This Pre-Kindergarten Toy and Activity Guide for four-year-olds is a must-have reference and starting point for selecting developmentally appropriate toys (DAP) and activities for children 48 through 60 months. The key to choosing pre-kindergarten toys is understanding their basic abilities and preferences as they grow. These abilities and preferences are important in attracting and motivating preschoolers and four-year-olds to engage with toys because true learning and retention only come through engagement.
So, how do we pick the right pre-kindergarten toys for four-year-olds? This is where we need to look at age as a GUIDELINE to selecting toys. The U.S. Product & Safety Commission (CPSC) and international ASTM are the organizations that oversee toy regulations and keep products safe for our kids. They have developed these regulations by categorizing toys by the child’s age. However, the age was determined by the abilities and preferences of typically developing children, and it is well known that children develop abilities at different rates. So, as you select toys for your child, please look at age as a guide and abilities and preferences as a better indicator.
From the moment they are born, infants start acquiring information from their physical senses, learning from what they see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. Ideal child development is based on feeling safe, secure, and loved, which is true for toddlers. This pre-kindergarten and four-year-old Toys and Activities Guide will take parents through toys and activities for their children from forty-seven through sixty months, going through physical, cognitive, language, and social-emotional development. It is based on early childhood whole-child education, which allows children to learn in many different areas simultaneously. Play is important in helping a four-year-old achieve important developmental milestones. So, what exactly does play look like for a pre-kindergartener forty-seven through sixty months old?
Table of contents
What Play Means for Pre-Kindergarten and Four-Year-Olds:
Four-year-olds, pre-kindergarteners, are getting ready to enter Kindergarten. So, this year is full of preparatory work and skill development work. They will be learning the letters of their name, names of the alphabet, numbers, colors, and shapes. Fine motor skills include using scissors, lacing beads, holding, and writing a pencil. Pretend play is well-established for pre-kindergarten and four-year-olds. Drama and pretend, also known as symbolic play, consume their social play. They build upon each other’s play themes, creating and coordinating several roles in elaborate scenarios.
At this age, they are still having difficulty in understanding the difference between fantasy and reality. This is important because they may believe monsters are real. They become interested in color variations and using simple art materials. They understand the purpose of numbers in counting objects. The preschooler is more interested in structured games and can now take turns. Their fine motor skills can take on the challenge of more complex building play, combining smaller pieces, and engaging in various art activities. Their gross motor activity increases, and they enjoy tip-toeing, balancing on one foot, hopping, kicking, or catching a large ball.
Pre-Kindergarten Toys
At four years old, children tend to prefer toys with realistic details and working parts. They start showing more interest in dramatic and pretend play, and by the age of five, they reach the peak period for dramatic play with various props. They also become more interested in puppet play and putting on shows. Additionally, they engage in more construction activities, often with a specific plan or goal in mind. At this age, they also show a peak interest in play scenes, small figures, and cars. Most children in this age group can start using toys with smaller components. However, if a child is still mouthing objects, it’s best to select toys with larger components.
Pre-Kindergarten Activities
At this age, four-year-olds are learning about sharing and taking turns as they begin to understand the concept of fair play. They are not yet ready for competitive play because they dislike losing. Pre-kindergarteners enjoy looking at books and listening to stories. They are dancing and developing performances with musical instruments, props, or skits.
Toy Categories for Pre-Kindergarteners and Four-Year-Olds
This website has categories set up for children of all ages. Pre-kindergarten toys and activities should be chosen according to the child’s abilities rather than their age. Research has shown that abilities develop at different rates and are difficult to distinguish into defined play categories. Your child may excel in one play area and seem to be delayed in another play area. This is typical development. It’s good to try plenty of different play activities with your child. This gives your prekindergartener many ways to learn about their world.
Educational Play
Books:
Prekindergarteners and four-year-olds enjoy stories about familiar events. They like to hear stories multiple times and in the same way each time. They ask “why,” want to answer questions, share comments, and make up their own stories. Prekindergarteners tend to mark in books, so this is a good time to teach them about the care of books. They are beginning to like fantasy stories, jokes, tall tales, animals that act like humans, adventures, and information. They are also silly and like wild, silly, humorous, and nonsense stories.
In my experience, pre-kindergarten children need books past ABCs and 123s. They should be starting to read sight word books. They know the nursery rhymes but find books that they can read along because they already know the song. As your reading points to sight words, this will improve recognition.
The books for prekindergarteners and four-year-olds should be 10-15 pages long for literacy-development books. The number of pages can be increased according to the child’s literacy abilities and preferences in books. Binocular vision is still developing and children are generally farsighted, so larger print is more appropriate. At this age, they prefer complex illustrations with rich detail. They are starting to prefer true, reality-based stories to fantasy.
- Nursery rhymes
- Simple ABC and number books:
- Interactive books
- Books with rhymes, rhythm, and repetition
- Simple picture books with vocabulary and picture book storybooks
- Information stories that teach new concepts like words and meanings
- The Here and Now themes
- Reality-based storylines
- Poetry
- Comics
- Seasonal/Holiday stories
- Predictable books
- Hidden picture books
- Fantasy, jokes, adventures, tall tales, animals that act like humans, and places.
- Wildly silly stories, humorous stories, and nonsense rhymes
- Coloring books
- Self-created story books
Educational Toys
Pre-kindergarteners and four-year-olds have the cognitive and physical ability to interact with simple learning products and educational toys. They understand concepts such as color, letter and sound recognition, letter writing, number identification, counting, matching qualities to numerals, shapes, comparison, science, and directionality. Literacy skills begin to develop around five years of age. They also understand the meaning of words used by toys, can mentally work through problems and questions, and enjoy practicing intellectual abilities and acquiring facts. Additionally, their fine motor skills are well-developed.
- Learning products that teach colors, shapes, picture/object names, animals, letters and sounds, and numbers and counting
- Matching games
- Magnets, flashlights, scales, focus-free microscopes, magnifying glasses, and prisms.
- Color mixing equipment, alphabet ink stamps
- Thermometers and stethoscopes
- Speedometers/pedometers
- Models of solar system: rock/shell collections or kits, animal habitats
- Life Cycle Sets
- Telescopes, binoculars
- See-through clocks
- Simple calculators
- Functioning Toy keyboards
- Science Experiments with few steps
- Cameras with view finder function
- Alphabet magnets
- Abacuses
Educational Technology
Pre-kindergarteners are often captivated by electronic toys that are lively and packed with sensory features such as music, moving characters, flashing lights, and speech. They may show a preference for items featuring media characters over plain, undecorated items. Software that prompts simple responses from the child is ideal, and they are able to point and click with a mouse. But they will still need help navigating programs, as they get lost in them. Four-year-olds are working on letter and number recognition.
In a digital age, introducing children to technology responsibly is essential. Tablets explicitly designed for young kids, such as the Amazon Fire HD Kids Edition, come with robust parental controls and a plethora of educational apps and games, making them a safe and smart choice for tech-friendly households. Another kids tablet that workers great is the Apple iPad and these work great for road trips.
- Simple, electronic teaching toys
- Simple, smart toys
- Computer mouse, touch screen
- Games on touchscreen devices
- Drawing and painting software
- Book reading programs
- Exploratory non-goal-oriented games
- Simple cause and effect games
- Sing-along software
- Electronics that teach picture/object names, colors, shapes, letters & sounds, and numbers & counting.
- Matching games
- Story-line software
- Electronics that are related to transportation, animal, and place themes
- Connecting with family and friends over video calls.
Building Play
Blocks:
Pre-kindergarteners are ready to play with wooden blocks. They start to visualize and analyze the parts of what they want to build. They will work through problems of size, volume, space, and weight. The basic block unit is 3 1/2 inches square and 1 1/2 inches thick. Other blocks in the set are usually multiples or fractions of the basic unit. The shapes of blocks include the unit size, double and quadruple the unit, and wedges, triangles, cylinders, and half rounds. Some sets have simple geometric forms. Each block set should have about 80-100 pieces.
- Wooden blocks in hard or soft wood without color or varnish
- Number and Letter blocks
- Table blocks
- Hollow blocks
- Problem-solving blocks
- Nesting toys
Interlocking Building Blocks
In pre-kindergarten, children often engage in building play as their primary activity. They enjoy manipulating objects and creating interlocking designs using various materials such as plastic or wood. These designs can include simple interlocking structures like snapping, screwing, pressing together, rod and spool connectors, notched logs, suction cups, and nesting. The materials come in different shapes like wheels, textures, miniature people, and model trees. At this age, children typically prefer blocks that are 2-3 inches in size, and a set with 30-50 pieces is ideal. As they build, four-year-olds tend to seek help from peers, adults, or instructions to make their creations look more realistic.
- Lego Sets
- Interlocking cogs, slot inserts, large nuts and bolts, connecting straws, popping tubes together
- Snap-lock beads
- Interlocking bricks/blocks
- Brick blocks
- Notched logs
- Waffle blocks
- Interlocking foam puzzle mats
- Sets using rods/dowels and spool-like connector pieces
- Work bench screws
Arts and Crafts Play
Pre-kindergarteners and four-year-olds begin to resemble projects that are meant to represent something. They can draw a human figure and add seven parts to the figure. Four-year-olds can copy simple shapes like a square, rectangle, ladder design, some letters and numbers. They can thread small beads. They are using a blunt ended scissors, and can cut, paste, and make collages. Working with clay and dough to make sculptures is a favorite activity. Writing tools should be rounded without sharp corners, and large, easy-to-grip crayons, markers, brushes, and paper should be in various sizes and colors. There should be enough in each set of crayons or markers, to provide a choice of materials and colors. Materials should be lightweight and sturdy.
- Adult-size crayons, markers, brushes, and colored pencils
- Brushes with a large handle
- Paper in various sizes, colors, and types
- Easels for young toddlers who can stand well
- Finger and Tempra Paints
- Non-toxic glue
- Blunt-end scissors
- soft modeling clay or dough with molds
- tools for clay and dough work
- Pre-gummed paper and stickers
- Glitter, yarn, pom-poms
- Coloring books
- Pop-beads
- Large beads and shoestrings for lacing
- Simple plastic needle for sewing and lacing
- Boards with magnetic shavings
- Miniature looms with loops
- Stamps and non-toxic ink pads
- Foam Clay
Music Play
Musical Instruments:
Pre-kindergarteners and four-year-olds are naturally drawn to music and are especially interested in multi-sensory elements. Music plays a critical role in language development and communication skills. Four-year-olds are refining their fine motor skills, their fingers can move independently at this age, and they are using an adult grip. They learn through movement and can shake and tap instruments. four-year-olds can sing simple songs and enjoy repeating them. Four-year-olds are ready for music lessons and can play instruments along with simple music.
- Cymbals
- Piano or Keyboard
- Wind up music boxes
- Kazoos
- Harmonicas
- Ukuleles
- Accordian
- Horns & whistles with buttons
- Electronic drum pads
- Tambourines
- Blocks for scaping and tapping
- Triangles
- Rhythm sticks
- Novelty musical instruments, including multistep horns and chunky whistles.
- Bells and chimes
- Small lightweight tambourines
- Rattles and shakers
- Finger play songs
- Drums
- Bongs
- Xylophones
- Simple music sets
Music Technology
Pre-kindergarteners engage with music technology that stimulates their senses through features such as music, moving characters, blinking lights, and speech as they grow. Music plays a critical role in language development and communication skills. They can distinguish between different sentence tunes and imitate sounds and sound sequences. Four-year-olds can recognize, recite, and sing songs, rhymes, TV commercials, and jingles. They are inclined towards sounds within the range of human voice frequencies, finding low tones soothing and high tones stimulating. They enjoy answering problem-solving questions on electronic devices.
- Folk/cultural music
- Silly songs, word plays, finger plays, action songs
- Recorded stories
- Simple CD players and radios
- Microphones karaoke
- Wind up music boxes
- Audio that includes language that can be imitated
- Lullabies, simple songs, rhythms, nursery rhymes
- Gentle, predictable sounds played at low volumes.
- Music Boxes (wound by parent or caregiver)
- Interactive music toys and smart toys that are activated by button-pressing
Pretend Play
Dolls and Stuffed Toys:
Dolls and stuffed toys designed for pre-kindergarteners can be made of multiple moving arms, legs, etc. All edges should be thick and round, without hard corners or projecting parts. They should be made of soft, pliable, and washable material. Each doll set can have numerous accessories such as bottles, clothing, hair brush, etc.
The doll’s clothes for toddler toys should have large openings for easy dressing and undressing, with large buttons, hooks, and touch fasteners. The size should be 16-20 inches, lightweight, no more than twelve to eighteen ounces, for easy grasping and support in the air. The colors should be vibrant, with reds and yellows, and highly contrasting, such as black and white, with basic patterns. Older toddlers are interested in pastels and other colors. Preschoolers and three-year-olds enjoy moderately complex cause and effect functions like pushing produces a sound, lights, crying, talking, sucking and wetting.
- Fantasy character or action figures
- Life-sized dolls and accessories
- Life-sized stuffed animals
- Fashion, military, and other thematic figures and dolls
- Animatronic interactive animals
- Foldable action figures
- Dolls with doctor supplies
- Doll bottles with disappearing liquid
- Wooden and plastic peg dolls
- Simple action figures
- Combinations such as mother and baby (human or animal)
- Accessories for the doll such as bottle or blanket
- Toys activated by pressing a button
- Small dolls (baby, bean bag, rag dolls)
- Washable rubber baby dolls
- Small stuffed or plush animals
- Music dolls
- Stuffed Toys
Puppets
Puppets designed for pre-kindergarteners can be made of multiple moving arms, legs, etc. They should be made of soft, pliable, and washable material. The hand or finger opening should be large enough for easy hand access. Four-year-olds will be looking for puppets with moderate to highly realistic details, because they will be telling stories, and conducting plays. The size should be 16-20 inches, lightweight, no more than twelve to eighteen ounces, for easy grasping and support in the air.
- Slightly more complex sock, mitten, hand, arm, or finger puppets
- Puppets with mouth and arm openings for simple thumb and finger manipulations
- Simple puppet theaters
Play Scenes
Figurines and play scenes for preschoolers should be lightweight and weigh up to 4-8 ounces. The material should have soft textures and contrasting facial features, especially with the eyes. These figurines should be simple, realistic, and be familiar with characters or animals without many features. Toddlers of this age are not ready for cartoon or fantasy figures and play scenes.
- Detailed doll houses and miniature playsets of familiar themes
- Small, simple, familiar, and realistic play scenes such as kitchens, farms, gas stations, airplanes
- Simple pop-up scenes like fire trucks
- Simple play sets like those that have vehicles with small figures.
- Little people
- Action/Adventure and military sets
Dress Up
Pre-kindergarteners will imitate adults, older peers, or TV shows. They like toys with simple cause-and-effect actions, such as pushing a button that produces sound, light, or movement. The vehicles should be: smaller 1 to 12 inches long, and bigger 24-36 inches for pushing. The transportation toys should weigh no more than 10 ounces if designed to be picked up during use.
The toys must be safe, with no removable or loose parts, and have thick, round edges. They should be made of plastic, hard rubber, or light wood that can be washed or easily cleaned. The toys may have sensory elements, such as sound or lights, and should have simple, realistic details with recognizable devices. Preschoolers can use simple remote controls, simple multiple-turn winders with a large key, and devices using buttons or joysticks. They are mastering fastening devices and detaching simple coupling mechanisms. Four-year-olds are starting to recognize familiar characters such as Disney, and their toy vehicles should have a high level of realistic detail.
- Costumes with large buttons, buckles and hooks
- Simple costumes
- Handheld mirrors with a fantasy theme
- Simple wigs
- Necklaces, bracelets with large hooks or easy-to-separate fasteners
- Medium-size buttons, buckles and hooks
- Simple large snaps
- Hair accessories (scarves, clips)
- The string should be braided or plastic
- Wooden or plastic beads about 1/2 inch ( up to 20)
- Dresses, hats, gloves, shoes, snap-on ties
- Beads (up to 20)
- Lacing Cubes or Boards with thick blunt spindles
- Frames and cubes for buttoning, snapping, lacing, hooking and buckling
- Lacing cards
- Lacing shoes
Small Vehicle Toys
Pres-kindergarteners will imitate adults, older peers, or TV shows. They like toys with simple cause-and-effect actions, such as pushing a button that produces sound, light, or movement. The vehicles should be: smaller 1 to 12 inches long, and bigger 24-36 inches for pushing. The transportation toys should weigh no more than 10 ounces if designed to be picked up during use.
The toys must be safe, with no removable or loose parts, and have thick, round edges. They should be made of plastic, hard rubber, or light wood that can be washed or easily cleaned. The toys may have sensory elements, such as sound or lights, and should have simple, realistic details with recognizable devices. Four-year-olds can use remote controls, multipe-turn winders with a small to medium key, and devices using buttons or joysticks. They are also starting to fasten and detach simple coupling mechanisms that are magnetic or have a large hook. Four-year-olds recognize familiar characters such as Disney, and are starting to establish collections.
- Miniature die-cast cars
- Transportation vehicles with one or two turn (or wind up) mechanisms with low tension so they can be easily moved.
- Tracks and launchers for large trains or cars, with simple hooking, snapping, or interlacing tracks with ample width for the vehicle.
- Trains with multiple cars that fasten and detach.
- Boats
- Push cars, motorcycles, and trucks
- Trains with multiple cars
- Flying machines with large to medium size key low-tension wind-ups
- Remote-control vehicles
- Fantasy vehicles with simple wind-ups
Props for Pretend Play
Pre-kindergarteners learn through imaginative play. They will imitate adults, older peers, or TV shows. The toy props should weigh no more than 10 oz if designed to be picked up and used. They like preschool toys with simple cause-and-effect actions, such as pushing a button that produces sound, light, or movement or turning and pounding to produce a given result. Each toy set should be 2-10 pieces. The toys must be safe, with no removable or loose parts, and have thick, round edges. They should be made of plastic, hard rubber, or light wood that can be washed or easily cleaned. The toys may have sensory elements, such as sound or lights, and should have simple, realistic details with recognizable devices. Preschoolers and three-year-olds can use simple remote controls and devices controlled by buttons.
- Use themes from experiences at home, school, and various media (television, videos, electronic games, movies, and books)
- Rakes, shovels, buckets, and trowels
- Small lawnmower
- Tools that easily fit into “work” holster
- Light realistic hammer
- Vacuum and other house-cleaning tools
- Kitchen cooking and tea sets
- Play Kitchen
- Cell phones and mobile devices modeled after those with traditional buttons as well as those with fake touchscreen ‘app’ buttons-introduce keyboards
- Play food
- Cash Registers & Money
- Medical Kits
- Construction Tools
- Wheelbarrows
- Wand
Exploratory Play
Manipulative Toys:
Manipulative pre-kindergarten toys should be based on their fine motor abilities like controlled grasping and releasing, pushing, pulling, flapping, squeezing, patting, poking and shaking, twisting, turning, sliding and cranking. They can hold two objects simultaneously, begin to coordinate between them and move their fingers independently. Choose lightweight, washable, and brightly colored toys with many textures and easy-to-grasp parts. These preschool toys should include multi-sensory elements such as pictures of familiar objects, bouncing, vibrating, and lighting up. Pre-kindergarteners and four-year-olds can now select their toys and play socially with each other. They enjoy all colors, including pastels, but dull ones are less attractive.
- Bubble making guns
- Liquid clocks
- Bead mazes
- Handheld mirrors and larger ones are secured to the wall.
- Squeeze and squeak toys
- Interlocking plastic rings
- Teething toys – Rattles
- Lightweight balls (musical, chiming, grasping, special effects, or textured)
- Multi-textured toys
- Multi-sensory toys
- Manipulative Panels
- Activity Centers
- Bead mazes
- Cloth & plush toys
- Sorting and stacking toys
- pop-up toys
- Roly-poly toys
- Large beads on rings
- Plastic keys on rings
- Short tunnels (3.5 feet or less with viewing panels)
- Inflatable toys
- Rocking toys
- Lacing & Stringing Toys
- Nesting Toys
- Gear Toys
Water & Sand:
Using water with pre-kindergarten and four-year-olds can be done through supervised water play, and are learning to swim. They have increasing confidence in the water, and also interested in winter sports. Please keep in mind that children at this age have a high risk of drowning. This activity provides them with sensory play and stimulation while also helping them become comfortable with water, which can prepare them for future bath time and swimming experiences.
- Swimming lessons
- Pools
- Sprinklers
- Soft Vinyl toys
- Bright colors
- Soft floating toys (up to three at a time)
- Water Table
- Sandbox
Game Play
Puzzles
Pre-kindergarteners can start working with smaller puzzles, about two inches in size, with smooth edges. Their problem-solving skills are improving, so the pieces should be clear and fit together easily. They are ready for jigsaw puzzles. They are good at simple sequential patterns involving two different aspects, such as alternating blue and red, and are ready for more complex patterns. These puzzles should have simple, large pieces with smooth edges that easily fit together and contain no more than 12-18 pieces. Pre-kindergarteners and four-year-olds prefer puzzles with realistic detail. Games are also a great way to develop problem-solving skills, and at this age, they can complete a puzzle in a few minutes.
- Floor puzzles
- Simple jigsaw puzzles
- Patterning sequences
- Magnetic puzzles with connection between a wand and a puzzle piece such as fishing with the magnetic pole
- Wooden Puzzles
- Electronic puzzles repeat the object’s name when the puzzle piece is in place.
- Form Boards
Games:
Pre-kindergarteners can start to work with card, floor, board, and table games. Pre-kindergarten and four-year-olds are working on running, jumping, climbing, and balancing. Four-year-olds are becoming familiar with naming the alphabet, numbers, common shapes, and primary colors. They are interested in simple number activities, alphabet play, copying letters, and matching and sorting. They can start to hold about 4 cards at a time, and can move small pieces on the game board. At this age, they show some interest in games, but are unaware of other players, and cannot block other players. Their attention span is short, can play no more than 30 minutes at a time.
- Memory or matching games
- Number and letter recognition games
- Simple matching
- Lotto type games
- Giant picture dominos
- Simple action games
- Games involving balancing
- Magnetic fishing games
- Games based completely on chance
- Active games that include physical movement, dance, or drawing
- Simple board games that use spinners, cards, or die.
- Activity games involving dancing or drawing
- Pick-up-sticks
- Dominos with dots
- Simple card games like Old Maid
- Handheld games filled with water with a large button with the goal of launching small balls into baskets
- Marbles
Active Play
Ride-on Toys
Selecting ride-on toys for pre-kindergarteners should be based on their abilities, such as increasingly skilled walking and climbing. The ride-ons should not be too large for the child. It should be easy to mount with a wide seat and narrow enough not to hinder leg movement. They can pedal, steer, and use foot brakes. They can pull a wagon. The ride-on should have smooth edges and be made of plastic, solid wood, or metal. Sensory elements should include sounds when moved or pushed, containers to hold objects, beeping horns, and dials with clicking noises. They are loosing interest in ride-ons with compartments, and are more interested in realistic-looking vehicles (fire engine, tractor, motorcycle)
- Bicycle with training wheels
- Stand on scooters and skateboards (but beware this can be difficult until they approach 5 years)
- Tricycles with 12-13 inch wheels and pedals or low-slung versions without pedals
- Slow moving 3 wheeled scooters with large standing platforms
- Ride-on without pedals
- Realistic-looking vehicles like fire engines, tractors, and motorcycles
- Rocking horse
- Wagon
- Battery-operated vehicles that are slow-moving
Sports Equipment
When selecting sports equipment for pre-kindergarten and four-year-olds, consider their ability to throw and kick. They can throw a ball about 10 feet, and bounce it. Consider a ball size that is easy to grasp or large for holding with two hands. They can also hit a moving ball with a bat or racquet and have a strong overhand throw. At this age, they do not grasp game rules or strategies and have little interest in organized activities. They prefer activities that allow free movement. Parents may start introducing classic or traditional sports focusing on fundamental aspects such as kicking the ball, catching the ball, running from base to base, or throwing a ball into a basketball hoop. It’s best to keep it simple and only focus on one simple action in each play session.
- Enroll in youth sports like tee ball, junior golf and soccer
- Learn to ski, and ice skates (double runner)
- Low-movement roller skates (not-inline)
- Balls of soft cloth, rubber, foam, or plastic and different textures
- Bowling sets
- Large balls about 10″ in diameter
- Soft bats or clubs
- Soft replica of sports equipment: basketball, soccer ball
- Tennis balls
- Targets, nets, or goals for throwing and kicking
- Basketball Hoop in a small size
- Balls that light up or make noise when bounced
- Hook and loop pad mittens and compatible balls
- Squishy yo-yos
- Soft horseshoes
- Flying disks
Movement Materials:
Pre-kindergarteners are ready for gymnastic lessons. Selecting movement materials for older toddlers and two-year-olds should be based on their abilities, such as increasingly skilled walking and climbing. Older toddlers at this age have little fear of heights and are at risk of falling, so they should be supervised during play. They love dancing, imitating exercise movements, and rolling on the ground. Materials should be vinyl, plastic, or rubber.
- Bean bags
- Umbrella
- Inflatable bouncers
- Parachutes
- Sleds disks, toboggans, plastic sheets
- Long tunnels (9 feet or less)
Playground Equipment:
Selecting playground equipment for pre-kindergartens and four-year-olds should be based on their abilities, such as increasingly skilled walking and climbing. Pre-kindergarteners at this age have little fear of heights and are at risk of falling, so they should be supervised during play.
- Overhead equipment at fire poles
- Swings
- Slides
- Low climbing structures with supervision
Toy Safety
This is a great time for parents to create a dedicated, safe place and play area for their child. Toy Safety is essential because small parts should not be around toddlers.
Conclusion
Four-year-old children and those in pre-kindergarten are getting ready for Kindergarten. For writing, the three-point grip to hold writing tools should be introduced. As is writing their first name, Counting to 20, recognizing common shapes, and cutting and gluing. This is a great time to introduce cooking to the pre-kindergartens. They love jokes, especially toilet jokes! Introduce them to simple electronic games, and get experience on keyboards and laptops.
It’s important to understand that every baby is different, and their development may vary. Always follow your baby’s cues and adjust the activities according to their abilities and preferences. It is typical healthy development when a child excels in one skill and may seem lacking in another. Remember to be patient and consistent with these activities and always create a nurturing and supportive environment to allow your child to explore and learn at their own pace.
References
- Toy Safety Guidance for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers
- Developmentally Appropriate Toys: What and Why are they Important?
- Whole child Education: What is the Approach to Teaching?
- Zero to Three
- Consumer Product and Safety Commission
I value your input and comments tremendously! Please let me know if there is anything else I should include in this blog post! Until my next post, Keep Everything Simple. Talk with you soon!
Carol Colborn
Friday 1st of November 2024
So comprehensive! But it's right. That period is so foundational!
Karletta
Thursday 31st of October 2024
This is so comprehensive and helpful. And a very important topic. I know the thing I remember most about my time in Kindergarten is the tools and activities - like puzzles and paint brushes, and books. I remember them in detail which shows just how much they made an impact to my development.
Nikki Wayne
Wednesday 30th of October 2024
Im sure kids will really like this things when they see it. It is also helpful for them to learn some basic things that can help to their growth in mental skills.
Tara
Wednesday 30th of October 2024
SO many great ideas here. I teach 4 and 5 year old at church and this is just loaded with helpful info. I'll never need other random resources!
Stephanie
Wednesday 30th of October 2024
This is such a great list! My boys had so many of these types of toys that they loved to play with at that age.