Best Activities for Preschoolers to Learn Through Play (2025)

As parents and caregivers, we all want our little ones to learn while having fun. Preschool is the perfect time to lay the foundation for essential skills, from science exploration to creative arts.

Integrating these activities into a child’s daily routine can significantly enhance their early childhood education by fostering engagement, social skills, and cognitive development. At My First Skool, we see fun and educational activities as key to sparking curiosity, building confidence, and encouraging real-world learning.

Here are 20 exciting and educational activities that will help preschoolers grow and thrive in various developmental areas!

Science Activities for Preschoolers

1. Baking Soda Volcano

Image Credits: Glittery Volcano by KiwiCo

Encourage your preschooler’s interest in science with a simple and exciting baking soda volcano experiment. 

All you need is baking soda, vinegar, and food colouring. When mixed, the baking soda creates a fizzing reaction with vinegar that looks like a mini volcanic eruption! This interactive activity is perfect for keeping children engaged in learning, promoting group participation, and enhancing their social skills and fine motor development.

How-To:

1. Place a small bowl or container on a tray (to catch the mess).
2. Add 2-3 tablespoons of baking soda into the container.
3. Mix a few drops of food colouring into the vinegar for added fun.
4. Pour the vinegar into the baking soda and watch the eruption!
5. Encourage your child to observe and describe the reaction.

2. Nature Scavenger Hunt 

Take a walk in the park or your backyard and collect natural items like leaves, twigs, rocks, and flowers. Teach your child to observe and identify different elements of nature, from textures to colours and shapes.

How-To:

1. Create a list of things to find, like a round rock, a red leaf, or a flower.
2. Explore the outdoors together, checking off the items as you find them.
3. Discuss the textures, colours, and shapes of each object to build observational skills.

3. Grow Your Own Plant

Help your child plant seeds in a small pot or a garden bed. As the plant grows, talk about how plants need sunlight, water, and soil to thrive. It’s a wonderful way to teach patience and the basics of life cycles, while also sparking a child’s interest in nature and science.

How-To:

1. Fill a small pot with soil and help your child plant seeds according to the packet’s instructions.
2. Water the plant regularly, ensuring it gets enough sunlight.
3. As it grows, encourage your child to observe the changes and learn about how plants grow.

4. Magnet Exploration

Introduce your preschooler to magnets by testing which objects around the house are magnetic and which are not. Let them experiment by sticking magnets to the fridge, using magnetic wands, or creating simple magnet crafts. 

This activity helps children learn about magnetic properties in a fun and interactive way.

How-To:

1. Gather a variety of small objects from around the house (buttons, paperclips, coins, etc.).
2. Use a magnet to test which objects are magnetic.
3. Encourage your child to sort the items into “magnetic” and “non-magnetic” piles.
4. Explore different ways to use magnets, like making a magnetic craft or drawing with a magnet.

5. Shadow Play

Use a flashlight or the sun to create shadows. Teach your preschooler how shadows change throughout the day and encourage them to make shadow shapes with their hands or different objects.

How-To:

1. In a dim room, shine a flashlight on a wall and hold your hand or an object in front of the light to create a shadow.
2. Discuss how the shape of the shadow changes based on the light’s angle.
3. Shadow play can help children learn about different body parts and their movements.
4. Encourage your child to experiment with different objects and shapes to make fun shadows.
5. If outdoors, explore how shadows change as the sun moves across the sky.

Literacy Activities for Preschoolers

6. Storytime & Puppet Show

Read your child’s favourite books and bring the characters to life with hand puppets. This helps improve listening skills and vocabulary while keeping children engaged in imaginative play through storytime and puppet shows.

How-To:

1. Choose a short story or picture book that your child enjoys.
2. Use simple hand puppets or create your own with socks or paper bags.
3. Act out the story as you read, using different voices and movements.
4. Encourage your child to participate and retell parts of the story using the puppets.

7. Letter Tracing

Have your child practice writing the alphabet with crayons or markers on a piece of paper. You can use alphabet tracing worksheets or create your own for a more personalised learning experience.

How-To:

1. Print or draw large letters on a sheet of paper.
2. Show your child how to trace each letter with their finger first, then with a crayon or marker. Tracing helps children learn letter shapes by allowing them to feel and see the form of each letter.
3. Say the letter’s name and sound as they trace.
4. Praise their efforts and display their work to build confidence.

8. Word Matching Game

Create cards with simple words and corresponding pictures. Ask your child to match the words with the correct image. This game helps children learn word recognition and vocabulary, strengthening early literacy skills.

How-To:

1. Cut out small cards and write one simple word (e.g., “cat”, “sun”, “ball”) on each.
2. Create matching cards with pictures representing the words.
3. Mix them up and help your child match the words to the right pictures.
4. Sound out the words together and discuss their meanings.

9. Alphabet Scavenger Hunt

Hide letters around the house or outside and have your preschooler find them. Ask them to identify the letter and say a word that starts with it. This helps reinforce letter recognition in a fun, active way, keeping children engaged in active learning.

How-To:

1. Write individual letters on sticky notes or index cards.
2. Hide them in easy-to-find places around your home or garden.
3. As your child finds each letter, ask them to name it and think of a word that starts with it.
4. Celebrate each find with high-fives or little rewards for encouragement.

10. Rhyming Games 

Play a rhyming game where you say a word, and your preschooler has to come up with a word that rhymes with it. This helps children learn phonemic awareness and builds early language skills.

How-To:

1. Start with simple, familiar words like “cat,” “hat,” or “sun.”
2. Say the word and ask your child to think of one that rhymes.
3. Take turns coming up with rhymes, even silly or made-up ones, to keep it fun.
4. You can also sing rhyming songs or use picture books that highlight rhymes.

Motor Skills Activities for Preschoolers

11. Obstacle Course

Set up an obstacle course with cushions, chairs, and soft toys for your preschooler to climb over, crawl under, and jump across. This involves physical activities that help maintain high energy levels, enhancing coordination and gross motor skills in a playful and engaging way.

How-To:

1. Use safe household items like pillows, tunnels (or cardboard boxes), and chairs to create different stations.
2. Demonstrate how to go over, under, and around each obstacle.
3. Let your child complete the course, then challenge them to go faster or change the order.
4. Encourage creative movement like hopping or tiptoeing to make it more fun.

12. Playdough Sculpting

Playdough is a fantastic tool for developing fine motor skills. Encourage your child to roll, flatten, and mould playdough into different shapes and figures. This improves hand strength and dexterity, and encourages creative expression.

How-To:

1. Give your child a few lumps of playdough in different colours.
2. Show them how to roll it into balls, snakes, or flatten it with their hands.
3. Use cookie cutters or safe tools like plastic forks for added variety.
4. Encourage them to create animals, letters, or simple shapes to build creativity and fine motor skills.

13. Ball Toss

Practice throwing, catching, and rolling a ball as a form of physical play that enhances hand-eye coordination. 

Try different types of balls—soft, bouncy, or even beach balls—and encourage your preschooler to aim and catch. This activity is excellent for hand-eye coordination.

How-To:

1. Choose a soft, age-appropriate ball.
2. Start by rolling it back and forth on the floor, then progress to gentle tossing.
3. Use a basket or bucket as a target for aiming games.
4. Vary the distance or height for added challenge as your child improves.

14. Sticker Art 

Give your child a sheet of stickers and let them place them on a page in creative ways. Peeling off stickers helps children learn fine motor control and promotes concentration.

How-To:

1. Provide different sticker themes—animals, shapes, or letters.
2. Let your child peel and stick them on a blank sheet of paper or a colouring page.
3. Encourage storytelling by asking them to describe what they’re creating.
4. For a challenge, draw outlines for them to place stickers inside.

15. Dance Party 

Play some lively music and have a dance party! Playing music and dancing is a fun physical activity that enhances balance, coordination, and rhythm. Encourage your preschooler to move their body in different ways—jumping, twisting, or spinning.

How-To:

1. Create a short playlist of upbeat, kid-friendly songs.
2. Clear some space and encourage free movement or copycat dancing.
3. Call out actions like “jump,” “spin,” or “march” to add structure.
4. Make it into a freeze dance game for extra fun and listening practice.

Creative Arts Activities for Preschoolers

16. Finger Painting

Finger painting is a fun and tactile way to express creativity, providing a rich sensory experience. Provide a variety of colours and let your child explore abstract art with their hands. You can create themed prints like animals, nature, or simple shapes.

How-To:

1. Cover a table with newspaper or a washable mat and provide thick paper.
2. Squeeze non-toxic finger paints onto a tray or plate.
3. Let your child dip their fingers into the paint and explore with swirls, dots, and handprints.
4. For a theme, suggest creating flowers, animals, or rainbow patterns using their fingers.

17. Collage Art

Gather some old magazines, fabric scraps, buttons, and coloured paper, and let your child create their own collage. This is a great way to encourage exploration of different textures and materials in their art-making.

How-To:

1. Provide a base sheet of paper or cardboard for the collage.
2. Offer a mix of materials—magazine cutouts, fabric, ribbons, dried pasta, etc.
3. Let your child glue items onto the base however they like.
4. Talk about the textures and shapes they’re using to build language and sensory awareness.

18. Music Making

Make homemade instruments like tambourines or maracas from everyday items, such as bottles and beans. 

This fun activity not only teaches rhythm but also allows you to play music together, enhancing your child’s engagement and skill development. Then, have a mini concert, teaching your child about different sounds and rhythms.

How-To:

1. Fill empty containers (like plastic bottles or paper rolls) with rice, beans, or beads.
2. Secure them tightly with tape and decorate them with stickers or drawings.
3. Explore different sounds by shaking, tapping, or rolling them.
4. Play along with a song or create your own rhythm together.

19. Shape Sorting

Use coloured paper or foam shapes and encourage your preschooler to sort them by colour, shape, or size. This activity helps children learn organisational skills by recognising patterns and categorising items.

How-To:

1. Cut out a variety of shapes (circles, squares, triangles) in different colours and sizes.
2. Place them in a pile and provide sorting trays or bowls.
3. Ask your child to group by one characteristic at a time—first by colour, then by shape, then by size.
4. Turn it into a game by timing how fast they can sort!

20. Nature Prints

Go on a nature walk and collect leaves, flowers, or tree bark. Use these objects to make prints by pressing them on paper with paint or ink. This combines nature exploration with artistic creativity.

How-To:

1. After your walk, lay out the natural items in a workspace.
2. Use packing tape to secure large easel paper around a tree trunk or other natural items.
3. Help your child brush paint onto one side of a leaf or flower.
4. Press the painted side onto paper and gently lift to reveal the print.
5. Create patterns or turn the prints into a nature-inspired scene.

Learning Through Play, Every Step of the Way

These 20 fun and educational activities are more than just ways to keep your preschooler engaged—they’re powerful tools to support your child’s development across physical, cognitive, and creative domains.

At My First Skool, we believe that meaningful learning happens through purposeful play.

An added bonus of these activities is that they enrich children’s learning experiences by allowing them to share their discoveries and stories, fostering personal storytelling and deeper engagement.

Our preschool curriculum is thoughtfully designed to nurture curiosity, independence, and a lifelong love of learning—just like the activities you’ve explored here. Whether it’s discovering science through a simple volcano experiment or expressing creativity with finger paints, every moment can be a learning opportunity.

Looking to give your child a strong start? Discover how My First Skool can support your preschooler’s growth in a joyful, safe, and enriching environment.

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