Kindergarten is an exciting time for young learners! They’re developing skills that’ll set the foundation for their education. As a parent, you can support their learning at home with these engaging kindergarten activities.
In this guide, we’ll share 54 fun kindergarten activities to help your child develop the 6Cs at the heart of the Begin Approach so they can thrive in both school and life.
Let’s dive in!
Table of Contents
- Kindergarten Activities to Practice Core Skills
- Kindergarten Activities to Boost Creativity
- Kindergarten Activities to Enhance Critical Thinking
- Kindergarten Activities to Encourage Curiosity
- Kindergarten Activities to Build Character
Kindergarten Activities to Practice Core Skills
Core skills include literacy, math, science, social studies, physical development, and basic life skills.
1) Create an ABC Sensory Bin
Fill a bin with rice, beans, or dry pasta and bury magnetic letters. Challenge them to dig in and find and identify all the letters.
2) Make an ABC Book
Help your child practice letter identification skills by creating a one-of-a-kind alphabet book. Use construction paper to make a colorful book, and have them draw pictures for each letter.
3) Shape Hunt
Cut different shapes from construction paper and hide them around the room for your child to find and identify.
4) Build a Pattern
Encourage your child to build a pattern with the silverware, a snack, or something else. Once they’ve built a pattern, continue it. Then, make one for them to add onto.
5) Try a Sink or Float Experiment
For this science experiment, fill the sink with water and gather some items that can safely get wet. Before your child places each one in the water, ask them to predict if it’ll sink or float.
6) Go on a Nature Walk
Explore the great outdoors with a magnifying glass.
7) Make a Map
Ask your child to make a map of their bedroom.
8) Play the HOMER App by Begin
The HOMER app by Begin is a great way to make learning fun for your child. Interactive games, stories, and songs make it the perfect addition to any learning routine.
9) Watch the Weather
Install a weather app or check the forecast together each day. Talk about what clothing and activities are best for different weather conditions.
10) Use Playdough Letters
Ask your child to form letters out of play dough to help build their fine motor skills. Challenge them to make their name and spell some kindergarten sight words.
11) Go Through an Obstacle Course
Create an obstacle course in your living room or backyard. As your child jumps, skips, and crawls through the obstacles, they’ll use different gross motor skills.
Kindergarten Activities to Boost Creativity
Help your child unleash their imagination with these creativity-building kindergarten activities.
12) Try a Box Transformation
What can your child turn an empty box into? Challenge them to get creative and use craft supplies to transform a simple box into something new.
13) Put on a Puppet Show
Gather old socks, markers, and other craft supplies to help your child create unique sock puppets. Then ask them to put on a show for you.
14) Make a Nature Collage
Go on a nature walk and collect items such as leaves, flowers, and sticks. Once home, have your child arrange these items into a collage using paper and glue.
15) Create Pipe Cleaner Masterpieces
Give your young learner a few pipe cleaners and ask them to bend them into different shapes to create sculptures.
16) Design Your Dream Home
Use this printable from Begin and basic art supplies to design a dream home.
17) Do the Egg Drop Challenge
Give your kindergartener an egg and ask them to think of a way to keep it from breaking when they drop it. Encourage them to get creative as they invent something to protect their egg. Then, test it out and see what happens.
18) Draw the Seasons
Help your child learn about the changing seasons by having them draw a picture representing each one.
19) Make a Card
Brighten someone’s day by making cards for friends or family members.
20) Illustrate a Nursery Rhyme
Think of a nursery rhyme your child enjoys, and ask them to illustrate it.
21) Get a Little Passports Subscription
Let Little Passports deliver a new craft to your door each month with a Craft Discovery subscription.
22) Do Some Dramatic Play
Set up a dramatic play area with dress-up clothes, puppets, and other props.
Kindergarten Activities to Enhance Critical Thinking
Critical thinking skills help children analyze information, form opinions, and make decisions.
23) Play a Board Game
Play an age-appropriate board game together and help your child understand the rules.
24) What Happens Next?
As you read a story together, occasionally pause and ask your child to predict what’ll happen next.
25) Do a Scavenger Hunt
Print this outdoor scavenger hunt and have your child find each item on the list.
26) Put Together a Puzzle
Putting puzzles together helps your child develop problem-solving skills and spatial awareness.
27) Play Memory Games
The HOMER app by Begin has several memory games to help your child learn to think critically.
28) Cook Together
Get your child in the kitchen and cook together.
29) Learn to Code
With codeSpark, your kindergartener can learn the basics of coding and make their own game.
30) How Are These Things Alike
Show your child pictures of two things and ask them how they’re alike. Here are some ideas:
- A sink and a bathtub
- Birds and lizards
- Meatballs and marbles
- Glue and molasses
31) Build a Tall Tower
Ask your child to build a tall tower with building blocks. How big can they go before it starts to fall?
32) Make a Menu
Have your child create a menu for a well-balanced meal.
33) Names from A-Z
Can your child come up with a person’s name that starts with every letter of the alphabet?
Kindergarten Activities to Encourage Curiosity
Curiosity fuels learning, sparking your child’s desire to explore, discover, and understand the world around them.
34) Pretend to Be Someone Else
Encourage your child to explore what different jobs are like through pretend play.
35) Make a Snow Storm in a Jar
Follow these directions and make a snowstorm in a jar.
36) Make a Bubble Wand
Help your child to create a bubble wand out of pipe cleaners.
37) Read Nonfiction Books
Nonfiction books are great for satisfying your child’s curiosity about the world. Choose topics that interest your child, such as animals, the ocean, or dinosaurs.
38) Measure Things
Show your child how to use a tape measure, and encourage them to measure different items around the house.
39) Mix Cornstarch and Water
When you mix two parts cornstarch with one part water, you get an unusual substance called oobleck that behaves like both a fluid and a solid.
40) Create a Sensory Bin
Make a sensory bin for your child to explore. Fill the bin with things that have different textures, like kinetic sand, shaving cream, and rice.
41) Build a Boat
Challenge your child to build a boat out of aluminum foil and see how many pennies it can hold before it sinks.
42) Sort Items
Give your child a muffin tin and several small items. Encourage them to sort the items into each hole based on a characteristic of their choice.
43) Wonder Aloud
Model curiosity by wondering aloud about things you see or encounter. For example, “I wonder why the sky is blue.”
Kindergarten Activities to Build Character
These kindergarten activities encourage character development.
44) Use the Learn with Sesame Street App
The Learn with Sesame Street app by Begin helps your child develop social-emotional skills.
45) Role Play Empathy
Act out different scenarios and encourage your child to practice empathy in their interactions with others.
46) Make a Gratitude Journal
Start a gratitude journal where your child can write down (or draw) something they’re thankful for each day.
47) Perform Random Acts of Kindness
Challenge your kindergartner to do one kind thing for someone every day.
48) Create an Emotion Collage
Create a collage showing pictures of different emotions. Your child can draw these or cut them out of magazines.
49) Practice Mindful Breathing
Teach your child special breathing exercises to calm down when they feel overwhelmed or upset.
50) Talk About Feelings
Big feelings can be hard to express, especially if your child doesn’t have a strong social-emotional vocabulary. Take time to discuss different feelings so your child can better understand and express their own emotions. Making a feeling vine can help!
51) Assign Age-Appropriate Chores
Taking on a couple of household chores, like sweeping the floor or picking up their toys, can give kids a sense of purpose and boost their confidence.
52) Do Some Yoga
Yoga can help children learn focus, calmness, and self-regulation. Find a beginning yoga routine to do together at home.
53) Learn about Different Cultures
Expose your child to different cultures through books, music, food, and art. A World Adventures Little Passport subscription will help them explore the world.
54) Practice Gratitude
Take turns wrapping “gifts” from around the house to give each other. As you unwrap each one, show gratitude for the item and explain why you appreciate it.
Help Your Kindergartener Thrive with Begin!
Add kindergarten activities to your daily routine and watch your child learn and grow. Keep practicing the 6Cs with our play-based programs, such as the Learn with Sesame Street kits, the HOMER app, and Little Passport subscriptions. They’ll have a blast while learning!
