Keeping preschoolers busy?

Question

i was thinking of what games i can play with my 3 year old class to keep them entertained during various times of the day. we are trying to get them to stop running so duck, duck, goose isn't too great. so far we do... red light/ green light, simon says (popular but getting over used), and the game where i call out a color and they all have to find something in the room that is that color (whatever thats called) and i feel they are too young for thumbs up, seven up.. anything ideas? thanks!

Answer 1

Have a few items on a tray, and show them the tray.  Then turn around, and remove something from the tray.  When you turn back around, they have to guess what is missing.

Answer 2

Here are a few websites with a ton of ideas:

http://www.123child.com  ******** my site

http://www.gameskidsplay.net/  ****** great site

http://www.childfun.com

http://www.perpetualpreschool.com

http://www.atozteacherstuff.com

Here are a few ideas from my site:

http://www.123child.com

Line Walk

Place a line of masking tape on your floor. Have your child walk on the line. Try it backwards, hopping or try it your own way.

Box Hop Game

My son and I did this one today. He loves it. Set out a few box tops for your child to hop in and out of. Or line up three or four box tops, and have your child hop from box top to box top.

Will it dissolve?

Fill five clear jars with water. Take five different substances, like sugar, cereal, salt, paper, things that will dissolve, and some that won't. Ask your child which will dissolve, and which will not. Test each item in the water.

Songs from a Hat

Write down the names of songs you sing on a regular basis. Place them into a hat. Have a child draw a song then sing it.

Song Cube

You can make a cube from a cardboard box. Place Velcro on each side. Then write the names of songs you sing on pieces of paper, laminate them, then add Velcro. Place six songs on the cube. Have the children roll the cube and sing whatever song comes up on the cube.

Try both of the activities with actions. Jump 3 times, say your name, sit down, spin around 2x, etc.

Play the song "Bunny Hop". Have the child dance around until the Bump, Bump, Bump. Explain that this is the time to Stomp. Dance and Stomp with your child.

Musical Bear

Cut out large bear shapes from colored paper. Laminate them and cut them out. Place them on the floor. It is best for younger children to have more bears than children. Play music and have the children walk around the room. When the music stops each child needs to find an bear to stand on.

Play hot potato... have the children sit in a circle and pass stuffed bear around the circle when music is playing, when the music stops the child holding the bear sits in the middle or the "bear pot" until the music stops again and the next child replaces the first. You may also chant "Hot potato, hot potato, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10" and the child who has the bear on 10 is in the "bear pot."

Parachute/Blanket Toss

Add small stuffed toys to your parachute play. The children can try to keep the toys on, or try to get them off quickly. If you do not have a parachute, a large light blanket or sheet will make a good substitute.

Teddy Grahams (or Gummi Bear) Jar

Provide three identical jars with pre-counted Teddy Grahams of 20, 30, and 40. Label these jars 20, 30 and 40. Place 20 to 40 Teddy Grahams in a fourth identical jar. Allow the children to examine all four jars before they guess. Record the children's approximations. Count the Teddy Grahams.

Do the hokey pokey.

Snowman Bowling

Attach a snowman image to a bowling pin, or a pop bottle with a little bit of sand in the bottom. Set up the pins and have the children try to knock them over with a ball.

Have the children toss foam ball or bean bag into a basket for a fun gross motor game.

Answer 3

I dunno; wrestling? Royal Rumbles, Fatal 4-Ways, First Blood Matches...ect.

Okay, seriously: let them use paint! Crayola made that special stuff that doesn't paint anywhere but the paper.

Answer 4

Make a feely bag using a cloth bag or men's tube sock or even a kleenex box with a wider hole for their hand. Put items in the box from around the classroom, and have each child take turns putting their hand in the box and trying to name what is inside.

I used to play a singing game with my preschool class--we would sing "Do You Know the Muffin Man?" song all together, but you could pick any short verse to sing. Then I would pick a volunteer to sit in the middle of the circle and he/she would wear a blindfold. Then I'd pick someone in the circle to stand up and sing a solo of the same song and the blindfolded child would have to guess who it was--this game is ALWAYS good for some giggles. If the child guesses correctly he/she changes places with the child who sang. If the guesser does not get it right after 3 tries, they exchange places anyway.

We also used to play "freeze dance". Every child was assigned to a spot, so it didn't get too wild, and I would hand out bandanas or scarves for them to dance with. They got to dance any way they wanted to on their spot, but then I'd pause the music and they'd have to freeze. This was great on days when we couldn't go outside because they'd get exercise without getting too crazy.

Another great game is "Hill Dill Come Over the Hill" if you have a gym or an open place to play is one where you practice walking/moving in a different ways. The teacher stands in the middle and can only move back and forth while the children go by her. The teacher says "hill dill, walk like a chicken over my hill" and the kids need to walk like a chicken, but avoid getting touched by the teacher, who is supposed to pretend like she's going to get them, but doesn't. You can do many different things--have them walk backwards, hop on one foot, walk sideways, move like different animals, twirl, etc. When they get to the other side, you have them move a different way to return back. If they children don't follow directions, then they have to go back to the beginning and start again, and you wait for everyone to get to the other side before you call the next "hill dill" command. This is great for kids to learn coordination, and you can mix slow movements with fast to keep them from getting too loud/wild.

Kids at this age don't do well playing games where one person is a winner, or when they have to sit out when they lose. They don't understand game strategy that much and their feelings get hurt if they don't get to keep playing. It's much better to have group acitivities where everyone gets to participate.

Answer 5

how about I Spy. you think of an object in the room/classroom. say a hint like what the object begins with, or the color, etc. and the kids have to figure out what the object is.

Answer 6

you should play, who's in my mouth.

its when everyone bring in snacks and you guess who's snack you're eating.

Answer 7

At that age they like things that are all about them. To get them to stop running is hard, however, I find that singing about and with them makes them very happy. For example:

sing..

I know a funny clown,

her name is ............childs name here,

watch her do a silly trick in the circus ring...

the child stands and dances(sometimes they all do haha)

then while they are dancing u sing

la la la la la,

la la la la la,

la la la,

la la la,

la la la la la,

and say loudly Yay or Hey!

You can do this for each child and they all wait in anticipation of hearing their name called. They also love when you call your own name and dance.

AND....

I am going to use the name Mya for this example, and the color pink.

sing...

Mya is wearing pink today,

Pink today,

Pink today,

Mya is wearing pink today,

and she looks good.

Next childs name....

Mike is wearing blue today,

Blue today,

Blue today,

Mike is wearing blue today

And he looks good.

and so on...... they Love when its all about them.

Answer 8

threre are alot of fun things that you can do with 3 yr olds!

I saw that someone else mentioned freeze dance, this is a great game, but in my expierence it works best when you have a smaller group.

Doggie Doggie where is your bone is a great game that setteles everyone down quickly.

have everyone sit in circle explain the rules of the game ( were going to sit in circle and I am going to choose a friend to be the doggie, the doggie is going to hide his/her eyes and ears then we are going to hide the bone. when we are ready we will sing " doggie doggie where's your bone? some one took it from your home, guess who... it might be me." then we are all going to pretend to hide the bone in our lap ( only 1 person will have the bone -- the bone could be anything small -- a leggo or small block) we do not say who had the bone .. then the doggie has to guess who has the bone. ( I usualy give them 3 guesses then have the person hiding the bone will stand up.)  then the child who hid the bone gets to bbe the dog -- and so on and so on.

When I play this game I tell the children that I am going to pick the child who is sitting quietly anf keeping their hande in their lap.

Bug in the rug...

this game works the same way, but rather than hiding a bone you hide a child under a blanker - the "rug" and the other child tries to guess who is the bug in the rug. after a couple of guesses and no success we will show the childs shoes. , and hands - then finaly if they cant guess who it is then we remove the blanket.

the chant for the game goes like this.

"there's a bug, there's a bug in a rug,

guess who's the bug in the rug"  

open them shut them is also a good game -

open them shut them open them shut them

give a little clap clap clap

open them shut them open them shut them put them in you lap lap lap

creep them crawl them, creep them crawl  them

right up to your  chin chin chin

open wide your little mouth, but...

do not let them in, no do not let them in...

open them shut them open them shut them give a little clap clap clap

open them shut them open them shut them put them in your lap lap lap

creep them crawl them creep them crawl them right up to your nose nose nose

creep them crawl them right down to your toes toes toes.....

open them shut  them open them shut them

give a little clap clap clap

open them shut them open them shut them

put them in your lap lap lap

also try using a parashute to play circle time games... this builds team work skills -- you can use small yarn balls and make "pop-corn" and as a class they try to keep all the pop corn in the bowl. ( the parachute)

play the graveyad/ sleeping game ( I call it the sleeping game b/c unless its necessare I try to refrain from beeing too morbid.) all the children lay down in the room you choose a child to see who is really awake... ( tell all the children to lay down and pretend to sleep, and lie still. the child who is looking for the fakers is looking for the children that are moving or giggleing. then the children who are giggling sit at a table while the others finnish the game... when only one child is left then that child is the winner.

I have also found that children seem to get a little nuts b/t activities, so if they have something that they know they need to do next this cut down on running...

after snack/ lunch, tell then children that they my choose a puzzle to work on, or a book to read quietly. This gives them something specific to do and gives youa coupe of min to clean up.

I would also suggest trying an audable cue to let them know something is about to hapen or change. ring bell 10 min before circle time .. tell the children that they have 5 min to finnish their activities, then ring in again 5 mn latter and say its time to clean up our activities. when the clean up time is over then let them know it is now time for circle please come sit down.

you can teach to children to freeze when they hear the bell that way you can use it to make various announcements without yelling or flashing the lights.

also talk about walking feet, walking feet inside and running fett outside. you can even give them a visual/ physical cue by having indoor and outdoor shoes. - indoor shoes are for walking feet. outdoor shoes are for running feet. change shose by the door before they go out...

i hope these help ....

if you still need more ideas chek out

sweetpeapatch.com

everythingpreschool.com

enchantedlearning.com

Answer 9

Jump Cards:

Used to reinforce basic concepts.  I'll use shapes as an example.

I made a pile of shapes...some basic line shapes, some objects in a shape...I had about 6 variations per shape.  Then I created about 10 jump cards with a picture of a child jumping.  The kids say the shape name but when they see the jump card they can all get up and jump until you put the card down.  You can do this with alphbet, colors, numbers, opposites, vocab, anything really.  You can make them "dance" cards or any other action.

Hokey Pokey- put stickers on left hand and foot.

I like to use Hokey Pokey to reinfoce basic concepts.  Put you number 1 in.  Or put your circle in... I use simple flashcards for this activity and they are laying on the floor at their feet, face up.

Guessing Can:  Decorate a container for your guessing can.  Put an object in it and provide 3 clues.  It's fun to let the children take the can home and bring in something...having their parents help them write the clues.

It's Raining!  I created foam raindrops (I know someone who used paper and laminated them) and wrote numbers on the raindrops.  One child was chosen to hold the umbrella upside down with the raindrop inside.  We all sang the song It's Raining..it's pouring.  At the end the child flipped the umbrella up and it "rained".  Then each child picked up a raindrop at as a group we put them in number order.  Can be done with other basic concepts.  

Have a basket or decorated container/bucket/bag with a small prop that goes with a nursery rhyme.  Have a child choose a prop and help the class decide what rhyme it would go with and then sing that rhyme.

Have supplies ready to do a simple science experiment with the children.  It's fun to have everything inside of a decorated box.  The children know when you bring out the box it's for a science experiment and they LOVE it.  Use a solid colored container so that the children can not see inside and then bring out one tool at a time and talk about it and what it maybe could be used for in the experiment.  Great language builder.  If you don't subscribe to The Mailbox Preschool...consider it!

Retelling a story you have read is always a hit.  Have "necklaces" and simple props to go with the story.  

Name activities:  there are so many "games" that you can play with the children's names and they LOVE it!  Have your name cards ready and anything else you would need for the game in a labeled container near the group area.  That way you are ready to go.  It's fun to do the Name Chant.  Hold up someone's first letter (written on half of a 9x12 construction paper sheet).  The kids say... "Give me an "A".  Give it to a child who is showing correct group time behavior and have them stand up in front of the group.  Then hold up the next letter....Give me an "a".  Give to another child and have them stand next to the first child.  Next letter...Give me a "r"...so on until the end of the name.  Then say something similar to "And that makes...." and the kids yell the name.  I have quite a few name activities gathered if you are interested.  You can email.

Create a graph...by children's eye color, shoe color, if their shoes have laces or not, hair color, etc.  Graphing is always a good educational filler.

Answer 10

Monkey stomp your feet

Monkey stomp your feet

Money stomp your feet

Monkey  sees

Monkey do the same as _________

You sing the above song pick someone to do an action and the class copies that person.

Four corners is always fun

What Time is it Mister Wolf?

Mother May I

Freeze Dance

Hot & Cold: Hide object in the room when the child is close to the object say hot the further away the "colder" they are.   Continue until object is found.

London Bridge

BUY Greg & Steve CD'S they are the best!!!!!!!!!