Activity & Game Ideas 
for *beary* nice kids of all ages

If you are in no hurry, just scroll through the many ideas below - or choose a specific activity listed and it will take you right there! 

Fence Weaving:
If you have a chain link or picket fence give the kids strips of crepe paper, long strips of fabric or plastic and let them "weave" it through the spaces in the fence.

Listening Walk
During a walk outside, stop and ask your children to listen carefully.  Then ask them to describe the sounds he or she hears.  Can they identify the sounds?  Give them clues until they guess what the sound is.

Tickle Trunk
You can encourage children's dramatic play by setting up a "tickle trunk" full of props.  Set aside a trunk or box and fill it with grown up clothes (cut down to size), shoes, hats, scarves, gloves, wigs, and costume jewelry to use for "dress ups".  Great items can be found at your local thrift shop like shiny sequined evening dresses, gauzy fabrics, old hospital uniforms, cowboy hats and boots.  You might even want to venture into a costume shop to get ideas for your own home made costumes.  Ask your daycare parents, family or friends if they have any dress up clothes that they would like to donate!

Funnel Catch
This activity is incredibly easy to do and the result is a toy that your child will be able to play with for hours.  Cut the bottom out two clean plastic milk jug (one for a friend).  The milk jug makes a perfect funnel.  Simply toss the ball to the child and let her catch it in the funnel.  Or have your child toss the ball back and forth with a friend!  Using the funnel like a baseball mitt, you can make up all sorts of games.

Bean Bag Tic-Tac-Toe
Make a tic-tac-toe board on the floor by placing masking  tape on carpeting or by drawing with chalk on concrete.  If the children have never played before, demonstrate how to play before beginning.  Divide the children into two teams.  Give each team several beanbags of one color.  For example, the x's could use blue and the o's red.  Have the teams take turns tossing the beanbags onto the board.  Help the children watch for opportunities to complete a row or block the other team.  They will soon be able to play on their own!

Putting Things In Order
Group objects on a table (crayons, coins, pencils, sticks, shoes, bowls, stones. etc.).  Each item in a group of items should be different in size, color, weight.  Ask the children to put things in order by length, height,  total size, weight and color.  Talk about the differences and add a second criteria to the sorting - by color and size, for instance.  Once the children have mastered this, have them put unlike objects in order by size or weight.  This helps to understand concepts as bigger, longer, heavier and to qualities in the things around them.

Magic Wand
Make a magic wand out of doweling rod with a cardboard star covered with foil taped on the end.  Choose a child to be the fairy.  The other children spread out around the fairy in a circle.  The fairy waves the magic want to case a magic spell over the other children and says, "Abracadabra Zibbity Boo, I now make (lions, snakes, leaves, old men, crying babies, etc.) out of you!"  The children then imitate whatever was named.  The fairy breaks the spell by saying, "Abracadabra Zibbity Bop, I now command you to stop!"

Catch the Snake
You will need one or three pieces of rope.  Give the pieces of rope to the chosen children/child.  The other children form a line or large circle around them and try to catch one of the ropes as they are tossed.  They must catch it in their hands, not step on it!  When a child catches a rope, he gets to run around the room, yard, circle, with his prize catch!

One, Two, Three, Run
Form a line at the end of the play area.  One child is chosed to be "it" and stands in the center of the play area.  The other children stand behind a line at one end.  (thin rope makes a great "line") The child who is "it" says, "One, two, three, run!"   He then tries to catch them as they run past him to a line at the opposite end of the play area.  All children who are caught remain in the center and help catch the other children - or  a new "it" may bre chosen from children not caught.  Variation:  Jump, hop, crawl, skip, etc may be substituted for the word "run".

Everybody Do This
Children take turns doing some kind of motion for the others to imitate while all sing:

"Everybody do this, do this, do this.
Everybody do this, just like me."
 
 
 
 
 

Do your children have a favorite activity or game they like to play?  Please share it with us!