Fun things to do in kindergarten
1000+ Engaging Kindergarten Activities for Learning & Play
Kindergarten activities are magical because they combine curiosity and learning with play. Kids Activities Blog has the best math, science, reading (& pre-reading), phonics, STEM, sight words, worksheets, activity sheets, coloring pages and more for Kindergartners.
Embrace your Kindergartner’s curiosity through learning and play. In fact, most Kindergarten activities for kids ARE learning games which lead to education through playful exploration.
Kindergartners learn through play!Kindergarten Learning Games & Activities
What age do kids go to Kindergarten?
Generally, most schools have Kindergarten programs for kids between the age of 4-6. Often Kindergarten students may be separated by age into classrooms like Kindergarten 4 or Kindergarten 5.
Kindergartners who are 6 usually turn that age during the school year and most school districts in the US require that students must attend Kindergarten before they turn 7.
The average age of Kindergarten students in the US is 5.
Kindergarten Activities & Age
Here is the deal. Every single kid has a unique learning path and matures at a different pace. That is what makes Kindergartners so amazing. They are learning different things within the SAME activity or lesson or game.
While these activities have been chosen age-appropriate for 4-6 year olds, they may be used for kids younger and older as well. We try to keep almost every Kindergarten activity play-based which opens up its age range to literally 1-101 with modifications!
Kindergarten Class Activities
Almost any Kindergarten activity can be adapted for a group of children in a classroom setting. Simple games like hangman, charades, bingo, puzzles are fun with more than one student present. Scroll below to see many less traditional options that can be modified to include a group of Kindergartners.
Hands-On Kindergarten Learning
We have talked about how kids ages 4-6 learn best through play, but what might be overlooked is how a Kindergartner defines play.
Anything that holds their attention and is fun would qualify! Keep kids playfully learning with hands-on activities that put them INTO the fun.
Intuitively we realize that Kindergarten age students have a hard time “sitting still” because they crave engagement with everything around them. Instead of squashing that, let’s leverage it for their education!
Homeschooling Kindergarten
One out of my three boys were homeschooled for Kindergarten. It wasn’t because I set out to homeschool Kindergarten, he just didn’t seem ready to go when he was 5. So we worked on an informal “curriculum” at home which consisted of many of the things that are published here on Kids Activities Blog and by the time the new school year rolled around, he was ready for first grade instead of Kindergarten (based on the school’s placement testing).
Is My Kid Ready for Kindergarten?
I learned not to be afraid to trust my gut when it came to this question. Kids Activities Blog has a really good Kindergarten skills checklist that you can go through and make sure that you aren’t pushing him/her into something before they are ready.
Kindergarten Distance Learning Resources
Ack! One of the biggest parts of Kindergarten learning is the invisible impact of socialization – students interacting & students interacting with teachers (sometimes for the first time outside the home). The ability for an entire class to play a coordinated game outside, or listen quietly to one another talk once called on, or stand in a line as instructed, or lay on a mat while listening to the teacher read aloud without poking your mat mate! We could go on and on with scenarios in which Kindergarten classrooms are key in the full education of Kindergarten students.
And then there are good reasons why these things can’t happen “normally” which introduces distance learning. One of the biggest things that parents and caregivers can do to optimize distance learning at this level is to make sure the child is getting enough play. The activities that we have here at Kids Activities Blog will make your job easier! One downside to kids being on the other end of a screen for school is that their hands-on PLAY time gets cut.
Don’t discount their playtime with you or siblings either…it is all important right now while we get through this season and try to make the best out of the situation.
Here are the Kindergarten Activities [keep scrolling]…
25+ Kindergarten Activities (Hands-On & Playful)
Busy Toddler » Learn » Math » 25+ Kindergarten Activities from Busy Toddler
Author: Susie
These are the 25+ best kindergarten activities for learning at-homeHands-on learning does not stop at kindergarten. Our “big kids” need hands-on interaction with learning just as much as toddlers and preschoolers – it’s actually CRUCIAL that they do. These Kindergarten Activities are the best at letting kids interact, play, move, and work with important learning.
Playful learning is so important for our 5-, 6-, and 7-year-olds.
RELATED: Looking for more play-based activities? Check out this list of INDOOR IDEAS for all ages.
Why do Kindergarteners need hands-on learning?
Kindergarten brains are still developing. Their hands are still growing. Asking them to work solely by pen and paper or computer screen is so far away from what they need developmentally.
They need to move.
They need to engage.
They need to be part of their learning.
These 25+ activities put the child back in the driver’s seat of their learning and give them a chance to truly be immersed in their learning – a dynamic approach far superior to working on a 2-dimensionaly sheet of paper.
Make sure to read the Kindergarten standards too…
As you’re looking at Kindergarten activities to do with your child, it’s important to also familiarize yourself with the Common Core State Standards (US only).
These standards came out in 2010 and dramatically changed the expectations on children. While Kindergarteners were not born smarter than in the past, these standards believe they were.
SEE THE STANDARDS HERE TO KNOW WHAT IS NOW EXPECTED OF YOUR CHILD.
Enjoy these 25+ Kindergarten Activities – and keep the hands-on party going
Literacy ActivitiesWrite the Pantry – Find words in the pantry for each letter in the alphabet
Matching Objects to Words – Matching toys to written words
Hearing Sounds – Isolating the initial sound in words
Missing Sounds in Words – Finding the vowel sounds in CVC words
Sight Word Find – Finding sight words on a giant piece of paper
Giant Word Search Activity – Make a LARGE word search for your kindergartener
Math ActivitiesKindergarten Number Match – Post-it notes activity for numbers written in word, quantity, and equation.
How Many is 100? – Counting to 100 by 10s
Make Pattern Snakes – A patterning activity
Roll & Tally – A dice and statistics activity
LEGO Number Match – Using LEGO duplos to match numerals and quantities
Find the Equation – An addition matching activity
Sorting Coins – Sort coins into groups
Compare / WAR – The old card game
Hands-On Addition – Using egg cartons to show numbers and group into 10s and 1s
What is a Ten Frame? – Explaining and using a ten-frame to count
Dot Sticker Addition – Using dot stickers to show addition with objects
Add to 10 – Adding numbers 1-9 to
Greater than / Less than – Working with the greater than/less than equations
Introducing Addition – Using cards and objects to show groups combining
Ways to Make 10 – Finding ways to make 10
Sound Matching Sensory Bin – A sensory bin with a twist: find objects and match them to letter sounds.
Learn Your Phone Number – Teach your K their phone number
Big Kid Sensory Bin – A reminder that big kids need sensory too
Shape Art Activity – A fun painting activity with overlapping shapes
DIY Board Game – Let your child make their own board game
Kindergarten Activities are so important – our kids need them
Moving away from worksheets and screen-based learning is CRUCIAL for this age group.
Don’t let the toddlers and preschoolers have all the hands-on fun.
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Interesting ideas for activities with children
What to do with your child in your free time at home? We have made for you a small selection of leisure ideas that do not require leaving the house!
1.
A FREE project "A Bedtime Story" was launched on YouTube channel from the theater studio "Rainbow of Emotions".
"Children are busy - parents are resting!" The beginning of the fairy tale broadcast every day from Monday to Thursday at 20:00.
On May 6th and 7th, an educational fairy tale on the topic of the Second World War will be released!
Fairy tale "Magic Journey to Kindergarten" part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AVS0xoQqZ0&t=22s
Fairy tale "Magic Journey to Kindergarten" Part 2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeYl6rmm4_U
Tale "The Book of Time Travel" part 1.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN5n4bxxUAs
Tale "The Book of Time Travel" part 2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7NBtEEoVx8
2. Cartoons for family viewing.
10 excellent new cartoons that you might not see
10 diaphyls from childhood, which can be watched now
3.
Audio, performances.
https://arzamas.academy/promo
https://chips-journal.ru/reviews/10-lucsih-audiospektaklej-dla-detej-ot-3-let
4. Bird singing for children.
The Bird Voices for Kids Collection is a unique collection with which you can teach your child to recognize the voices of the world's most famous songbirds. Birdsong for kids is recorded without musical accompaniment and presented as it sounds in nature.
https://vk.com/wall-34443093_145054
5. DIY crafts develop motor skills, imagination and perseverance.
https://youtu.be/Suxub3bWrPA
https://youtu.be/SH8s2ODsvTM
61 "Masterclasses.ru" or "Fair of Masters" - these are free lessons that will help you create crafts of any complexity from any materials at hand.
7. 6 drawing lessons-spring
https://vk.
com/wall-97546037_14855
8. Plant a "garden on the windowsill."
Decide what you want to grow, buy what you need if you don't have it, and get to work! If the child likes the idea, then you can ask him to first decide what he would be interested in sowing, then make a list of things that are needed to implement the plan, and instructions for further actions (how many times to water, when the first shoots appear, etc. .). Gathering information will take time. It is important that at this stage everything does not end, and this will already depend on you.
9 Show exciting experiences. Some experiments can be done using improvised materials right at home. Children are very fond of such spectacular experiments . https://youtu.be/gUKYjJoMyh0
10. Home puppet theater. For him, ordinary soft or rubber toys and an armchair are suitable, behind which the puppet characters will prepare for their exit.
You can make a more complex design out of the box. With fabric curtains. You can take the plots of performances from classic fairy tales or invent them yourself. Both the child and you can become a spectator. To spice up your theatre, you can add rehearsals, a juice/tea and biscuit buffet that can be enjoyed during the intermission, and autograph signing actors.
11. Voice assistants. They will help create comfort in the house, sing a lullaby to children or tell a fairy tale. Alice’s smart column, for example, has several skills for children built in: she teaches how to pronounce tongue twisters correctly, sets math examples for primary school students, makes riddles and answers children’s questions (for example, about the world of animals). Recently, a simulator for the development of children's speech "Easy to say" appeared there - if children cannot visit a speech therapist at this time, the simulator will help work out complex sounds in a playful way.
To start the lesson, you need to say "Alice, start the skill" Easy to say "" - fictitious characters "sound" and characters from the cartoon "Fixies" will communicate with the child.
12. Play with the kids and we'll tell you what to do! 30 easy ways to keep kids busy during quarantine (28 photos + 4 videos)
13. Rhymes with movements.
They help develop a sense of rhythm, improve coordination, and also do a little exercise. Yes, and children really like them and give them tremendous pleasure during the game. https://vk.com/wall-34443093_145011
14 .Cooking together .
By cooking together with parents, children learn to be patient and follow instructions. Let them experiment with the filling and decor, and they will immediately realize that cooking is not boring and long, but creative and tasty !!!
Children's activities, interesting and educational
Games, as well as activities that are interesting for children, are an integral part of their acquaintance with the outside world.
It is from the correct approach to this issue on the part of adults that the full development of the child depends.
Kindergarten or home education
There is a lot of debate about whether or not to send a child to kindergarten. For some, this is an objective necessity, and some parents try to use every opportunity to spend as much time with their child as possible. Both approaches are correct in their own way, but in the second case, the parents are responsible for choosing interesting activities for the child.
Parents should clearly realize that interesting activities in kindergarten not only have an entertaining function, but also affect the development of the child. They are developed with the participation of educators and psychologists who know what children of a particular age need. In addition, in preschool institutions, kids get the first experience of communicating with others, as well as interacting in society, which, by the way, is facilitated by many interesting activities.
What children need
It would seem that in order to captivate a child, there are enough bright toys that will occupy his attention for a long time. At some stage, this statement can actually be considered correct. Sometimes it is important to simply distract the baby by offering him interesting activities. But such situations should not be systemic. If a child is endlessly busy with entertainment that does not carry an educational and cognitive meaning, over time this will affect his intellectual development, which will greatly complicate the assimilation of more complex material during the period of schooling.
Interesting activities for children should be well thought out. They should be varied, as well as designed for the all-round development of a small person. What is obvious to an adult may seem alien and incomprehensible to a child. At such a tender age, it is the game form that helps to get acquainted with the outside world, as well as to learn its basic patterns.
For the little ones
Interesting activities in the younger group of kindergarten or at home should be aimed at teaching the child to perceive the world around him in all its diversity. Perhaps it will be quite interesting to learn to recognize different textures. So, for example, it will be interesting and useful for children to get acquainted with different types of paper, fabrics, wood, plastic, metal, etc. Here it is important not only to understand the sensations, but also to teach the child to describe them. Similar classes can be held to familiarize yourself with sounds, shades, as well as other phenomena.
Children of all ages are interested in looking at books with colorful pictures. Even at that moment, while they still do not know how to read on their own, this activity should bring them maximum benefit. In this case, it is better to introduce the child to illustrated encyclopedias published specifically for a certain age category. Even without being able to read the text, children will get acquainted with nature in its various manifestations through pictures and photographs.
Making it harder
As the child grows, it becomes much more difficult to find useful, developing hobbies for him. An interesting activity in the middle group should pay serious attention to the fact that the child has self-awareness. This is more about the fact that children have learned to be aware of their gender. Also, children at this age should learn etiquette and communication rules.
An interesting lesson in the middle group, which allows solving the main educational tasks, is quite diverse. Children should be taught to analyze the differences between boys and girls by playing with mirrors, dolls, and prints. In addition, games are highly effective in which children, performing certain roles, find solutions to life situations. The middle group is the time to gradually move away from the game form, moving on to a fundamentally new stage.
Back to school soon
An interesting activity in the older group takes on a completely new character, because very soon the child will go to school.
In this regard, practical and theoretical knowledge begin to play an important role. The structure of classes with children must necessarily include teaching writing, reading, the basics of arithmetic operations, as well as a more detailed study of environmental phenomena.
Despite the fact that theoretical knowledge is important, it is better to leave the main educational load until school time. For preschool institutions, even the most elementary knowledge will be enough. However, they must be presented in an interesting and engaging way. So, the study of letters, numbers and other material is best done in an amusing poetic form. In addition, you can captivate children if you bring a competitive moment to classes.
Time to reveal talents
Interesting activities for children should be aimed not only at entertainment and general development, but also at identifying those areas of knowledge and creativity in which the child has the best abilities. In this regard, up to a certain point, you need to select a wide variety of entertainment for the child.
The task of parents and educators at this stage is to carefully monitor the child's reaction to certain areas of activity, as well as success in this area in order to identify priorities.
The best time for such experiments can be considered the age corresponding to the preparatory group. During this period, the child should be offered classes related to music, fine arts, and sports. On the one hand, this will help both children and adults to decide on a narrower area of activity that the child should be deeply involved in, and on the other hand, it ensures comprehensive and harmonious development.
If you chose home education
It should be clearly understood that, having abandoned the kindergarten, you must independently select interesting activities for the child. In this case, you have a double responsibility. Fortunately for modern parents, information technology, as well as a wide selection of literature, make it possible to develop a program of entertainment lessons for children of any age without much effort.
