Paper Activites for Ages 3-5

[Abigail]

I have a filing cabinet that I want to add a few extra folders of paper activities for 3-5 year old do be able to do. Crafts will never be just coloring in a coloring book, but I want something they can do for fun that is age appropriate for non-readers. Here are my ideas, please add more!

Hidden Pictures: I'm going to print off some hidden picture images so they can find the hidden image and circle it or color it. http://www.highlightskids.com/Gamesa...denArchive.asp

Word Finds: I could either find some EASY ones online or create a few with words like DOG, CAT, FISH, etc and make them all written across so they only need to find the order from left-right.....do you think this is too difficult? I would only have it be like 8 by 8 letters and print them big.

Matching Games: Have baby animals on the left and adult animals on the right for them to match. Have a name to an object match.

Writing Letters: Have the letter on the left and have a few spaces for them to practice on the right.


I'm really looking for just a few ideas to have for rainy days because we do some word finds at the daycare I work at but only school age children do these. I only take children up to K, so I need to make it EASY. Thanks for any ideas in advance!

[Lilbutterflie]

Have you thought about preschool workbooks? I use BrainQuest Pre-K, which is a 310 page workbook for ages 4-5. It was $10 with free shipping on Amazon, but in my opinion it was much cheaper than printing workbook-type pages on my computer for 300 pages worth. And the quality is better, and so many different types of pages! I bought one each for all of my pre-readers. Plus, it's a great tool to show the parents how they are coming along through the book. I haven't found a great workbook yet for ages 2-3, so I still print stuff off of my computer for that age group.

[MarinaVanessa]

I was going to suggest that also. I have these great workbooks called "Getting Ready for Pre-K" and "Getting Ready for Kindergarten" that has great worksheets about letters, numbers, drawing, tracing, writing, colors, shapes, getting dressed, washing up and following directions. I incorporate it with my daily activites. I just scan the page and make copies and keep the original workbook unused. My daughter loved these books.

[kitkat]

Do you trust them with dry erase boards and markers? My kids love to draw on them, but you could also incorporate making letters/shapes on them or just about anything.

I would skip the word finds, especially if the kids aren't reading on their own yet. DS is 5.5, in 1st grade, and reading at a 2nd-3rd grade level and he still struggles with the easy word finds. Instead of a word find, you could do a letter find. Have the kids circle all the a's they see. Dcg is almost 5 and has enjoyed doing that since about 3.5.

Any type of file folder game would be a great addition! For the older kids, you could have them match upper and lower case letters.

I also do workbook pages for ages 3-5. The kids seem to love the type where you have to find a certain number of things (#3, find 3 cows, 3 butterflies, etc).

[grandmom]

filefolderfun.com is a great website too.