Activities for young children in Early years education and care - Themes



Ideas for activities for teaching numeracy to young children


1. Counting games: Use items like blocks, balls, toys, or even pieces of food to count together. Ask your child to count aloud as they place each item in a pile. When they get to a certain number, help them celebrate.

2. Number matching: Draw different numbers on cards and hide them around the room. Have your child find them and match them together. Make it more challenging by having them match numbers to objects in the room.

3. Shape sorting: Use different shapes to help your child practice sorting and categorizing. Ask them to find all the circles or all the squares, etc.

4. Number puzzles: Buy or make puzzles with numbers that fit together. Your child can practice counting and assembling the pieces.

5. Number recognition: Create a game in which your child must find a certain number on a page or in a book.

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Ideas for activities for teaching measurement with young children

1) Measuring with Blocks: Gather a variety of different-sized blocks and let your toddler stack them up and measure them against each other. Ask your toddler which block is the tallest or the shortest.

2) Measuring with Toys: Gather a few of your toddler’s favorite toys and let them experiment with measuring. Ask them which toy is the biggest or the smallest.

3) Measuring with a Tape Measure: Show your toddler how to use a tape measure to measure the length of an object. Encourage them to make markings on the tape measure and compare their measurements.

4) Measuring with a Ruler: Let your toddler explore a ruler and measure different objects in the house. Ask them to compare the lengths and discuss which is longer and which is shorter.

5) Color Matching and Measurement: Get out some construction paper and scissors and cut out different shapes in different colors. Ask your toddler to match the colored shapes and measure their lengths.
Ideas for activities for teaching weights to young children

1. Balance Scale Activity: Create a simple balance scale with two plastic cups and two items that are approximately the same weight. Have the child place one item in each cup and ask them to predict which cup will drop lower.

2. Bean Bag Weighing: Provide the child with two bags of beans or rice in different weights. Ask them to feel the bags and guess which one is heavier.

3. Weight Estimation: Put several household items in front of the child and ask them to guess which items are the heaviest.

4. Unbalanced Kitchen Scale: Provide the child with two items and a kitchen scale that is not properly balanced. Ask them to adjust the scale so that the balance of the item.

5. Weight Matching: Create a matching game with pictures of items and their corresponding weights. Ask the child to match the pictures to the weights.

6. Guess the Weight: Place an item in front of the child and ask them to guess the weight. Use a kitchen scale to confirm their guess.

Ideas for activities for teaching volume to young children


1. Fill and Dump: Provide your child with containers of different sizes and shapes and let them fill and dump them. Talk about which container can hold the most and which can hold the least.

2. Float and Sink: Fill a basin or a bucket with water and let your child drop in various objects. Talk about which items float and which sink.

3. Measurement Fun: Provide your child with measuring cups and spoons and let them measure out different amounts of liquid or dry ingredients.

4. Water and Sand Play: Fill a shallow plastic container with water and sand and let your child explore. Talk about how much water and sand is inside and what would happen if they add more.

5. Shape Sorter: Provide your child with a shape sorter and let them sort the shapes according to size and volume. Talk about which shape is bigger or smaller than the others.

Ideas for activities for teaching viscosity with young children

1. Finger Painting: Provide non-toxic finger paints in shallow containers and encourage your children to explore the texture of the paint and discover how it moves. Ask questions to help them make observations such as "Do you think the paint is thick or thin?"

2. Water Play: Fill a shallow container with water and provide different-sized spoons, cups, and bowls. Let your children explore the properties of water by pouring it over different objects and investigating how quickly or slowly it runs.

3. Sand Play: Fill a shallow container with sand and provide different size scoops and spades for your children to play with. Ask them to make observations about how the sand feels and how it moves.

4. Oobleck: Create a mixture of cornstarch and water and allow your children to explore its unique properties. Encourage them to make observations about how it feels and how it moves.

Ideas for activities for teaching texture to young children

1. Textured Painting: Provide a variety of textured items such as small pieces of fabric, sponges, and cotton balls. Give the children paint and encourage them to explore the various textures by painting with them.

2. Texture Matching: Provide pairs of items with different textures, such as a soft cloth and a rough piece of sandpaper. Ask the children to match the items based on their texture.

3. Texture Sorting: Give the children a variety of textured items such as ribbons, pom-poms, and cotton balls and have them sort them into piles based on their texture.

4. Sensory Bags: Place a variety of textured items into a large Ziploc bag and seal it. Have the children explore the bag and feel the different textures.

5. Texture Hunt: Hide objects with different textures around the room and have the children go on a hunt to find them.

Ideas for activities for teaching about light to young children

1. Shadow Play: Create a shadow puppet theatre with a sheet, a flashlight, and some simple paper puppets. Use the flashlight to project the shadows of the puppets onto the sheet. Talk about the shapes of the shadows and ask your child to guess what the puppets are.

2. Light Reflection: Place a mirror in the path of a light source like the sun or a flashlight. Talk about how the light is reflecting off the mirror and ask your child to observe the shapes the light makes on the wall.

3. Colorful Light Show: Cut out different shapes and colors of paper. Place the pieces of paper in front of a flashlight. Talk about how the different colors of paper change the color of the light that is projected.

4. Light and Dark: Turn off the lights and create a dark room. Ask your child to guess what they see in the darkness. Turn on a flashlight and use it to explore the room. Talk about how the light makes it easier to see in the dark.


Ideas for activities for teaching about color to young children

1. Color Sorting: Gather a number of items that come in different colors. Place them in a pile and encourage your child to sort them according to color.

2. Color Matching: Use items of different colors and give your toddler an item of one color and have them find items that match it.

3. Color Hunt: Create a scavenger hunt by hiding items of different colors around the house or yard. Have your toddler find the items according to color.

4. Color Wheel: Create a color wheel using construction paper. Cut out circles in various colors and attach them to a piece of paper. Talk about the different colors and have your child point to each one.

5. Colorful Art: Get creative with your toddler and set up an art station. Provide materials of different colors and encourage your toddler to create something colorful.

Ideas for activities for teaching about technology to young children

1. Technology Music Time: Play a variety of music from different technology sources such as a CD, MP3 player, or computer. Have the children have fun dancing to the music and ask them to identify the different sources of the music. 

2. Technology Drawing: Introduce the children to basic technology tools such as a computer mouse or a tablet. Allow the children to explore these tools and create drawings on the computer screen.

3. Technology Storytelling: Create a digital storybook with the children. Have them draw pictures and use simple technology tools such as a microphone to record their voices telling the story. 

4. Technology Games: Introduce the children to a game on the computer or tablet. Have them explore the game and learn how to control it with simple technology tools. 

5. Technology Show and Tell: Have the children bring in a technology item from home to show the class. Ask them to talk about how they use the item and why they like it. 

6. Technology Nature Walk: Take the children on a nature walk and have them use a camera or a smartphone to capture photos or videos of the things they see. Talk about technology and how it helps us to capture memories.

Ideas for activities for teaching about sound to young children


1. Sing-along: Have a sing-along with the children, using simple songs that have repetitive lyrics. Allow them to join in with their own versions of the words.

2. Sound Exploration: Provide some musical instruments such as bells, tambourines, and drums and allow the children to explore how they make different sounds.

3. Sound Matching: Play a sound, such as clapping or banging a drum, and then ask the children to match the sound.

4. Sound Games: Play games such as “I Spy” or “Simon Says” where the children can listen for different sounds.

5. Sound Walk: Take the children on a sound walk outside and ask them to identify different sounds they hear such as birds chirping, leaves rustling, or cars passing.

6. Sound Shakers: Provide the children with containers filled with different materials such as rice, beans, and pebbles. Ask them to shake the containers and listen to the different sounds they make.

Ideas for activities for teaching about music to young children

1. Singing and Dancing: Encourage your students to sing and dance to their favorite songs. Use simple and repetitive songs that they can easily learn and can dance to.

2. Instrument Exploration: Introduce a variety of instruments to your students and allow them to explore and play with them. This can help them get familiar with different instruments and the sounds they make.

3. Music and Movement: Incorporate music into physical activities. Use music to direct the movement and encourage the children to move in time to the music.

4. Musical Storytelling: Use music to tell stories. You can use stories such as The Three Little Pigs and The Gingerbread Man, and then have the children act out the story while playing the instruments.

5. Music and Art: Have the children create art to music. Have them draw or paint to the beat of the music.

6. Music and Technology: Have the children explore music with technology such as iPads and computers. Have them create their own music or play with apps such as Garage Band.

Ideas for activities for teaching science to young children

1. Exploring with Magnets: Give each child a magnet and let them explore what it can do. Show them how it can attract or repel other objects.

2. Color Mixing: Give each child a few drops of different food coloring and show them how they can mix them to make new colors.

3. Float and Sink: Give each child a container of water and let them explore which objects float and which sink.

4. Plant Investigation: Plant some seeds in the soil and let the children watch them grow and observe the changes over time.

5. Animal Matching: Give each child a few cut-outs of different animals and let them match them to their real-life counterparts.

6. Sound Exploration: Give each child different items that make sounds and let them explore how the sounds are different.

7. Sensory Bin: Fill a bin with different items and let the children explore the textures and smell.

8. Weather Watch: Give the children a thermometer and let them explore how the temperature changes over time.

9. Light and Shadow: Give each child a flashlight and let them explore the shadows they can create.

10. Balancing Act: Give each child a few items and let them explore how they can balance on top of each other.

Ideas for activities using a microscope with young children

1. Observe and Discuss: Have children take turns looking through the microscope at everyday objects like leaves, feathers, or fabric. Ask them questions like, “What do you see?” and “What colors do you see?”

2. Plant Cell Investigation: Have children look at a slide of a plant cell. Ask them to describe what they see and draw a picture of it.

3. Microscopic Art: Have children create a work of art using their microscope. They can use colored pencils to draw what they see on a slide or create a painting using watercolor paints.

4. Magnified Photography: Have children take pictures with the microscope of different everyday objects. Ask them to compare and contrast the images.

5. Insect Hunt: Have children go on a hunt for bugs and look at them through a microscope. Ask them to describe the colors and shapes they see.

6. Microscopic Movie Night: Have children watch a movie or show through the microscope. They can compare and contrast the images they see in the movie to what they see in real life.

Ideas for activities for teaching about bodies to young children

1. Body Part Matching: Give each student a set of pictures of different body parts (e.g. eyes, ears, nose, etc.) and have them match the pictures to their corresponding body parts on their own bodies.

2. Body Part Matching Game: Have the students stand in a circle and pass around a set of pictures of body parts (e.g. eyes, nose, mouth, etc.). Have them identify the body part that the picture belongs to and then match it to the corresponding body part on their own bodies. 

3. Musical Body Parts: Play a fun song with lyrics that involve body parts. Have the students dance and sing along while they learn about the different body parts. 

4. Body Part Puzzles: Give each student a set of puzzles with different body part pieces. Have them assemble the puzzles and identify the body parts it depicts. 

5. Body Part Drawing: Provide each student with a piece of paper and some crayons or markers. Have them draw their own body parts on the paper. 

6. Body Part Scavenger Hunt: Hide different body part pictures around the room and have the students search for them. Once they find them, have them identify the body part and match it to their own body parts. 

7. Body Part Relay Race: Divide the students into two teams and have them take turns running from one end of the room to the other. At each end, have them identify a body part and match it to their own body parts. The first team to finish wins!

Ideas for activities for teaching literacy to young children

1. Read Aloud: Spend time reading aloud to your child. This can be done with books, magazines, or even recipes. Point to the pictures and talk about them. Make up stories about the characters or ask your child questions about the story. 

2. Sing and Dance: Use nursery rhymes and songs to help teach your child about literacy. Singing and dancing are also great ways to engage a young child.

3. Play Games: Use games like I Spy and Spot the Difference to help teach your child about literacy. Point to objects and ask them to tell you what they are.

4. Writing: Start by introducing your child to the alphabet by printing out large letters and asking them to trace them. As your child gets older you can introduce them to writing their own letters and words.

5. Art: Create art projects related to literacy. For example, have your child create a collage of words or draw a picture of a story they heard.

6. Digital Technology: There are lots of apps and websites that can help teach your child about literacy. Look for activities that are age appropriate and engaging.

Ideas for activities for teaching letters to young children

1. Alphabet Matching Game: Set up a matching game where the child matches upper and lowercase letters. Provide large magnetic letters, paper cutouts, or cards with letters on them.

2. Letter Scavenger Hunt: Have the child find different letters around the house or classroom.

3. Sounding Out Letters: Have the child identify the sound of each letter, either out loud or with hand gestures.

4. Letter Tracing: Provide the child with paper and writing utensils and have them trace upper and lowercase letters.

5. Alphabet Songs: Singing songs that focus on the alphabet is a fun way to teach letters to young children.

6. Letter Puzzles: Cut out simple paper puzzles with the letters of the alphabet. Let the child assemble the pieces to form the letters.

7. Letter Art: Provide the child with markers, crayons, or paint and let them make art with the letters of the alphabet.

8. Alphabet Books: Read books that feature letters and their sounds.

9. Alphabet Blocks: Let the child build towers or other structures with blocks that have letters on them.

10. Letter Games: Play games like hangman or word search to introduce the alphabet to young children.

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Creative activities with movement with young children

1. Follow the Leader: Have the children form a line and take turns leading the group in a variety of movements, such as hopping, skipping, jumping, or crawling.

2. Musical Freeze Dance: Start playing music and have the children move around the room. When the music stops, the children must freeze in whatever position they are in.

3. Pretend Play: Have the children act out different scenarios with movement, such as pretending to be animals, playing a game of tag, or pretending to be explorers.

4. Balloon Volleyball: Divide the children into two teams and have them hold onto a balloon. Then, have them hit the balloon back and forth over a line, trying not to let the balloon touch the ground.

5. Obstacle Course: Create an obstacle course using items around the room or outside. Have the children move through the course by jumping, crawling, and hopping.

List of activities that teach young children about different cultures

1. “Around the World” Scavenger Hunt: Have children search the house or their classroom for items that represent different cultures.

2. International Food Tasting: Sample food from different cultures and have children guess which country the food comes from.

3. Passport Activity: Create passports for each child and have them "travel" to a new country each day, learning about its culture, geography, and customs.

4. Cultural Art Projects: Have children make art inspired by art from different cultures.

5. International Music: Listen to music from different cultures and have children dance to it.

6. Cultural Games: Teach children traditional games from different cultures.

7. Dress-Up: Have children wear traditional clothing from different cultures.

8. Traditional Storytelling: Have children listen to stories from different cultures and discuss the differences.

9. Cultural Celebrations: Celebrate holidays, festivals, and other special occasions from different cultures.

10. Cultural Field Trips: Take children to cultural events and attractions, such as ethnic restaurants, museums, and cultural centers.