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DEVELOPMENTAL
ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN AGES 3 TO AGE 4
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What should you expect of children
from 3 to 4 years old?
Children this age...
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Start to play with other children, instead
of next to them.
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Are more likely to take turns and share.
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Are friendly and giving.
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Begin to understand that other people have
feelings and rights.
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Like silly humor, riddles, and practical jokes.
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Like to please and to conform.
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Generally become more cooperative and enjoy
new experiences.
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Are increasingly self-reliant and probably
can dress without help (except for buttons and shoelaces).
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May develop fears (Mommy, there's a monster
under my bed.) and have imaginary companions.
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Are more graceful physically than 2-year-olds
and love to run, skip, jump with both feet, catch a ball, climb downstairs,
and dance to music.
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Are great talkers, speak in sentences, and
continue to add more words to their vocabularies.
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Have greater control over hand and arm muscles,
which is reflected in their drawings and scribblings.
What do 3 and 4 years old children
need?
Children this age require
opportunities to...
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Develop their blooming language abilities
through books, games, songs, science, and art activities.
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Develop more self-help skills--for example,
to dress and undress themselves.
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Draw with crayons, work puzzles, build things,
and pretend.
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Play with other children so they can learn
to listen, take turns, and share.
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Develop more physical coordination--for example,
by hopping on both feet.
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Scribble, Paint,
and Paste
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Young children are natural
artists. Here are some activities that introduce preschoolers to scribbling,
painting, and pasting.
What you'll need are...
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For scribbling: crayons, water-soluble
felt-tipped markers, different kinds of paper (including construction paper,
butcher paper), and tape.
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For fingerpainting: store-bought fingerpaint
or homemade fingerpaint made with soap flakes, water, food coloring or
powdered tempera; an eggbeater or fork; a bowl; a spoon; an apron or smock;
newspapers or a large piece of plastic to cover the floor or table; butcher
paper; and tape.
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For collages: paper, paste, blunt-tipped
scissors, fabric scraps or objects that can be glued to paper (string,
cottonballs, sticks, yarn).
Now, here's what to do!
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Scribbling. Give your child different
kinds of paper and different writing materials to scribble with. Coloring
books are not needed. Fat crayons are good to begin with. Water-soluble
felt-tipped marking pens are fun because your child doesn't have to use
much pressure to get a bright color. Tape a large piece of butcher paper
onto a table top and let your preschooler scribble to her heart's content!
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Fingerpainting. Use store-bought fingerpaint,
or make your own by mixing soap flakes (not detergent) in a bowl with a
small amount of water. Beat the mixture with a fork or eggbeater. Add powdered
tempera paint or food coloring. Spread out newspapers or a large piece
of plastic over a table or on the floor and tape a big piece of construction
paper or butcher paper on top. Cover your child with a large smock or apron,
and let her fingerpaint.
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Collages. Have your child paste fabric
scraps or other objects such as yarn, string, or cottonballs to the paper
(in any pattern). Let her feel the different textures and tell you about
them.
Here are a few tips about introducing
your preschoolers to art:
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Supervise carefully. Some children would rather
color your walls than the paper. Some also like to chew on crayons and
markers or try to drink the paint.
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Don't tell them what to draw or paint.
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Don't fix up their pictures. It will take
lots of practice before you can recognize their pictures--and that often
doesn't happen until after they are in kindergarten.
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Give them lots of different materials to work
with. Parents can demonstrate new types of art materials.
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Find an art activity that's at the right level
for your child, then let him do as much of the project as possible.
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Ask your preschooler to talk about his picture.
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Display your child's art prominently in your
home.
Art projects can spark young imaginations
and help children to express themselves. These projects also help children
to develop the eye and hand coordination they will later need to learn
to write. |
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Kitchen Cut-Ups
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Here are some recipes popular
with preschoolers. Things always seem to taste better when you make them
yourself!
What you'll need are...
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Knife
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For applewiches: 1 apple, cheese slices
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For funny-face sandwich: 1 piece of
bread; peanut butter, cream cheese, or egg salad; green pepper, celery,
radishes, carrot curls; olives; nuts; hard-boiled egg slices; tiny shapes
of cheese; apples and raisins
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For fruit Popsicles: fruit juice (any
kind), an ice cube tray or small paper cups, yogurt, mashed or crushed
fruit, Popsicle sticks
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For bumps on a log: celery, peanut
butter, raisins
And here's what to do!
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Choose a safe spot to cook where you won't
have to worry about making a mess.
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Tell your child what the ingredients are.
Talk about what you are doing as you go along. Ask and answer questions.
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Let him smell, taste, and touch as you go.
Let him (with your help) pour, stir, measure, and help clean up.
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Applewiches. Core an apple. Cut the
apple crosswise into thick slices. Put cheese slices between the slices.
Cheddar cheese is particularly good. Eat like a sandwich.
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Funny-face sandwich. Cut the bread
into a circle. Spread with cream cheese, peanut butter, or egg salad. Decorate
using green pepper, celery, radishes, carrot curls, olives, nuts, hard-boiled
egg slices, tiny shapes of cheese, apples, or raisins for eyes, ears, nose,
and mouth.
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Fruit Popsicles. Pour the fruit juice
into small paper cups or an ice cube tray. Place a Popsicle stick in each
cup or compartment before the juice is completely frozen. Return to the
freezer until frozen solid. For variations, mix yogurt with the juice before
freezing for a creamier Popsicle, or add mashed or crushed fruit such as
strawberries, pineapple, or banana.
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Bumps on a log. Spread peanut butter
on the celery stalks. Decorate with raisins. Great snacks!
Cooking helps children learn new words, measuring
and number skills, what foods are healthy and what ones aren't, and the
importance of completing what they begin. It also teaches about how things
change, and it can teach children to reason better. (If I want a cold
fruit juice Popsicle, then I'll have to put it in the freezer.) |
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Chores!
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Any household task can become
a good learning game and can be fun. What you need are some jobs that need
to get done around the home, such as:
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Doing the laundry.
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Washing and drying dishes.
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Carrying out the garbage.
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Setting the dinner table.
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Dusting.
Here is what you should do!
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Tell your child about the job you will do
together. Explain why the family needs the job done. Describe how you will
do it and how your child can help.
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Teach your child new words that belong to
each job. Let's put the placemats on the table, along with the napkins.
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Doing laundry together provides many opportunities
to learn. Ask your child to help you remember all the clothes that need
to be washed. See how many things he can name. Socks? T-shirts? Pajamas?
Have him help you gather all the dirty clothes. Have your child help you
make piles of light and dark colors.
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Show your child how to measure out the soap,
and have him pour the soap into the machine. Let him put the items into
the machine, naming them. Keep out one sock. When the washer is filled
with water, take out a sock. Let your child hold the wet sock and the one
you kept out. Ask him which one feels heavier and which one feels lighter.
After the wash is done, have your child sort his own things into piles
that are the same (for example, T-shirts, socks).
Home chores can help children learn new words,
how to listen and follow directions, how to count, and how to sort. Chores
can also help children improve their physical coordination and learn responsibility. |
| Article Source - U.S. Department
of Education. |
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Do
A Dot Dabbers
No-Mess
Painting
Do-A-Dot paint dabbers are similar
to bingo dabbers, but Do-A-Dot dabbers contain kid friendly non-toxic paint.
Do-A-Dot is a big hit in
daycare and preschool settings because they are the no mess way to paint!
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Rubber
Stamping
A
Classic Activity
We don't need to tell you, rubber
stamping is a fun and creative activity. Teachers, daycare providers and
concerned parents use stamping to stimulate imagination, develop coordination,
and introduce arts and crafts.
The rubber stamp sets and
washable inks we feature are manufactured for schools, but are great for
home use as well!
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Explore
The World
Science
And Nature
Fun ways for children to learn
about the world around them. Great gifts for budding nature lovers and
young scientists.
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Not
Made In China
We know many people have concerns
about products made in China. Although many of the products we sell are
manufactured there, we have listed all of the items we sell that are not
made in China on one easy to read web page for you.
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specialty toys, games, gifts, puzzles, learning aids and more. If you need
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