1000+ Fun & Engaging Kindergarten Activities for Learning and Play
Embrace your Kindergartner's curiosity through learning and play. In fact, most Kindergarten activities for kids ARE learning games which lead to education through playful exploration.
Kindergarten Learning Games & Activities
What age do kids go to Kindergarten?
Generally, most schools have Kindergarten programs for kids between the age of 4-6. Often Kindergarten students may be separated by age into classrooms like Kindergarten 4 or Kindergarten 5.
Kindergartners who are 6 usually turn that age during the school year and most school districts in the US require that students must attend Kindergarten before they turn 7.
The average age of Kindergarten students in the US is 5.
Kindergarten Activities & Age
Here is the deal. Every single kid has a unique learning path and matures at a different pace. That is what makes Kindergartners so amazing. They are learning different things within the SAME activity or lesson or game.
While these activities have been chosen age-appropriate for 4-6 year olds, they may be used for kids younger and older as well. We try to keep almost every Kindergarten activity play-based which opens up its age range to literally 1-101 with modifications!
Kindergarten Class Activities
Almost any Kindergarten activity can be adapted for a group of children in a classroom setting. Simple games like hangman, charades, bingo, puzzles are fun with more than one student present. Scroll below to see many less traditional options that can be modified to include a group of Kindergartners.
Hands-On Kindergarten Learning
We have talked about how kids ages 4-6 learn best through play, but what might be overlooked is how a Kindergartner defines play. Anything that holds their attention and is fun would qualify! Keep kids playfully learning with hands-on activities that put them INTO the fun.
Intuitively we realize that Kindergarten age students have a hard time "sitting still" because they crave engagement with everything around them. Instead of squashing that, let's leverage it for their education!
Homeschooling Kindergarten
One out of my three boys were homeschooled for Kindergarten. It wasn't because I set out to homeschool Kindergarten, he just didn't seem ready to go when he was 5. So we worked on an informal "curriculum" at home which consisted of many of the things that are published here on Kids Activities Blog and by the time the new school year rolled around, he was ready for first grade instead of Kindergarten (based on the school's placement testing).
Is My Kid Ready for Kindergarten?
I learned not to be afraid to trust my gut when it came to this question. Kids Activities Blog has a really good Kindergarten skills checklist that you can go through and make sure that you aren't pushing him/her into something before they are ready.
Kindergarten Distance Learning Resources
Ack! One of the biggest parts of Kindergarten learning is the invisible impact of socialization - students interacting & students interacting with teachers (sometimes for the first time outside the home). The ability for an entire class to play a coordinated game outside, or listen quietly to one another talk once called on, or stand in a line as instructed, or lay on a mat while listening to the teacher read aloud without poking your mat mate! We could go on and on with scenarios in which Kindergarten classrooms are key in the full education of Kindergarten students.
And then there are good reasons why these things can't happen "normally" which introduces distance learning. One of the biggest things that parents and caregivers can do to optimize distance learning at this level is to make sure the child is getting enough play. The activities that we have here at Kids Activities Blog will make your job easier! One downside to kids being on the other end of a screen for school is that their hands-on PLAY time gets cut. Don't discount their playtime with you or siblings either...it is all important right now while we get through this season and try to make the best out of the situation.
