Four year olds love life and enjoy creating, tinkering, and exploring. Here are some of my favorite activities that I have used to help engage and interact with my four year olds.
Build your own blocks from a tree. These Tree Blocks are great for re-creating “natural” scenes.
If you have pencils (or pens) toilet paper tubes and a hole punch, you can create your very own tinker toys! Almost Unschoolers created a set with her kids.
We had a table like this growing up – and I should create one for my kids! Old electronics, once the batteries are removed, are great toys to practice taking and putting things back together again. Thanks Irresistable Ideas for the inspiration.
Have a Kiddo who loves to live outside? Make mud or sand bricks for him to build with using an ice cube tray.
My kids personal favorite “building” activity is creating structures with marshmallows and toothpicks. Looking for something more healthy? Try Grapes.
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Use a set of lids. On each lid paint a different element of the scene. Stack the lids to create a 3D image.
Use Glue to create the “lines”. After the glue has dried, paint over it and your “leaves” will have a great pop factor! Thanks Having Fun at Home.
We’ve enjoyed Ball Painting before, Casa Maria has a version where you squirt paint in the box lid, then smash it with a papertowel roll. The results are stunning.
Here is a Whirly-Gig Toy that you can make yourself with just a bit of wire, add a “person” and your child can watch them swing.
Henry at Hands On: As We Grow enjoyed exploring in his yard with some scrap wood. He made balance beam bridges.
Bowling. WHo said it needs to be played indoors. Here is an outdoor DIY bowling game.
Have kids and want to keep them outside? All you need is some string and two sticks. Frugal Family Fun shows us how to make gigantic bubbles.
Practice jumping and catching with a homemade Kick board. Sometimes the simple activities are the most engaging.
We made these Marshmallow Guns for our nephews last year for Christmas time. They were a huge hit! Outdoors is best. I am still finding a stray marshmallow underneath a dresser or two.
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Like this post but are looking for activities for other age groups of kids? Check out our other age sets:
About Rachel
At my house it is all about building and digging!
Love these ideas, in our program, toilet tissue rolls are out because of potential germs.
Sherrie~ Could you use paper towel rolls cut in half? I have used them serveral times when I have been just a few short on TP rolls…
Interesting ideas.
Will definitely try these out.
Those looks great. Fun crafts for kids indeed