Did you know that playing is much more than just having fun? Thanks to educational activities, children develop important physical, cognitive, linguistic, social and emotional skills.
Educational activities for kids have an important impact on their development. After all, it is during play that our little ones acquire and improve their skills. In other words, playing isn’t just a hobby, it’s part of growing up healthily.
However, it is not enough to let your child play with no purpose. Free play should happen, but it is essential that they also participate in guided activities with their parents or caregivers. Thus, in addition to helping your little one develop, you can spend more time together, strengthening your bond.
We know that parents do not always know how to come up with games for their children. That is why we have prepared 7 educational activities for kids. Let’s go!
7 Educational Activities For Kids
1. Necklaces and Belts
This activity aims to strengthen the hand muscles and stimulate your child’s finger dexterity, helping them develop their fine motor skills. It is recommended for children aged from 28 to 36 months who can insert objects into narrow holes and sort them by color.
You will need several types of (raw) pasta that are hollow (such as penne), brushes, watercolors, or acrylic paint. First, prepare a spot in the house that will be easy to clean up afterward. Then, paint the pasta however you like and ask your child to identify the colors they are using.
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Then, ask them to sort the pieces by color and make little piles of five, one for you and one for them. Tie a knot at the end of a long piece of string and show them how to insert the pasta into the string. If they need help, take their hand to teach them. When your child is done, tie a knot in the necklace or belt and you’re good to go.
2. Big and Small I
This game is very simple, but it promotes learning! By doing so, your child will work on their hand coordination and abstract thinking. Find some building blocks of different sizes and colors.
On the floor or table, arrange the pieces and show your little one the big and small blocks. Then, ask them to build a tower by placing the largest blocks at the bottom and the smallest at the top. Make sure they understand the difference between the two concepts.
If they need help, you can review the meaning of each term and help them build the tower. During the game, you can give simple instructions like “sit down” or “let’s play”. This educational activity is suitable for children over 25 months old who already have a notion of the concepts “big” and “small”, understand verbs and build towers with six or more blocks.
3. Free Doodles I
For this activity, you will need a sheet of paper and crayons. It should be done with children over 33 months old who can name and explain their drawings and continue a conversation by forming two or three complete sentences. Call your little one and ask them to draw anything they want.
Then, ask them to explain their drawing. During the conversation, see how many sentences they can put together. Talking about the activity encourages conversational skills. Also, while drawing, your child will work on their creativity and fine motor skills.
4. My Photo Album I
Socialization is something very important in our lives and should be promoted from an early age. In this activity, you will encourage your child to cultivate friendships and train cognitive, social and emotional skills. To do this, you’ll need pictures of your little one with friends, card stock, tape, stickers, and markers.
Fold the card stock in half twice to form a square. Tell your child that you will make a photo album of them and their friends. Choose one of the photos and ask your little one to identify the people in it.
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See if they can say someone’s name. If they have difficulty, you can help them by identifying and repeating their classmates’ names. Then, ask them to point at and name them again. Paste the photo on the album using the tape and decorate it freely.
Unfold the card and continue identifying and naming friends and pasting and decorating the album. This activity is suitable for children over 25 months old who can identify people and understand the concepts of “front” and “back”.
5. Shine Like The Sun II
To encourage your child’s writing and coloring skills, try this educational activity that requires few materials. You will only need sheets of paper and orange and yellow crayons. Call your child and draw a circle, showing them how it’s done.
Then ask them to copy the circle. Check if they can do it and how they hold the crayon in a writing position. Once the circle is finished, tell them to color it like the sun. This activity is suitable for children over 36 months old.
6. My Favorite Song I
If your little one already knows how to sing part of a song, you can stimulate their memory and language skills with this activity. Start by singing the song with your little one. Teach them some dance moves by associating the gestures with the lyrics.
See if your child imitates the movements and repeats parts of the song. Do the activity for a few days and see if, over time, they can sing more parts of the lyrics. Besides helping with development, this will be fun for your child! This activity is suitable for kids over 27 months old.
7. Find The Teddy Bear
To stimulate your child’s imagination, get some stuffed animals and blankets. Hide the toys under the covers and ask your little one to help you find them. For each animal you find, pretend to be that animal and imitate the sounds it makes. Play for as long as your child wants. This game is suitable for children over 17 months old.
Although educational activities for kids are usually done in kindergarten, parents need to play at home with their children to encourage their development and foster secure attachment.
On Kinedu, you will find more than 1,800 activities created by experts to help you on that matter. And if you’re a teacher looking for cool ideas, there is also a platform for educators to help you provide your students with the best experience ever!
