Looking for fun activities to keep your 4 year olds busy and entertained at home! Find a list of 31 easy to do activities that your 4 year olds will love.
Activities, aren't they the best way to keep kids occupied for a long time while you can get the time you need to get your work done? They can help a child escape boredom, learn some new skills, keep them engaged, get you the much-needed quiet time for yourself, and finally, it can help you bond with your kids and also help escape sibling rivalry.
I love doing activities with my daughter all the time. It keeps her happy and entertained. Below is a list of printable learning activities for 4-year-olds and five-year-olds who are much more capable of doing an activity independently.
All these educational activities for toddlers at home have a few things in common.
- Requires minimal setup
- Can be easily done with stuff lying around at home
- Teach your kids important life skills
- Keep them engaged at least for a couple of hours
Important skills that your kids will learn through these activities!
- Sensory skills
- Fine motor skill development
- Creativity
- Physical strength
- Analytical thinking
Before we get into the list, if you have no idea how to set up toddler learning activities for children up to three years old, then there's no need to fret. Check out this blog here on how to set up an activity for your child that they will get instantly get attracted to and will love to do it again and again.
For toddler moms, being a toddler mom myself, I have been able to customize many of these 4 year olds activities to suit my toddler interests. So this list can be really helpful to you as well.
Some basic things you will need for these activities!
It is always best to get a few basic art and craft stuff that you will need again and again in any activity which can save you multiple trips to Target!
- Colors (crayons, pencil colors, washable paints)
- Paint brushes, painter pallete
- Assorted set of craft supplies (pom poms, pipe cleaners, craft sticks, etc)
- Construction paper (assorted colors)
- Popsicle sticks
- Masking tape, craft scissor
- Playdough and playdough tools
- Glitter glue, stickers, sequins
- Q-tips, rubber bands
- Paper plates
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31 Fun activities to do with 4 year olds
1. Playing with gloop via learning4kids
Gloop is such a fun activity for kids of any age. I love making it for my daughter as well. It is slimy, sticky and a lot of mess but it is a great sensory activity as well as can teach your kids some basic science skills like the difference between the solid and liquid. Janice from learning4kids in her blog here will walk you through steps on how to make gloop as well as what you can talk to your kids about while doing this activity.
2. Backyard water fun
You can never go wrong with some backyard water fun especially in the summer months. They are a great way to keep kids active as well as engaged for really long. Add some sprinklers to the water fun or a big bucket with soapy water to let your kids wash his toys and sit back and relax and watch them have fun.
Related: 30 Best summer toys for kids
3. Size sorting rainbow necklace via handsonaswegrow
Such a great activity to teach your kids about colors and shapes. Jamie from handonaswegrow.com teaches a simple activity that is perfect for toddlers and up to 5 years old where they learn how to thread and make a pretty rainbow necklace based on the size.
4. Memory matching game for kids via handsonaswegrow
Another great memory activity game to teach kids concentration and focus. All you need are some small objects like pom poms, beads and empty egg cartons.
5. Read books
Developing a good reading habit is a great activity to keep kids busy for long and also help build their vocabulary and teach them new life lessons. Incorporating a good 15-20 minutes of reading habit in your little one can go a long way for them.
6. Coloring
Another great activity to get kids to think creatively and outside the box. I love to use coloring books for my daughter. Give them some washable paints or crayons and let them create something creative for you. Make sure to use an apron as paints can get really messy.
7. Play with board games
Board games can make for a fun family night and it can teach your kids some basic important skills like communication, taking turns, sharing, winning and losing, and some basic math and analytical skills. They are great for kids of any age group. My favorite for my toddler are hiss and yeti in my spaghetti. And below are a few amazing board games for 3 years +.
8. Play with play dough or kinetic sand to roll, count and decorate via handsonaswegrow
This great activity via Jamie will teach your kids to be creative (designing monsters), learn to count and decorate the monsters. Also you can talk to your kids about colors, shapes etc.
9. Hide n' seek
This is the activity that keeps us busy most of the evenings. If your kid has siblings then even better as they can play with each other. Just hide behind trees or indoors under the tables and let your child count till 10 and find you. Great activity for your kids to get some physical activity and outside fresh air.
10. Play with Legos
Kids can spend hours engaging in building lego kits. It can help them think outside the box and use their imagination to build their own toys. We love lego kits for our toddlers like this one and this and this toy can easily grow with your kids as well. Some great lego kits for 3+ age are as below.
11. Easy paper tunnels for little car lovers via mamapapabubba.com
Vow I love this idea. Thy are definitely the easiest paper tunnels for little car lovers. Jen from mamapapabubba in her post has put an effortless and easy to do activity for car loving kids and that can really keep them engaged and entertained for long.
12. Farm animals washing station via coffeecupsandcrayons
I am sure most of you must have tried a washing toy station for your kids at home. My daughter is enjoying washing her toys in backyard as I write this blog post now. I love this idea via Megan that she has shared in her beautiful blog coffeecupsandcrayons.com. She has very well laid down everything that you will need to set up a fun and engrossing washing station for your kids at home.
13. Animal tape rescue via busytoddler
Susie’s blog busytoddler always has the best ideas and I keep going back to her blog to find fun and easy thing to do with my daughter at home. Another fun fine motor skill activity is this animal tape rescue activity. Although this is for young toddlers, even older kids can have some pretend play fun taping their farm animals. Add a few more toys to this and have fun watching them create fun stories.
14. Cereal threading via handsonaswegrow
Threading is a great activity that can keep toddlers as well as older kids engaged. Jamie in this activity has shared an easy setup which requires a few basic things like cereals, pasta, threads etc. This easy to do activity can teach kids about numbers, colors, patterns etc.
15. Blow Painting with Straws via artfulparent.com
Such a fun and creative activity via Jean. It can get your kids creative juices flowing and is so easy to set up.
16. Nature prints via nurturestore
Isn’t summer all about spending as much time as possible outdoors. What about adding a little bit of colors to the time you spend outside. This easy to do flower printing garden art is so easy to do and all it needs are fallen leaves and flowers and paints.
17. Sticker lines via busytoddler.com
Sticker lines are super easy to create. A great motor skill activity and all you need are some sticker dots and a sharpie.
18. Pom pom wall via toddlerapproved.com
I love doing this with my daughter. This activity can grow with your kids. For my toddler, I just tape empty paper rolls to the wall and give her some pom poms to pass through. And Kristina here via her blog todllersapproved.com has shared a fun and slightly contraption style pom pom wall setup for grown up kids. Great for fine motor skill development!
19. Do chores via moneysavingmom.com
Involving kids in household chores helps set them up for success in their life. It teaches them about responsibilities and being independent. Checkout this list of 15 easy chore ideas for 4 year olds via Crystal Paine through her famous blog moneysavingmom.com.
20. Sprinkle sensory bag via activelittles.com
Tammi here has shared an interesting activity for early learners. It is a great sensory activity for kids who can practice writing letters and numbers on a sensory sprinklers bag.
21. Rainbow salt writing tray via activelittles.com
Another great activity via Tammi for early learners. Create a rainbow tray and sprinkle salt on it and let your kids have fun writing letters and numbers on the rainbow tray.
22. Pretend play
Kids love pretend play games. Be it being a doctor or a chef who is cooking for their favorite toys watching these little ones get into character is very entreating. I have a complete blog post of 15 best pretend play toys that you can buy for your little one. Also adding a few of my favorites here.
23. Brain quest
I was introduced to brain quest through a friend a couple of months back and I have to say that I am hooked. Brain quest has the best selection of activity cards and workbook that can get your little one engaged and excited for a long time. Check them out below.
24. Fridge magnets in an alphabetic order
I got these fridge magnets for Mishika when she turned a year old. They were a great hit then and are still a great hit. It is a great learning activity for kids. Ask your four year olds to arrange these fridge magnets in alphabetical order or numerical order. Great way to keep kids busy while you can load your dishwasher or prep your meals.
25. Paper cutting via funwithmama.com
Teaching your kids to learn scissor skills is a great motor skill activity. Kids love to cut and Nadia through her blog funwithmama.com has shared free printables that you can download for your kids. It’s a good activity to keep kids occupied on a long flight.
26. Rainbow rice via honeyandbetts.com
Hannah in her blog has put an easy sensory bin activity using rainbow rice for young kids. Rainbow rice sensory kits can be great for kids to draw letters and numbers in or give them a few toys and let them have fun creating a pretend play game.
27. Create an indoor herb garden via honeyandbetts.com
I found this activity very interesting and I plan to try it with my daughter soon. Gardening is a great skill to cultivate in your little ones and Hannah through her activity shows how to create an indoor herb garden while involving your little ones.
28. Glue canvas via learnwithplayathome
Speaking from experience my little girl loves to mess around with the glue all the time and this activity was exactly what I needed for my daughter. Debs through her blog leranwithplayathome.com has shared an amazing activity of making a glue canvas with your kids. This activity can get them to think outside the box and become more creative.
29. Wattle art stamping via thecrafttrain.com
Such a great activity by Kate from thecrafttrain.com! In this art & craft activity Kate shows an easy art painting using q-tips and washable paints where she teaches you how to draw a wattle – Australia’s national flower. Great way to paint!
30. Fluffy pet rocks via thecrafttrain.com
Such a cute activity where Kate teaches you how to convert your rocks into fluffy pets. Your kids will love it.
31. Puzzles
Puzzles are one of the best toys that you can get for your kids that can get their brains working. I love working on puzzles with my daughter and have watched her grow with them. Checkout a few great puzzles for your kids below (3+ years of age)
I hope this list of activity for 4 year olds was helpful and you found something interesting to do with your kids. So which activity are you going to try with your little one?
Thanks for sharing these wonderful ideas. Me and my daughter read books together especially when it’s a personalised one! She react more and more positively to a customized book than to a non-customized one. This might seem overly simple, but if you engage with a book, you’re enjoying it. And you’re more likely to reread a book if you enjoyed it previously, right? Repetition is key to mastering anything. In case you’re wondering, we bought the personalised books from personalisedchildrensbooks.com ❤️