome mind-body connection to solidify learning and memory.

15 || Shapes Yoga

A very cool series of yoga poses to get your child to recognize shapes through body movements.

16 || Move and Groove Letter Game

This is a super simple alphabet game that gets kids moving and grooving while they learn their letters.

17 || Build with Letters

Blocks and tape are all you need for this fun word building, letter recognition activity!

18 || Find and Rhyme Gross Motor Game

You could adapt this easily for different levels using upper and lowercase as pairs to match, sight words or word families in addition to the rhyming word game!

19 || Letters on the Go

An awesome idea for working on letter recognition, this fun activity keeps hands busy .  The simpleness of this activity makes it easily adjustable for all ages and levels.

20 || Word Family Slam

I think every child will love this idea for finding word families – ready, aim, fire!

21 || Twister with Blends

Turn an old Twister game into a learning experience full of balance and flexibility challenges that your kids won’t forget!

22 || Musical Sight Words

If your kids like to dance, hop, skip, crawl, move and play then this reading/sight word game is for them!

23 || Alphabet Sticker Match

Kids are active, learning, and having a blast every time they start playing this sticker game.

24 || Jump and Learn

Want a great way to spice up learning how to read and spelling practice? Try this jump and learn game!

25 || Jump Rope Games  

“Peel a banana upside down; see if you can touch the ground.  If you spell your name correct, you will get another chance.”  I would say jumping rope and rhyming pack a huge learning punch!

More Resources About Learning Through Movement and Active Learning Strategies

Teaching with the Brain in Mind, 2nd Edition by Eric Jensen

Movement in the Classroom by Dr. Martha Eddy

Teaching Strategies: Learning Through Movement by Janelle Cox

Why Young Kids Learn Through Movement by Lara N. Dotson-Renta

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[…] You can come up with your own learning activities to get your children moving or look online for active educational activities. Getting the whole family involved in active learning games can get children excited to […]

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200+ Activities for Preschoolers at Home & School

Shared by Mary Catherine 10 Comments

Are you looking for awesome activities for preschoolers at home AND school? If you’re a regular Fun-A-Day reader, you know I believe learning takes place everywhere, both in the classroom and out. So I put together this collection of classroom and at-home preschool activities to help both parents and teachers.

These simple preschool ideas can keep children engaged and learning while at school. AND they’re perfect for children at home during the summer, over holiday breaks, or homeschooling.

You’ll find activities that cover a wide variety of subject areas – math, literacy, art, movement, science, sensory, music, and even messy play. Most of the preschool ideas shared below are also pretty simple to setup, so you have the kids engaged quickly and easily.

Related: Free Preschool Printables

Be sure to grab the free printable at the bottom of this post. Parents, use it with your children at home if you’d like. Teachers, send it to your students’ parents or keep the list on-hand when you need new inspiration.

Table of Contents

Activities for Preschoolers at Home

My goal here is to share simpler activities that you can try with the kids without too many materials.

This post is a bit of a work in progress, so I’ll likely come back over the course of the week to make changes and add more ideas.

Below you’ll find ideas for a variety of subject areas. Pick and choose which will work best with your kids and add them to your plans. Start slowly and give yourself a lot of grace. You don’t have to do everything at once.

Simple Math Activities

Use the items that you already have on-hand to create simple math lessons for your preschoolers.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Count all of the red things in your living room.
• Sort the groceries (by color, by food, etc.). Make a small graph of the groceries on the kitchen table.
• Go into your yard and find 10 natural items.
• Use rocks and acorns to make patterns.
• Staple blank paper together to create a little book. Write a number on each page. Add that many stickers. Keep the book to read and count.
• Play a homemade game of shape memory using index cards with shapes drawn on them.

Be sure to check out over 30 more easy math activities for preschoolers , too!

Science Activities for Preschoolers at Home

Science is all around us, so there’s no need to make it too complicated for the kids.

Here are a few simple science activities to try at home:

• Go for a nature walk.
• Explore what happens when you mix water and dirt. This one is better done outside if possible, but can be brought indoors if needed.
• Pour baking soda in a pan. Let the kids drop vinegar from pipettes (or spoons) onto the vinegar. Consider coloring the vinegar or adding scent with extracts.
• Freeze things in water. Some possibilities – flowers, LEGO mini figures, small toys, coins, etc. Then let the kids experiment with different water temperatures to “rescue” what’s been frozen in ice.
• Host a taste test. Use foods you already have at home. Some possibilities – chocolate, marshmallows, crackers, green foods, etc. Observe the foods with all five senses. How does it feel? Sound? Look? Smell? Taste?
• Keep a simple science journal about all of your scientific adventures.

Pop over and read about 30 more easy science experiments for kids at home or school.

Easy Preschool Literacy Activities

Don’t let the thought of teaching early literacy worry you. There are so many simple activities that pack a punch.

Some literacy activities for preschoolers at home to try:

• Read. Then read again. And read some more.
• Integrate literacy with everything else you’re doing with the kids! Science journals, writing about their favorite paintings, recording information about a graph of favorite apples, and so on.
• Talk. And then talk some more. Everyday discussions that take place during your routine can have a large positive impact on language development.
• Play a simple rhyming game using your child’s name. How many rhymes can you all make up?
• Practice stretching words slowly to hear all of the sounds. This is especially fun if you’re pretending to talk like a whale.
• Make a name puzzle for your child. Write her name on a piece of paper and cut it apart. Use that to work on letters and words.

You can read about 40+ more early literacy activities if you need more ideas!

Sensory Activities for Preschoolers at Home

Sensory play is a must at home! Young children learn so much as they explore through their senses.

Below are some sensory ideas to try at home. Please note that these are more appropriate for older preschoolers. If you have younger children who still put things in their mouths, you’ll want to steer clear of any choking hazards. For the littles, use taste-safe material or age-appropriate materials.

• Put some stale pasta in a plastic tub. Add a few scoops, spoons, and bowls to the tub.
• Run scrap paper through your shredder to create a paper bin. Add some scissors and let the kids cut too.
• Add water to a sensory bin. Then put a little bit of scented shampoo or soap in the water. Add whisks, bowls, funnels, etc. This could also be done in the bathtub.
• Put a variety of materials into a large bin (small toys, beads, bells, paper clips – anything really). Add containers that have tops. Let the children place the materials into the containers and explore sounds.
• Make a simple sensory bottle by adding pasta, paper clips, pompoms, etc. into a clean, empty bottle. Seal shut before giving to young children.

Head over and find more than 40 more simple sensory activities for preschoolers.

Preschool Songs

I couldn’t put together a list of activities for preschoolers at home without including a little section on songs.

Singing and dancing allow children to work on SO MANY early learning concepts. Vocabulary, rhyming, gross motor movements, fine motor skills, literacy, math, science, and so much more.

Here are some song collections your preschoolers might enjoy:

• Hand washing songs
• Rhyming songs and fingerplays
• Alphabet songs
• St. Patrick’s Day songs for preschoolers
• Winter songs for preschoolers
• Christmas preschool songs

I will, of course, come back and add more song collections in the near future.

Art Activities for Preschoolers at Home

No matter where your preschoolers are, at home or at school, creativity is a must.

Let the kids experiment with different techniques and materials as they get into art and crafts. They’ll be learning how to express themselves, use their imaginations, and they’ll even touch on more “academic” knowledge this way, too.

Some easy art activities for preschoolers at home:

• Let the kids use paper and markers to draw anything they want. If they need a prompt, ask them to create their own magical creature, draw their family, use all the colors of the rainbow in one picture, etc.
• Hand the children some chalk and let them at the sidewalk or driveway! To “spice up” this activity, have the kids see what happens when they draw with wet chalk.
• Use random items you have on-hand to create art – paper clips, cotton balls, leftover plastic Easter eggs, Post-It Notes, old CDs, etc.
• Grab spare kitchen utensils, paint, and paper. Let the kids paint using potato mashers, spatulas, whisks, and anything else in those kitchen drawers. If you have washable ink, that would work well too, as would using water to “paint” with the utensils on the sidewalk or a driveway.
• Have the kids create their own jewelry with beads and string/yarn. If you don’t have any beads, consider cutting straws into smaller pieces or using buttons.
• Draw or write a hidden message with a white crayon on white paper. Have the kids use watercolors to paint over the page and uncover the surprise.

Read about more than 40 more fun art projects for kids , too!

Movement Ideas for Kids at Home

And we can’t forget encouraging those kids to move, can we?! It is SO important to ensure that young children are moving their bodies a lot throughout the day.

Some ideas to inspire you:

• Have a dance party at home! Turn up a favorite song and just dance.
• Challenge the kids to run in the shape of a triangle or a circle.
• Hold a hop-off. Who can hop 15 times? 25 times?
• Play a simple game of tag outside.
• Have the kids race to pick up natural items in the yard (flowers, pine cones, acorns, etc.).
• Use items you have to create a homemade obstacle course. Some ideas might include tree stumps, big baskets, bikes, etc.

Do you have any favorite movement activities for the kids?

Messy Play Ideas to Do at Home

Don’t be scared to try messy play activities at home! Children can learn a ton through exposure to messy play fun. AND they get a chance to practice all of those cleaning up skills.

Check out some fun 25 messy play ideas at home activities.

Tips for Parents with Preschoolers at Home

If you’re a parent with preschoolers at home, these tips are for you. If you’re a teacher, feel free to share these suggestions with your students’ parents before long breaks.

Schedules and Routines

Children of all ages thrive with a routine, especially younger kids. This doesn’t have to be a strict down-to-the second schedule, by any means! You definitely don’t need to make yourself stick to a schedule you saw online just because you feel like you have to.

Take a look at your responsibilities, available times for the family, and come up with a flexible routine that works for you.

Some families need a specific schedule, some families prefer a gentle routine, and other families are happy with a more super laid-back approach. Decide what will help YOU the most and go with that. And work the preschool activities into it as you can.

Remember the Good You Do

I want you to remember that parents are amazing! Look at what you’re doing for your kids. You’re loving them, you’re on top of meals and, you’re spending quality time with your children. (And you’re here looking for activities preschoolers can do at home.)

You’re their safe space! Because that’s what children need the most – YOU! Many children are anxious about changes that happen around winter and summer break. Having you there to connect with and love on them is the most important thing.

I know you’re worried you might not be patient enough. I know you’re worried about not meeting all of their educational needs. But you are rocking the heck out of being there for your kids!

Parents ARE Teachers

Please remember that parents are amazing teachers. You might scoff when you read that, but it’s true. Parents are a child’s first teacher. Look at all of the things you’ve helped your child learn – how to tie their shoes, how to ride a bike, manners, kindness, potty training . . . and so much more.

You just don’t realize that you’re teaching them. But you are. Every single day, whether they are in school or out of school – they are learning from you. You have got this!

Learning Doesn’t Just Take Place in the Classroom

One more thing – children learn SO MUCH from things around them. Simple things. Cooking with you, playing a fun game, walking around the neighborhood, and so on.

Keep it simple! If you’re feeling overwhelmed, stick with these five general activities for preschoolers at home:

• PLAY – Play games, play outside, play pretend, just play!
• TALK – Talk about the day, talk about your family stories, talk about the cooking you’re doing, talk about future plans.
• CREATE – Create art, create science experiments, create goofy games, create amazing LEGO structures, create memories.
• READ – Read picture books, read chapter books, read magazines, read comic books, read stories you write together.
• SING – Sing favorite songs, sing while washing your hands, sing while having a dance party, sing your own made up songs.

When you’re ready for more activities, I’ve got you covered above.

At-Home Preschool Materials

I know it can be overwhelming thinking of all the things you might need for your preschooler. So, I’ve created a list of the most basic things that you might need for your at-home preschool time. Here are my suggestions (I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post):

• Dramatic play supplies
• Art supplies
• Math manipulatives
• Books , books, and more books!

All of these things can certainly come in handy as your little one begins to learn a variety of preschool concepts. However, I think the most important thing you can give the children is your time and attention! Be sure to play with your children as often as possible. It is so important and there are so many learning opportunities to be had.

Done-For-You Preschool Resources

Below are a few of the resources from Preschool Teacher 101 . They would be great in the classroom, as part of a take-home pack you send home with your students, or for parents at home with preschoolers.

Click on each photo for more information:

Preschool Activities at Home Printable (Free!)

I put together a simple list of all of these starter activities for preschoolers at home. You can download it, print it out, and slap it up on your fridge. When you’re at a loss of what to do, try one of the items on this list! And when you have time, you can pop back over here for even more possibilities.

If you’re a teacher, make copies of the printable and send it home with your students! Or give their parents the link to this post so they can grab it themselves.

The printable is available to members of Fun-A-Day’s free email community. If you’re a member, add your information below and it will be sent to you. If you’re not a member yet, fill out the information to join and get the printable as a welcome gift!

What are some of YOUR go-to activities for preschoolers at home? Feel free to leave me even more ideas in the comments below.

Originally posted March 2020.

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March 20, 2020 at 11:35 pm

I noticed at the top of your article it says Teachers can send it to thier students but when you open it, it says to not copy it and post for our students.

Do I have permission to post this on google classroom for my preschool students?

Thank you for your response.

March 21, 2020 at 12:19 am

Oh rats, I forgot to change out the permissions for this particular time. Yes, feel free to email it directly to your students’ families. You can also put it in private groups or apps (like Facebook or Dojo) . . . but no public social media, public websites, etc. Thanks for checking in about it.

March 21, 2020 at 12:41 am

Hi! This is the most fantastic post I’ve seen so far since subscribing to your site! I’m a preschool teach her who will be starting the new adventure of teaching PreK from home this coming week! Love all the ideas! Please send more soon! Thank you!

March 21, 2020 at 1:00 am

Thank you so much for the kind words, Karen! I’m working on quite a few additional things to supplement this – hopefully they’ll be up in the week.

March 24, 2020 at 7:40 pm

Thank you for doing this for people all over the world. I just forwarded your link to my preschool families. Now the parents will see how their children’s creativity, imagination and energy unfold.

March 24, 2020 at 10:19 pm

Joy, I am so happy I can help in some little way. Your sweet words mean the world to me – thank you!

March 26, 2020 at 8:24 pm

Thank you sooooo much!! Your email really calmed me. Looking forward to more emails from you.

March 27, 2020 at 9:03 am

I’m so happy I was able to help a little bit! 🙂

April 3, 2020 at 12:32 pm

This is Amazing! Thank you!

April 3, 2020 at 12:54 pm

Happy to help!!!

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21 Circle Time Games For Preschool That Actually Work

In preschool fun and engaging circle time games can teach many crucial skills that children can then use to deepen their play. Eye contact, turn-taking, understanding emotions, and listening are all key skills in life and they are reinforced during circle time! (As well as working through gross motor skills, cognitive skills, language development, social interaction, and more!)

Over the last 5 years I have trained approximately 1,500 early years kindergarten, pre-K, and preschool teachers, teaching assistants, and preschool practitioners we have seen the benefits of short, snappy, fun circle time games.

Today I will share some my favorite circle time activities… but before that I’ll briefly touch on what circle time is, I’ll go through some of the benefits of circle time, then I’ll spend most of the time going through some amazing games you can add to your circle time routine!

Circle Time Games Discussion & Games:

What is Circle Time?

Circle time is a fantastic way for young learners. I particularly love circle time to start the day or transition between activities.

Simply put, circle time is a structured time when children gather together in a circle to engage in singing, storytelling, games, or really any activity.

Kids actually LOVE this interactive group time, but it also promotes social skills, communication, and a sense of community. It is an awesome time to introduce our kids to new concepts and reinforce learning in a fun, supportive environment.

The Benefits of Circle Time Games

The intent of this article is to get right to the fun stuff (i.e. the games and activities)! We will add another post on the benefits if you want more detail, but just quickly

Preschool circle time offers truly significant benefits, including enhancing social interaction, improving listening skills, gross motor skills, cognitive development, community building, and fostering emotional intelligence.

It’s a great (and safe) environment for our kiddos to express themselves, learn to participate in group activities, and develop a sense of community and belonging. This time also introduces kids to routine, listening, and discipline in an engaging and interactive way.

While anecdotal data is great, here are a couple of studies worth checking out: Circle Time for Social and Emotional Learning , the value of circle time as an intervention strategy .

The Best Circle Time Games for Preschool

Okay okay … there is the good stuff. I think this is important to define some of the best games because there seem to be so many games floating around that don’t really work that well in reality. This article presents just the games that I have tried and tested, that kids really ‘get’ quickly, the games they will ask for again and again.

These are the cream of the crop from my book – 101 Circle Time Games…That Actually Work! (that you can check out here) .

This book offers the very best math circle games, literacy games, physical circle times, mindfulness, circle times, and so much more! Check it out here.

So what are the best circle time games for preschool ? Some excellent circle time games for preschool are:

• Don’t Wake The Monkey
• Pass The Rhythm
• Act The Emotion
• Parachute Pairs
• Pass The Potato
• Wonky Donkey
• Baby Bear Game
• Pass The Smile
• Spin The Bottle
• Spare Place
• Picnic Memory Game
• Where Is It?
• Pass The Puppet
• Matching Socks
• Pass The Ball Round The Circle
• Missing Child Game
• Mystery Object
• Mystery Box

Read on to find a detailed description of each and check out our amazing online courses to help take all of these developmental concepts to the next level. But for now, read below to help to bring your preschool circle times to life!

This game can be adapted for circle time in many different ways.

The idea is that you have pieces of paper that have pairs of matching pictures on. The adult just draws pictures on themselves. For example, they could be simple pictures of shapes. You could have two separate pictures of a triangle, a square, a circle, and a pentagon etc. You need as many pictures as you have in your classroom or home. For example, if you have 12, you need 6 pairs of matching pictures.

The pictures could be anything. Nice easy ones are things like numbers, shapes, letters, animals, weather, or emotion faces.

To begin circle time, each little one is handed a piece of paper each. They crumple it into a ball – a “snowball” – and throw it into the middle of the circle. Then they have to go and pick up a ball. The only rule is that they can’t pick their own snowball up. They must pick up someone else’s!

When they pick up their new snowball, they un-crumple it and then try to find their partner. If you have an odd number of children, you will have someone without a partner, and this is normally the ‘champion’!

Also they will usually have to go and stand next to a partner that is not their best friend.

Materials Needed : paper & drawing suppliers (crayons/markers)

Learning Objectives: Many skills are developed through this game. They have to show each other their paper, they must look at other people, they most follow direction, and may learn about asking for help. and it helps to ask.

2. Don’t Wake The Monkey!

Don’t wake the monkey is a truly fun way to teach patience and emotional control!

You don’t need a monkey for this game – any puppet or teddy will work fine. I just happen to use a large monkey puppet.

Put the puppet or teddy into the middle of the circle. They are ‘asleep’.

Then get either a tambourine, bells or keys . In a moment you are going to pass these around the circle as silently as possible.

Before that, though, there is a chant to all say together in a whisper. It goes like this:

Little monkey’s sleeping on the ground.

Sh! Sh! Sh!

We must not wake him with a sound.

Then, as silently as possibly, try passing the instrument around the circle. The children have to work together, and try and get it all the way around.

Another way of playing this game, is to split into two teams. The two teams form two circles, each with their own instrument and sleeping puppet in the middle.

The two teams then battle it out, and see which one can be the quietest passing the instrument around. This is a great variation for competitive children.

3.Pass The Rhythm

Pass the rhythm is one of the best circle time activities for early phonics as well as behavior.

There are two ways of playing it, an easy way, or a slightly harder way. The harder way is generally much better for social skills and turn-taking.

In the “simple game” version, the adult makes up a quick rhythm (maybe limit them to three hits), using different parts of the body. For example, tap your head once, and then your knees twice. The children must listen carefully then copy the same rhythm!

Then move on to another rhythm, for example, tap your shoulders, then legs, then feet. The children copy again!

When they become good at that, then you can move on to the harder version of the game. In this the children will make up their own rhythm. Start with the first child in the circle. They make up a rhythm of 3 actions, for example, tap head then shoulders then legs. The other copy. Go around the circle, taking it in turns letting each child have one attempt.

If you’d like to find out a whole lot more rhythm games, then why not check out my article the essential guide to rhythm sticks games, featuring at least 12 ideas.

4. Act The Emotion

Have three emotion cards in the middle of the circle – happy, sad, angry. You just draw a happy face, sad face and angry face on pieces of paper.

The adult goes first to show them what to do. They stand up and act out being one of these emotions. For example, if it is sad they bow their head, hunch their shoulders, mooch around and do a sad face. The children point to which emotion they think you are feeling.

Then it is their turn. One at a time a child will stand up and act out one of the emotions. The others try to guess which one it is. Talk about the body language and facial expressions. This is a creative way to teach emotion!

5. Parachute Pairs

Parachute games are brilliant for young children to develop all sorts of listening and cooperation skills .

This pairs game is a nice simple one to try. The idea is all everyone holds the parachute at about waist height. Then you pick two children, by saying their names. They are the two children that are going to swap places.

The idea is that the adult says ‘1,2,3!’ On the ‘3’ all the players lift the parachute up over their head as high as they can, so the chute mushrooms up in the air.

At that moment the two children run under the parachute and swap places.

Then bring the parachute down and pick the next two children. Repeat the same process.

A slightly harder version of this game is the fruit salad game. In this you give everyone a name of a fruit. Go round saying ‘Apple, banana, strawberry, pear’, or something like that. Have about four fruits, and give them out equally so you’ll have roughly the same number of children each being an apple or a strawberry.

Then go ‘1,2,3!’ On the 3 lift the parachute and shout a fruit name, for example ‘strawberry’.

The idea is that all the strawberries will run underneath the parachute and swop places. Then repeat for other fruits.

This is a bit harder just because the children have to remember what fruit they are. For some this is an extremely tricky task.

Did you know you can also play all sorts of math and phonics games with parachutes?! Try reading my favorite 14 Parachute Math Games . Also, one of the best ways of keeping phonics exciting and engaging is by trying some of these 10 Brilliant Phonics Parachute Games.

There is also a whole chapter on the very best parachute circle time games, that you can find in my book 101 Circle Time Games…That Actually Work! (which you can check out here).

6.Pass The Potato

This game is bit like pass the parcel, only you use a potato! All that is required is a potato and some music.

Put some music on and pass the potato around the circle . When the music stops, whoever is holding the potato is out and has to stand up and sit outside the circle. Continue until you have a champion.

Some react better to being ‘out’ than others. But this is a great safe space opportunity to work on regulating emotions.

7. Wonky Donkey!

This is a really fun game, that helps children listen to the voices of others.

Start with one individual who is the Wonky Donkey! They come and sit in the middle of the circle and put a blindfold on. They also put on either an old shirt, or an apron or a bib. Whatever you have to hand will work.

The idea is that you pick one child to come up and hold on to the back of the child’s shirt or apron. This is the donkey’s ‘tail’. That person shakes the ‘tail’ and shouts ‘Wonky Donkey!’

The idea is that the Wonky Donkey has to guess who has shook their tail!

This game helps them to begin to recognize the voices of their friends. It also tunes them in and gets them listening.

8. Baby Bear Game

This is one of my favorite listening games .

To play it you need a blindfold, a jar of honey and a noisy instrument of some sort – usually a tambourine or some keys work well.

The idea is that you get a child to come and sit in the middle of the circle. They are Baby Bear, and they put a blindfold on so they can’t see. Baby Bear is ‘asleep’.

Put the honey behind Baby Bear.

There is now a chant that goes like this:

Isn’t it funny how a bear likes honey!

You give the tambourine to any of the children in the circle. Their job is to stand up as quietly as possible, and sneak over to Baby Bear, pick up the honey, and sneak back to where they are sitting with it.

The tricky part is that they have to try to hide both the honey and the tambourine behind their back.

They keep their hands behind their back, and everyone else puts their hands behind their back as well, so anyone could be the thief!

Then Baby Bear wakes up (takes the blindfold off). The bear has three guesses to work out who the thief is.

There are usually lots of clues if everyone stays quite – footsteps, little jingles from the tambourine and other noises like that.

If the children are having problems putting the tambourine behind their back, then the easier version of the game is to swop the tambourine with honey, so you take the honey back but leave the tambourine behind the bear. You get less sound clues this way, but it is easy for very young children to accomplish.

There seem to be many variations of this game, and I have seen it played with the Bear as a pirate, with someone robbing his treasure, or as a Giant and someone robs his keys. The basic skills behind all these games are the same.

9.Pass The Smile

None of these circle time activities can make you smile quite like this game! This is an activity that is great for eye contact, turn-taking and thinking about emotions.

The adult to begin smiles at the first child. They ‘pass’ the smile to the child next to them, by looking at them and smiling. Then the children will pass the smile all the way around the circle. You may need to give the occasional child a bit of a reminder to look or pass it on. Once everyone has smiled the game ends!

However, you can keeping going by just doing a do different version of the game! You could pass a frown, a wink, a nod or some other facial expression. This is an amazing activity for thinking about emotions, and what our faces do when we are feeling different ways.

10. Spin The Bottle!

This is the child-friendly version of this classic game.

All you need is an empty bottle. This game works better on a harder surface, such as wood or laminate flooring. The bottle doesn’t really spin enough on a carpet.

Put the bottle in the middle of the circle, and a child to come and spin it. They spin the bottle and shout one child’s name. That child has to jump up and pick up the bottle before it stops spinning.

Then they spin it and shout a child’s name, and just carry on with the next child repeating.  

11. Spare Place

In this game you need cards with pictures on . The pictures all have to be different. A good example would be to use pictures of animals. You could have a full range of animals – a cow, a horse, a dog, a cat, a mouse etc.

Sit in a circle, but have one big space in the circle, easily big enough for a child to sit in.

Give each child a picture of an animal, and you also have one spare picture that goes in the space.

Say an animal name. The child holding that picture will move to the spare space. They then say an animal name, and that child will move to the space that the first child has vacated.

12. Picnic Memory Game

There are many variations of this classic memory game, but here is just one way of playing it.

For this game you need a bag of simple pretend (or real) food and a picnic hamper or box of some sort to put them in.

There is an easy and a hard version of the game. For the easy version, what you do is take one piece of food out of the bag first. For example, let’s say it is an orange. The first person would say, ‘For our picnic we took an orange.’

They put the orange in the box so everyone can see it.

Then the next person goes. They take a piece of food out, for example a banana, and say ‘For our picnic we took an orange and a banana.’

They put the banana next to the orange and the game continues.

This is much easier than the hard version, because you can see the food, and just need to be able to say it in a sequence.

For the harder version, the idea is that you put one piece of food into the box and then close the lid so you can’t see it.

For example, the first person says ‘On our picnic we took an orange.’ They put the orange in the box and close the lid.

Then the next person says, ‘On our picnic we took an orange and a banana.’ They open the lid and put the banana next to the orange, then close it.

There is lots of memory and listening and looking required in this game . You may want to start with just 3 or 4 objects, though some children are amazing at remembering a huge number.

Just see how it goes, and make the game easier or harder as required.

There is a whole chapter on ‘memory circle time games…that actually work’ in my book 101 Circle Time Games…That Actually Work.

13. At The Zoo

This is another variation of the picnic memory game.

Have a story bag with animals in. Say ‘In the jungle, we saw a (pick one out) an elephant!’ Pass it to next person. ‘In the jungle we saw an elephant and a tiger etc etc.’ Keep going just like that.

There are many variations that you can play on this classic memory game. All you need is some kind of objects in a bag and some sort of context. Other ideas could be a bag of vehicles. Say something like ‘On the road I saw a …lorry.’

You could use dinosaurs, or superheroes, or whatever you like. Be creative! Whatever the children are interested in will get the best response.

14. Where Is It?

“Where is it” is a fun musical instrument circle time game!

Have one child sitting in the middle of the circle. They put a blindfold on.

Then get a noisy instrument – it could be a tambourine or keys or something similar. The idea is then that the children pass the noisy instrument around, all giving it a shake when they are holding it before passing it on to the next person.

When the adult says ‘stop’ the person holding the tambourine holds it silently.

The child in the middle is going to try to point to whoever they think is holding the instrument. Then do it again.

15. Pass The Puppet

This is a great activity that can be adapted in many ways, and is one that I play a lot, possibly the most out of this article.

Have a puppet , and it is good to have some sort of story. For example, the puppet is happy because his friend has shared their toys. You basically have some sort of them. The puppet might be sad for a reason, or worried, or anything like that.

Pass the puppet round, and everyone says one thing that makes them happy, or sad, or appreciative of a friend, or whatever the theme is. You can only speak when you’re holding the puppet!

If you’re interested in reading more puppet games, then check out my article about the 22 best uses of puppets in teaching.

16. Matching Socks

Some group games are great for mixing and working with people that you wouldn’t normally work with.

The matching socks game is a great example of this. The idea is that you have lots of pairs of socks. The sock pairs all need to be a different design, and you need at least one sock per child.

Give the socks out! The children stand up and try to find their matching sock partner.

This gets them thinking about color and pattern. It also gets them looking at their friends, and also standing next to a partner that they wouldn’t necessarily choose to stand next to.

17. Pass Balls Round The Circle

Simple ball games are great for young children, and this is about as simple as it gets.

The very simplest way of playing this game is to have one ball . All you do is pass the ball around the circle.

The slightly harder version of this game is to have several balls. You pass these round the circle!

This game is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to ball games that preschoolers love. Why not check out my 30 Preschool Ball Games For The Whole Curriculum.

The book contains a whole chapter on simple and imaginative passing games like this.

18. Change!

To extend this game yet again, pass several balls round, but when you say ‘change’ the balls all have to go in the opposite direction. This is not as easy as it sounds!

The next stage of this game is to have two colors of balls. For example, have three blue balls and three yellow balls. The blue balls are going to go one direction, and the yellow balls are going to go in the opposite direction.

See how you get on! The tricky bit is that some children will get two balls at once. They will have to switch them over to keep them going.

When, and if, the children are doing well at this game, you can then introduce a ‘change’ again. So when the balls are all going around in the two directions, say ‘change’, and see if they can move them back the other way. This takes a lot of teamwork and cooperation! It also is good for conflict resolution, as some children will naturally get it wrong, and you will be encouraging children to support each other.

If you liked the sound of these simple ball games, you will be pleased to know that I have written 30 Preschool Ball Games for The Whole Curriculum. There is a host of ball games for math, phonics, physical development and more – the whole curriculum. Why not take a look?

19. Missing Child Game.

This is a great game for eye contact.

The idea of this game is that all children close their eyes. This is the tricky bit! They have to try and do it properly, and no cheating!

Then tap one child on the shoulder. That child is going to go and hide somewhere where the others cannot see them.

Then tell the children to open their eyes. Who has gone missing?

This moment is great for them all to be looking into each other’s faces to see who is there and who isn’t. Eye contact is a massive target for so many children, and this game really helps this skill. Looking for more eye contact games? Why not check out my 12 Fantastic Eye Contact Group Games  .

There is a version of this missing child game using a parachute . In that version the children sit around the edge of a parachute that is on the floor. They close their eyes, and you tap one child on the shoulder. They go under the chute and sit in the middle of it.

When the others open their eyes they can see a child under the parachute, but who is it?

20. Mystery Object

This is a bit like the telephone game, but with an object. Have a mystery object in a bag or box (or even an envelope). The object is just to really focus the attention of the children.

Whisper what the object is to the child next to you, and they have to pass it round the circle whispering to each other as they go.

When they have gone all the way around, the last person guesses what it is. Open the box or bag and reveal have they got it right!

21. Mystery Box

This is similar to the last game, but without the whispering element.

In this you have a box, and inside the box is a mystery object. What you do is pass the box around and everyone gets to shake the box, hear what is inside and then guess what they think it is.

After you have passed it all the way around, and everyone has guessed, then you are ready for the tricky bit. You ask ‘Who guessed it was a bottle?’ The children point to who they think guessed it was that. ‘Who guessed it was a lion?’ You just carry on saying the children’s suggestions, and the children point to who they think it was.

At the end open up the box and see what it is!

101 Circle Time Games…That Actually Work!

If you’ve found these games beneficial, then I would definitely recommend checking out the book!

It’s called 101 Circle Time Games…That Actually Work! and it contains:

• Active circle games
• Phonics and literacy circle games
• Math circle games
• Emotion and mindfulness circle games
• Memory circle games
• And so much more!

You can check out further details of the book here.

So there you have the complete guide to preschool circle time games that actually work!

Children learn the most through play at this young age, but some well structured and engaging group games develop lots of skills that children can use in their play. Skills such as eye contact, turn-taking and cooperating are the key elements of play.

Good luck with these circle time games, and if you try any out feel free to share this post!

If you liked this … part 1 … check out this video of 9 circle time math games:

If you’ve found this beneficial, then you will probably also like The 40 Greatest Parachute Games For Kids.

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Ages 4 and Up ( iOS , Android ) Dragonbox games are primarily math-related, though they also partnered with chess champ Magnus Carlsen to create Magnus' Kingdom , a chess-learning game that's been very popular in my house. It uses an adventure-style approach to teach kids about different chess pieces and how to play. I strongly suggest picking up a real-world chess board (I like this no-stress chess board for beginners $18 ) as well. Your kids will ask for it. Trust me. Ages 3 and Up ( Computer , iOS , Android ) It's time you let delightful animated monsters teach your kids everything from basic ABCs to complex sentences. It has puzzle games with talking letters and well-illustrated definitions to help your child learn to read. Originator, the publisher of Endless Alphabet , has many other games as well , including Endless Reader , which helps kids learn sight words, and Endless Spanish which helped my kids significantly improve their Spanish vocabulary. 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I suggest getting a separate podcast app for your kids, so there's no way they'll accidentally end up listening to any adult content you don't want them to hear. March 25, 9 am: This story was updated to add links to the Tinybop Android app bundle. WIRED is providing free access to stories about public health and how to protect yourself during the coronavirus pandemic . Sign up for our Coronavirus Update newsletter for the latest updates, and subscribe to support our journalism . Gear and tips to help you get through a pandemic The doctor who helped defeat smallpox explains what's coming Everything you need to know about coronavirus testing Don’t go down a coronavirus anxiety spiral How is the virus spread? (And other Covid-19 FAQs, answered) Read all of our coronavirus coverage here Lauren Goode Louryn Strampe Nena Farrell Julian Chokkattu WIRED COUPONS Save $7 To $23 On Turbo Tax Online 20% Off All H&R Block 2024 Tax Software | H&R Block Coupon Enjoy $15 Off Your Orders With Instacart Coupon When You Spend $50 50% Off Your First Order Of $15+ With Code Finish Line Coupon $15 Off $150 On Sneakers And More Groupon Coupon: Extra 15% Off Any Size Order Grades 6-12 School Leaders 100 Last-Day-of-School Activities Your Students Will Love! 40+ Best Online Educational Games for Every Grade in 2023 Make screen time meaningful and fun! Kids are always asking for more screen time, and parents and teachers are always looking for ways to make that screen time more worthwhile. Fortunately, there are endless free online games for kids that teach language arts, math, science, art, and STEM. If you’re not quite sure where to get started, try this list of our favorite teacher-approved online educational games. You’ll find educational games for students in every subject and every grade. Preschool and Elementary Online Educational Games Middle and high school online educational games. Offering a full curriculum for children ages 2 to 8, this site includes fun and interactive games, songs, and puzzles for reading, math, science, and art. (Free for teachers and classrooms; subscription available for home use) Adventure Academy From the same company as ABCMouse, Adventure Academy takes kids ages 8 to 13 on a knowledge quest through language arts, math, science, and social studies. (First month free, then monthly subscription fee) Looking to improve outcomes in a way that kids will enjoy? This educational game takes K-12 students on a time-traveling adventure to meet some of the most influential mathematicians in history. (Monthly or annual subscription plans for families; schools request price quote) Duck Duck Moose Reading Based on Common Core State Standards, this app teaches phonics including the letter sounds for all consonants, short vowels, and long vowels. Kids will also practice spelling consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words. If you like this one, check out Duck Duck Moose’s whole collection of school games online. (Apps are free to download and play.) Test your knowledge while earning rice for those in need! Each time you play, you’re helping the United Nations World Food Programme provide food to those around the world who need it. The game offers a variety of subjects and difficulty levels. (Free) Dive into a coral reef or be a star climber on this great site that features a wide assortment of free online games for kids. These educational games focus mainly on reading and math, but you’ll find lots of fun activities here with options for pre-K through grade 8. 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(Free) RoomRecess.com Access over 140 online educational games for kids in grades K-6 on this site, which was developed by an elementary school teacher with a focus on reinforcing fundamental learning concepts in math, reading, spelling, language arts, typing, and problem-solving. (Free) Roy: Tale of a Singing Zebra Kids pre-K to grade 2 will enjoy the punctuation, reading, and spelling games on this cute, simple site. You’ll also find online guided-reading stories and lesson plans for teachers. (Free) Starfall activities are research-based and align with individual and Common Core State Standards in English language arts and mathematics. There are engaging and interactive games for students in grades K-3. (Some free content with subscriptions available) Teachers love this great site that offers personalized math and spelling practice for kids ages 5 through 13 through adaptive learning and multi-player games. This is definitely one of the best online educational game sites out there! (Monthly subscription fee) How good are your airbrush skills? Which famous artist should design your bedroom? Are you a master of street art? Kids can explore these questions and more with the cool quizzes and games on this art-focused site from the Tate Gallery. (Free) Toy Theater How would your students like to learn multiplication while shooting hoops? They can do that and more at Toy Theater, which teaches early math concepts through game-based learning. (Free) Turtle Diary Introduce kids to new, exciting ways of learning with the help of fun online games, videos, experiments, puzzles, coloring sheets, and more! Turtle Diary activities pair with the appropriate grade level to enhance retention of material and increase success in the classroom. (Free) The games and challenges on Tynker give kids ages 5 and up a fun and easy way to build coding skills. This is one of the top online educational games for young coders— see more of our favorites here . (Subscription required) Vocabulary A-Z Dive into engaging learning activities and games for kids in first through sixth grades, designed to promote vocabulary, spelling, phonics, and language arts. (Free basic access; Premium membership unlocks complete library) Algebraic Reasoning Sweet Shop Who doesn’t like candy? Buy and sell sweet treats in this game that helps students grasp concepts related to price and purchasing. (Free) Boat Coordinates Use this fun boating game to learn and practice concepts related to grids and quadrants. Race along the X and Y axes to get to the finish line as fast as you can! (Free) Cells Alive This information website provides all sorts of interactive ways to learn about cells! Interactive models, puzzles, and more all help tell the story of this building block of life. (Free) This guessing game uses maps and photos from around the world to educate kids on world locations as well as historical landmarks and famous cities. User-made quizzes add to the guessing fun! (Free) Get the Math Explore all the ways you really do use algebra in the real world. Students see how professionals use math in music, fashion, video games, restaurants, basketball, and special effects. Then take on interactive challenges related to those careers. (Free) Created by a high school student, this interactive review game is something kids can play on their own devices, earning in-game money for correct answers that they can use to buy upgrades and power-ups! (Free, with Pro subscriptions available) High-Stakes Heist Kids use their knowledge of the order of operations to crack the safes and help hero Kit Foxtail return the townspeoples’ money that was stolen by the evil Duke von Wolfington. They’ll have to think fast as they try to solve equations in the correct order before time runs out! (Free) Help kids learn the foundations of civics and government with this collection of highly interactive games including Court Quest, Newsfeed Defenders, and Do I Have the Right? (Free) Kids Environment Kids Health Through a wide assortment of puzzles, riddles, brainteasers, and more, kids can learn about their own health and the health of the environment on this website from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. (Free) NASA STEM Engagement With a variety of games, activities, and educational options to choose from, the NASA Stem Engagement site offers options for all grades. Learn, discover, and play online educational games related to space technology and exploration. (Free) Physicsgames.net This website offers dozens of different simple games to choose from that help educate kids on the mechanics of physics. Whether they are shooting pigs, knocking down walls, or trying to balance a building, they’ll learn and have fun at the same time. (Free) Science Vocabulary Hangman Use the clues to guess the scientific term before the cellular hangman disappears. Choose from literally hundreds of subject sets that include grade-specific vocab, state-level standardized tests, and more. (Free) smokeSCREEN As part of their #BeTheFirst Initiative, smokeSCREEN was developed by the play2PREVENT Lab, 1stPlayable, and Schell Games and funded by the NIH/FDA and the CVS Health Foundation. The game addresses the range of challenges that young teens face, with a dedicated focus on youth decision-making around smoking and vaping and strategies for both smoking prevention and cessation. Educators can request free access to the web-based game here . (Free) Sortify: Angles Learning about angles can be tricky, but this game uses cue cards and sorting bins to help students learn to properly classify angles into different categories. Make sure they’re all correct and then submit the responses to earn the most points. (Free) Though Quizlet is known for its huge array of digital flash cards, this educational site offers much more for students. AI tutors help kids learn more about tricky subjects, plus transform their own notes into interactive learning activities. (Free; Quizlet Plus has more features available for a subscription fee) Trigonometry Minigolf Trigonometry has never been more fun than in this game that uses correct answers to power your golf swing as you aim for a hole in one! Miss an answer? The game will let you know what you did wrong and give you another shot. (Free) Wrecks Factor S.O.S.! Ships are sailing into your harbor and you need to help keep them from sinking! Solve the quadratic equations to keep the boats afloat and clear the board … if you take too long, boats start to sink and you lose a life. (Free) Did we miss one of your favorite online educational games? Share in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook . Plus, 28 online interactive math games kids will love .. You Might Also Like Our Favorite Escape Room Games for Kids All of these sound like fun! Continue Reading Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. 5335 Gate Parkway, Jacksonville, FL 32256 Advertisement Baby and kid Some of the Best Online Learning Games for Kids By Courtney Schley To find our favorite learning apps and games for kids, we spent more than 40 hours researching and testing 50-plus apps recommended by educators, experts, and parents. If your family has a tablet and you want it to be more than a game-playing and video-watching device, or if you’re trying to find apps for your smartphone that will do more than keep your kids occupied in a pinch, we have some great suggestions. As with our guides to STEM and learning toys, we didn’t test scores of apps to try to find the “best” ones. Rather, most of the apps here have been chosen by teachers for their students in classrooms, used by Wirecutter parents and their kids, or recommended by the experts and educators we spoke with. (For details, read more about how we selected the apps in this guide.) The apps we cover in this guide are great learning apps not because they’re designed to make kids smarter, to drill facts, or to replace in-school learning, but because they each offer something fun, unique, and interesting for kids and adults. The research Our favorite math apps, our favorite coding apps, our favorite science and exploration apps, our favorite social and emotional learning apps, our favorite ebook app, how we picked and tested. These math games don’t simply drill facts or make kids memorize but rather use visuals, narratives, and storylines to help kids discover math concepts and build their skills. We like these apps because they offer games and exercises tailored to different ages and skill levels and because they encourage adults and kids to play together. A family math app: Bedtime Math Bedtime Math (iOS and Android) Bringing math home. This free app makes math a part of daily family life, like a bedtime story. A peer-reviewed study showed that it not only helps improve kids’ math performance but also makes parents feel more comfortable with math. Buying Options How it works: Bedtime Math ( iOS and Android ) seeks to do for math what the bedtime story does for literacy, by turning math into an enjoyable bonding routine between child and caregiver. The free app offers a daily word problem for children to solve together with an adult during bedtime or anytime. Each exercise centers on a short narrative or interesting fact and poses questions at four difficulty levels, from pre-K through elementary school. Why it’s great: Bedtime Math is one of the few children’s educational apps that have been evaluated in a peer-reviewed study . This particular study demonstrated that students who used the app significantly boosted their math scores; it also showed that Bedtime Math can help parents mitigate their own math anxiety , a phenomenon that can negatively affect their children’s attitudes toward math and their ability in the subject. Teacher Jennifer Auten told us she liked that the questions were written at a middle-school reading level, meaning an adult must facilitate the discussion but you have a choice of four levels of difficulty based on the child’s age and math level. Apps for visual math: DragonBox Numbers and DragonBox Big Numbers DragonBox Numbers (iOS, Android, and Amazon) Visual numeracy. Cute Nooms help kids visualize and conceptualize numbers and arithmetic operations. DragonBox Big Numbers (iOS, Android, and Amazon) More-complex arithmetic. Kids follow characters called Nooms on adventures, solving long addition and subtraction equations in the process. Ages: 4 to 8 and 6 to 9 How it works: DragonBox Numbers ( iOS , Android , and Amazon ), aimed at kids 4 through 8, introduces number sense, addition, and subtraction through cute characters called Nooms. (The characters are designed to resemble Cuisenaire rods , math learning aids that introduce kids to arithmetic operations in a hands-on way.) Kids feed, slice, and sort the Nooms, developing familiarity with addition, subtraction, fractions, and ranges. In DragonBox Big Numbers ( iOS , Android , and Amazon ), for kids 5 through 9, players follow the Nooms on more complex adventures, solving long addition and subtraction equations in order to gather and trade resources. Why it’s great: The Nooms function as digital versions of what classroom teachers call math manipulatives , physical learning aids that help young children understand theoretical math concepts in a concrete way. For older kids, the DragonBox series continues on with algebra and Euclidean geometry. Many great apps teach coding to kids as young as preschool and progressing through upper elementary grades. We’ve highlighted four of these apps because they’re particularly easy to get started with and don’t require reading or, for the child or the parent, a coding background. Regardless of what app they use, parents should think of coding apps as a family activity, said Pat Yongpradit of Code.org . “You will rarely have such a rich media experience as you can when coding with your kid,” he said. Coding puzzles for beginners: Lightbot and Lightbot Jr Lightbot (iOS and Android) Coding puzzles. The app’s simple puzzle challenges are easy to jump into for kids and adults with no previous coding experience. Lightbot Jr (iOS and Android) Coding puzzles for younger kids. A slower-paced, easier set of puzzles for kids as young as preschool. Ages: 9 and up (Lightbot); 4 to 8 (Lightbot Jr) How it works: In Lightbot ( iOS and Android ), kids solve a series of simple puzzles by lining up commands that make a robot advance over obstacles and light up squares. As they master basic concepts, they add more-complex commands, such as conditionals, loops, and nested statements. Lightbot Jr ( iOS and Android ) follows a similar structure but at a slower pace and with simpler challenges that focus on reinforcing the basics. A minimal amount of reading is required, so pre-readers may need adult help at the beginning. Why it’s great: Project Lead The Way (PLTW), a nonprofit educational organization that promotes and develops STEM curricula and resources, told us, “The best apps for young students without previous experience are those that teach and help build logic and reasoning skills [and] critical thinking skills, and provide brain teasers.” PLTW’s curriculum writers like the Lightbot and Lightbot Jr apps as ways to get kids as young as 4 started with the basic concepts and logical structures of coding. A creative coding app: ScratchJr ScratchJr (iOS, Android, and Amazon) Visual programming. Using graphical coding blocks, ScratchJr lets kids animate characters and create storylines. Ages: 5 and up How it works: In ScratchJr ( iOS , Android , Amazon ), kids select characters and backdrop scenes and drag graphical programming blocks, which snap together like puzzle pieces, to make animation sequences and storylines. Although the app has some written cues, the programming blocks largely use symbols (such as arrows and stop signs) to indicate what they do (such as move the character forward or make them stop). As kids become familiar with how to structure the code, they can create multi-scene stories. Why it’s great: ScratchJr isn’t lesson-based (though you can consult a variety of curricula and tutorials for the app) but rather designed to give kids a sandbox in which to experiment, learn, and create through trial and error (the app offers sample animations as well). Pat Yongpradit of Code.org , which recommends ScratchJr among other coding apps and games, noted one particular benefit: “It’s very free-form; you’re not basically being directed down a particular path.” Younger kids will need an adult or older child to guide them as they get familiar with ScratchJr . An app for hands-on coding: Osmo Coding Awbie Osmo Coding (iOS) Tangible coding. The Osmo system uses physical game pieces in conjunction with the device’s screen, making scripting and coding tangible and accessible for pre-readers. Ages: 5 to 12 How it works: Osmo Coding Awbie requires a base system—a stand and a mirror that attach to the device’s camera and that are compatible with other Osmo games —for the iPad , iPhone , and Amazon Fire . The system allows players to use physical pieces to interact with the screen-based game. Kids use bricks marked with commands, arrows, numbers, and loops to create scripts that direct a silly character through mazes and challenges, picking up prizes such as strawberries. Why it’s great: Teacher Jennifer Auten, who uses Osmo Coding Awbie and other Osmo games in her classroom, said the fact that it combined an app with physical pieces made kids more patient and thoughtful as they worked through the challenges: “When something is purely on the screen, kids will sometimes end up just tapping as fast as they can, randomly guessing. With the manipulatives, it slows their thinking down.” Auten also noted that the physical pieces made it easier to play the game with multiple people, fostering discussion, collaboration, and group problem-solving. She also likes that Osmo Coding Awbie is open-ended: “Kids can explore and create their own paths.” In this category we chose these three apps—focused on anatomy, the natural world, and space—because they offer kids unique, open-ended ways to explore science topics. Each app encourages kids to meander, linger, and dive deeper at their own pace. An app to see what’s inside: The Human Body The Human Body (iOS and Android) Seeing what’s inside. The Human Body offers a visually and aurally interesting way to wander through the body’s organs, systems, and functions. How it works: In The Human Body ( iOS and Android ), kids explore anatomy by jumping around to different organs and systems—for example, watching a mouth chew food and swallow drink, sliding into a stomach breaking down food, and following flashing nerve signals as they race up to the brain. Why it’s great: The Human Body focuses less on teaching kids specific anatomical lessons and more on sparking wonder and fascination toward the body and what it can do. The app’s engaging visuals are neither cartoonish nor graphic, and the thoughtful sound effects are as compelling and instructive as the animations: Gurgles, wooshes, creaks, and spurts give kids a visceral sense of what’s happening inside them. You can toggle on or off the text labels that identify the systems and organs, but no reading is required to get deep into the app, making it equally accessible to pre-readers. An app for discovering nature: Toca Nature Toca Nature (iOS, Android, and Amazon) Natural-world building. Toca Nature is an open-ended building app—similar to Minecraft—where kids can explore and shape the terrain, collect resources, and observe wildlife. Ages: 4 and up How it works: In Toca Nature ( iOS , Android , Amazon ), kids start with a simple plot of land where they can raise or lower mountains, create lakes, clear or plant forests, and make deserts. They can zoom in to different areas of their terrain to collect and distribute resources (like mushrooms, fish, or berries). As they change and shape the environment, different kinds of animals, plants, and fish will appear, multiply, migrate, or disappear. Why it’s great: Similar to popular narrative-less building games like Minecraft , Toca Nature harnesses the enjoyment kids get from open-ended creating, wandering, and exploring games, with a unique focus on the natural world. Common Sense Media senior editor Christine Elgersma said that an app like Toca Nature doesn’t have explicit learning goals—it’s not trying to teach kids the names of animals or types of terrain, for example—but rather is “an exploratory app with experiences that a kid really couldn’t have off screen.” By creating and manipulating the environment, and then observing how the plant and wildlife change as a result, kids can see how animals, resources, and the environment interact. An app for exploring space: Professor Astro Cat’s Solar System Professor Astro Cat’s Solar System (iOS, Android, and Amazon) Cats in space. Explore the solar system with a jet-propelled cat. Ages: 8 to 12, or 6 and up with an adult How it works: Kids explore the app much as they would read a book, delving into facts, illustrations, and animations about planets, moons, stars, and space exploration. At various points, quizzes and other challenges let you earn sardine treats for Professor Astro Cat. Why it’s great: Jana Grcevich , an astronomer, science educator, and author , told us she enjoyed the Professor Astro Cat app ( iOS , Android , and Amazon ), along with the popular book series it’s based on, with her then 6-year-old niece. The app requires reading, but the entertaining storyline and fascinating facts make it fun for adults along with younger children. Social and emotional learning , which includes self-awareness, empathy, communication skills, and building relationships, among other capacities, has increasingly been recognized as a critical component of children’s education. These three apps let young kids explore different aspects of self-expression, emotions, and social play. An app for self-expression: Me: A Kid’s Diary Me: A Kid's Diary (iOS) A digital diary. This app lets kids explore self-expression through drawing, writing, photos, and audio and video. Ages: 7 and up How it works: Kids create a digital diary of their lives by answering questions about themselves; making avatars for family members, friends, and other loved ones; and designing their own media. Kids navigate all these entries on their Me Map, a sort of multimedia landscape of their lives. Why it’s great: Me: A Kid’s Diary helps kids creatively document their feelings, experiences, and loved ones through different media and modes of expression. In some ways, the app offers an experience akin to social media—uploading photos, making videos, writing reflections, and mapping personal connections—but in an entirely closed environment (there’s no actual communication or sharing within the app). This can create a space for kids to start to explore (and for parents to discuss) digital self-expression and sharing. An app for emotions: Daniel Tiger’s Grr-ific Feelings Daniel Tiger's Grr-ific Feelings (iOS, Android, and Amazon) Exploring emotions. The beloved PBS character helps young kids identify, act out, and explore their feelings through games, songs and creative activities. Ages: 2 to 5 How it works: Kids explore the familiar world of the PBS Kids series Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood ( iOS , Android , Amazon ) through simple games, songs, and art activities that focus on identifying and exploring feelings and emotions. It offers different ways for kids to practice, talk about, and experience emotions, such as by drawing a picture, taking a photo of themselves feeling angry or happy, or practicing a calming exercise with Daniel Tiger. Why it’s great: The app is simple and accessible for very young kids, with frequent verbal cues and reminders to help them through the easily navigable interface. “Even without the Daniel tie-in, it could actually still be a pretty successful app for teaching a lot of social, emotional, and self-care skills,” said Harry Sawyers, Wirecutter senior editor and father of three. “But having the familiar characters and songs really helps jump-start their interest if, for example, they ‘have to go potty—stop, and go right awaaaaay!’” An app for social play: Toca Tea Party Toca Tea Party (iOS) Tea for two (or more). Toca Tea Party presents the elements of a tea party—drinks, desserts, and dishes—for unstructured imaginative play. Ages: 2 and up How it works: Toca Tea Party couldn’t be simpler: You set a tea table with plates, cups, drinks, and treats for three guests, and the rest is up to your imagination. There’s no objective beyond pouring drinks, munching treats, and wiping up spills, and the app has a built-in end point: Once you’ve finished the snacks and beverages, the table clears itself and the dishes drop into a sink, ending the party. Why it’s great: Toca Tea Party isn’t so much a game as a scene for unstructured imaginative and social play for young children. Kids can play alone (perhaps by inviting dolls or stuffed animals as guests) or with one or two others—a unique feature for a tablet game to pull off well. My two daughters, now 4 and 5, haven’t tired of Toca Tea Party after two years, and their play centers on chatting, pretending, and sharing. An app for reading: Epic! ebook subscription Epic! e-book subscription Endless ebooks. This app allows young readers to choose from up to 35,000 different books for a low monthly cost. How it works: For $8 a month, kids gain access to some 35,000 children’s books in an intuitively designed app. Epic’s library is updated regularly with new titles, including classics and the site’s original content. Many of the picture books have a “Read to me” function, where a narrator reads the text aloud and the pages turn automatically. The app also suggests books by age and based on what a child has previously read, allowing kids to easily discover new titles at their reading level. Epic! works on iOS, Android and Microsoft tablets and smartphones. Why it’s great: While some subscription kids’ e-book apps tend to be populated with the kinds of uninteresting titles you’d find in a bookstore bargain bin, Epic! offers an impressive library of children’s books, including many of the beloved classics and award-winning authors you’d find in a well-curated children’s library. (The Wizard of Oz, with the original 1900 illustrations, was one memorable find that gave us many nights of rapt bedtime reading.) The app is simple enough to use that both of my daughters can independently browse books by the cover art and find what interests them—even though they are both pre-readers. Fairy tales abound, but I’ve also found them paging through books about geology, Ramadan, and coding. Since we began researching learning apps in 2016, we’ve spoken with a range of experts, including a classroom teacher, a child developmental psychologist, a pediatrician, an astronomer, education researchers, app developers, and others. These have included Kathy Hirsh-Pasek , a professor of psychology at Temple University who has written about and conducted research studies on educational apps for young children; Jennifer Auten , an award-winning teacher in Cupertino, California, who has been using tablet and smartphone apps in her first- and second-grade curricula since the iPad was released in 2010; Christine Elgersma , senior editor, parent education, for Common Sense Media, an organization focused on children’s media; and Pat Yongpradit , chief academic officer at Code.org, a nonprofit that advocates for computer science education. Last, we’ve spoken with parents on our staff for recommendations of apps they and their kids love in categories such as science, music, and coding. We read articles and reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and child developmental psychologists and educational researchers to learn about kids’ media use and about principles for designing learning apps. Finally, we read through reviews and ratings from well-regarded children’s media sites such as Common Sense Media . Similar to what we found when researching learning toys , we discovered that developers and app stores often label apps as “educational” with little research or evidence, and few experts, to support those claims. In 2016, the AAP released a broad report on children’s use of digital media, calling for more-rigorous evaluation of apps that claim to be educational: “Unfortunately, very few of the commercially available apps found in the educational section of app stores have evidence-based design input with demonstrated learning effectiveness.” Similarly, in a 2015 article , Hirsh-Pasek writes that educational apps “present a significant opportunity for out-of-school, informal learning when designed in educationally appropriate ways” but notes later on that “[o]nly a handful of apps are designed with an eye toward how children actually learn.” Experts are still studying what makes learning apps successful pedagogical tools, as well as fun and interesting activities for kids. But after speaking with experts, reading research, and trying out apps ourselves, we identified a few features that seem to be common among great learning apps. Offer unique experiences: Several of the experts we spoke to noted that a good educational app should offer children something they couldn’t simply do, learn, or explore in a classroom or the real world. If the app is “basically a worksheet on screen, [or] an experience that could be replicated off screen, then that’s not a good use of the screen,” Elgersma said. “You want it to be an experience that kids could really only have in that screen world.” Be open-ended, with limits: Most of the apps in this guide are open-ended in the sense that they encourage kids to independently explore, create, and navigate within the app. But researchers say it’s important to have built-in limits, as well. The AAP has pointed out that digital games have traditionally been designed with rewards and reinforcement designed to keep kids playing as long as possible. The organization recommends that learning apps instead have “automatic ‘stops’ as the default design to encourage children and caregivers to pause the game use and turn to the 3-dimensional world.” Be engaging but not distracting: Apps have great potential to engage children through interactive features, but some research has shown that too many bells and whistles can distract children or reduce their comprehension. A good learning app uses interactive, animated, and responsive features to engage kids or enhance their comprehension, not simply to entertain. Hirsh-Pasek has written that parents should evaluate an app’s interactive features and ask: “Do the enhancements actually add value and increase engagement, or do they cause distraction?” Encourage interaction: The AAP and other organizations say that learning apps that encourage real-life interaction among multiple people—adult and child, or child and peers—can be especially strong at facilitating learning. The apps in this guide are fun and interesting for kids and adults, and many foster conversation and play outside of the app itself. As with our guide to learning toys , we focused primarily on apps aimed at kids 3 to 9 years old, though older kids can enjoy many of our recommendations, as well. We chose this age range because, as Hirsh-Pasek has written , “there are so many apps targeted toward [children in this range] that parents and educators do not know how to navigate the marketplace of possibilities.” All the apps we recommend in this guide adhere to the FTC’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act . Among other things, COPPA requires that websites and apps directed at children under age 13 obtain permission from parents before collecting or sharing personal information from children, or targeting them with behavioral advertising. None of the apps in this guide require children to enter personal information in order to use the app’s functions, and none offer social media sharing or connectivity. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, et al., Putting Education in “Educational” Apps: Lessons From the Science of Learning , Psychological Science in the Public Interest , April 20, 2015 Yolanda (Linda) Reid Chassiakos, et al., Children and Adolescents and Digital Media , Pediatrics , October 1, 2016 Jana Grcevich, PhD, astronomer, science educator, author , phone interview , December 1, 2016 Jennifer Auten, first- and second-grade teacher, Cupertino, California , phone interview , November 8, 2016 Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, PhD, professor of psychology, Temple University , phone interview , January 8, 2019 Christine Elgersma, senior editor, parent education, Common Sense Media , phone interview , March 12, 2019 Pat Yongpradit, chief academic officer, Code.org , phone interview , April 18, 2019 Meet your guide Courtney Schley Courtney Schley, a senior editor covering sleep and appliances, has been at Wirecutter since 2014. She has held several roles at Wirecutter, including research editor, as well as supervising editor of baby and kid coverage. Further reading Kids Exercise Videos to Help Keep Your Family Moving (and Sane) by Ingrid Skjong Free online exercise videos can help everyone from toddlers to teenagers stay active and calm during a coronavirus self-quarantine. These are our favorites. How to Set Up a Remote Learning Space for Your Kids by Melanie Pinola With many schools closed this fall, it’s time to set up a remote schoolwork area for kids that’ll make learning a little easier. These Four Video Games Are Fun for the Whole Family by Haley Perry If you’re looking for a video game for your next family game night, these are the games we recommend for all ages and skill levels. 8 Time-Tested Sidewalk Games We Love by Dan Koeppel Old-school games from the sidewalks of New York are still surprisingly fun—and require not much more than chalk. Keiki Learning games for Kids 4+ Toddler games for 2+ year olds, benipol limited. #56 in Education 4.5 • 27.6K Ratings Offers In-App Purchases Ratings and Reviews 27.6K Ratings Update to my review I purchased the lifetime app thinking I could use it on any device connected to my Apple ID unfortunately not the case wish I had read the reviews first it won't give me access to all activities and keeps telling me my email can not be recognized I've communicated with support and feel that I'm getting system generated response I purchased THIS back in May 2021 and my kids can't even enjoy it I'm EXTREMELY disappointed. UPDATE ON MY REVIEW: Support reached out and helped me with my issue. I can now use the app on all my devices that I have an apple account on. The app itself is a great tool for teaching children through play, it also has helpful printouts for the parents to get them off screen time and interact. All in all, after gaining access to the app I’ve purchased I’m content with the app, the price I’ve paid, and the current customer support that was given. Developer Response , Dear Valued Customer! Thank you for updating us on your Keiki Learning games for Kids experience. We are happy to hear that your request was successfully satisfied and you had amazing support from our team. We also thank you for your kind words about the quality of our educational materials. We hope that your experience with our application and your feedback will be helpful to other users. We appreciate members of our community like you who can give us this type of constructive feedback. Thank you very much for being our customer. Keep using and enjoying the app further! Charged 15 times in a 2 month period Response to Kiki I canceled the subscription that was the first thing I did prior to my 7 day free trial after I canceled you kept charging me so telling me to do something I did is redundant I said I canceled it charged me after that over 15 times in one day I had 15 charges of $7.99 in ONE DAY FOR SANE APP I CANCELED IT THREW MY PHONE I DIDNT JUST DELET MY APP ITS 2021 I’m not brand new I know how to delete apps versus cancel. I had over 30 charges in a two month period I have my bank records to show. I had to do a charge back for $240 when your app charges daily there’s a problem. please contact me you keep charging my account. I have over 15 charges I had to cancel my credit card then you start taking it from my Apple Pay. You charged me 3 times $7.99 in one day. Your app didn’t even work I canceled the trial the next day and 2 months later still getting charged. When you try and contact this company it directs you to the app. I’ve gotten nowhere and just when I thought it was over $7.99 more out of my Apple Pay. STOP TAKING MY MONEY!!!!! Calling state’s attorneys office next. This is how serious this has become. It’s fraudulent at this point. Please contact me as I have tried to contact your company for help for months. Dear Valued Customer! We appreciate the time you took to update this feedback as it influences our improvement efforts for the product and user experience. To start with, we want to thank you for purchasing! Please accept our apologies if you are experiencing difficulties with our application. It uncommon situation with the application among our users. We would like to pay your attention that if you purchase a subscription from the AppStore, you can manage it only on your side. Besides that, we want to pay your attention that ll charges can be applied only after confirmation from the customer’s side. Probably, you have purchased a weekly subscription with a trial. If you need any assistance with instructions on how to cancel the subscription, you can contact us anytime at the [email protected] email address. Please be assured we are listening to your insights and encourage you to reach out to our support team if you have any additional questions or concerns. We wish you nothing but a great day! Scam App! Stay away! I’ve sent multiple emails and still no resolution to my issue. I paid for a year’s subscription but when I went to the app it wasn’t showing as paid. I signed out and signed back in and it didn’t fix my issue. I tried logging into the app on a different device and not only did it not appeared as paid but the account I had set up for my kid was also gone and I was back at step 1 in the second device. I emailed support and they asked for a screenshot or video of my issue. I sent both! The video showing I was signed in and still didn’t have access to my paid account. I just received back a generic email giving me instructions on how to sign in. I emailed back saying that I was signed in and if I wasn’t going to be able to access my paid subscription then I wanted a refund and to cancel everything. After that I NEVER received any reply. I sent a separate email to support as well as a follow up on the original email thread with no reply. At this point I just was a refund and to cancel reoccurring payment as well as cancel the account. Horrible customer service/support. I should’ve listen to the negative reviews on here. Dear Valued Customer! Thank you for being interested in our product and for purchasing. We appreciate the time you spend to describe the matter in detail. We regret to hear of this issue and wish to resolve this as soon as possible for yourself, as well as, other customers which may be experiencing similar issues. Our support team is responsible for resolving technical matters as well as subscription-related difficulties. We believe we have made great strides in giving our customers the amazing support they deserve. We bet that if you gave us another shot you would be blown away by the great support! Please drop a line to our customer care agents at [email protected]. We are always glad to assist you and our agents are standing by to help. HAPPENING NOW App privacy. The developer, BENIPOL LIMITED , indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy . Data Linked to You The following data may be collected and linked to your identity: Contact Info Identifiers Data Not Linked to You The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity: Diagnostics Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More Information English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish Keiki World Premium $7.99 Keiki World Premium $9.99 Keiki World - 7 Days Trial $7.99 Keiki World Premium $39.99 Keiki World Premium $5.99 Keiki World Premium $8.99 Keiki World Premium $10.99 Developer Website App Support Privacy Policy More By This Developer Keiki Preschool Learning Games DRAWING Games for Kids & Color Puzzle Games Learning Animals You Might Also Like Intellecto Kids Learning Games TinyTap: Kids' Learning Games Toddler Games for 3 Year Olds~ Toddler Games For 2 Year Olds. Wonster Words Learning Games Baby games for one year olds. Summer screen time: Balancing video games with educational, outdoor activities for kids by Dani Travis BOCA RATON, Fla. (CBS12) — School’s been out for summer for a few weeks now, which means kids have about two more months to enjoy time off. For many, that could mean going to the beach, hanging with friends outside, or summer sports. But for a lot of kids, that could also mean more free time spent inside playing video games. Almost 191-million people nationwide play video games at least one hour per week, according to a new report from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). But the big question, why do people play video games ? The ESA report says 68% of people play to pass time or relax, similarly 67% play to have fun, but only 37% of people play to use their brains or keep their minds sharp. And that could be where the problem lies for kids, especially during these long summer months. Nowadays, video game consoles seem to be as common as any other household necessity. "As a parent with a 15-year-old, my son plays video games and does all of that a lot. More than I would like,” said Lynore Hird, a Boca Raton mother. According to the National Institutes of Health , more than 90% of children older than two-years play video games, and three-quarters of American households own a video game console. It's something Doctor Melissa Sheinker, a pediatrician at West Boca Medical Center and Cohen & Sheinker Pediatrics , says is becoming a major issue. "Is it growing more? Yes, it's getting younger. The average age for having a device or having access to the device has become younger,” said Dr. Sheinker. Dr. Sheinker says the problem doesn't lie in kids playing video games, but rather the type of games they're playing. "If you're talking about video games, they're not supposed to be fighting, they're not supposed to be war, they're not supposed to be anything simulating like that. They're supposed to be learning experiences,” said Dr. Sheinker. “Only if it's interactive. They're asking questions, and then positive reinforcement for certain answers whether its shapes, puzzle pieces, things like that." It's a lesson Hird recognized. Her son just finished sophomore year at Olympic Heights High School in Palm Beach County. But now that it's summer, she believes her son still needs structure and routine. "We do ask that he keeps up that academic momentum during the summer,” said Hird. While her son is encouraged to sit in front of the screen, it's not in the way you might think. Hird started having her son take at least one non-academic online course the past five summers as a way to keep his mind sharp and active over the three-month break. "Summertime is a long time to go away from academics and then it takes a long time for the teacher to get that instructional momentum back in the fall. It also keeps their minds going on something other than video games,” said Hird. Dr. Sheinker says another way kids can keep their minds going on something other than video games is simply going outside. "It helps us develop socially, emotionally, and physically obviously outside. The more outdoor and indoor physical play that you have, the lower the rates of obesity,” said Dr. Sheinker. So, whether it's online classes, educational video games, or getting outside and socializing with friends, Dr. Sheinker and Hird say there's plenty of ways to keep your children’s brains sharp and active this summer so they can quickly get back into the academic momentum when school starts back up in the fall.   Recalls   Business Education   News Releases   Regulatory Robot   Calendar Events   Multimedia Magnetic Chess Games Recalled Due to Ingestion Hazard; Violation of Federal Regulations for Toy Magnets; Sold Exclusively on Temu.com through Outad Good Life Share it on Facebook Share it on Twitter The recalled magnetic chess games, which include 20 magnet pieces, violate the mandatory federal toy magnet regulation because the set contains one or more magnets that fit within CPSC’s small parts cylinder, and the magnets are stronger than permitted. When high-powered magnets are swallowed, the ingested magnets can attract each other, or another metal object, and become lodged in the digestive system. This can result in perforations, twisting and/or blockage of the intestines, infection, blood poisoning and death. About 2,600 Outad Good Life via email  [email protected] , or send an onsite message by clicking on the “message” icon on Temu at the seller profile , or refer to “Your Recalls and Product Safety Alerts” on Temu at  www.temu.com . Recall Details This recall involves magnetic chess games with 20 magnet stones that are small, spherical, loose, and separable with a strong magnetic flux. The games are sold in a blue box with the words “Magnetic”, “Magnetism”, or “Magnetism Intelligence Strategy Game” on the front of the box. The game includes about 20 loose magnets, a string, a plastic storage tray with sponge lining, and instructions for play. Consumers should stop using the recalled magnetic chess games immediately, take them away from children, and contact Outad Good Life for instructions on how to receive a full refund. Consumers can also visit their Temu account, find the relevant order in “Your Orders” and click on the “Return/Refund” button. Follow the detailed instructions on the Return and Refund Policy page on Temu.com to receive a return shipping label to send back the recalled products for free. Outad Good Life is notifying all known purchasers directly. None reported. CPSC estimates 2,400 magnet ingestions were treated in hospital emergency departments from 2017 through 2021. CPSC is aware of seven deaths since 2005 involving the ingestion of hazardous magnets, including two outside of the United States. Outad Good Life Ltd., of China Note: Individual Commissioners may have statements related to this topic. Please visit www.cpsc.gov/commissioners to search for statements related to this or other topics. Related Recalls The pinwheel’s fastener cap can come loose and detach, posing a choking hazard to young children.  The magnetic beads violate the requirements of the mandatory federal magnet regulation because they contain one or more magnets that fit within CPSC’s small parts cylinder, and the magnets are stronger than permitted. When high-powered magnets are swallowed, the ingested magnets can at tract each other, or another metal object and become lodged in the digestive system. This can result in perforations, twisting and/or blockage of the intestines, infection, blood poisoning and death. The heads of the Donald Duck and Daisy Duck figures can detach, posing a choking hazard to young children. The candy’s rolling ball can dislodge from the product into a child’s mouth, posing a choking hazard and risk of death. CPSC testing determined the magnetic ball sets do not comply with the requirements of the mandatory federal toy regulation because they contain one or more magnets that fit within CPSC’s small parts cylinder and the magnets are stronger than permitted. When high-powered magnets are swallowed, the ingested magnets can attract each other, or another metal object, and become lodged in the digestive system. This can result in perforations, twisting and/or blockage of the intestines, infection, blood poisoning and death.   Search Product Safety Reports   About Government Recalls   Recalls from around the world The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risk of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product-related incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products has contributed to a decline in the rate of injuries associated with consumer products over the past 50 years. Federal law prohibits any person from selling products subject to a Commission ordered recall or a voluntary recall undertaken in consultation with the CPSC. Visit CPSC.gov. Sign up to receive our e-mail alerts . Follow us on Facebook , Instagram @USCPSC and Twitter @USCPSC . Report a dangerous product or product-related injury on www.SaferProducts.gov . Call CPSC’s Hotline at 800-638-2772 (TTY 301-595-7054). Contact a media specialist . You are about to leave the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) public website. The link you selected is for a destination outside of the Federal Government. CPSC does not control this external site or its privacy policy and cannot attest to the accuracy of the information it contains. You may wish to review the privacy policy of the external site as its information collection practices may differ from ours. Linking to this external site does not constitute an endorsement of the site or the information it contains by CPSC or any of its employees. Click Ok if you wish to continue to the website; otherwise, click Cancel to return to our site. 117 IMAGES 15 Clever and Fun Learning Activities For Preschoolers Top Free Preschool Learning 100+ Easy Activities for Toddlers, Preschoolers, and Kids Play & Discover: 6 Learning Activities For Tots & Preschoolers Preschool Kids Learning Game Wooden Number Puzzle Match Board Math Game Early Learning Toys Color VIDEO complete the pattern children activity alphabet activity for kids Easy English Activity for kids preschoolers learn Shapes easy Learn activity for kids Maths activity for kids COMMENTS 56 Preschool Activities and Games for Learning and Fun Learn more: Bookmaking/PreKinders. 4. Play kick the cup. 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Collect books and go on quests that ignite a love of reading. Learn numbers. Master early mathematics. Learn more. 200+ Activities for Preschoolers at Home & School Put some stale pasta in a plastic tub. Add a few scoops, spoons, and bowls to the tub. Run scrap paper through your shredder to create a paper bin. Add some scissors and let the kids cut too. Add water to a sensory bin. Then put a little bit of scented shampoo or soap in the water. Add whisks, bowls, funnels, etc. 21 Circle Time Games For Preschool That Actually Work 3.Pass The Rhythm. Pass the rhythm is one of the best circle time activities for early phonics as well as behavior. There are two ways of playing it, an easy way, or a slightly harder way. The harder way is generally much better for social skills and turn-taking. 14 Great Resources of Educational Games for Preschoolers to Try Fuzz Bugs - Counting, Sorting, & Comparing. Counting Fish. Fuzz Bugs Patterns. 2. SplashLearn. 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Magnetic Chess Games Recalled Due to Ingestion Hazard; Violation of Consumers should stop using the recalled magnetic chess games immediately, take them away from children, and contact Outad Good Life for instructions on how to receive a full refund. Consumers can also visit their Temu account, find the relevant order in "Your Orders" and click on the "Return/Refund" button. Follow the detailed instructions on the Return and Refund Policy page on Temu ... assignment essay homework paper phd report resume review speech thesis