It is important to foster our little ones’ development through activities. In this article, we share with you 6 activities for 4-year-olds.
Did you know that activities are much more than just fun for our little ones? As they play, they develop various skills, such as motor coordination, cognition, memory, socialization, language, and much more. With that in mind, how do you feel about learning some activities for your 4-year-old child?
At this age, children love to have fun and they have loads of energy. And we know how difficult it can be for an adult to have ideas of games to do with their children, especially at home. That’s why we decided to bring you this post. Here, you will learn 6 fun and educational activities for 4-year-olds. Continue reading and check it out!
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Ideas of activities for 4-year-olds
1. Square apples II
The purpose of this activity for 4-year-olds is to stimulate your child’s creativity and fine motor skills. To start, find a place to play. You will need cardboard, red paper, children’s scissors, markers (or crayons), and masking tape.
First, draw a tree on the cardboard and tell your little one that you are going to paste apples to the tree. However, the apples will be squared-shaped! Show your child how you draw a square on the red paper and see if they can imitate you without seeing an example. Help them if necessary.
After drawing several squares, ask them to cut them out. Make sure they hold the scissors firmly. Paste the squares to the tree and let your little one paint the trunk and leaves.
2. Organizing our toys
In addition to being a fun and enjoyable way for your little one to organize their toys before starting a new game, this activity allows your child to measure time. By counting how long it takes to do the task, they can visualize more tangibly how the minutes go by. For this, you will only need an hourglass.
After finishing a game, it will be time to put away everything. Propose this to your child, telling them that they will participate in a special organization game. Show them the hourglass and explain how it works. You can turn it over a few times, to show how the sand goes from one side to the other, and tell your little one that when the sand at the top runs out, time runs out too.
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Explain to your little one that you will use the hourglass to determine how long you have to put away all the toys. When you begin to collect everything, turn the hourglass over and say that you must finish the activity before all the sand is gone.
If your child gets distracted, you can remind them that this is not the time to play something new, but to focus on the activity. When you’re done, congratulate your little one for making an effort to pick up the toys before time runs out. If you don’t finish on time, no problem!
3. Treasure hunt with friends II
What kid doesn’t love a treasure hunt? Even better if they are accompanied by a friend, sibling, or cousin! When we think of activities for 4-year-olds, it is important to have games where the little ones learn about teamwork and how this can be beneficial. To play, you will need a puzzle, small objects, a box, and sand.
First, put the sand inside the box and hide the puzzle pieces inside so that they are completely covered. Then, hide other small objects in the sand, such as pebbles, toys, shells, etc.
Call the children and ask them to find the pieces in the sand so they can put the puzzle together. This activity is ideal to promote cooperation and teach children that, by working together, it is possible to achieve a common goal.
4. Reciting the alphabet
At this age, children can already recognize the letters of the alphabet. But to do so, they need to be stimulated and what better than through play, right? To do this activity for a 4-year-old, you will need the “Space Alphabet” worksheet and a pencil.
Tell your little one that you are going to recite the alphabet, so they must pay close attention to the letters to find the missing ones. Then, write different letters on each spaceship, leaving some blank, and handle the sheet to your child.
Begin to sing the alphabet song. See if your little one notices any missing letters. As soon as they realize it, ask them to write the missing letters. If they can’t, write them down on a piece of paper so they can copy them onto the worksheet.
5. Follow my moves
Like adults, children love music! So one of the main activities for 4-year-olds is dancing! The purpose of this activity is to foster your child’s musical skills, which are important for cognitive development and memory. For this game, you will need a hula hoop and some music. To start, tell your little one that you will dance together.
Then, place the hula hoop in the center of the room, stand inside it, and do some dance moves for your child to copy. Encourage them to play by teaching them how to move their arms and hips to the beat of the music.
See if your little one can follow the choreography. If it is too difficult for them, do simpler steps, giving shorter and clearer instructions. But if it’s too easy, ask them to stand inside the hula hoop and teach you other dance moves. To have more fun, invite the whole family!
6. Pairing socks III
You can do this fun activity so that your child can learn the meaning of “equal” and “different”. You will need at least four pairs of socks of different colors and from various family members, other clothes, some pebbles, and paint.
First, paint the pebbles with the colors of the socks and let them dry. Then, call your little one, put the clothes in a pile (leaving the socks aside), and set the colored pebbles aside. Ask your child to choose a stone and say the color out loud.
Then, help them find the clothes that are the same color, make a small pile, and repeat the dynamic until there are no stones or clothes left. Finally, take the socks and find the different pairs. Congratulate your child for their effort!
As you have seen, activities for 4-year-olds are important because they help develop various skills. If you liked these games and want to catch up on many more, download the Kinedu app to access hundreds of activities appropriate for your child’s age and stage of development.
