Funny games for 4 year olds: 23 Fun and Inventive Games for Four-Year-Olds

23 Fun and Inventive Games for Four-Year-Olds

Most four-year-olds love to tell stories, play dress-up, and play cooperative games. They can read more complicated picture books and create music with simple instruments. They are growing more expressive and are able to articulate their ideas and feelings and ask questions about the world around them.

This series of preschooler-friendly board games, hands-on sensory bin ideas, shape and color sorting activities, and physical challenges are sure to keep them entertained and learning for hours.

1. Make A Bubble Wrap Road

This simple activity is the perfect game for developing motor skills. It requires only recycled bubble wrap, painter’s tape, and any toy cars or trucks your preschooler would like to take for a test run.

Learn more: Sunny Day Family

2. Build Color Recognition with a Rainbow Necklace

This vibrant rainbow necklace is a great way to develop your child’s color recognition while strengthening their critical thinking skills through sorting the circles by size.

Learn more: Hands On As We Grow

3. Make Paper Tunnels For Toy Cars

This engaging game encourages toy car lovers to practice slow, controlled, and gentle movements to get their vehicles through the tunnels without crashing. It makes for a great way to develop motor skills and is sure to become a hit with your preschooler!

Learn more: Mama, Papa, Bubba

4. Play an Educational Board Game 

This classic board game challenges young learners to match colors and create their own snakes from heads to tails while having fun with their friends. The player with the most snakes at the end of the game wins. It’s a cooperative game that is sure to become a family favorite.

Learn more: Game Wright

5. Play With Gloop

Your preschooler is sure to love running their figures through this mixture and exploring its soft, gooey, and slimy texture. This is a great way to develop hand-eye coordination while using all five of their senses. It’s also a wonderful way to build social skills when playing with friends and family.

Learn more: Learning 4 Kids

6. Play a Fun Memory Game 

Develop focus, concentration, and memory skills with this DIY matching game. All you need are two egg cartons and pairs of small objects like pom poms, beads, or even beans.

Learn more: Hands On As We Grow

7. Make Your Own Sidewalk Chalk Paint

This is an affordable and easy idea that makes for a fun cooperative game of drawing and writing on the sidewalk. Try it outside on a hot day!

Learn more: Positively Splendid

8. Farm Animal Washing Station

This engaging and quick game is a wonderful way to develop fine motor skills. Kids will love playing in the dirt and bubbles and rubbing their favorite farm animals clean!

Learn more: Coffee Cups and Crayons

9. Play an Educational Video Game

This educational video game challenges kids to find animal pairs, match cute animal pictures with the foods they eat, and spot subtle differences in photos. It’s a great way to develop an appreciation of the natural world while developing critical thinking skills.

Learn more: National Geographic

10. Blow Painting With Straws

The magic of this activity is that you will never get the same results each time. Your 4-year-old preschooler is sure to delight in creating a variety of different patterns and designs.

Learn more: Artful Parent

11. Develop Shape Recognition Skills With Playdough

This hands-on activity is great for developing shape recognition while building fine motor skills.

Learn more: Royal, Baloo

12. Learn the Alphabet with a Physical Activity 

By kicking the ball at various letter cups, your preschooler will develop letter recognition skills, identify letter sounds and strengthen their balance and coordination.

Learn more: Fun Learning for Kids

13. Turn Handwriting into a Fun Game

Handwriting is an important skill that helps with literary and reading comprehension skills as well as fine motor skills like tying shoelaces. This sand activity makes it colorful and tactile for hours of learning fun.

Learn more: Active Littles

14. Make Fluffy Pet Rocks

Playing with these adorable fluffy pet rocks is sure to become a favorite game for your preschooler. They also make great gifts or a creative paperweight.

Learn more: The Craft Train

15. Develop Reading Skills 

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Kids love to ask why and this big book of answers makes for a fantastic way to satiate their curiosity and encourage their sense of wonder, all while developing core reading skills.

16. Have Fun With a Classic Game   

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Your young learner will love exploring shapes and colors with Dotty Dinosaur and his friends. The game rules are super simple, making for an easy and carefree time!

17. Play a Fun Card Game

The classic card game of Go Fish has been a family favorite for ages and with good reason. It’s a fun way to develop social skills and strengthen basic math skills, all while building strategy skills and learning about patterns and pairs.

Learn more: Kid Spot

18. Play a Game Of Stink Bugs 

This adorable game is an excellent way to develop color and shape recognition, strengthen memory skills and encourage cooperative play.

Learn more: Almost Practical

19. Practice Counting With Bears

These bear counters have multiple educational benefits for children and can be used to develop measuring, sorting, number recognition, and counting skills.

Learn more: Fun Learning for Kids

20.  Make a Paper Plate Snake

This creative craft is an excellent fit for preschoolers. It makes for a fun way to reuse paper plates and bubble wrap to create a slithery snake they are sure to love.

Learn more: Crafty Morning

21. Learn About Wind With a STEM Activity 

In this engaging STEM lesson, preschoolers learn about the impact of wind on a tower that they construct out of foam blocks. It’s a great choice for families looking to expand their young learner’s understanding of science and natural forces.

Learn more: No Time for Flashcards

22. Develop Basic Reading Skills With Green Eggs and Ham

Kids will love using dot stamp markers to color all the letters they recognize in this classic children’s story. You could also laminate the cards to create a reusable center that your young learner will enjoy returning to again and again.

Learn more: Still Playing School

23. Make an Egg Carton Dinosaur Hat 

Your preschooler will delight in transforming into a baby dinosaur with this vibrant hat. They can even help you put it together by painting the spikes in any color they choose.

Learn more: Crafty Morning

17 Exciting And Interesting Games For 4-Year-Olds To Have Fun

Keep your little one engaged with games and watch them forget about everything else.

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Games for 4-year-olds must be designed to cater to their growing needs. Children aged four are energetic and have oodles of energy. And that energy must be directed constructively. Children in this age group can skip, jump, run, and hop. They can kick balls around or use clay and sand to create shapes.

So, if you are looking for games for 4-year-olds, here are some options to pick from and let your child have lots of fun.

Exciting And Fun Games For Four-Year-Old Kids

Children aged four can pay attention to activities for up to 15 minutes, or lesser if it is something that they do every day (1). Considering that, we have compiled a list of easy games for four-year-old kids.

1. What’s hiding in the jelly?

Image: iStock

Jelly is not just for eating. You can also use it for fun time.

You will need:

• Edible jelly crystals of different colors
• 1-2 large trays
• Plastic containers of different shapes
• Plastic numbers, small toys and wooden beads, and anything else that can be put inside a cup of jelly

How to:

1. You will need to prepare the jelly cups before starting the game.
2. Arrange the plastic cups or bowls in a tray and put one plastic number, letter, toy, or bead in each.
3. Give each child a few minutes to explore the jelly and guess what’s inside without looking.

If they cannot guess, let them look and say what they found! Either way, they learn about the sense of touch and feel.

Quick tip

After playing, encourage your child to wash the containers to foster a sense of discipline.

2.

Drinking straws and pom poms

This is a fun indoor game that you can play with even one kid, provided you have the accessories ready.

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

• Colorful scotch tape – at least three colors are good
• 5-6 1-inch pompoms
• Drinking straws

How to:

1. Create a maze or a path using scotch tape, by sticking it on the floor. Pick whatever design you like. But just don’t have straight lines (what fun is that!). Mark the start and end points on the paths.
2. Give the kids a drinking straw each.
3. Put the pompoms in a basket.
4. On ‘go’, the child has to pick a pompom from the basket, put it on the taped lines on the floor, and blow air using the straws to move it along the lines.
5. They have to go from start to end to complete the game. The kid who finishes the race in the shortest time is the winner.

Related: 15 Best Matching Games And Activities For Toddlers

3.

Rock, paper, scissors

Whether you have a lot of time on your hands or need help choosing whose turn it is first at something, you play rock, paper, scissors.

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

• Space and time to playtime

How to:

1. Give the kids clear instructions about the game.
2. Rock means a “fist”, paper is to place the hand palm down, with the fingers stretched out, and scissors are to use two fingers to look like a pair of scissors.
3. Rock can break the scissors, the scissors can cut the paper, and the paper can cover the rock. So rock is stronger than scissors, scissors is stronger than paper, and paper is stronger than rock.
4. The game is usually played by two people, who stand facing each other with their left palm facing up and the right hand clenched like a fist.
5. The kids hit the fist on the palm twice, and the third time they can keep it as a rock, or change it to paper or scissors.

One with the stronger weapon wins.

4. ABC Maze

The ABC maze is an innovative way to teach your child the alphabet. The game is physically and mentally stimulating.

Image: iStock

You will need:

• Sheet of paper
• Pen or sketch
• Space to play
• A small toy car or animal

How to:

1. Cut the sheets or paper into longs strips and create a maze. Make a medium-sized maze in such a way that it is easy to navigate from the starting point to the end.
2. Write the letters of the alphabet in order on the maze, so that the child can move from one letter to another in the right order.
3. Give the child the toy car or animal and ask him to move from one letter to the other, until he completes the alphabet.

Video Games and Board Games For Four-Year-Olds

Board games are a great way to get your four-year-old child to interact with other people. Video games can make them imaginative but should be played in moderation.

5. Hoot Owl Hoot

Hoot Owl Hoot is one of the most popular board games for four-year-olds. Developed by Peaceable Kingdom, this game has colored codes and encourages cooperative play.

What we like about it: This game is easy to play and has a simple strategy that encourages kids to work as a team. The game aims to help the owls fly back to their nest before sunset. It helps in developing the kids’ social interaction skills and instills the idea that when we work in a team, everyone wins.

Why the kids love it: There is no loser in this game. There are just winners if the kids succeed in moving the owls back to their nests. Also, there is no reading or writing involved, just thinking and executing!

Related: 11 Best Board Games For 3-Year-Olds In 2023

6. Cat In The Hat, I Can Do That!

This is an interesting board game based on Dr. Seuss’ book, The Cat in the Hat.

What we like about it: The name of the game itself says it – I Can Do That! This game lets the kids find out different things they can do for fun. The game can surprise your child and let them discover their latent talents. The game is designed to bring families and friends together.

Why the kids love it: Cat In The Hat, I Can Do That lets the children enjoy the book by Dr. Suess in a different yet entertaining, way. The game helps children better understand their abilities and helps build their confidence. Every time the kids say “I can do that” and complete a task, they are pushing their levels of confidence further up!

7. World of Zoo

There are several zoo simulator games, but none gets close to being as creative as this one.

What we like about it: Simulation games are always better than mindless video games with violence and action. World of Zoo is a zoo simulation game that teaches your children how to interact and build a relationship with the animal world. The game introduces the children to different animals, their natural habitat and their food habits. What’s best is that the game comes with National Geographic animal fact cards.

Why the kids love it: World of Zoo is a colorful video game that can be played on a PC as well. The animal editor feature lets the children interact with different animals and also lets them change their colors, patterns, and features to some extent, to create a unique animal.

8. My Lovely Farm

A colorful board game, My Lovely Farm takes your children to the world of farming, growing vegetables, and taking care of animals.

What we like about it: The game is more than just setting up a farm. There are three activities that the kids can indulge in – building the farm, creating puppets, and using fact cards to learn about farming, farm animals, benefits of vegetables, and so on. The kids can switch from one activity to the other if they are bored, and engage in imaginative play for hours.

Why the kids love it: Besides being able to build a farm of their own, the kids will also be able to color the animal cutouts, make puppets and have their own puppet shows with Mrs. Cow and Ms. Chicken as the hosts! Sounds fun, doesn’t it? Well, it is. Play with your kid, and we guarantee he’ll agree as well.

Related: Fruits And Vegetables For Kids: Importance, Benefits And Tips

9. Hi-Ho Cherry-O

Which parent wouldn’t want an educational game for their four-year-old kid? Well if you do, then here is one that could interest you.

What we like about it: Hi-Ho Cherry-O is a fun way to teach your little one basic math skills. The game is about picking cherries and putting them in the bucket. The more cherries they pick, the faster they can fill the bucket and win. As they play, children will be adding and subtracting numbers to count fruits and fill their buckets.

Why the kids love it: The game has an arrow-based spinner, four fruit baskets, a 9-piece puzzle, and ten fruit pieces each of blueberry, cherries, apples, and oranges. The game can be competitive and allows kids to have fun picking fruits and putting them in their tiny fruit baskets. The spinner, which is used in place of a pair of dice, is perhaps the most exciting component of the game.

Eight Simple Activities For Four-Year-Olds

This is the list of activities that will keep your four-year-olds busy and you happy.

10. Number rolling game

Rolling on the floor is silly, but it is fun when you are a four-year-old. Wondering what we are talking about? Keep reading.

Image: iStock

You will need:

• Post-it notes
• Pen
• Lots of space to play
• A clear wall or board

How to:

1. Clear some space in your living room or your child’s bedroom.
2. Take around 20 self-adhesive post-it notes and write a number each on them. Pick numbers between one and 20 and do not repeat a number.
3. Put the post-it notes on the floor, with the sticky side up.
4. As your girl to get the notes from the floor, without using her hands or feet. She can only get them with her body, which means she has to roll on the floor to get all the notes to stick to her.
5. Ask her to arrange the numbers on the wall, in the proper order.

Doesn’t it sound like a math lesson disguised as a fun activity? Well, it is!

11. Play acting

Play acting is an excellent way to teach children about different people or professionals they will come across. Think about a few pretend play options you can try with your kids. Some examples are:

Image: iStock

• Going to the supermarket
• Seeing a doctor
• At school
• At the airport
• On the road
• Visiting a friend’s house
• Cruising on a ship

Another great idea for play acting or make-believe skits is to act out a storybook. Let your child pick a storybook and the character he wants to be. Let the other kids or adults be the other characters (you can play multiple characters if there aren’t enough people).

The idea of playacting can be used to teach kids how to behave and how not to behave in different situations and spaces. You can also think about other scenarios besides the ones mentioned above, if you think it is relevant for your child’s age and temperament.

12. Book exploration

Book exploration is an excellent activity that we think can make reading a more interesting activity for a child. So how do you do this?

Image: iStock

• Take the child to a library and show them how it works. Be sure to tell them the thumb rule before entering the library: silence.
• Or go to a bookstore and let them explore different books there. You could sit and read for a bit and maybe buy a book for them too.
• Attend a book reading or storytelling session for children and let them experience the wonders of fiction and fantasy.

Make bedtime story reading a habit. When you read to them, they will develop an interest in books as well.

Point to consider

To make reading more exciting, change the place where you read. For example, read winter stories outside when it’s cold and use a flashlight in the dark when you have a Halloween book.

Related: 20 Interesting And Funny Reading Games For Kids

13. Nature walks

Image: iStock

A walk or hike in the woods is perhaps the best outdoor activities that you can indulge your child in. If you have a park or a national park nearby, make it a point to take your child there at least once a month or two. Some of the things you can try during such walks include:

• Bird watching
• Nature photography
• Drawing or sketching the landscapes

Your four-year-old may not be able to do much with a camera or paintbrush. At such times, you could just teach the little one to experience and enjoy the sounds of nature.

Quick tip

If you plan a long nature walk, keep wipes, water bottles, snacks, and sunscreen handy for your children. It will not ruin the adventure for them.

14. Touch and feel – sensory bag

Kids are so focused on seeing things, sometimes hearing, that they do not use their sense of touch for anything. This game focuses on just that – their sense of touch. You can use this game to help them identify objects by their shape, texture, and how soft or hard it is.

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

• A tote bag
• Objects of different shapes, size, and texture
• Blindfold cloth

How to:

• Pick objects such as a ball, comb, a pen, fruit, vegetable, toy, key, so on, and put them inside the bag.
• Blindfold the child and ask him to pick an object from the bag. The child has to use his hands to touch and feel the object and guess what it is. The other kids can give the child some clues about the object is and help them guess.
• Now ask the children to put their hand inside the bag, one at a time.
• If the kid guesses it right, he gets a point. Otherwise, he gets another chance to guess another object. The objects don’t go back into the bag once they are out.

Kids can take turns to play this game at parties, in classrooms and other community events.

15. Shadow tracing

A unique idea that can keep your child busy for hours, shadow tracing lets you use the everyday objects to create some art.

Image: iStock

You will need:

• Toilet paper rolls, tins or cardboard figures
• Glue
• Chart or drawing paper
• Pencil
• Space on the floor for the project

How to:

For this activity, you would need light, natural or otherwise, to create a shadow. Sunlight can be tricky, for you will need to trace the object faster, before the light moves and changes the angle.

1. Spread the drawing paper or chart paper flat on the floor, somewhere close to a window, where there is light.
2. Stack the toilet paper rolls to form the shape of a castle.
3. Using a pencil, trace the shadow of the toilet paper castle on the chart or drawing sheet.
4. Once done, replace the stack with some other object such as a tin can, a teddy bear, or anything else that can be traced clearly on the paper, solely by its shadow.

You can create as many such sketches as you want, in different sizes depending on the placement of the object and how far or close it is to the light.

Fun tip: Instead of inanimate objects, you can have people stand in the light and trace their shadow. So your child can trace you, your spouse or partner, or even a pet.

16. Drawing upside down

In this activity, the drawing is not going to be upside down. The artist will be! Wondering how that will work? Just keep reading, and we will tell you how.

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

• Drawing sheets
• Sketches or crayons
• Drawing pencils
• High chairs or dining table chairs

How to:

1. Cut the chart or drawing sheets into squares that fit under the seat of the chair.
2. You can outline the design on the sheet and stick them to make it easier for the kid.
3. Place a mat on the floor and give the kid some crayons or sketches.
4. Ask the kid to crawl under the chair, such that he or she is facing the drawing paper stuck to the bottom of the chair.
5. Use the crayons to draw or paint anything you want while looking upside down!

This is a fun activity and is best indulged in less often when your child is having one of the bad moods and needs a timeout.

Related: 7 Basic Drawing Ideas For Kids To Try In 2023

17. Painting with wheels

Painting and art are creative activities that boost your child’s imagination. This activity indulges in painting with car wheels and not brushes.

Image: iStock

You will need:

• 3-5 drawing sheets or chart sheets
• Toy cars, small ones
• Washable, organic paints
• Large bowls for mixing colors

How to:

1. Mix the paints on a large plate or tray. You can also use a big bowl if your cars are small enough.
2. Dip the tires of the toy car or truck in the paints and let you child move them along the drawing sheet or the floor, if you are okay with that.
3. Your children can just draw straight lines or can create designs with the tires.

This is a fun activity that the children can indulge in from time to time if you don’t mind the cleaning afterward.

1. Why are board games important for preschoolers?

Playing board games can activate brain parts involved in thinking and memory development. It can also help build logical and spatial reasoning. Preschoolers can learn to detect and identify patterns and letters through board games. These games also enhance gross and fine motor skills.

2. What do preschoolers learn from playing games?

Be it indoors or outdoors, children can learn and develop a lot from playing games. They learn to get along, collaborate, communicate, solve problems, and resolve disagreements while playing games with one another.

4-year-old children are like little photons. Channelizing their energies in the right direction can help them learn much while having fun. Rock-paper-scissors, play-acting, ABC maze, and nature walks are some all-time favorites. These games and activities have been handpicked keeping the skills, preferences, and developmental milestones of four-year-old children in mind (2). Keep in mind that each child has different preferences and skillsets. Hence, if the activities listed in this article seem too complicated or simple for your child, you may tweak them accordingly.

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Outdoor games for children from 4 years old

In this article we will analyze the rules of outdoor games for kids. Moreover, such games, many of which you probably have not even heard of.

Indeed: if your child is already 4 years old, then it’s time to think: what are some fun and at the same time useful outdoor games for children from 4 years old? After all, our help in organizing the game, the kids need much more than it might seem at first glance.

Toddlers are people who never get bored. They will always find something to do if they are not prevented from doing so. Sometimes even dangerous for themselves. But so that the child does not act outrageously and at the same time can throw out his unbridled energy, you can take him with an exciting outdoor game. And when you are dealing with many children of the same age group, then coming up with a common activity for them is already a necessity, because the game, like nothing else, will be able to organize the crowd. This is a great way to avoid skirmishes between the most restless boys and girls, moreover, the method is unobtrusive.

Outdoor relay games for children from 4 years old

A small group of children can be occupied with relay race games. When the number of guys in the company is even, then they can be divided into two teams. However, such games may even involve the presence of three or four teams, etc. It all depends on how it is more convenient to divide the participants. Only the equipment for such games (for example, hoops, balls, jump ropes) should be prepared in such a quantity that it corresponds to the number of teams.

Stilt jars and crowns

Because children love the unusual, they will love the toys made by their elders. So let’s roll up our sleeves and start creating. Low “stilts” can be made from two large cans. For aesthetic reasons, I advise you to paste over them with holographic wrapping paper or metallic colored paper. Then they will look like in a real circus! The bottom of the “stilted can” should be facing the child’s foot, and the open part should be towards the floor. On the sides, near the very bottom, it is necessary to make diametrically opposite holes and pass the rope through them. Its ends can be tied so that the knot is inside the jar. Or tie a knot at each end so that they stay inside. In this case, it will be possible to adjust the length of the rope depending on the height of the child. The baby should hold on to the middle of this rope with his hand.

Passing a certain distance (3-4 m) on such “stilts” can become one of the stages of the relay race. This task is quite difficult, and if there are children of different ages in the group, then this stage should be entrusted to the oldest of them. The smallest one can carry the ball all this distance or crawl on all fours with a crown on his head (of course, do not drop it). The crown can be made of cardboard and pasted over with the same paper as the “stilted cans”. For an older child, you can put a chair or a small table under which you need to crawl with this crown on your head.

Ball in a spoon

Another of the steps can be borrowed from folk fun for adults. I mean an egg to be carried in a wooden spoon, holding it in your mouth. Only the testicle will have to be replaced with a table tennis ball or a bouncy ball. This is especially true when the game takes place indoors, because then you don’t have to wash traces of broken eggs from the floor, carpets and furniture! Undoubtedly, it is easier to hold a jumper in a spoon than a light tennis ball. However, both burdens will be fun to ride as soon as the child misses them.

If you are afraid that the jumpers will cause injury, and someone will trip on the tennis balls, then wrap them with rigid foil. Then their “grip” with a spoon will become much better, and their “jumping” will decrease much. With such a ball, you can do more complex things. For example, without losing it from a spoon, crawl under a stretched rope or squeeze into a hoop, moving with a “goose step”.
The same hoop can be used for another task: put it on the floor and aim the ball at it. Until the child hits the center of the hoop from 3-4 meters, the stage will not be considered passed.

In general, show your imagination. The main thing is that these exercises are not dangerous for the guys.

Outdoor outdoor games for children aged 4+

Two goalkeepers

Of course, games like hockey or football are difficult for a child who is barely four years old. However, in a primitive form, you can show the child that the ball or puck must be scored into the goal. Then tell them that these very gates need to be defended, and show how the goalkeeper works. These elements can be turned into a game, gradually involving a boy, and maybe a girl, into the world of “adult” team games.

In the meantime, the children are still small, you can put two players – each in his own goal. First one attacks and the other defends the gate. Then they switch roles (but not places). You can play “to take off”, that is, as soon as one child scores a goal, he immediately goes to defend his goal, when the “loser” turns into an attacker, and so on. If you notice that one of the children is doing much better, you can change the conditions of the game. For each goal attack, a certain amount of time is allotted, for example, three minutes.

“Potato”

Alas, many people began to forget this wonderful ball game. But it is very close to the volleyball that we usually play on the beach. Just like that, without a grid, standing in a circle.

How is Potato different from this? The fact that the player who missed the ball sits in the center of the circle. He is a potato. When there are a lot of comrades in misfortune inside the circle, and there are few people passing the ball to each other, they command: “The potato is growing.” Then the “potatoes” begin to jump after the ball and intercept it. The one who manages to catch becomes a player again.

It turns out that Potato can be played almost endlessly. If you want to limit the “process” in some way, you can set rules. Either the game lasts for some time (as is customary in team games), or until a certain number of remaining players.

“Ring”

There are some games that don’t even need a ball. Even an ordinary stone from a plum or apricot can become an inventory for playing “Ringlet”. Although in the old days the main attribute of the game was an ordinary ring, which is where the name “Ring” came from.

So, at first, as always, we count. The one who is left is water! The rest sit on a bench or a log and fold their hands in front of them, palm to palm. At the water, the hands are folded similarly, only between the palms is a ring. He walks along the bench, spreads the palms of the players in turn with his folded palms and imperceptibly puts a ring on one of them. Having passed the whole row, the water commands: “Ring-ring, go out on the porch!” At the same time, the person who has the ring must break away and run away “to the house” (the place behind the water, you can draw a circle with chalk to designate it). If the rest of the players react quickly and catch the owner of the ring before he gets to the house, be water for this child. Former water becomes an ordinary player on the next round. If the child with the ring was able to run to the house, then it is considered that he “rescued out”, which means that the water remains the same as it was.

“Giant Steps”

We count again, choose water again. It is an honor to be in this game with water, because he is the manager of the ball or the traffic controller. Who likes it better. Participants stand in front of the water at a distance of about 10 m. Water commands everyone what steps and in what quantity to take.

Types of steps:

Half ants – move one foot half the length of the other. These are the shortest steps. But water can assign as many as 40 or even 100 of them. It is clear that this game teaches you to count and not stray.
Chanterelles – we put one foot in front of the other in one line, and so we sneak. Chanterelles are larger than half-ant steps, but still small.
Umbrellas – turning 180° with each step. These steps are big.
Human – the most common steps.
Giant – a step is made with a simultaneous jump forward.

In fact, everything here depends on the sympathy of the water. After all, if he likes someone among the players more, then one gigantic step will be assigned to him. Therefore, in the game, it is recommended, in addition to water, to appoint a judge who will monitor not only the execution of tasks, but also the water itself, so that he ensures a more or less uniform progress of the players.

Santa Manti

This game was once one of the most popular beach games. Why beach? Yes, because it is interesting to play it, imagining yourself as savages on the Limpopo River. You can even dress up for the occasion in grassy skirts.

All children stand in a circle. One child is appointed as the ringleader. Only water does not know this. All children rhythmically say “San-ti-ki, man-ti-ki, Lim-po-po … san-ti-ki, man-ti-ki, Lim-po-po …” and perform movements to this rhythm. For example, they clap their hands. The water enters the circle and tries to find who is the ringleader here. When the water turns away, the ringleader must change the movement that everyone repeats, for example, children begin to stomp their left foot or shake their right fist. Here, even twisting a finger at the temple is not forbidden, the main thing is to do it all together and in rhythm. You can also show “noses-noses”, but, again, in rhythm. After all, children portray savages, so you can afford a bit of bad manners.

If water guesses who is the ringleader, then he becomes water. The next con begins.

Of course, this game can be played in any environment: at home, in the yard, at school recess in the corridor (however, no one there will allow you to dress in savage clothes, you can, perhaps, put on beads, or you can do without them at all ). You don’t need a ball or a ring to play. Only cheerful mood.

“Mushroom Stuck”

This game is nothing more than modernized hide and seek with elements of the “Sea Figure”. Of course, it will be difficult for the smallest children to play “Mushroom stuck”, but for schoolchildren – just right.

Blindfolded water counts up to 20. During this time, everyone scatters around the site. Hiding behind obstacles is allowed. Having counted to 20, the water screams: “The mushroom stuck!”. After this command, each of the players freezes in the place where they were. The water goes to “gather mushrooms”. Whoever he reaches first becomes water. All other players can “unstick” from their seats. After that, the next round begins.

But what if the water does not find a single “mushroom”? This process can be limited in time. If, say, no one is caught in 10 minutes, you can start another horse with the same water.

“Merry Mousetraps”

This game is good when you need to take a squad or a kindergarten group for a walk. The children must be divided into two groups of equal size. One of them will be “mice”. They need to line up in a column “mouse” by “mouse”. Two or three circles should be made from the second group of children – it all depends on the number of children. These will be mousetraps. Those who form mousetraps must join hands.

On command: “The mousetrap is open”, the guys raise their hands. “Mice” run through all the “mousetraps” in turn. At the word of an adult: “Clap!” mousetraps are closed (the guys standing in circles drop their hands sharply). Mice that remain inside the circles are considered to be caught. They should stand in the circle where they are caught. The game ends when all the mice are caught. The mousetrap with the most mice is the winner. After this count, you can start another “round”. In this case, the teams of mice and mousetraps change roles.

“Brook”

Few people do not know this old game. But still, I dare to remind you. Children stand in pairs and, holding hands, raise them, forming a tunnel. One child left without a couple, actually a “brook”, goes into this tunnel and takes someone by the hand, leading them out through the tunnel. They stand in a pair at the end of the entire “system”. The child left without a couple goes outside the tunnel to the beginning and becomes a new “brook”. Again sneaks into the “tunnel” and finds a mate. And so on.

If it turns out that there are an even number of children, no one bothers to “launch” two “streams” into the tunnel at once: one child after another. If there are already a lot of children, you can let three or four people in this way. The faster the pace of the game, the more fun it is!

We know such a variety of outdoor games for children from 4 years old. It is best, of course, to play them on the street. But you can also indoors. What are you playing? Tell in the comments!

Games for children 3-4 years old ✅ IQsha.ru Blog

Children aged 3-4 are like nimble little rockets who are always ready to play and have fun! It is very important to be able to direct this seething energy in the right direction and keep the kids busy so that their games are not only fun, but also educational!

We offer you 25 different and useful games for the development of coordination and fine motor skills, memory and speech, attention and imagination, logic and thinking. In the article you will find both active games for the street, and calmer ones for indoor activities. We are sure that children will appreciate your desire to diversify their evenings!

Let us remind you of an important condition for developing games – a good mood of the child and his desire to participate in them. Always praise the baby for success, encourage if something does not work out right away. Remember that at the age of 3-4 years, it is still difficult for children to keep their attention on one lesson for a long time. Therefore, if the child is tired, let him rest or change the activity from active to more calm.

Games for children 3 years old

Game 1. “Trap”

Take a skein of thick thread and together with the child build a “trap” – threads stretched in different directions, like a web. You can attach small bells in different places of the “network”. The task of the players is to get through the trap without touching the threads and the bell. If this task seems easy, make it harder and play fast! Prepare a small prize for the fastest and smartest participant.

Children really like this game, it does not require careful and long preparation, it can be played both at home and on the street.

Game 2. “What’s in the palms?”

You will need 15-20 small items (chips, sticks, badges, cubes, circles) in three colors that are already familiar to the child.

The task is simple – having hidden a thing in the hand, we ask: “Not yellow and not blue, which one?”. If the kid answers correctly, the subject goes to him, if not, it remains with the leader. The one who collects the most trophies wins. You can deliberately confuse the baby, name other colors and signs, for example, shape and size, use not three, but 4-5 colors. Focus on your child’s knowledge and be sure to switch roles so that the baby is the leader.

This game helps to consolidate the knowledge of colors, develops attention and observation, teaches analysis.

Game 3. “Who has it?”

A good game for the development of speech, observation, and consolidation of knowledge. The adult lists the items, and the child names to whom they may belong. For example: “Who has a ladle, an apron, a knife and a cap?” (cook) or “Who has a big shell and small paws that can’t run?” (turtle).

Game 4. “Trains”

This fun outdoor game is suitable for children who don’t like competition.

Have them pretend to be a train lined up one behind the other. The essence of the game is to repeat all the movements of the first player, who can walk smoothly, jump from place to place, turn in different directions, step backwards, dance, and so on. Make sure that everyone can become a helmsman.

This game is best played outdoors, but if there are few children, it can also be played at home.

Game 5. Monkeys

Another game of movement repetition. But it is more involved in facial expressions, and not the body.

Tell the little ones that monkeys are very fond of making faces and repeating movements one after another. Invite the children to be these animals and play! Let one child repeat the movements for an adult or come up with grimaces himself, and all the other players repeat after him. Do not forget to change the leader or play in pairs if there are a lot of children.

Game 6. “Height”

Great idea for indoor and outdoor play. Prepare a rope or cord and lay it out in a line. This will be your road over the abyss. At the end of the cord, place a plate or box that will contain a prize (an apple, a lollipop, a ball, or any other pleasant surprise). The task of the baby is to carefully walk along the rope, keeping balance and not falling. While the child is trying to pass the test, encourage him with words, let him feel the support of the fans! It is even more interesting to play with teams at speed. If everyone copes easily, make the path over the abyss not a straight line, but a winding one.

This game develops the coordination of toddlers’ movements and brings a lot of fun and good mood!

Game 7. “Magic Threads”

This is a great game for developing imagination, as well as strengthening knowledge about colors and shapes. Show how to lay out the contours of various objects and shapes using threads or laces of different colors. And then offer to lay out the sun, a flower or a house, a cloud or a bird outline on your own, first in one color, and then in several.

Game 8. “Rain”

Another variant of the game with threads or laces. Together with your child, draw clouds on thick cardboard. Under them, using scissors or an awl, make small holes through which the child must thread the thread or cord to make short stitches-strips of rain.

Game 9. “Funny grains”

An excellent option for developing fine motor skills, and imagination, and sensory perception. The task is simple – pour semolina or any other small cereal into a flat dish or tray with a thin even layer.

Then invite the child to draw familiar figures and drawings on such a “canvas” with their finger. In the beginning, these will be simple images: a house, the sun, a cloud, and then you can complicate the task.

When your baby is a little older, learn letters and numbers with this game.

Game 10. Gossamer

Take a cardboard box and make a few holes in each of its sides. Then invite the baby to weave a cobweb, threading multi-colored threads through the resulting holes. Use threads or laces of different thickness, color and length. You can diversify the game by simply putting small objects on the bottom of the box. When the web is ready, use tweezers or fingers to remove the remaining things from the bottom of the box.

Game 11. “Guess”

The essence of the game is to guess with closed eyes what the presenter has put in his hand. Pick up small objects of different shapes and different materials. If the child speaks well, invite him to voice his thoughts, for example: “This is something wooden, rough, hard and with sharp corners. I think it’s a cube.”

Memorize the picture

Guess the sound

Game 12. “Shape search”

The task is simple – to cut out paper of different textures (plain, cardboard, circle, geometric, newspaper): , triangle, rectangle, oval. Then blindfold the baby and ask to feel with your fingers to find all the circles or other shapes. For children 4 years old, you can prepare more complex options (polygons, trapezoids, rhombuses).

Games for children 4 years old

Game 13. “I can’t see and I can’t hear”

This is an excellent outdoor game for two or more players, which children really like. Rules: when the host says “I don’t see”, the players run, jump, frolic, but in absolute silence. If someone makes a sound, he loses. If the host says “I can’t hear”, then the players can and should make noise, shout, sing, laugh, but stand in one place. Who moved – lost.

The game is more suitable for the street, so that children can run and scream to their heart’s content without disturbing the neighbors.

Game 14. “Colored paints”

This is a wonderful game to reinforce the knowledge of colors and their shades. It requires a minimum of three participants.

We are sure that many parents will remember the rules! You need to draw a line (or lay a rope or string), on one side of which stands the leader, and on the other, the players. The host turns his back, calls any color and turns back. Whoever has this color on their clothes easily crosses to the other side, while the rest of the participants must run across until the leader grabs them. Which of the players he caught takes the lead.

Game 15: Obstacle course

This game will require a little preparation, as you need to create “difficulties” for the children to overcome. It is best to play in a company or even in teams for speed.

Focusing on the interests of the baby, create an obstacle course (chairs to crawl under, a tunnel of pillows, leaves that will save you from the lava river, and so on). The theme can be different, for example, hunting for dinosaurs, rescuing a princess from a dragon, jungle, a pirate island and any other fantasies.

If teams are playing, you can prepare the main prize for the winners and incentive for the losers. But the most important reward in Obstacle Course will be a great mood and a boost of energy!

Game 16.

Again and again

An excellent game that develops classification and analysis skills.

You will need cards with pictures of animals, plants, furniture, flowers, vehicles, and things that can be classified.

The essence of the game is to lay out all the pictures in front of the child, for example, with furniture and ask them to separate small objects from large ones, then wooden ones from plastic ones, and so on. The more you find options for analysis and comparison, the better.

Game 17. What’s on your mind?

Purpose of fun: fun and interesting to develop attention, auditory perception, speech.

Prepare some simple pictures with different content and ask the child to choose one, but do not say which one. Then the adult asks questions to guess which image was chosen, and the child answers either yes or no. For example: “Is there a person in this picture?”, “Is there a yellow color in a person’s clothes?”. Then switch roles – who will complete the task faster?

Ready-made pictures or animal pictures can be purchased at any bookstore or made by cutting them out of magazines.

Game 18. “Mysterious actions”

Two or more people are playing who need to understand what the leader is showing with his gestures or actions. For example, an adult pinches his nose, closes his eyes and crouches – this is diving into the water. You can guess any real objects or activities: writing, swimming, sleeping, hammering, and so on. The facilitator can prepare possible options in advance and write them down on cards. The winner is the participant who named the correct answers faster than the rest.

Game 19. “Who can do that?”

Another interesting game for the development of speech. The task is simple – to quickly guess what the other players are talking about. The facilitator describes an object, person or character, for example: “This is a small metal object that makes a thin sound. Such small objects are often hung around the pet’s neck” (bell).

The game helps to consolidate any acquired knowledge: about professions, transport, plants, animals, seasons and many other objects and phenomena.

Game 20. “Comparisons”

An adult shows two objects to a child and asks them to tell them what are their similarities and differences. For example: “Here is a ball and a balloon of different colors, compare them!”. Similarity – both objects are round in shape. Differences: color, material. The more signs the baby names, the better. Gradually make the task more difficult by matching similar objects, for example, cubes of the same color, but slightly different in size. You can also increase the number of compared items.

This game is great for developing attention and improving classification and analysis skills.

Repeat the pattern

The same pictures

Two identical items

Game 21. “Questions-fasteners”

The essence of the game is to answer various questions that the adult. These can be both funny questions, and cognitive and reinforcing. For example: “Are there thunderstorms in winter?”, “What color is the sun?” or “Why do you need to eat?”.

The game develops speech and memory, as well as generalization skills and is suitable for quiet family evenings.

Game 22. “Teams”

An interesting calm game for the development of speech. The host prepares funny commands in advance: “Sit down, those who love compote”, “Close one eye, those who drank juice today,” and so on. Fun is suitable for dating in a new company, because it allows you to find out the interests of new friends and create a fun atmosphere.

Game 23. “Signals”

A very interesting game that develops attention and concentration, as well as improves memory. The task is simple – the host prepares “signals” in advance (any cardboard figures of different colors) and shows them to the children. Each color denotes some kind of action, for example, yellow – stand still, red – sit down, blue – raise your hands up. Show these signals to the players in random order. Gradually complicate the task and say commands, showing cards of a different color. The winner is the one who did not get confused and correctly followed the signals.

Game 24. Collecting toys

Educational games for children 4 years old: an excellent active game that helps not only develop attention and memory, but also quickly clean the room! It is desirable that there are at least two participants in the game in order to get a competition.

Take a few items and spread them around the room in different places (or just voice out what to look for). Children need to find all the things as soon as possible and put them in a drawer or basket. The one who comes first wins.

Then make the task more difficult and offer to continue the search, standing on one leg, flapping, walking in single file or crawling.

What objects were in the picture?

Game 25 “Pattern cover”

Classes for children 3 years old can be carried out using available items. Make a few holes on a sheet of cardboard and invite the baby to make a patterned cover with multi-colored threads or lace.