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Learning things for 3 year olds


7 Fun And Easy Learning Activities For 3-Year-Olds

Finding activities for 3-year-olds should be easy, but that’s not always the case.

Maybe you’ve planned a few fun games to keep your child entertained during the day. These were activities they loved last week, so surely they’ll still find them entertaining. Not today.

For some reason, these games no longer hit the sweet spot, and your child looks at you as if to say, “Is this all you’ve got?”

We’ve been there! So what can you do?

Fear not. We’ve compiled a list of creative and engaging activities to keep your three-year-old entertained (and learning!) at home.

Importance Of Learning Activities For 3-Year-Olds

Three-year-olds have a lot of energy, and they are often eager to try new experiences. This is great because, while engaging in activities, your child has the opportunity to develop many valuable skills.

For instance, hands-on activities — in which your child molds, cuts, sticks, sorts, or manipulates objects — help them develop motor skills. They also help your child learn to follow directions for precision and accuracy.

All of these skills can be used later in life with important, daily actions such as writing and tying shoelaces.

Similarly, activities like putting puzzles together and playing with building blocks help develop reasoning skills and creativity, to name just two benefits for your child..

Different learning activities for 3-year-olds can also help your child exercise patience, perseverance, and logical thinking. These are all important for a young child’s development.

The first six years of a child’s life are a critical period for brain development. When children engage in activities that incorporate multiple skills simultaneously (like listening, talking, and using their hands), it activates more areas of the brain and helps enhance learning.

How To Approach Activities For 3-Year-Olds

Keep It Simple

So often, parents assume they have to find the most elaborate activities and games for their children. Of course, you’re free to do so, but it’s important to know that’s not always necessary.

Three year olds are fascinated by lots of simple things — different colors and shapes, how these colors change when you mix them (e.g., red and blue make purple), kicking a ball, storybooks about dinosaurs, baking cookies, and so on.

To create engaging learning activities for 3-year-olds, you don’t have to overwhelm yourself. Instead, you can use many everyday items you already have around the house.

Allow For Creativity

Life is full of rules, so, during these activities, why not just let your child be, well, a child? If they decide to paint a blue dog, that’s OK! And if they choose to create a 10-legged cat, what’s the big deal?

It’s essential to allow your child to do crafts in their own way and give them ownership over the experience.

That being said, always consider whether or not you’re up for a mess. Sure, the Pinterest images of children covered in colorful paint or glitter look like a blast, but we all know someone has to clean that up!

If you’ve had a long week at work, for instance, there’s nothing wrong with choosing activities for 3-year-olds that will not drain the little bit of energy you have left, and then leaving the messy ones for a less stressful time.

Be Flexible And Patient

While introducing different activities, it’s important to understand that your child might prefer some over others. That’s OK!

At this age, your child is learning who they are and what they’re comfortable with. Understanding their likes and dislikes is part of the learning process for us as parents.

7 Fun And Easy Learning Activities For 3-Year-Olds

1) Number Hunt

What You’ll Need:
  • From teddy bears to building blocks to balls, any fun items can be used for this activity!
What To Do:

Ask your three-year-old to find an item or a group of items. For example, ask them to find one teddy, two socks, and three balls. To add a little more excitement to the mix, you can also time your child. Can they find the items in just one minute?

If recalling all this information is a little tricky for your child right now, that’s OK. You can start by asking them to search for one item at a time (e.g., one teddy, and then one sock, and then one ball) and progress from there.

This is a great activity for an active young child. It helps to get those mental juices flowing as they will need to remember what items they need to find and the number they need for each.

2) Pasta Necklaces

  • What You’ll Need:
  • Dry, uncooked pasta (the tubed ones, to be specific)
  • Sealable plastic bags
  • Food coloring
  • A cotton thread or string (you can also use an old shoelace)
  • Tray
  • Paper towel
  • Optional: rubbing alcohol and beads
What To Do:

Start by placing the pasta into your plastic bags, and then add a few drops of food coloring and some rubbing alcohol. Note that you don’t have to use rubbing alcohol, but it helps to dry the food coloring faster.

After adding the coloring, seal the bag properly and give it a good shake. Now pour the colored pasta out on your trays (which you’ve lined with paper towels) and allow them to dry.

While waiting for the pasta to dry, you can cut the desired necklace length for your child out of the thread and string and tie a knot on one of the ends.

Once the pasta is dry, your child can then string the pasta and the beads (optional) to make a necklace. When they reach the end of the string, remember to tie the two sides together.

This is a fun way to help your child practice counting (“How many pieces of pasta are you adding?”), continue developing their fine motor skills, and tap into their creativity.



3) Trace Yourself

What You’ll Need:
  • Crayons
  • Paper sheets
What To Do:

This activity requires the least amount of prep and can be great for an easy afternoon when you’re in the mood for low mess levels.

The simplest body part to start with is your child’s hands. Once your child has mastered tracing out their hands, they can progress to their feet.

(For even more fun, use a very large piece of paper and trace your child’s whole body. They can then color features and clothes.)

This is an excellent way to help your child practice their grip on items (fine motor skills, anyone?), as they will need to firmly hold onto the crayons throughout.

4) Make An Ocean

What You’ll Need:
  • HOMER Sail The Ocean printable coloring page
  • Crayons, markers, or colored pens
What To Do:

Help your child color in the printable and discover all the interesting creatures that live in our seas!

This is a great activity to help familiarize your child with ocean creatures. You can encourage them to give the fishies silly names and even make up stories about them.

This activity helps kids express their creativity and continue practicing their coloring.

5) Build A City

What You’ll Need:
  • Building blocks
What To Do:

Help your child discover their inner architect by building their own city. The city can have high-rise buildings, a community park, and even a local candy store. There are no limitations!

This activity will help your child channel their creativity and problem-solving skills. They will also learn important life concepts, like understanding that for a building to be solid, they’ll need to create a firm foundation.

6) Watch It Grow

What You’ll Need:
  • HOMER printable field notes template
  • Crayons or pencils
  • A large jar (glass or clear plastic)
  • Fast-growing seeds (e.g. peas or beans)
  • Paper towels
  • An old milk or juice carton
  • A ruler or measuring tape
What To Do:

Start by asking your child to fill the jar with paper towels, and then pour water onto the paper towels until they are slightly damp.

Proceed to “plant” the seeds into the damp towels. Remember to position them near the edge so you can see them grow! You can then use the printable to decorate the watering can (the milk or juice carton) and add a tag with the plant’s name.

Over the following days, ask your child to note anything they observe from the seeds. They can also measure the growth and log field notes to track the changes. Remember to add some water if the paper towels dry out.

This is a great activity to help your child practice using a measuring tool. They will also learn how plants grow, as well as the importance of water, sunlight, and patience!

7) Create Your Own Color Hunt

What You’ll Need:
  • Crayons
  • Five objects that match each color crayon in or around the house
  • Optional: HOMER Make a Color Hunt printable
What To Do:

Draw a square in the center of a piece of paper (or use the optional Make a Color Hunt printable). After drawing the square, use just one color to color it in. Lastly, hand your child the paper and ask them to find five items in or around the house that have the same color.

For young kids who aren’t counting yet, you can place items into a bucket or box and ask them to find the items from inside that match the color in the box.

This is a great activity to help with sorting, learning colors, and counting.

Let The Adventures Continue!

There are lots of ways to help your child stay entertained, engaged, and learning while at home! Whether you choose all or some of the above activities for 3-year-olds, remember to incorporate a mixture to help your child continue developing different important skills.

If you’re searching for more learning activities for kids to try at home, check out THE HOMER Blog for inspiration!

Author

36 Fun And Interesting Learning Activities For 3-Year-Olds

Multiple outdoor and indoor activities from all genres for your adorable toddler.

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Image: Shutterstock

Three-year-olds are very active and keep parents and other family members on their toes all the time. Interesting activities for three-year-olds can help parents channelize their energy in the right direction. While their concentration span increases with age, they may be more restless to satiate their curiosity to explore new things. No number of toys or games can hold a three-year-old’s interest for very long. So to keep them engaged in a particular activity for more than just a few minutes, it is inevitable for parents and caregivers to come up with meaningful activities that would cater to their preferences and interests. Read this post where we bring some amusing and educational indoor as well as outdoor activities that keep your three-year-old engaged.

35+ Activities For Three-Year-Olds

Arts And Crafts To Improve Creativity

Art and craft activities are said to improve children’s cognitive abilities as they enable them to use multiple areas of the brain. Using both their hands and fingers also encourages the development of muscles in those areas and could improve their fine motor skills.

Here are a few art and craft activities for three-year-old kids.

1. Fabric painting

For a three-year-old child, fabric painting could be something basic to teach them a few painting techniques, shapes, and colors.

You will need

Old fabric or T-shirts, fabric colors, stencils or chart papers, small sponges

How to do

  • Get ready-made stencils or take a thick chart paper and make some shapes like stars, hearts, drops, etc., in it to make your stencil.
  • Tape the stencil on the fabric and ask your kids to fill it with color using the sponge.
  • Once they are done, remove the tape and stencil to find surprisingly perfect shapes.
  • Repeat the process in different parts of the fabric to get a beautifully painted fabric.

Image: iStock

2. Drawing or Painting

You cannot ask a three-year to draw a masterpiece. Instead, you can help them paint or draw something with easily available tools.

You will need

A paper or a drawing book, water colors or acrylic paints or crayons, pencil, fork, brushes, or sponges.

How to do

  • Get them an appealing coloring book and ask them to fill the images in it with colors as in the reference image.
  • You can also draw some simple geometric figures like squares, circles, or triangles and ask them to color them.

Image: iStock

3. Pot Painting

Get a plain terracotta or a clay pot from your garden and let your kids add color to it. Be open-ended so that your kids use their creativity to make it beautiful in their way, even if it is not perfect.

You will need

A small empty clay pot, bright colored acrylic paints, a wax paper, and a newspaper.

How to do

  • Spread the newspaper on the floor, followed by the wax paper. Keep the clay pot upside down on the wax paper.
  • Squeeze acrylic paints around the pot’s edge so that it drips down and colors the sides of the pot. Take one color at a time and do it one after the other.
  • Don’t let the paints dry in between. Once the pot is completely covered, let it dry for at least a day.
  • You can also keep the canvas clear with a base coat of white or black and ask your kids to paint whatever they wish.

Image: iStock

4. Stamp Painting

This is one of the easiest ways to make your kid paint different patterns without much effort. You can use a variety of objects to create beautiful patterns with this art form.

You will need

Potatoes, lady’s finger, onion, natural flowers, leaves, cookie-cutter, knife, paints, drawing paper, and brushes.

How to do

  • This depends on the kind of object you choose. Let’s take a big potato, cut it into half, and with the help of a cookie cutter or a knife, make some shapes out of it. Remove the excess portion, and your stamp is ready.
  • Hand it over to your little one along with some paints.
  • Simply dip the stamp or paint the stamp with color and press it over a drawing paper or a fabric.
  • Once they stamp at different places, you can simply join them with branches, add leaves and pot to make a flower pot or bouquet.

You can also use other objects like onions, ladyfingers, flowers, and leaves to make natural patterns.

Image: iStock

5. Cup Painting

You can paint the cups and also make different creatures using painted paper cups and everyday items.

You will need

White paper cups, paints, brushes or sponges, chart papers.

How to do

  • Give a base coat to the cups with the color of the creature. Let’s say you’re making a chicken. Paint the cup yellow.
  • Draw its eyes with black and white, and nose red.
  • Cut the red chart paper to make its crown and feet and paste them on the top and bottom of the cup, respectively.

Similarly, your kids can create different characters like Peppa pig, angry bird, frog, etc.

6. Paper Plate Crafts

Just like paper cup crafts, the paper plate painting is quite interesting to do. You can make paper plate fans, paper plate turtles, and paper plate sunshine.

You will need

Disposable paper plates, paints, brushes, color charts, ice cream sticks, etc.

How to do

  • Take a paper plate, flip it towards its bottom, and color it with your favorite color or multiple colors.
  • Take the colored paper and cut it into six shapes: four feet, one head, and a tail.
  • On the head, draw the turtle’s eyes, nose, and mouth.
  • Stick all six shapes to the turtle, and that’s it, your paper plate turtle is ready.

You can also make a ladybug in the same way.

Image: iStock

7. Bird Feeders

A nature craft idea for three-year-olds is bird feeders of different varieties, shapes, and sizes. A well-made one is sure to attract birds to your garden.

You will need

Empty tissue paper rolls, birdseed, twine thread, vegetable shortening, popsicle sticks, and a plate.

How to do

  • Using the popsicle stick, ask your kid to spread the vegetable shortening on the empty tissue roll. This makes the paper roll water-resistant and helps it to hold the feed in place.
  • Take the bird feed on a plate and roll the tissue roll over the feed. Make sure the feed gets stuck to the roll completely.
  • Pass the twine through the tissue roll and tie it at one end, and your handmade bird feeder is ready.
  • Hang the feeder to any tree in your garden.

You can also use pine cones or cardboard to make different feeders.

Image: iStock

Sensory Developmental Activities

Sensory activities for kids stimulate their senses like touch, smell, taste, sight, hearing, balance, and movement. The benefits of sensory activities could include language development, development of fine motor skills, and problem-solving. Listed below are a variety of sensory development activities that would stimulate your child’s senses differently.

8. Playdough Crafts

Playdough is a popular activity that encourages creativity in children. But if your three-year-old has the habit of putting everything in the mouth, you need to exercise some caution. In such cases, you can opt for homemade edible playdough.

You will need

Colorful play dough, cookie cutters, play scissors, popsicle sticks, etc.

How to do

Ask your kids to use the play dough to make a simple ball, roll into a snake shape, flatten it with hands or a rolling pin.

Once they master doing these simple things, they know how to use their hands to shape the dough. Then you can ask them to make shapes using a cookie cutter or play scissors and slowly progress into making some small animals and objects.

Image: iStock

9. Pasta Bin Activity

This activity can develop the senses of touch and sound in your preschoolers. With a few items available at home, you can try this activity.

You will need

Pasta noodles, a big basket, bottles with caps, measuring jars or cups, a blanket.

How to do

  • Take a big basket and fill it with pasta or macaroni.
  • Give the empty bottles to your kids.
  • Ask them to fill the bottles with pasta using the measuring jars.
  • Once they fill all the bottles, they need to empty them and refill them.

For the sense of sound, ask them to fill each bottle to the half, secure the lid and shake it. Ask them to observe how each bottle is sounding differently, quieter, or louder. Change the quantity of pasta and ask them to check the sound again. Albeit a bit noisy, this activity can be fun.

Image: iStock

10. Frozen Treasure

This sensory activity for three-year-olds requires pre-planning and execution by the parent. It is quite apt during the summer to beat the heat.

You will need

Fresh fruits or small toy figures, freezer-safe containers, a kid-friendly tool kit with a hammer, screwdriver, and pliers, and a big tub.

How to do

  • A day before the activity, fill the freezer-safe containers with small fruits like berries, grapes, and cherries, add water, and freeze them. Fill four to five containers with different colored fruits and freeze them overnight.
  • On the day of the activity, remove all the ice blocks from the containers and put them in a big tub.
  • Hand over the tool kit to your toddlers and ask them to dig and find what’s hidden.

Image: iStock

11. Animal Sound Game

This activity of guessing the sound helps your child develop the hearing ability and also the ability to memorize things. It’s simple and does not require any crafting supplies.

You will need

A phone or a laptop.

How to do

Download some animal sounds, vehicle noises, bird chirpings. Play them for your children and ask them to guess the sound.

If they’re not familiar at first, tell them what the sound is. When they can imitate the sounds and recognize them, you can play the guessing game.

12. Smell It and Tell It

This is similar to the Guess the Sound game; only here, kids have to smell different objects and identify them. They could be edible or non-edible items but must have a unique that makes it easier for them to guess.

You will need

Fresh fruits, flowers, soaps, perfumes, a cloth to blind old, etc.

How to do

  • Blindfold your children with a soft cloth and keep various objects before them.
  • Ask them to pick one at a time, smell it, and guess what it is.
  • Score them for every correct guess and keep aside the incorrectly guessed objects.
  • Once they remove the blindfold, show them what they missed.

13. Treasure Hunt in a Sandbox

Kids love playing in the sand. So why not create a sensory game out of it?

You will need

A sensory bin or a big container, sand, coins, jewelry, etc.

How to do

Hide the coins, jewelry, and other toys in the sand. Ask your little one to explore and find all the hidden treasure. To make it more exciting, ask them to find it within a time frame.

Image: iStock

14. Pasta Sorting

This is both a sensory and learning activity. If your kids are aware of colors, this activity helps improve their knowledge of different shades of colors.

You will need

Pasta, food color, color bowls, a big container.

How to do

A day before the activity, take four portions of pasta, add different food colors to it and dry it.

On the day of the activity, mix the pasta in a big bowl, and keep the colored bowls beside it. Ask your kids to sort the pasta based on color.

15. Transferring or Shifting Activity

Shifting objects from one container to another, or from one place to another, might be easy for adults. But for toddlers, it’s a challenging activity.

You will need

Two containers, small objects like toys, cushions, etc.

How to do

Keep two containers at different places and fill one with toys. Ask your child to transfer them from one container to the other.

Learning Activities

There is some learning in activities designed for children. However, certain activities are specifically targeted at teaching specific things like colors, letters, numbers, or names. Listed below are such learning activities that keep your three-year-old engaged and entertained.

16. Color and Shape Sorters

This is a fun activity to teach colors and shapes. Your toddlers would enjoy and also learn something new.

You will need

Objects in primary and secondary colors, readily available shape sorter set.

How to do

Place primary and secondary colored objects differently and teach your kids. Once they understand the differences, mix everything, and ask them to sort.

For teaching shapes, you can buy any shape sorter game readily available. Once they learn the shapes, you can take it to the next level by asking them to sort them.

Image: iStock

17. Learn Letters and Numbers

Teaching your preschooler letters and numbers at home is a good way to engage them.

You will need

Butter beans, marker, white chart.

How to do

Mark the butter beans with letters and numbers. On the chart, draw vertical and horizontal lines to form a checkered design. Write the letters and numbers randomly in the blocks. Place the beans in a basket with the letters and numbers facing upward.

Now ask your kid to match the letters and numbers on the beans to that on the chart.

Image: iStock

18. Play with Puzzles

Puzzles are readily available and solving them can improve your child’s motor skills and cognitive and reasoning skills. In older kids, it can also help improve their concentration ability.

You will need

A readability available puzzle set.

How to do

Start with a small puzzle that has fewer pieces. Once your toddler masters it, slowly increase the difficulty level. Changing the puzzles often makes them think differently and aids in improving problem-solving skills.

Image: iStock

19. Cook Together

Cooking does not necessarily involve using the stove or fire. Teach your kids something that doesn’t involve serious cooking and let them discover the joy of real cooking.

You will need

Utensils, cutlery, and cooking items.

How to do

Pick a dish and get the required items. Some ideas include sandwiches, baking cookies or cakes, and making a salad.

Give them a small task like mixing the dough – show them how to first and let them try it independently. You can also do it together. One added benefit of this cooking class is getting the kids to make something healthy and eat the food they prepared.

Image: iStock

Outdoor Activities

Playing outdoors is what makes the activity even more interesting and exciting for the kids. However, make sure you’re taking necessary safety precautions before planning any outdoor activities for your three-year-olds. Here are a few ideas for outdoor games and activities for three-year-olds.

20. Gardening

Gardening is a simple and interesting outdoor activity for a three-year-old. Teach them some basic gardening tasks like watering plants, pruning, planting, harvesting, etc.

You will need

A small watering can or a small bucket and a mug, kid-friendly scissors, etc.

How to do

Take your kids around your garden and tell them a little about the plants you have in there. If they’re already familiar with the plants, go straight to the activity by handing them the water can.

Show them how to do so that they won’t over water it. If the water can is empty, ask them to refill it and repeat watering to the rest of the plants.

You can also teach them pruning if they understand what it is. Ask them to use their play scissors to do it along with you.

Image: iStock

21. Backyard Obstacle Course

If you have three-year-old boys who are always on the go, this backyard obstacle set-up would excite them. As it involves physical activity, it helps develop muscles, improves endurance, and aids in developing gross motor skills.

You will need

Anything available from your kids’ toys like boxes, flags, frisbees, hula hoops, balls, cones, etc.

How to do

Design your obstacle course using the items you have. Ensure the path gets the kids to jump, crawl, run, walk, balance, skip, and slide.

Image: iStock

22. Building Sandcastles

You can plan this in your backyard or on a nearby beach. Just take the kids to sand, and they will know what to do. If they don’t, you can always show them.

You will need

Sandcastle set.

How to do

If you’re planning the activity in your backyard, gather some sand at one place, give the sandcastle kit to your kids, show them some sample pictures, and leave the rest to their imagination.

Image: iStock

Indoor Physical Activities

We cannot always plan physical activities outdoors. You must have some indoor physical activity that allows your kids to move around. Listed below are a few ideas that you can try.

23. Walk Like an Animal

You don’t need any items for this activity. Just show it to them and ask your kids to imitate you.

How to do

If your three-year-olds are familiar with animal sounds and behaviors, this would be an easy and interesting activity for them. Just say the name of an animal and ask your kids to imitate. If they don’t know, you can show them how and they can imitate you.

24. Scavenger Hunt

The regular scavenger hunt is a clue-based activity. But for the tiny tots, we modify the game a little to make it simple yet fun.

You will need

White papers, pens, baskets, etc.

How to do

Before starting the activity, prepare a list of items that your kids are familiar with in the house.

Once the kids are ready, read out one item from the list and get them to bring it and place it in a box. Once they find one, call out the next item, and the next until they find all the treasure.

25. Dance Party

If you’re running short of time and ideas, one instant thing you can plan is a dance party.

You will need

Music system, some snacks, drinks, flashy lights, etc.

How to do

Set up the dance floor with lights, music, snacks, and drinks, and let the party begin. Get them to move as they want to the music or teach them easy dance steps to try with you.

Image: iStock

26. Indoor Obstacle Course

You can also plan an obstacle course indoors with some household items and some toys from your kid’s collection.

You will need

Chairs, tables, hula hoop, balance board, basket, skipping rope, play mat, and cushions.

How to do

Just design a simple obstacle course with 5-6 activities. You can incorporate some of these ideas in the activity – crawling under the chairs, passing through the tunnel made using a playmat, skipping, balancing, throwing a ball into the target, somersault, etc.

You can place cushions on the floor to prevent injuries if the child misses a step and falls.

Image: iStock

27. Yoga Practice

Teaching good habits in childhood helps the kids become better adults. Yoga is one such activity that promotes overall well-being for all age groups.

You will need

A yoga mat, some reference yoga videos.

How to do

If you’re not aware of safe yoga for kids, search some asanas that can be done by the kids. Play them on the TV and ask your kids to follow them.

Try to do along with them so that they find the activity interesting. You can make it part of their daily routine so that they become habituated to it.

Montessori Activities

Montessori activities are designed to encourage children to learn through play. These activities are designed to promote independent thinking, fine motor skills, critical analysis right from childhood. As they’re tailored around a child’s areas of interest, they help the kids to learn quickly and easily. Listed below are some fun activities inspired by Montessori techniques.

28. Toy Cleaning

Simple but an interesting activity for kids as it involves water. It also teaches them some day to day activities that we do at home.

You will need

All the washable toys of your kids (preferably plastic and silicone toys), two water tubs, dish soap, a towel.

How to do

  • Ask your toddlers to collect toys from all the rooms, sort them, and separate all the washable toys.
  • Fill both the containers with water, maybe two-inches deep.
  • Add dish wash soap to one container and make some water bubbles.
  • Ask your kids to wash each toy at a time in the soap-filled container and then rinse it in plain water.
  • Then keep them on a towel spread on the floor. Once all the toys are washed, they can wipe them with the towel.

29. Float and Sink Experiment

Let’s add some science to the fun. Teach the kids about sinking and floating with this simple water experiment.

You will need

A water tub, some natural items like leaves, twigs, flowers, stones, shells, etc., some water toys.

How to do

  • Before starting the water play, get some items like leaves, flowers, stones, sticks, shells, buds, etc., from your garden.
  • Place them next to the water tub along with the water toys.
  • Now ask your kid to sit there and drop each item at a time. Tell him to observe which item is floating and which is sinking.
  • Explain to them why some objects are floating and some and sinking.
  • Now remove everything from the water, ask questions, and then check their answers by dropping the objects.

30. Fruit Cutting

Fruits and vegetable cutting is one of the Montessori food prep activities. This enables them to use both their hands and also teaches them some practical life skills.

You will need

An apron, water, kid-friendly peeler, knife, chopping board, etc.

How to do

Ask the toddlers to clean all the veggies with water first. Each fruit needs to be cut in a certain way. Show them how to do it and ask them to do it as is.

For their safety, choose soft veggies and fruits and a blunt or kid-friendly knife that they can use for cutting.

Image: iStock

31. Hammering

Your three-year-old might be more interested in real tools than his regular toys. Well, why not let them explore the same with a kid-friendly tool set and activity.

You will need

You can purchase a readily available Nail game set that comes with all the necessary tools, including a corkboard, a wooden hammer, tack nails, some color cards, etc.

How to do

You can simply ask your kids to hammer the nails into the board by placing a plain paper in between. Once they master it, you can ask them to form shapes using some colored cards, pictures cut into pieces, etc.

A variety of activities can be created using the hammering tool kit.

Image: iStock

32. Writing on a Chalkboard

Every preschooler needs to get a good grip on pencils, chalks, or markers to develop writing skills. To avoid wasting paper, you can set up a chalkboard and offer them a clean canvas.

You will need

A blackboard, chalk pieces, board eraser, etc.

How to do

Set up the blackboard in your kid’s playing corner and give them chalk to scribble on it however they wish. If they are not comfortable standing and writing, you can place the board on the floor for a few days and let them practice.

Image: iStock

33. Moving Puzzle Game

This activity gives a new twist to puzzles, making it even more helpful for further skill development.

You will need

Any puzzle game (preferably the one your kid is familiar with)

How to do

Unlike in a regular puzzle game, keep the pieces of the puzzle in a different room. Ask your kid to solve the puzzle in the play area by bringing one puzzle piece at a time. This not only keeps them moving but also encourages them to remember which puzzle piece is required.

Image: iStock

34. Window Cleaning

Another popular Montessori activity is window cleaning. While spraying water on the windows is a thrilling sensory activity for kids, cleaning the windows improves their gross motor skills.

You will need

An empty spray bottle, white vinegar, water, a piece of cloth, or a sponge.

How to do

Just mix vinegar and water in the required proportion and fill the mixture in the spray bottle. Hand over the bottle and the cleaning material to the child, show them how to do it, and let them imitate you.

Image: iStock

35. Touch and Tell

This is a sensory Montessori activity that encourages your kids to use their sense of touch to guess the things.

You will need

Small toys that your kids are familiar with, a big bag with a drawstring or a zip closure.

How to do

Gather all the small toys your kids usually play with and keep them in the bag. Blindfold your kids and ask them to pick one toy from the bag and name it just by touching it.

36. Match the Socks

Matching colorful things is one of the best Montessori activities to improve visual coordination in your kids.

You will need

Multiple pairs of socks.

How to do

Mix all the socks pairs and ask your kid to pick each one and find its pair.

Introducing toddlers to learning activities for 3-year-olds will help keep them engrossed and entertained and enhance their creativity, focus, and cognitive abilities. Ensure you pick the right activity for your toddler as per their interest and abilities. Sensory developmental activities such as playdough crafts, frozen treasure, and smell it and tell it will help improve their motor skills. You may also try the various learning activities and outdoor and indoor activities mentioned above to aid your child’s physical and psychological development.

Key Pointers

  • Art and craft activities can improve creativity and cognition in three-year-olds.
  • Sensory activities, such as playdough crafts benefit a child’s brain growth.
  • Games such as color and shape sorters can help three-year-olds learn new colors and shapes.

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Nisha Bharatan is a freelance writer with experience in writing health and finance content for various Indian and international clients. After completing her engineering from Savitribai Phule Pune University, she did content marketing courses to complement her interest in writing. Nisha writes articles centered around kids’ development, their activities, crafts, games, and fun elements that keep children and families entertained....
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Dr. Maymunah Yusuf Kadiri, popularly referred to as ‘The Celebrity Shrink,’ is an award-winning neuro-psychiatrist and mental health advocate with over 15 years experience. She is the medical director and psychiatrist-in-chief at Pinnacle Medical Services. She has created the innovative mental health app in Africa, HOW BODI. Dr. Kadiri is a Goldman Sachs Scholar on Entrepreneurial Management of Pan Atlantic...
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Educational activities for children 2–3 years old

At the age of two or three years, a child actively explores the world around him, learns to talk and communicate with adults and peers. During this period, his personality begins to form. Therefore, parents need to pay special attention to the development of speech, thinking, social skills.

Contents of the article:

  • Classes for the development of logical and mathematical thinking
  • Lessons for the development of speech
  • Gross and fine motor activities
  • Classes on the study of the properties of objects
  • Getting to know the outside world
  • Output

Classes for the development of logical and mathematical thinking

The thinking of two and three year olds is clearly effective. The ability to think logically implies the ability to analyze, compare and generalize. You can develop logic and teach your little one basic math skills with the help of the following exercises.

✅Comparison

Take a handful of buttons or other small items and divide them into two unequal piles. The child must determine which pile has a lot of buttons, and which has few. If he does not see the difference between the concepts of "a lot and a little", explain to him what it is.

The second variation of this exercise is the value comparison. Take several objects or toys of different sizes. Ask the baby to show where the small objects are and where the large ones are.

✅Score

Children at the age of two or three are not yet familiar with numbers. It is better to master the counting skill on surrounding objects or on the fingers. Teach your child to show his age on his fingers, tell him how old he will be in a year, two, three.

It is convenient to use counting sticks or any other items for counting. Climbing the stairs with your child, count the steps, passing houses - windows, walking along the alley - trees or lampposts.

✅ Hidden Object

Hide the toy in the room and ask your baby to find it. Help him by suggesting places to search - under the sofa, behind the armchair, in the closet, etc. Then you can switch roles - the child hides the toy, and you are looking for it.

Speech development classes

Between the ages of two and three, children experience a significant leap in speech development. Their vocabulary is replenished very quickly. Having become acquainted with a new word, children bring it into their vocabulary and begin to actively use it. Simple exercises will help develop speech skills.

✅Reading

The best way to develop speech is reading. Buy picture books for 2-3 year olds. Choose poems, fairy tales, nursery rhymes. It is useful for a child to listen to both prose and poetry.

When reading a fairy tale, ask your child questions about the plot. If he finds it difficult to answer, help him. Explain the meaning of each unknown word. Look at the illustrations in the book and discuss with your child.

✅Singing

This fun activity encourages speech development and voice training. Sing with your baby children's songs with and without musical accompaniment. Children quickly memorize rhyming lines and a motive, and sing along with adults with pleasure.

✅Composing proposals

Think of the beginning of a sentence and ask your child to continue it. For example, "Mom bought today in the store ..." or "Black runs down the street ...".

✅ Discuss the events of the day

Discuss the events with your child every day. For example, “You and I went to the park today and fed the ducks in the pond. And in the evening, my grandmother came to visit and brought a delicious pie, ”etc. If the baby goes to kindergarten, ask him to tell you how the day went, what he did, what interesting things happened.

✅Describing objects

Take an object and ask the child to describe it, asking leading questions (What color is it? Is it big or small? What does it look like? What is it for? etc.).

At the age of 2–3, children still do not pronounce words well, many of them abbreviate and distort. Be sure to correct your child when they speak incorrectly. Of course, he still does not know how to pronounce all the sounds, so a clear pronunciation will not work. But still, try to teach the baby to speak as correctly as possible.

Classes for the development of attention

At such an early age, attention is involuntary. This means that the child does not yet know how to concentrate it by willpower. His attention is attracted by what is of interest (a bright toy, the sound of music, people around him). Attention, like other mental processes, can and should be developed.

✅Search for an object

Take a picture with a story and ask the child to find a certain object or character in it. The same exercise can be performed outdoors. Ask the baby to show a flower, a red car, a cat, a girl in a green jacket, etc.

✅Similar Detection

Take an object, such as a book, and ask the baby to look around the room for things similar in shape to her. It can be a phone, a tablet, a picture on the wall. You can search for objects that are similar not in shape, but in color, size and other features.

✅Finding the Missing Item

Take some toys, arrange them on the table and ask your child to look at them carefully and memorize them. Then he should turn away or leave the room, and at this time you remove one toy. The task of the child is to determine which toy has disappeared.

Classes for the development of gross and fine motor skills

Finger motor skills are directly related to cognitive processes - speech, memory, thinking. Therefore, it needs to be developed. There are many exercises for this.

✅ Games with small objects

Invite your child to sort the buttons by size, string large beads on a string, roll the balls in his hands. Be careful not to put a small object in your mouth, nose, or ear.

✅Construction set and jigsaw puzzle

Buy your child a construction kit or jigsaw puzzle for kids and build with him. This exciting activity strengthens the small muscles of the hand, makes the fingers more dexterous, trains attention and imagination.

✅Sculpting

Sculpt with your child various figures from clay, plasticine or salt dough. To make the lesson more interesting and exciting, read a fairy tale or watch a cartoon, and then try to make a character you like.

✅Finger games

Not only babies love to play finger games. Toddlers aged two or three love them too. Teach your baby to fold fingers into different shapes:

  • fold your thumb and forefinger into a ring and bring it to your eyes - you get glasses, and if you use all your fingers - binoculars;
  • clench the hand into a fist and stick out the index finger and little finger - these are the horns of a goat;
  • "Step" with your index and middle fingers on the table, representing the legs.

Invite your child to show their imagination by inventing and putting together unusual shapes from their fingers.

Gross motor skills are developed by ball games, cycling, jumping, wall bars and any physical activity. Teach your child to fasten and unfasten buttons, Velcro, hooks on clothes, put on and take off things on their own.

Classes for the development of intellectual abilities

Reading, music, creative work, solving logical and mathematical problems contribute to the development of the baby's intellect.

✅Drawing

Invite your child to draw a house, himself, mother. Set a theme for the picture, tell the child what details can be added to it. For example, a house can be surrounded by trees, the sun and clouds can be depicted in the sky.

✅ Role-playing games

Make up a story, choose the right toys and play it out with your baby. For example, a doll is sick: you need to put her to bed, take her temperature, give her medicine in a spoon.

✅Music

Listening to classical music has a positive effect on the mental development of children, and also brings up a sense of beauty in them. It is useful not only to listen to music, but also to dance to it. This has a positive effect on both mental and physical development.

✅Puzzles

Collecting puzzles trains attention, thinking, memory. Buy your child large puzzles with a small amount of detail and a clear image. First collect them together with the baby, and then invite him to do it on his own.

✅Sorting items

Shuffle the cards with different items and ask the child to sort them into categories, eg vegetables, fruits, clothes, furniture.

✅Riddles

Riddles are good for training the intellect. The main thing is to select tasks that are age-appropriate and understandable to the child.

✅Sunny bunny

On a clear day you can play with sun bunnies. Take a mirror and start letting bunnies on the ceiling, floor, walls. Then give the mirror to the child and let him try it himself. Coordinate his movements, suggesting how to catch a ray of the sun and direct it in the right direction.

Classes to study the properties of objects

Learning the properties of various objects develops the thinking of the baby, helping him to understand how and for what this or that thing can be used.

Teach your child to compare objects according to the following criteria:

  • size - big, small, tall, low, long, short;
  • state - hard, soft, liquid, warm, cold;
  • shape - round, square, rectangular, etc. ;
  • color.

Anything can be used as a "learning tool".

  • Pour cold water into one glass and warm tea into another and ask your child how they differ (color, temperature, taste).
  • Sew a few fabric bags (you can use old socks) and fill them with sand, beans, small stones, balls, etc. Let the child try to feel what is in each bag.
  • Buy a sorter - a special container with slots in the form of different geometric shapes and a set of matching inserts. The task of the child is to choose the right figure for each hole.
  • Invite the baby to feel different materials - leather, fur, silicone, wood. Let him tell you how they differ (fluffy fur, smooth skin, etc.).

Getting to know the outside world

The scope for exploring the outside world is very wide:

  • Animals. Tell your child which animals are domestic and which are wild, in what conditions they live, what their cubs are called. If you have the opportunity to visit the zoo, be sure to do so.
  • Plants. On a walk, pay your baby's attention to the trees, flowers, shrubs growing around. Tell us what they are called, which ones are fruit. Collect the leaves and look at them with your baby.
  • Natural phenomena. Tell your child about different natural phenomena, the change of seasons and the weather. By the age of three, the baby should already know the name of the seasons and their main features.
  • Materials. Tell your child about the materials from which various things are made (wood, metals, fabrics, paper, plastic).

At the age of two or three years, learning takes place in the form of a game. The main thing is to interest the child, and then he will be happy to study. Try to spend as much time as possible with the baby, do not dismiss his questions, but always answer them.

Invite the baby to help with the housework, give him small tasks (bring bread to the table, pour food for the cat, put away toys). Daily activities contribute to the development of independence and discipline.

Withdrawal

Child development centers and kindergartens "Baby Club" conduct classes for children of younger and older preschool age. Experienced teachers will help to reveal the abilities of your baby and teach him useful skills. We have general and individual development programs. Sign up for a consultation and come to a trial lesson. We look forward to seeing you and your child!

A course on how to teach a child to value money and things, to spend and save wisely for big purposes

Difficulty

Children love to buy and spend. But it is difficult for them to understand why you do not want to buy all the toys in the store, and your wallet is not an ATM

Children have a lot to explain and show. And the earlier you start, the more likely you are to raise an independent child who knows how to manage money and is ready for the difficulties of adult life. A child has so much to learn: how to earn money and appreciate your work, how to use a credit card and not get into debt, how to save and invest in really important things. And it is better if you are the guide to this knowledge.

The course will help you become a financial mentor for children, even if you yourself are not a financial literacy guru. We will figure out whether it is worth paying for cleaning and assessments, how to explain to a child that things and money should be valued, how to teach him to distinguish needs from momentary desires, to save and spend wisely. You can give your child more independence and responsibility, entrust money and not worry - neither for him nor for yourself.

The course is suitable for anyone who wants to start a conversation about money with children from two to 18 years old. Most of the information in the lessons relates to children from six to 14 years old, because at this age relationships with money are formed.

We want your child to be interested in learning new things with you, so there are a lot of game mechanics, practices and tasks in the course. They will help children feel on a par with adults and not get bored.

In the course of 6 lessons that will help you teach your child how to handle money

  • Learn more about your child

    Let's figure out what your child already knows and understands, and what he still needs to learn. Let's explain what financial skills should be developed at different ages and how children's attitude to money changes over time.

  • You can talk about money

    Let's give examples of life dialogues and figure out how to communicate with a child so that the conversation is useful. Let's single out simple rules of communication and learn to notice the reasons for a productive dialogue in everyday situations.

  • Explain the value of money

    We will show you how to explain to a child that it is important to handle money and property with care — without tears and scandals. And let's talk about how to correct the child's behavior with the help of reasonable restrictions so that he does not take offense.

  • Prepare your child for adulthood

    Let's give a list of financial topics to discuss with your child, from utility bills to investments. Prepare for conversations on each topic with the help of game mechanics and real-life examples.

The course was written by a financial teacher and checked by a child psychologist

The author of the course has developed a career in the financial market for 15 years, and now helps adults and children manage their money and be happy. All texts and assignments of the course were checked by a psychologist - a specialist in play therapy and communication with children.

This course is not yet available on the mobile app.

Lessons

IntroductionStarting a conversation about money

Lesson 1Checking what the child already knows

Lesson 2 Developing useful financial skills

Lesson 3Giving home errands

Lesson 4 Teaching a child to spend and save

Lesson 5 Using books, games and cartoons

Lesson 6Dealing with errors and common problems

We take out the notebooksHelp Masha and Sasha learn to talk about money with children

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