Independence activities for preschool: Bright Horizons | From Our Blog: 10 Activities to Encourage Preschool Independence

Bright Horizons | From Our Blog: 10 Activities to Encourage Preschool Independence

Blog posted by
Bright Horizons
on December 20, 2021

Like with learning any new skill, independence-building activities can take more time to get done. There can be mistakes or accidents that require starting over or cleaning up. They may cause frustration and even temper tantrums or outbursts. They are not always practiced at the most opportune times (i.e. when you need to get to work or an important appointment). I learned these truths the hard way. When Olivia was little, I often took over when she failed the first time. If we were in a hurry, I would tell her “not right now” when she wanted to do something for herself. I often sighed when a spill happened.

I’ve since learned how important it is for preschoolers to practice independence skills and for me to practice my patience. I’ve witnessed the long-term benefits and, trust me, they are worth the extra time upfront. Here are some good preschool independence activities to start with. 

1. Picking out clothes. This is a great activity to do at night before bed, especially if the morning is busy. You can also have children pick out clothes for the whole week on Sunday. Fashion battles may happen, but it’s a good learning experience for everyone.
2. Getting themselves dressed. We’re still trying to master this one. Owen gets very distracted or, rather, is a master of avoidance. I’m thinking an incentive or reward system may be needed soon in this area.
3. Preparing breakfast or lunch. Mornings are busy in our house and I love that Owen is now able to participate in breakfast preparation. Over time, we’ve been showing him how to get his own breakfast and he has now mastered making waffles in the toaster oven, getting his cereal ready – including pouring the milk, and spreading butter on toast. One challenge is helping him learn what is considered a proper breakfast food (i. e. lollipops are not okay).
4. Preparing toothbrush and brushing teeth. Having an older sister has helped in this area. The kids brush their teeth together so Owen has quickly learned how to put toothpaste on his brush, how to brush every tooth, and how to clean up after.
5. Setting table or cleaning up the table after a meal. Giving the kids a role in the family meal is not only great for building independence, but it also models the value of everyone pitching in with chores. We started by having Owen simply bring his plate over to the counter near to the sink. Over time, that has expanded to clearing his plate in the trash, bringing our plates over and putting condiments away.
6. Putting away toys. This one can be a struggle, especially when the playroom looks as if a tornado hit it. But we try to make this a priority as much as possible – and do it together! And you can easily make a game out of it – “Whoever gets a bin filled up, gets a hug!”
7. Cleaning room – making bed, dusting, putting away laundry.  I’m now a firm believer in getting kids started early with chores – there are lots of chores that kids can help do. We struggle to motivate Olivia to pick up her room – I’m guessing it’s because I always did it for her.
8. Getting bath ready, washing body and hair, putting on pajamas. This is one where we’ve always encouraged Olivia to take an active role in and now she pretty much does this without any guidance from us – except gentle reminders to get out of shower after 30+ minutes.
9. Putting away coats, shoes, backpacks, lunchboxes when entering the house. We have an entryway that can quickly become a dumping ground for the kids’ stuff. We encourage both kids to hang coats, put away shoes, empty lunchbox containers into sink and stow backpacks.
10. Taking care of a pet. Feeding the dog/cat/fish, filling water bowls or cleaning fish bowls, walking the dog, giving pets a bath – there are so many responsibilities that preschoolers can take on when caring for a pet. An added benefit is that they learn about compassion and caring for others.

In our family, having out preschooler do all these all of the time just isn’t realistic. We’d need 80+ hours in a day. But we do our best as often as we can because we’ve learned that encouraging preschool independence skills now has an amazing pay-off down the road.
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17 Independent Play Ideas for Preschoolers

By Alissa Marquess Zorn on October 18, 2013 (updated September 15, 2020)

Independent play is a great way for your little ones to keep themselves occupied at any time of the day. Solitary play is a great way to keep kids occupied, but also to build valuable skills surrounding independence and creativity.

These independent play ideas are great to have ready to go so you can pull one out when you need your preschooler (or older toddler….or kindergartener…) to be happily occupied for 10 minutes or so – maybe longer if you’re lucky! After we run through these ideas, we’ll cover all the ways that this type of play can be beneficial for your young child.

17 Independent Preschooler Activities:

1. Play dough filled balloons– I love the idea of the sensory experience of play dough without the accompanying crumbles of play dough all over.  At The Chaos and the Clutter I found tips for filling balloons with play dough and recommendations for other sensory balloon fillings.

2. Forts and other Cozy Spots – suggest a new space to make a fort and grab a pile of blankets or pillows for construction.  The other day we had a very snug house happening under the dining room table.

3. Write and wipe books– We have this Crayola Dry Erase ABC Activity Book (Amazon affiliate) which is nice because it contains enough pages with space for drawing as well as the letter pages.

4. New magnets for the Magnadoodle (Amazon affiliate) – If you save those thin flat magnets that come stuck on phone books and junk mail you can cut custom shapes from them for your board.   My daughter also enjoys trying to trace items like an upside down cup on her Magnadoodle.

5. Rubberbands and a Geoboard(Amazon affiliate) – Preschoolers love the fine motor challenge of creating pictures with rubberbands on these boards and they continue to be entertaining for years.

6. Audio Books– The library is a great source for picture books along with a recording.  Some kids find wearing headphones a novel and fun experience too.

7. Looking through toy catalogs– nope, you’re not saying you’ll buy anything, just giving them a happy time imagining playing with all of the different toys.  I tell my kids, “Circle what you like to put it on your wishlist!”

8. Pipe cleaners and beads – sometimes we add a collander into the mix too.  Adding different sized beads can add another level of

9. Rubber Stamps– I highly recommend Washable Ink (Amazon link)! Stamp ideas:

• • Get out a large sheet of paper and a few stamps and have your preschooler go to town.
  • Draw a shape, number or letter and ask them to fill it with stamps
  • Give them stamps and markers to decorate a cardboard box.
  • Ask them to stamp on a card to send to a loved one far away.

10. Pattern Blocks– Pattern blocksare fun with or without a pattern card. If you have a light table you can get translucent blocks which look great lit up from underneath.

11. Sorting treasures – Gather a collection of small empty boxes and a handful of your unwanted jewelry, glass stones, old keys…you know treasures and let your child look through and sort as they like.

12. Poker Chips– the clay filled chips have a satisfying heft and kids enjoy fitting them into the slot of an empty wipes container or sorting them into piles – similarly, putting coins in a piggy bank can be very engrossing.

13. Matching Nuts and bolts – At the hardware store choose five or six different sized bolts with matching nuts.   Let your child sort which goes with which.

14. Quiet reading- Or perhaps I should say “quiet picture book looking” This may take time to develop as a habit, but it’s one worth working on.  Seek and find books, textured books, and books with lush detailed illustrations are a big hit.

15. File Folder Games– Many of these printables are free and can be done independently by a preschooler.  Find a huge directory of all sorts of file filder games at Ideas for Preschoolersand find puzzles, matching and sorting games at Montessori Printshop.

16. Sensory Bin: We’ve talked about a bunch of sensory play ideas in this article. There are numerous toys to provide all types of sensory experiences. So why not give your kid the choice? Make a play bin and fill it with sensory experiences. Your child can have fun picking their favorite toys, and it can add some variety to your child’s play time as well!

17. Blocks:Why not go with the classics blocks? These are such simple toys for toddlers. They can have fun stacking, building, and playing. They’re big and easy to stack, and your toddler can exercise their imagination.

Want more preschool activity ideas?

• Here are our favorite preschool games.
• Our picks for preschool outdoor toys
• And a bunch of sensory activities that are simple to set up.

Now that we’ve covered our favorite independent activities, let’s check out some reasons why independent play is so great for early childhood development. There are numerous reasons why solo play will benefit kids, and why they might enjoy it so much:

Imagination

The first benefit to independent play is it encourages imagination! Your kids have the freedom to define play time exactly by their own rules! The only limit to what they can do is their imagination, and you’d be surprised what they come up with. Imaginative play is great for developing minds, and showing young kids that all they need to have a fun playtime is a little creativity. These independent play ideas help to spur this creativity.

Fun

Independent play is just plain fun! Sometimes, kids are perfectly content occupying themselves for a while. Just give them the tools to do it, like any of our ideas above. Kids love independent play because they make the rules, which allows them to have fun in exactly the way they want.

Builds Self-Sufficiency

Independent play builds self-sufficiency as well. Whether they realize it or not, kids will begin to understand that they don’t have to rely on anyone to create their fun. They are capable of completing tasks all on their own, and they can do it all while having a great time! Play time is underlooked for all of the benefits it provides to a young child, and this extends to solitary play as well.

Builds PhysicalSkills

Independent play builds valuable physical skills for a child’s development. Playing with precise objects and building things will allow children to develop their fine motor skills and dexterity. They learn how to be precise, and how to build something in accordance with a plan. So while it may just seem like simple play-time, independent play can help significantly with a child’s development.

Remember: Mix It Up

Remember, independent play is great, but it’s just one part of a well-balanced routine for any toddler. Make sure that they engage in social play as well. Independent play is excellent for building independence, but your child needs to learn to play with others so that they can form friendships and learn about cooperation (amongst other skills). Incorporate independent play whenever you can, but be sure to mix it up, and be sure that your child engages in all kinds of play!

Thanks so much for reading our guide to independent play! We know that it’s not always easy to keep a toddler occupied and entertained. But we hope that, by using our list, you can find some go-to activities that your little one will love!

More ideas for Simple play for preschoolers can be found in my collaborative ebook: Three to Five: Playful Preschool

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Amateur art show / Events / Kindergarten / Kindergarten №1 Kasimov

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Municipal budgetary preschool educational institution “Kindergarten No. 1”

Amateur art show

February 17, 2020, on the basis of the House of Children’s Creativity, a review of amateur art performances of educational institutions dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War was held.
Employees of our kindergarten: Dudchenko Natalya Pavlovna, Shirokova Tatyana Sergeevna, Kulmyakova Kristina Anatolyevna took part in the review.
They performed the song “Azakaty scarlet ..” to the words of N. Ososhnik, music by V. Ososhnik

Published: 17.02.2020 | Views: 328

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