assignments for 5 year old

GET OUR LATEST UPDATES!

55+ Easy Activities for 5 Year Olds

• Kindergartner

UPDATED: Banish boredom in your house with these 55+ super fun hands on and easy activities and crafts for 5 year olds or kindergartners.

Do you have a 5 year old or kindergartner at home? Then this is the ultimate list for you. Here are 55+ amazing activity ideas to do with your 5 year old or kindergartner. From building an aquarium to making 2 ingredient silly putty to making paper houses and cork boats, there are tons and tons of really cool ideas your 5 year old will love.

This amazing list is organized into 4 sections:

• Boredom Busting Activities
• Arts & Crafts
• Fun Learning Activities
• Sensory Activities

OK Let the fun begin!

Boredom Busting Activities for 5 Year Olds

• Make a chalk maze – create a maze for toy cars using sidewalk chalk

2. Build a backyard obstacle course outside .

3. Build a fort – used blankets, cushions and chairs to build the ultimate retreat nook. Dontas forget to add lots and lots of books!

4. Build a marble Run – use cardboard, construction paper, tape and marbles. Roll the construction paper up to make a tube and tape them to the cardboard to make a marble run.

5. Make silly putty .

6. Giant Dots and Boxes .

7. Play with giant water beads .

8. Nature Tea Party – Collect things from your backyard like rocks, leaves, dirt and flowers to make a nature tea using your favourite tea set or a jug and cups.

9. Spr ay Bottle Water Fights .

10. Magnetic Tile Ramps .

11. DIY Post-It Dominoes .

Arts & Crafts for 5 Year Olds

12. Three Marker Colouring Challenge – Close your eyes and choose three markers from a pile. Use those colours and only those three colours to colour a favourite coloring page.

13. Make crazy hats – Construction paper, tape and scissors. Create the craziest looking hats you can using cut out lighten bolts, spirals, and different shapes.

14. Make a paper house .

15. Build Easter Egg Boats

16. Draw to music .

17. Giant Nail Painting Activity .

18. Make a garden sensory bottle.

19. Paint Kindness Rocks – paint rocks using washable paints and brushes and once dry write kind messages on them.

20. Textured Rainbow Sun Catcher Craft

21. Family Portrait Sticky Wall .

22. Make An Aquarium .

23. Cardboard Picture Frame Craft

24. Giant Baby Doll Colouring – Not into baby dolls? Trace cars and trucks to decorate them!

25. Textured Heart Sun Catcher Craft

26. Potato Masher Ice Cream Craft

27. Gems and Water Colour Flower Craft

Fun Learning Activities for 5 Year Olds

28. Baby Doll Haircuts .

29. Colour by Addition – Parents write simple addition or subtraction problems in each section of a colouring paper. Then create a key idenifitin which colour each answer should be. For instance if the answer is 3 then colour that second red.

30. Shaving Cream Sight Word Game .

31. Build The Alphabet Sticky Wall

32. Spray Bottle Letters – use a spray bottle to make letters on a fence or on a sidewalk.

33. Ice Cream Skip Counting Sticky Wall – Supplies: contact paper, masking tape, foam sheets, scissors and black sharpie.

34. Build A Magnetic Tile Clock – use magnetic tiles to make a giant clock. Use post it notes for the numbers or washable chalk markers.

35. Rubber Duck Math Race

36. DIY Egg Carton Ten-Frame Game

37. Magnetic Tile Ten Frame Game

38. Ocean Sight Word Sensory Bin

39. Ten Frame Sensory Bag

40. Dot Sticker Sight Words

41. One More One Less with Dot Stickers

42. Post-it Memory Game

43. Mystery Math: A Crayon Resist Activity

44. Toilet Paper Roll Skip Counting

Sensory Activities for 5 Year olds

45. Cork Boat Sensory Bin – make boats out of corks, elastic bands, toothpicks and foam sheets for the sails. Fill a sensory bin with water and blue food colouring, fish, sharks and sea shells.

46. Ocean Sensory Bottles

47. Wash the Horses Sensory Bin – fill a sensory bin with water and bubble bath to make bubbles. Add horse toys, combs and wash clothes.

48. Cloud Dough Kitchen

49. Textured Playdough Activity

50. One- Step Slime Sensory Bin

51. Under The Sea Bath

52. Make Shaving Cream Worms – use shaving cream, colander and a large bowl to make shaving cream worms. Turn large bowl upside down, cover the top with shaving cream, press colander down on the shaving cream to let it squeeze through the holes of the colander.

53. Shaving Cream and Baby Doll Sensory Bin

54. We’re Going on a Bear Hunt Sensory Bin

55. PAW Patrol Play Dough Tray

56. Colour Mixing Tea Party

WILL YOU DO ANY OF THESE ACTIVITIES WITH YOUR 5 YEAR OLD? PIN IT FOR LATER!

Filed Under:

• Fine Motor Skills
• Five Year Olds
• Gross Motor Skills
• Sensory Bins, Bottles and Bags

Other Posts You May Like...

Color Reveal Rainbow Activity

Fizzy Earth Day Sensory Bin for Kids

Cotton pad daisies: easy flower craft for mother's day.

Flower Sensory Bin

Review and rate this post cancel reply.

I love hearing from you! Submit your question or review here. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked*.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

2 comments on “55+ Easy Activities for 5 Year Olds”

Hii all activities are mind blowing. Can u please tell some activities for 3 years old boy baby

Thank you! Yes I have a great post for 3 year olds. Search: 50+ THINGS TO DO AT HOME WITH YOUR 3 YEAR OLD

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar

Teaching Expertise

• Classroom Ideas
• Teacher’s Life
• Deals & Shopping
• Privacy Policy

25 Engaging Activities For 5-Year-Olds

November 16, 2022 //  by  Michelle Mandel

When I think about five-year-olds, I think about the world of imagination and endlessly learning possibilities- where the impossible is possible, and there are no limits and boundaries. Five-year-olds are eager to learn, help, and do. They are on the go from morning till night, so they need plenty of short activities to keep them entertained. We’ve compiled a list of 25 engaging activities, so dive right in and remember to have fun!

1. Play With Your Food

Kids are always told, “Don’t play with your food.” Well, in this activity, we are going to do just that! Ever heard of Rainbow Toast?  Children will have edible paint and some toast and can let their imaginations go wild as they paint a rainbow. Afterward, they can enjoy an edible treat! 

Learn More: Holley Grainger

2. Cookie Merger

Hundreds of years ago, Othello was first played with black and white stones in Japan. The game’s object is to enclose the opposite color so it can be flipped over. This time we are using black and white sandwich cookies in a fast-paced game with a twist.

Learn More: Kids Activities Blog

3. Got Cups?

Plastic cups can be so much fun if you know what to do with them. Cup activities go far beyond just stacking them up. From bowling, ping pong, sorting, or drawing, plastic cup activities win hands down. Kids have big red plastic cups and small squares of construction paper, and the aim is to try and build the tallest tower. 

Learn More: Pickle Bums

4. Egg Carton Planting

Little ones like the experience and idea of gardening, but many do not like all the hassle it entails. Children can have lots of fun in the classroom with egg carton plants. They can simply fill a carton with soil, plant the seed, water it, and watch it grow. 

Learn More: Pink Fortitude

5. Ants Go Marching

Ants are so interesting to learn about, and with this fantastic craft, children can make their own red and black ants out of spoons! Connect assorted spoons and paint them red or black. Glue on some googly eyes and pipe cleaner legs, and your ants are ready for marching! 

Learn More: Danielle’s Place

6. Junk In Your Trunk

This game takes a little bit of investment, but it is well worth it. All you need is some tissue boxes, ping pong balls, and a few other odds and ends. The game’s objective is to get all the balls out of the tissue box as fast as possible. Shake, jiggle and move to get your “junk out of your trunk.”

Learn More: JCTV Family Vlog

7. Shhh, It’s Quiet Time

Children need downtime, and to create the best chill time for your kindergartener, you need to create the right atmosphere. Healthy music, low lights or soft lighting, crayons and paper, soft toys, and comfortable seating do wonder! 

Learn More: Families In Schools

8. Bean Bag Fun 

Bean bags are so easy to make, and they are essential in child development. Practice the art of balancing by getting your little ones to balance bean bags on different body parts. There are so many games that can be played with bean bags; whether it’s a tossing or spatial activity, your learners are sure to have a good time! 

Learn More: Empowered Parents

9. Inventive Activity Cards 

Five-year-olds are full of imagination, and we have to help nurture their literary skills and public speaking. One great idea to help you do this is picture cards that can be bought or made. Children lay a few of the cards on the table and then tell us a simple story step by step. 

Learn More: Tinker Lab

10. Scavenger Hunt For Beginner Readers

Using cards with simple instructions and some picture cards, pupils can work together and solve the puzzles to discover the treasure. Hide items in the playground or classroom for learners to search for. 

Learn More: There’s Just One Mommy

11. Lego Charades 

This is a fantastic game! Each child gets a picture to recreate using Lego blocks. The other children will guess what they are building as they create. It seems complicated, but it works really well, and your little ones will love the interactive guessing part! 

Learn More: Big Family Blessings

12. Musical Moves

This is an adorable, kid-friendly YouTube exercise video with easy exercise moves. All your little ones need to do is listen to the instructions and follow along. Exercise is important for everyone’s health; if you start young, your students will have good habits!

Learn More: Monica Flores Fitness

13. Paper Plate Snowman

Snowmen crafts are fantastic Winter makes! Make a paper plate snowman using paper plates, glue, and googly eyes. Print out the body parts before cutting them out and assembling the body. 

Learn More: Simple Everyday Mom

14. Learn With The Gruffalo 

To teach reading, kids need to know how to decipher rhyme. The Gruffalo is a funny tale to help with rhyming, and children can then invent their own crazy animals like a COG or a SNOG! 

Learn More: Deanna Jump

15. STEM Paper Airplanes

Paper Airplanes can be challenging to make, but with the right instructions, you have a great educational STEM project! All your learners need is some paper, crayons to decorate their finished product and a whole lot of patience! 

Learn More: Engineering Emily

16. BIG or PIG 

5-Year-olds are at the age where they are beginning to read. This website is great for practicing blending words and developing pre-reading skills that will improve your child’s phonological awareness. 

Learn More: Education.com

17. Bed Of Roses

Make a beautiful bouquet of roses using play dough! They are truly beautiful and easy to make. Start with a few small pieces of playdough or clay – rolling them into small balls and then into oval shapes before pressing the pieces together and forming flowers. 

Learn More: Krokotak

18. Twister

There is something exciting about being entangled with your friends! Time to take off your shoes and stretch a little. Challenge your learners to keep their balance as you spin the instruction wheel and have your students follow the prompts by placing their body parts on the mat. 

Learn More: Little Learning Corner

19. Obstacle Course

Use some yarn and other household items you have lying around the house to create an awesome obstacle course. Get your little ones involved in designing and setting up their very own obstacle course before maneuvering through it for hours! 

Learn More: Life Family Fun

20. Cotton Ball Balancing 

This is an awesome activity to practice balance if you have a few teaspoons and cotton balls lying around. Place a cotton ball on the spoon and have your learners race from one end of the classroom to the other without dropping their cotton balls.

Learn More: A Mom’s Take

21. Full Of Beans

Set up a sensory bin using assorted beans. Kids will love the sensation of running their fingers through the beans and enjoying the texture. They can use containers to pour the beans from one box into another or even practice their math skills by counting out a given number. 

Learn More: Bounce Back Parenting

22. Hot Potato Balloon Game

Hot potato entails moving extremely fast. Blow up a balloon and have your learners stand in a circle. The object of the game is to keep the balloon in the air and not hold onto it for too long. 

23. Simon Says

Simon says is an awesome opportunity to practice listening skills. Learners can play by following the instructions called out by “Simon.” If an instruction is given without the words “Simon says…”, the learners who complete the action are out. 

Learn More: Patty Shukla Kids TV – Children’s songs

24. Dice Game

Moo like a cow, jump like a rabbit, sing like a bird- all of these options and more can be played in an animal activity dice game. Roll the die and follow the instructions written on a piece of paper. Make sure your learners have plenty of space to move around in.

Learn More: Twitchetts

25. Horse 

Using smaller basketball nets and softballs, children can play this great classic game. The object of the game is to shoot the ball into the basket from different positions.  If you miss after three tries, you get an H, and so on. Once you have the word HORSE spelled out in full, you’re eliminated from play. 

Learn More: Rookie Road

Looking for strategies or have questions about how to support your child’s education? Ask our AI-powered assistant.

Parent Resources for Learning > Core Skills > 7 Fun And Easy Learning Activities For 5-Year-Olds

7 Fun And Easy Learning Activities For 5-Year-Olds

by Dr. Jody Sherman LeVos | May 18, 2021 | Core Skills

Learning activities play an important role in early childhood development. However, when parents come across this information, they often assume they need to create the most elaborate games to help maximize learning. That’s not the case.

For example, simple games and activities such as painting or playing house help develop language and emotional skills, creativity, and fine motor skills, among other things.

Also, when children engage in physical activities such as running, jumping, or skipping, it contributes to their gross motor development.

In addition, if an activity is challenging (think tricky puzzles or building a tall lego tower), it helps children learn how to follow through on a project and problem-solve. Ultimately, this helps build confidence and gives children a sense of ownership and accomplishment.

Learning activities for 5-year-olds are also great to help beat boredom. A child who has nothing to do for the day can often become irritable or display disruptive behavior. That’s not ideal for them (or you!), so it’s important to have some go-to activities at the ready.

Finding the right activities for your child is one way you can foster their continued growth and development. So where do you start?

Questions To Ask Before Choosing Activities

Now that you understand the importance of activities for 5-year-olds, here are a few questions to ask yourself to ensure you’re choosing the right ones for your child.

What Will My Child Learn From This Activity?

There are many developmental milestones that are essential for your child to reach — from physical to mental, emotional, and social.

This is why it’s important to incorporate a variety of activities into your child’s play, rather than choosing similar games that help develop the same skills.

Are The Instructions Easy To Understand?

As children get older, the activities and games we introduce them to will naturally become more complex.

While it’s beneficial to keep challenging our children so they learn to think creatively and problem-solve, it’s equally important to not overwhelm them with games that are simply too complicated for their age group.

Will The Activity Engage My Child’s Senses?

From the moment they are born, our children are seeing, touching, tasting, hearing, and smelling the world around them.

Children use their senses to explore and understand things, so we encourage sensory play in early childhood because it plays a significant role in developing many essential language and cognitive development skills. It also helps children continue exploring and engaging.

7 Fun Activities For 5-year-olds

1) letter toss.

What You’ll Need:

• Rolled-up sock or small beanbag

What To Do:

We love letter toss because it only requires about 10 minutes of set-up time, making it the perfect game to incorporate when you’ve had a busy day or week.

Start by writing uppercase and lowercase letters on individual Post-its (one per page). Then stick the Post-its onto the floor or playroom wall, making sure that there’s space between each one.

Next, have your child stand a few feet away and toss the rolled-up sock at the Post-it notes as you call them out.

You can also pick letters in a word and arrange them in random order. In this version, your child will need to hit the letters in their correct order to spell the word. (You can write the word on a piece of paper for them to have a reference if needed.)

This is a fun and engaging activity to help children practice their alphabet and spelling. All the aiming and throwing is also a great way to help them continue developing their gross motor skills.

2) Cupcake Tin Counting Game

• Cupcake tin
• Cupcake liners
• A snack with small pieces (e.g., cereal, puffs, blueberries, etc.)

In a nutshell, this activity involves having your child fill each numbered cupcake liner with the corresponding number of snack pieces. For more information on how to play cupcake tin counting, you can check out this link .

This simple activity is excellent for helping children develop their understanding of counting principles (and is a fun way to enjoy some delicious treats at the end!).

3) Create A Storytelling Map

• A huge piece of craft or butcher paper

The aim of this activity is simple: Create a giant storytelling map using a marker, crayons, and craft or butcher paper. (You can even take this activity outside and use your backyard layout as a guide for the map.)

Encourage your child to use their creativity and come up with their own ideas for this invented world. The map might lead to a magic castle, a haunted house, or even a mystical forest. Let their imagination run wild!

If you have multiple children, this is an excellent game for sibling or all-family play. And if you do take the activity outside, there’s the added benefit of sunshine and fresh air.

4) Draw To Music

What You’ll Need:

• Markers, crayons, colored pencils, watercolor paints, etc.
• Classical music playing in the background

Music — you listen to it, of course, but have you considered making drawings to match what you hear?

This is a simple but wonderful activity for many children. All you need is drawing and painting materials and, of course, music.

As the music plays in the background, encourage your child to draw or paint anything they want. To help them get started, you can ask questions like, “How does the music make you feel? What does it remind you of?”

This is one of those activities where the journey is much more important than the destination. It really doesn’t matter if the colors they choose clash or the lines are too harsh. We’re not talking about creating a Picasso here but, rather, engaging the senses with this experience.

Treat this activity as a great sensory (auditory and visual) learning opportunity that your child can enjoy for some uninterrupted quiet time.

5) HOMER Character Cut-Outs

• This printable from HOMER
• Crayons or markers
• Cardboard or cardstock
• Popsicle sticks (optional)

Start this activity by encouraging your child to color the characters. Once they’ve colored them how they’d like, have them cut the characters’ shapes out. Next, help your child glue the characters onto cardboard or cardstock.

Voila! It’s time to play!

This is a great way to encourage imaginative play, as your child can bring the characters to life (and even create a play). This really helps encourage creativity!

For some inspiration, check out this link .

6) Create A Rainbow Suncatcher

• Colored gift tissue paper
• Cotton balls
• Clear-drying school glue

Begin with cutting the colored tissue paper into squares. Then make the rainbow shape by drawing six lines on the wax paper with your glue.

Next, encourage your child to glue down the tissue paper onto each line in rainbow color order (you can hand your child a picture of the rainbow as a guide). Lastly, add cotton balls below the rainbow to represent clouds.

This is a great activity to teach your child the colors of the rainbow and to continue developing their fine motor skills.

7) Make An Ocean

• Medium bin or deep tray
• Dried pasta for coral
• Scoops of cups for playing in the water
• Ocean creature toys and loose parts like pebbles, shells, and starfish
• Blue food coloring (optional)

For detailed instructions on creating your very own ocean, check out this link to our Ocean Sensory Bin.

After finishing the creation with your child, encourage them to touch and feel all the interesting ocean creatures. This is a great sensory activity to help children explore and investigate some of the amazing fish found in our seas.

Have Fun At Home With Activities For 5-Year-Olds

We hope one thing’s clear from our above list of activities for 5-year-olds — your child can have so much fun learning right at home!

You also don’t have to bend over backward trying to get them the latest toys. There’s so much joy and learning that can come from using everyday household items.

For more fun, engaging, and learning activities to try out at home, check out our HOMER App!

Jody has a Ph.D. in Developmental Science and more than a decade of experience in the children’s media and early learning space.

View all posts

Dr. Jody Sherman LeVos

Chief Learning Officer at Begin

Related Posts

8 Ways to Raise Confident Kids at Home (for Girls and Boys!)

Confidence helps kids throughout their lives. Try these parenting strategies and activities and start raising confident kids at home!

Keep Reading →

5 Fun Activities to Build Social Skills for Preschoolers

Social skills activities can help your preschooler learn how to interact with the world. Try these five at home!

6 Ways to Make Curiosity-Building Sensory Bottles

Sensory play helps kids build curiosity. Try these six ways to make sensory bottles for your family!

9 Effective Emotional Regulation Activities for Kids in 2024

Emotional regulation is an important skill, but our kids aren’t just born with it. Find out how to teach it to your child!

5 Fun Critical Thinking Games to Play with Your Child

Critical thinking is an essential early learning skill! Check out these 5 games that help kids build it!

Bring Calm to Your Child’s Body with These 8 Breathing Exercises

Even one minute of breathing can reduce stress and anxiety for your child. Check out these exercises to see which might help your child learn how to find calm.

6 Key Goals for Enhancing Social Skills in Children at Home

Social skills are the building blocks of healthy relationships. Find out how to set social skills goals for your child and practice achieving them!

5 Activities for Teaching Kindness Lessons to Kids

Showing kindness means focusing your attention on another person, recognizing what they are feeling and what they need, and then offering them something. It’s giving your sister the last cookie in the jar. It’s playing a game because it’s your friend’s favorite....

13 Invention Ideas for Kids and Why They Matter

Inventing new things helps kids develop creativity and critical thinking. Try these 13 invention ideas!

Building Character through Vicarious Learning in Child Behavior

“Kids are sponges.” Parents, teachers, and caregivers say this all the time, and you’ve probably seen it for yourself. A 3-year-old mimics her older brother’s language. A 5-year-old acts out something they see on TV. Behavior and vocabulary spread through an...

6 Free Creativity-Building Preschool Art Activities

Preschoolers are creative superheroes. From age 3 to age 4, a kid’s artistic abilities explode (sometimes literally, if they’re dropping paint or a bucket of crayons!). Their drawings become more recognizable, they may start to play pretend and invent friends...

A Guide to Receptive Language for Parents and Caregivers

Receptive language skills help kids understand and respond to verbal, nonverbal, and written communication. Find out how!

• MOMMY GEARS
• INFANT CARE

EARLY EDUCATION

• HEALTH & FITNESS
• FAMILY CARE

30+ indoor activities to keep your 5-year-old entertained

by  maipham

November 26, 2023

This post may contain affiliate links so I earn a commission. Please read my disclosure for more info.

As a mom, finding ways to keep your 5-year-old entertained indoors can sometimes be a challenge. Rainy days, cold weather, or simply times when going outside isn’t an option, call for creative, engaging indoor activities. From craft projects to indoor games, there’s a world of fun and educational pursuits that can keep your little one busy and learning. This guide will provide you with a myriad of ideas to help you entertain your 5-year-old indoors, sparking their curiosity, encouraging creativity, and making the most of your time together.

1. Drawing and coloring

This is an image from my post: Where The Wild Things Are Activities For Your Kindergarten . Check out the post for more free coloring pages.

One of the simplest and most effective ways to keep your child entertained is through drawing and coloring. Set up a designated space with paper, markers, crayons, and colored pencils. Encourage them to use their imagination and create anything they want. You can even join in on the fun by drawing together or challenging each other to draw specific objects or animals.

2. Paper plate crafts

Paper plates are a versatile and inexpensive art supply that can provide hours of entertainment for your child. You can find countless paper plate craft ideas online, from animals to masks to holiday decorations. Not only will these crafts keep your child entertained, but they also help develop their fine motor skills.

3. Scavenger hunt

Create a scavenger hunt around your house or apartment with clues and items to find. This activity not only keeps your child entertained but also helps develop their problem-solving and critical thinking skills. You can even incorporate a prize at the end, such as a small toy or treat.

4. Indoor obstacle course

Set up an indoor obstacle course using pillows, chairs, blankets, and other household items. You can make it as simple or elaborate as you wish, depending on your child’s abilities. This activity allows them to burn off some energy and develop their gross motor skills.

5. Collage Making

Collage-making is a fantastic indoor activity that encourages creativity and resourcefulness. Provide your child with a blank canvas or paper and a variety of materials like old magazines, fabric scraps, stickers, feathers, buttons, etc. They can cut out images or patterns that capture their interest and arrange them to create a unique piece of art. Collages can be thematic (seasons, animals, favorite things) or completely abstract, driven by your child’s imagination. This activity keeps your little one entertained, develops their motor skills, and allows exploration of textures and colors. Plus, the end result is a piece of art uniquely theirs!

6. Playdough modeling

Keep your 5-year-old entertained indoors with playdough modeling. It’s calming, creative, and engages their senses. Provide a range of colors for them to choose from and introduce tools like rolling pins, cookie cutters, and stamps. This activity boosts creativity, imagination, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor skills. You can even teach them about shapes, sizes, and colors. No playdough? No problem! Making homemade playdough is a fun and easy activity with common household ingredients.

7. Building Blocks and Construction Sets

Building blocks and construction sets are timeless tools for indoor entertainment. They offer endless possibilities for your child’s creativity, allowing them to construct their own buildings, vehicles, and imaginary cities. This activity not only keeps your 5-year-old entertained but also aids in their cognitive development. As they manipulate the blocks and figure out how to stack and balance them, they learn about shapes, dimensions, and spatial awareness.

Building and construction play also encourages problem-solving skills as your child creates their desired structure. Choose a construction set suitable for their age and skill level, and remember, the goal is to have fun! Allow for free play and resist correcting their creations. After all, the beauty of building blocks is that they can always be rebuilt!

Recommended products: Melissa & Doug Wooden Building Set

8. Jigsaw puzzles

Jigsaw puzzles are a great indoor activity that provides entertainment and cognitive development benefits. They enhance problem-solving skills as children figure out where each piece goes based on its shape and image. Puzzles also improve hand-eye coordination, attention to detail, and concentration. Choose age-appropriate puzzles, starting with simpler ones and gradually introducing more complex ones. Encourage independence and resilience by letting them solve puzzles on their own, while being available to help if needed. Celebrate their achievements to boost confidence and enthusiasm for learning.

9. Matching puzzles

Matching puzzles are an excellent activity to entertain a 5-year-old indoors. These puzzles provide entertainment while improving memory and cognitive skills. The game involves identifying and pairing matching images, helping to refine your child’s visual memory, concentration, and attention to detail. It also boosts their confidence as they successfully match pairs. You can find various themed matching puzzles, from animals to shapes or even favorite cartoon characters, making them a versatile and engaging activity for your child.

10. Simple Board Games

Introduce your 5-year-old to the joy of board games. They’re an engaging way to entertain your child indoors while enhancing their skills. Opt for simple games that involve counting and matching to promote basic math skills and memory. Games like “Candy Land” or “Chutes and Ladders” cultivate number recognition and counting skills. Matching games like “Memory” improve visual memory. These games also encourage patience, turn-taking, and sportsmanship. They’re a superb option for family game nights, fostering a sense of togetherness and creating lasting memories.

Recommended product: Hasbro Gaming Trouble Board Game for Kids

11. Memory Games

Memory games are a powerful way to entertain your 5-year-old indoors while boosting their cognitive skills. Games like “Simon Says” improve memory and listening. Online memory games offer matching pairs, sequence recall, and more. Another fun game involves memorizing objects on a tray, covering it, and removing one. Your child then guesses the missing object. These games enhance concentration, memory, and cognitive abilities. They also promote emotional skills like patience and resilience as children cope with challenges and the excitement of remembering patterns or objects.

12. Flashcards

Flashcards are a simple yet effective tool to entertain your 5-year-old indoors. They are versatile and can be customized to your child’s interests and learning objectives. For instance, flashcards can be used to learn new words, numbers, shapes, colors or even animals and plants. The interaction demanded by flashcards aids memory retention and recall. It’s a game-like learning activity that enhances your child’s cognitive abilities while keeping them engaged. Additionally, you can turn it into a fun game by asking your child to match the cards or find a particular one among the set. Remember, the key is to keep it interactive and enjoyable.

Recommended product: Opposites Flash Cards

13. Storytime with picture books

Storytime with picture books is an invaluable indoor activity with your 5-year-old. This activity not only keeps your child entertained, but it also aids in developing their language skills, comprehension, and creativity. You can choose books about their favorite characters or topics, or even better, books with moral lessons. As you read, point to the pictures and ask them questions related to the story to enhance their recall and understanding. Make storytime a special part of the day by creating a cozy reading corner with pillows and their favorite teddy. Remember, the goal of storytime is not just reading the words – it’s about sparking curiosity, fostering a love for books, and creating memories together.

14. Interactive storytelling

Interactive storytelling is a dynamic indoor activity that not only entertains your child but also promotes their cognitive and language skills. It involves creating a story where your 5-year-old participates, either by telling part of the story, choosing which path the story should take, or acting out the characters. This activity encourages their creativity, imagination, and decision-making skills. You could create a story box with objects that can be incorporated into the tale to make it more engaging. This interactive mode of storytelling also enhances their communication skills, as they express their ideas and thoughts. Additionally, it’s an excellent bonding experience, creating memories filled with laughter and imagination. It’s essential to remember that there’s no right or wrong in these stories—allow your child’s creativity to flow freely, encouraging them to explore different ideas and solutions.

15. Drawing and writing their own stories

Drawing and creating their own stories is a wonderful exercise to keep your 5-year-old entertained indoors. This activity encourages your child’s imagination, creativity, and literacy skills. Provide them with a variety of drawing tools, such as crayons, markers, and colored pencils, and let them illustrate their own story on paper. They could draw about their day, create characters from their imagination, or even depict a favorite tale. Prompt them to create a narrative around their drawings to enhance their storytelling abilities. This activity also promotes fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Remember to appreciate their effort and unique creativity; it’s the process that matters, not the perfection of the final product.

16. Indoor Physical Activities

Keeping your 5-year-old physically active indoors can be a challenge, but it’s achievable. You can set up an obstacle course using cushions, chairs, and toys, or have a dance party with their favorite tunes. Simple yoga poses or exercises can also keep them active. Physical activities are essential for their overall health, motor skills development, and energy regulation. Plus, they provide a fun way to burn off energy and keep your child entertained indoors.

Read more: The best 8ft Trampoline with Enclosure For a Tiny Garden

17. Pretend kitchen or restaurant play

Pretend kitchen or restaurant play is an imaginative indoor activity that can keep your 5-year-old thoroughly entertained. With a miniature kitchen set or even common household items, your child can create an imaginary world where they are the chef or the restaurant’s manager. This pretend play, apart from being fun, helps to build their social and communication skills as they interact with imaginary customers and negotiate food orders. It also enhances their understanding of different roles and responsibilities in a real-world context.

Moreover, it’s an opportunity for them to learn about various types of foods and their preparation. So, bring out those toy utensils and let your child’s culinary creativity take over! Remember, the goal is to engage their imagination and create a playful learning environment indoors.

Recommended product: Best Chef Kids Play Set

Recommended product: Melissa & Doug Food Groups

18. Doctor or veterinarian role-playing

Doctor or veterinarian role-playing is an imaginative and educational indoor activity for your 5-year-old. This play fosters empathy, as your child learns to care for others, and can also alleviate potential fears around medical visits. Set up a “doctor’s office” with a toy medical kit, or a “veterinary clinic” with stuffed animals as patients. This activity prompts them to learn about basic anatomy and the names of medical tools. It also enhances problem-solving skills as they diagnose and treat their “patients.” Above all, this role-play encourages hands-on learning while keeping your child captivated indoors. Remember to guide their play subtly, answering questions and providing explanations when needed.

Recommended product: Melissa & Doug Get Well Doctor’s Kit Play Set

19. Making simple puppets

Making simple puppets is a wonderfully engaging indoor activity that stirs your 5-year-old’s creativity. It’s as simple as transforming everyday objects – socks, paper bags, or even old spoons – into characters of their own imagination. This playful craft not only keeps your child entertained but also refines their fine motor skills as they handle various crafting materials. Moreover, it opens the door to puppet shows, where your child can bring their characters to life, boosting their storytelling skills and encouraging dramatic play. So, gather some craft supplies, and get ready for a fun-filled puppet-making session!

20. Putting on puppet shows

Putting on puppet shows is a creative and entertaining indoor activity that can keep your 5-year-old engrossed. It combines the thrill of performance with the joy of storytelling. Encourage your child to use the puppets they’ve made to create a story, play different characters, and express various emotions. You can construct a simple puppet theater using a cardboard box or a table draped with a blanket. This activity enhances their narrative skills, stimulates their imagination, and boosts their confidence as they perform in front of an audience (even if it’s just their family!).

21. Educational TV shows or videos

Educational TV shows or videos can be a beneficial indoor activity to keep your 5-year-old entertained. Select age-appropriate content that is both engaging and informative. Shows like “Sesame Street,” “Peppa Pig,” or “Bluey” teach children about social skills, numbers, and languages in an entertaining way. Educational YouTube channels like “National Geographic Kids” or “SciShow Kids” can pique their curiosity about nature and science. Remember to balance screen time with other activities and discuss the content with your child to enhance their understanding and communication skills. This activity, when used judiciously, can be a great learning tool that captivates your child indoors.

22. Exploring Through Age-Appropriate Documentaries

Introducing your 5-year-old to age-appropriate documentaries is an effective method to keep them intrigued and educated while indoors. Select documentaries that revolve around topics of interest such as animals, space, or nature, catering to their curiosity and expanding their knowledge. Shows like “Wild Kratts” or “Octonauts” offer a blend of entertainment and education, immersing your child in adventurous narratives while teaching them about various species and their habitats. Remember, the aim is not just viewing but discussing the content afterward, prompting questions, and encouraging their thoughts. This can stimulate their critical thinking and comprehension skills. Documentaries can indeed be a wonderful indoor learning tool, delighting your child with real-world adventures right from your living room.

23. Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiments

Conducting baking soda and vinegar experiments is a fun and educational indoor activity that can captivate your 5-year-old. This simple science experiment, where baking soda (a base) reacts with vinegar (an acid), produces a fizzing reaction that can be exciting for young children. You can include elements of play by creating a mock volcano, filling it with baking soda and pouring in vinegar to simulate an eruption. This activity is not only entertaining but also introduces basic chemistry concepts and the principle of cause and effect.

Ensure safety by supervising the experiments and explaining the importance of not ingesting the mixture. Through these experiments, you can cultivate your child’s curiosity and promote their scientific thinking, all while keeping them thoroughly entertained indoors.

24. Rainbow in a jar experiment

Creating a ‘Rainbow in a Jar’ is a captivating indoor activity that can keep your 5-year-old engrossed while educating them about the concept of density. All you need are different types of liquid – such as honey, corn syrup, dish soap, water, oil, and rubbing alcohol – which you pour into a clear jar in a specific order to create a rainbow effect. As these liquids have different densities, they do not mix, forming separate layers, each representing a color of the rainbow. This visually appealing experiment not only keeps your child entertained but also introduces them to scientific concepts in a fun and engaging way.

Ensure safety by closely supervising the activity and explaining that the mixture should not be consumed. Use this indoor activity as an opportunity to spark your child’s curiosity about science and the world around them.

25. Making easy snacks or treats

Making easy snacks or treats together can be a delightful and educational indoor activity for your 5-year-old. Engage them in the process from start to finish – choosing a simple recipe, gathering the ingredients, measuring, mixing, and of course, taste-testing. Opt for healthy recipes like fruit skewers, yogurt parfaits, or homemade granola bars. Baking cookies or cupcakes can also be a fun treat for special occasions. This hands-on activity not only keeps them entertained but also teaches them about food, nutrition, math through measurements, and the joy of creating something from scratch. Ensure safety by handling any sharp tools or heat sources yourself and make the experience a memorable culinary adventure for your little one.

26. Decorating cookies or cupcakes

Decorating cookies or cupcakes is an artistic and yummy indoor activity that can keep your 5-year-old busy and entertained. It allows them to express their creativity while also learning about food and cooking. Start by baking simple cookies or cupcakes together (or use store-bought ones if you prefer). Then, lay out different edible decorations like colored icing, sprinkles, or chocolate chips, and let your child’s imagination run wild. They can make funny faces, create patterns, or just go freestyle. Make sure to praise their creativity and effort, boosting their morale. This activity not only provides a creative outlet but also introduces them to the basics of baking and decorating. Remember to ensure safety by supervising the process, especially when using kitchen tools.

27. Indoor Camping Adventure

Creating an indoor camping adventure is a fantastic way to keep your 5-year-old entertained within the comfort of your home. Start by setting up a makeshift tent using bed sheets or blankets, and throwing in some pillows and stuffed animals to add comfort. Bring in the camping spirit by preparing snacks like popcorn or smores, and enjoy them over campfire stories. You can even turn off the lights and use flashlights or fairy lights to mimic the starry night. This pretend-play activity fuels your child’s imagination, keeps them engaged, and introduces them to the concept of camping and nature, all within the safe and warm confines of your home. Don’t forget to capture the joyous moments of your indoor camping extravaganza, creating treasured memories that will last a lifetime.

28. Treasure Hunt

Organizing an indoor treasure hunt is a thrilling and dynamic activity to keep your 5-year-old entertained. Start by choosing a few items around the house to serve as the “treasure.” Hide these objects around the house and create a set of clues or a simple map to guide your child to each item, stimulating their problem-solving and navigational skills. To make it even more exciting, you can set a timer and turn the treasure hunt into a race against the clock. This engaging activity not only keeps your child entertained but also sharpens their cognitive abilities and sense of direction. Always ensure safety by choosing age-appropriate hiding spots and supervising the activity.

29. Crafting with Recyclables

Transforming household recyclables into fun crafts is a creative and eco-friendly way to entertain your 5-year-old indoors. Collect safe recyclable materials such as egg cartons, cardboard tubes, and plastic containers, and let your child’s imagination take the lead. Create quirky animals, build a robot, or even construct a miniature city. This activity not only fuels creativity but also promotes the idea of reusing waste and the importance of recycling. Ensure safety by helping with cutting or any parts that might require adult supervision. Crafting with recyclables not only keeps them entertained but also teaches them about environmental responsibility in a fun and engaging way.

30. Indoor Dance Party

Hosting an indoor dance party can be a fun and active way to keep your 5-year-old entertained indoors. Play their favorite music and let them shake, twirl, and jump to the beat. You can introduce some simple dance moves or let them create their own. This is not only a great way to burn off some energy but also a fun way to promote physical activity and rhythm. Make the party more exciting by turning down the lights and using flashlights as makeshift disco lights. Ensure safety by clearing the area of any objects that might cause tripping. This activity not only keeps your child entertained but also aids in their physical development, coordination, and motor skills.

In conclusion, keeping a 5-year-old entertained indoors doesn’t have to be a strenuous task. There are a multitude of activities, from arts and crafts to dancing and indoor camping, that can stimulate their creativity, curiosity, and physical activity levels. Remember, the goal isn’t to fill every minute with structured activities, but rather to provide a balance of engagement and independent play. Most importantly, these indoor activities provide an excellent opportunity for bonding and making lasting memories with your child. So, the next time you find yourself indoors with your little one, consider these activities to create a fun-filled and enriching environment!

About the author 

Mai Pham discovered her passion for writing a few years ago and she never stop thinking about it ever since. She finally took the leap and created Live a Worthy Life to brag about her smart ass (mainly just for fun). Enjoyed the fun writing brings, now with her new interest in everything-baby-related, she created Mommy Instinct , to tell mamas that it's ok that they mess up, that they don't know what the hell they are doing, and that it's okay to sit back and relax for a while.

RELATED ARTICLES

What Shapes Do Children Learn First And What You Can Help

ACTIVITIES , EARLY EDUCATION , TODDLER

STEM Activities for Kindergarten – A Guide For Moms

10+ easy but effective reading activities for kindergarten, 4 easy is and are activities for kindergarten (with free printables).

45+ Activities for 5 Year Olds That Will Leave You Wonder!

As a mother, I understand the importance of educational and fun activities to help in the overall development of our little ones.

When our kids become 5-year-olds, they transform into individuals who understand the world a little better, have developed their reading, writing, math, and literacy skills, are more creative, and can understand their emotions. 

Activities for Your 5-Year-Olds For Kids

If you are looking for various ways to keep your 5-year-old entertained and busy while learning new things and having a good time, you are at the right place! 😁

I recommend incorporating engaging and educational activities to help your kids try their hand at doing new things and learn through hands-on methods.

In this blog post, I have compiled a list of activities you can do with your 5-year-old. 

“Once you learn to read, you’ll see the world in a whole new way.”

Find a comfortable place to relax in your home and read books 📖 together with your preschooler. I believe it is essential to inculcate the habit of reading in kids from a young age to help them discover new worlds.

You can choose books with colorful pictures and illustrations for your little one to get excited about reading.

Fill Coloring Sheets

I suggest you print outlines of various images for your kid to color 🖍️ with crayons or colored pencils as a calming activity.

My son has always enjoyed coloring sheets since he was a little boy and could hold a crayon in his hand.

Play with a Sensory Bin

I recommend you let your kid engage in sensory play to feel the different textures and stimulate their senses.

You can make a sensory bin 📤 at home with a tray – choose a base sensory material of choice, like rice, salt, sand, water, soap foam, shaving cream, or water beads. Add some toys and other objects for your kid to play with. 

I would change the base sensory marker to create different kinds of sensory bins for my son to play with, and you can do the same.

Create Origami Shapes

My son loves doing origami, the Japanese art of paper 📄 folding, with me. I would recommend you let your kid explore paper-folding, too, and I am sure they will love it.

You can follow step-by-step tutorials and help your kid fold simple and basic origami shapes, like fish, dogs, butterflies, floating boats, and so on, to create beautiful paper shapes that your kid will have so much fun making.

Research states that folding origami shapes can help our kids develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, stimulate their brains, and build their patience meter.

String Beads on a Thread

Give your kid a piece of thread 🧵 or twine and a handful of beads to do this simple activity that can help improve their concentration abilities and hand dexterity. 

Instruct them to string all the beads through the thread. You can also provide different colored beads for them to sort and then put them through the given thread to form beautiful patterns.

We had too many beaded strings that my son made as he loved the activity a little too much, so I turned them into adorable bracelets for my daughter.

Fold Paper Strips

You can cut a sheet of paper 📑 into thin strips and make your kid fold the individual strips over and over again until they get to the smallest size as a way to develop their finger strength and fine motor skills. 

My son benefited from this activity, and it let him stay focused.

Have a Dance Party

As my son would say – it is always a good time to dance!

You can play some lively music and have a dance 💃🏽 🕺🏾party at home with your kid for a fun time. Dancing can help kids express themselves while getting their bodies moving for some much-needed exercise.

Make Art and Craft with Handprints

You can make your kid cover their hands ✋🏼with paint and transfer their handprint impressions onto paper or canvas. They can decorate these impressions with paint, markers, and paper shapes to add details to make adorable handprint art that you can adorn the walls in your home with. 

I also recommend tracing their handprints on colored paper, cutting and decorating them to use as banners and other decorations.

Try a Magic Milk Experiment 

I recommend you try this simple yet cool science experiment that was a favorite with my son and will leave your kid in awe, too.

Pour a small amount of milk 🥛 into a shallow tray or bowl, just enough to cover the bottom, and add a few drops of various food colors on the surface of the milk. 

Take the tip of a cotton swab or a toothpick dipped into liquid dish soap and move around the food coloring drops on the milk. The food colors will not mix with the milk unless it comes into contact with the liquid dish soap.

Your little one will have fun twirling the food coloring around the milk with the toothpick to create patterns.

Complete Word Search Puzzles

You can print templates of word search puzzles 🧩 that are made for the level of a 5-year-old and let your kid search for the list of hidden words to finish the puzzle. I sometimes give my son a time limit to make the activity more interesting, and you can try that, too.

I believe word search puzzles can help our kids learn new vocabulary and give them a sense of satisfaction after successfully completing the puzzles.

Practice the Alphabet with Sensory Trays

In my opinion, kids must be able to learn and write the letters of the alphabet 🔠 sufficiently, as it is the basic building block of the language.

You can fill a tray with a thin layer of sand, salt, or shaving cream, just enough to cover the bottom. Let your kid practice writing the letters of the alphabet using them as a working surface for a tactile and hands-on activity.

I suggest you give your kid reference cards of the letters for them to recreate on the trays.

Go on a Nature Walk

You can take your little ones on a nature 🌲 walk to get in their daily exercise and also observe nature in its full glory – the plants, flowers, and birds, listen to nature sounds, and breathe the fresh air. Being in nature helps improve our kids’ moods and soothe their minds and bodies.

My son and I look forward to our nature walks together every weekend.

Cook and Bake Together

I would say involving your kid in the kitchen 👩🏽‍🍳🧑🏽‍🍳 to occasionally watch and assist you in cooking and baking allows them to learn new things about the food they eat and how much effort goes into making it, and an opportunity for family bonding.

You can get your kid to do simple tasks – add the ingredients, mix the batters and broths, grate the cheese, knead the dough, sprinkle chocolate chips and sprinkles on desserts, and be your official taste tester, a role my son takes very seriously in the kitchen!

Count with Everyday Scenarios

I recommend you use the everyday scenarios 👀 around you to help your kid develop their counting abilities like I did with my son. 

You can point to people in the park, fruits on the table, clouds in the sky, socks in the laundry basket, toys on the floor, and so on, and make your kid count with visual aids.

Skip Count with Paper Ice Cream Cutouts

I did this fun, hands-on activity where my son stacked paper ice cream scoops to learn how to skip count.

You can draw and cut an ice cream 🍦 cone from brown colored paper and ice cream scoop shapes from various colored sheets of paper. Write down the numbers on the scoops. 

Specify a number and let your kid place the associated series of numbered ice cream scoops on the cone by skip-counting to form an ice cream stack. For example – for the number 2, the series would be 2,4,6,8, 12, and so on.

Play a Memory Recollection Game

Trust me when I say your kid will have so much fun playing this memory 🧠 recollection game, just like my son did.

Place various objects from around you, like buttons, toys, paper clips, books, etc., on a tray. Show them to your little one to look through and take a mental note for a few seconds. Then, take the tray away and let your kid try to recall the objects they saw on the tray just from their memory.

If you want to make the game more competitive for your kid, introduce a time limit they have to recall the objects.

I started with a few objects on the tray to get my son used to the game and then increased the number.

Make Paper Crowns

I suggest you involve your kid in making paper crowns 👑 to wear as a fun craft activity that can let them use their creativity.

 You can cut rectangular strips of paper from thick sheets of paper in different colors for the base of the crown. Let your kid color and design them with crayons, stickers, beads, tissue paper, paper shapes, and so on to make adorable crowns. 

My son and I made a lot of crowns for various occasions and themes.

Put Together Jigsaw Puzzles

You can spend time with your kid to complete jigsaw puzzles 🧩 together as a fun pastime and bond with them while doing the puzzles. Let your kid choose puzzles with pictures they like for them to be excited to see the whole puzzle come together.

I believe that completing puzzles can help kids learn about patterns and figure out which puzzle pieces go where.

I have fond memories of my son and me sitting at our dining table and spending time completing puzzles.

Make Homemade Slime

You can provide your kid with slime made at home to play with, and it is also a great sensory tool and aids in strengthening their finger muscles and calming their nerves.

I recommend you make the slime at home by combining water, glue, a small amount of borax, and a few drops of food coloring of your kid’s color of choice into a blob-like ball of slime. You can let your kid help out with the mixing process. 

A gentle reminder – don’t forget to wear your gloves when mixing the slime! 

You can follow a simple tutorial to make homemade slime with the correct measurements and procedures.

Draw Pictures

I recommend you give your kid a blank sketchbook or a few loose sheets of paper to draw ✍🏼 pictures with pencils and crayons, as they like using their creativity and imagination. You can let them draw things that they find exciting around them or provide them with prompts to serve as ideas.

I found my son loved reaching for his sketchbook to draw, and it allowed him to express his thoughts and the way he saw the world.

Narrate a Story with Prompts Jar

You can encourage your kid to narrate a story based on a prompt from their imagination to help them develop their language and vocabulary and to think of ideas on the spot.

You can write certain words or draw pictures on paper strips and fill them in a jar. Let your kid pick one strip from the prompts jar 🫙 and narrate a story based on their prompt for a fun activity.

My son had a great time doing this activity, and he thought of many creative stories.

Tell Time with a Handmade Clock

You can teach your kid to tell the time, an everyday skill everyone needs to know, by guiding them to read the hands of an analog clock 🕰️ with this hands-on activity.

I recommend you make a clock at home with paper plates or a cardboard circle as a craft activity. You can let your kid paint and decorate the base of the clock as they like. Write down the clock numbers, poke a hole, and add paper hour and minute hands. 

You can teach them to tell the time by moving the paper hands and use this handmade clock to introduce your kid to time-telling. After enough practice, they can read the time from an actual analog clock.

Play with Lego Building Blocks

Playing with building blocks is a favorite pastime for most kids, and my son loves spending time creating things out of Lego blocks and bricks.

You can let your kid aimlessly play around with the Lego blocks and bricks or encourage them to build homes, towers, buildings, or whole neighborhoods to foster their creativity and imagination.

Play with Playdough

Let your kid play around with playdough to create lines, shapes, and objects, and use their creativity to pinch, roll, and mold the clay. You can give them toy rolling pins, cookie cutters of various shapes, stamps, and skewers as tools for them to use to make the process more fun.

I recommend you give them tracing mats of shapes, numbers, and letters to help them learn by shaping playdough to place on the mats.

Sort Objects

Your kid will definitely enjoy this simple sorting ✅ activity that can help them differentiate objects based on certain aspects.

You can place a few random everyday objects chosen from around your house – toys, books, paperclips, buttons, Lego blocks, etc., and make your kid sort them into categories based on their color, shape, and size.

​​Complete an Obstacle Course

I would say obstacle courses are so much fun to complete and are a favorite with my son. 

You can create an obstacle course at home by arranging basic household items like pillows, toys, cardboard boxes, chairs, stools, and so on in different layouts for your kid to try and complete the course by going through all the obstacles in their way. Set a time limit to motivate them to get competitive. 

Play Hopscotch with Bubble Wrap Squares

I recommend playing a game of hopscotch for your little one to get in their daily physical activity and also for them to have a good time. 

This hopscotch game can be played even on rainy days as the number tiles are made of bubble wrap for indoors.

You can adapt the game to be played within the comforts of your home – cut bubble wrap into squares of considerable size and write down the numbers with colored markers to make the number tiles. Then, place the bubble wrap squares in the usual hopscotch layout for your kid to jump on the numbers and play the game. 

I must tell you that hopscotch was one of my son’s favorite games when he was 5-years-old, and it brought me so much joy to see him jump around.

Add and Subtract with Dice

You can do this activity to make addition ➕ and subtraction ➖ easy for your child. I guarantee it is fun to do math like this to simplify the learning process and make it less overwhelming for them.

Give your kid two dice and let them roll them. You can specify whether they have to add or subtract the numbers on the face of the dice and write them down. 

I made a paper dice at home to include more numbers than the regular dice for my son to calculate.

Match Numbers to Dots 

After our kids have passed the stage of rote counting, they need to learn one-to-one correspondence counting to use in their everyday lives.

I recommend you write down the numbers on individual cards and draw dots ⚫️ on Post-it notes representing the numbers. You can lay the individual number cards on the table and let your kid stick the Post-it notes on the numbers to match the dots with the corresponding numbers.

My son found this method easy to learn and understand correspondence counting.

I sometimes make the dots on clothespins for my son to pin them to the matching number cards.

Go on an Outdoor Scavenger Hunt

I’m sure your kid will enjoy a scavenger hunt in the garden at home or at a nearby park to look for 🔎 nature items, as my son surely did.

I recommend you make a list of nature items for them to look for, like flowers, leaves, birds, sticks, mushrooms, ants, pine cones, butterflies, and so on, for them to tick off the list one by one. 

I would say that this activity is exciting and fun for kids and encourages them to look and observe nature better.

Race with Toy Cars on a Maze Track

My son had a great time trying to race his cars through the maze.

You can draw a maze-like track with multiple pathways using chalk on your sidewalk and let your little ones drive their toy cars 🏎️ in and out of the drawn maze to keep them entertained.

You can do the same activity indoors by drawing a maze track on cardboard or thick chart paper for your kid to play on. 

Stack Cups into Towers

Let your kid stack towers as high as they can go using paper or plastic cups to build a tall tower 🗼 that stands the test of time and doesn’t fall.

I suggest cutting squares of thick paper from them to place between the individual cups to distribute the weight and help them stack the cups better to make the tower.

My son learned the importance of patience and had so much fun trying to build his cup towers.

My son loved doing these activities when he was a small and curious 5-year-old boy a few years ago, and I’m sure your little one will love doing these activities, too. 

I hope you enjoy reading the above list of hands-on and engaging activities that you can do with your 5-year-olds.

Please leave a comment below if you have more activities to add to the list or have any questions for me to answer – I would love to hear from you! ❤️

I’m a former teacher (and mother of Two Childs) with a background in child development. I’m here to help you with play-based learning activities and crafts for kids ages 0 – 8. ( Cledemy.com is my Next startup on Pre to 8th Grade Printable and Worksheet Education Resources)

Join our active Facebook group for creative and fun activities, games, and other child development ideas.

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar
• MEMBER LOGIN

Hands On As We Grow®

Hands on kids activities for hands on moms. Focusing on kids activities perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.

Activities for 5 Year Olds

Preschooler activities that are perfect for 5 to 6 year olds.

Please note: This is just the age that we tried these activities in our house. These activities may be suitable for other ages. As well as not suitable for your child that is of this age. Please take into consideration the level of development that your child is at.

Other Ages to Explore:

Looking for something search for activities:.

Follow the Line Motor Planning Activity

DIY Building Blocks Made Out of Paper

Heart Garland for Preschoolers to Create for Valentine’s Day

Christmas Flashlight Scavenger Hunt for Kids

Jingle Bell Activities for Kids of All Ages (Oh What Fun!)

Quick Games to Play with Stuffed Animals

Magic Letter Learning!

The Classic Christmas Countdown Chain with Festive Kids Activities

Playing “Marbles” with Monster Trucks

5 Beginning Reader Books for Kids JUST Learning to Read

Play with Mud: Messy Muddy Target Practice for Preschoolers

Sight Word Jump & Grab

Hop! Skip! Jump! with Paper Plates

Craft a Pretty Nature Collage Suncatcher for Toddlers

Mega Baking Soda to Vinegar Ratio Experiment

Shape Christmas Tree Cards

Decorate the Christmas Tree with Sight Words

Easily Make Tinted Jars with This Simple Painting Glass Jars Idea

I Spy Sensory Bag for Sight Words & Letters

How to Make Sensory Stress Balls with Balloons Easy Enough for Kids

Make a Treasure Hunt to Make Sight Words

Mix-It-Up Popsicle Stick Pumpkin Craft + Fine Motor Activity

Learning (Plus its Fun!) Indoor Obstacle Course for Kids

Easy Water Gun Target Activity for a Hot Day

Tree Branch Craft for Kids Simple Fairy Tale Pretend Play

Fun Trampoline Games for Learning Letters

3D Flower Card for Kids to Make for Mother’s Day

Creative No-Prep Letter Sounds Activity with Everyday Objects

3 Real Money Activities for Learning

Homemade Santa Hat Christmas Card

Spiral Christmas Tree Craft to Warm up the Home

Easy Fall Button Tree Quiet Bin for PreK Kids

Easy Edible Slimy Eyes Sensory Bag for Halloween

Make a Bubble Wrap Runway for Kids of All Ages

Make Your Own Simple Telescope Craft for Kids

Easy Bean Bag Number Toss Game on the Stairs

Create Your Own Animal with an Easy Old Magazines Collage

Musical Activity: Rhythm Play Adventure for Preschoolers

Rubber Band Printing to Make Transfer Art Quick and Easy

Spiral Ghost Craft for Halloween with Cutting Practice

Paper Clip Chain Activity is Quick Fun for Fine Motor Skills

Sort Living and Nonliving Things Activity Collage

Simple & Quick Winter Garden Fork Painting

No-Prep Earth Science Experiment for Curious Kids

Cute Potato Stamping Jack-O-Lanterns for Fall

Super Fun Tic-Tac-Toe Activity with a Learning Twist

Make Back to School Mornings More Positive with Put Ups!

Super Simple Soapy Sensory Foam Activity for Kids

Fun Fall Find the Letter on the Pumpkin Activity for Preschoolers

Bake Yummy Crispy Eggplant Chips with Your Kids

Easy Zentangle Drawing Inspired Art Activity for Kids

Easy DIY Story Stones for Fun Creative Play

Marbled Easter Eggs Sensory Activity

Magic Homemade Puffy Paint to Make a Snowman

How to Make a Menorah Hanukkah Craft with Shapes

Snow Globe Gift for Kids to Make

Number Puzzle Scavenger Hunt for Preschoolers

How To Make Fun and Easy DIY Pasta Stamps

Try A Crazy Glue Craft That Will Blow Your Mind

Strengthening Hands with Play Dough Names

Paper Towel Art is Gloriously Fun for Everyone

Trace to Erase the Letters on the Chalkboard

Shake, Shake, Shake to Make Art!

Tracing Letters & Shapes with Toothpicks

Learn to Weave & Pattern With a Clothes Basket

Stretching Out Words to Teach Kids to Read

Around the Town Scavenger Hunt to do as Your Child Grows

7 Ways Kids Can Help in the Kitchen

Super Sight Word Pencils

Fork Weaving: A Quick Craft When You Need It!

Junk Art Robot From the Making Box

Ready, Aim, Blow! A Pom Pom Activity for Kids

Giant Connect the Colors of Paper Activity

Fort Magic is the Ultimate Way for Kids to Build a Fort

Watercolor Hearts Made from ‘Newsprint’

Sticky Heart Collage Window Decoration

Comparing Shapes with Snowballs

Completely Upcycled Homemade Wrapping Paper for Teacher’s Gift

Craft Stick Christmas Tree Ornaments

Decorate a Christmas Tree with Ella’s Kitchen Baby Food Pouch Caps

Crack the Secret Code for Kids

Chore List with Dominoes & Numbers

Meet GoldieBlox! Blocks Just for Girls!

Kindergarten Math Activity to Solve Simple Addition Problems

Sort Colors & Get Moving With a Play Tunnel

Giant Spider Web Maze for Kids

Tracing Numbers on Tape

Spider Web Sight Word Match

A Halloween Beaded Spider Craft for Kids

A Window Fall Tree Craft for Toddlers

Monster Chocolate Sandwich Cookies! Nam Nam Nam

Explore Textures on an Outdoor Scavenger Hunt

Beginning Letter Sounds Sort Game

Super Power Rings Scavenger Hunt for Kids

The Kids Went Dumpster Diving… in a Cardboard Box!

Self Portraits for the Kids First Day of School Outfit

Squiggle! Tracing Lines on the Driveway

Making Fitness for Kids FUN!

Turn Leftover Kids Art into Streamers

What Parents Have to Say…

Shop ebooks of activities.

Get activity plans delivered to your inbox, every week!

Activities that hands-on parents absolutely love.

35 Name Activities For Preschoolers

How to Make a Lava Lamp Experiment Without Alka Seltzer

Why Routines for Kids are Important

50+ Simple Activities for Toddlers

Top Physical Activities for Toddlers! Mom, Embrace the Energy!

30+ Scavenger Hunt Ideas for Kids To Do at Any Age

Get started having fun with your kids.

PLAN THE FUN WITH THE FREE KIDS ACTIVITIES PLANNER! AND RECEIVE ACTIVITIES EVERY WEEK!

• Preschoolers
• Kindergartners
• Grade School
• Literacy & ABCs
• Math & 123s
• Art Projects
• Gross Motor
• Shop Activity Plans
• Member Login

• Math for Kids
• Parenting Resources
• ELA for Kids
• Teaching Resources

How to Teach Skip Counting to Kids in 9 Easy Steps

10 Best Math Intervention Strategies for Struggling Students

How to Teach Division to Kids in 11 Easy Steps

How to Teach Place Value in 9 Easy Steps

8 Math Division Tricks: Making Division Fun & Accessible

Simple & Stress-Free After School Schedule for Kids of All Ages

When Do Kids Start Preschool: Age & Readiness Skills

Kindergarten Readiness Checklist: A Guide for Parents

How to Choose Best School For Your Kid: 12 Best Tips

Why Kids Get Bored at School: 10 Tips to Keep Them Interested

6 Effective Ways to Improve Writing Skills

40 Four Letter Words That Start With A

What Are the Stages of Spelling Development: Ultimate Guide

48 Rhyming Words for Kindergarten Kids

How to Teach Vowels to Kids: A Step-by-Step Guide

13 Challenges for Teachers and How to Address Them

12 best qualities of a good teacher.

15 Best Innovative Tech Tools for Teachers

What is Teachers Professional Development: Strategies & More

11 Best Ways to Create a Positive Learning Environment for Kids

25 Best Educational Games for 5 Year Olds That are SO FUN!

1. SplashLearn’s Online Educational Games for 5 Year Olds 

2. the rubik’s cube , 3. sequence cards, 4. tic-tac-toe , 5. knock the can, 6. alphabet bingo , engaging and easy board games, 7. chutes and ladders , 8. candy land, 9. scrabble jr. , 10. feed the woozle .

Parents of 5 year olds know that this age is a critical time in their child’s development, and finding the right way to help them learn can be challenging. Fortunately, there are plenty of fun learning games for 5 year olds that can make the process enjoyable for both parents and children.

Whether you’re looking for ways to teach your child the alphabet or basic math concepts, there are plenty of options. So, let’s get the ball rolling with our list of the best games for 5 year olds!

Looking for more online Math games and ELA games to educate and engage your kids? Here are more games to check out!

List of the Best Educational Games for 5 Year Olds!

With so many different games on the market, we’ve divided our list into categories to make it easier for you to find the perfect game for your child.

Learning Games That Kids Will Definitely Enjoy!

First on our list are classic learning games for 5 year olds that have been around for years. These time-tested games are perfect for helping your child learn the basics, including the alphabet, numbers, shapes, and colors.

Skill Development: Math and reading

Price: Free for teachers and a 7-day free trial for parents. Subscription starts at $4.99 per month

You can find various learning games for 5 year olds online. SplashLearn is a website that offers over 4,000 educational games for kids in grades prekindergarten to grade 5. The games teach children essential math, reading, and spelling concepts. And best of all, they’re fun and engaging.

One of the great things about SplashLearn is that the learning program creates a daily personalized learning plan for your child. This plan will ensure that your child is always working on the concepts they need to learn and they’re able to do so independently.

SplashLearn: Most Comprehensive Learning Program for PreK-5

SplashLearn inspires lifelong curiosity with its game-based PreK-5 learning program loved by over 40 million children. With over 4,000 fun games and activities, it’s the perfect balance of learning and play for your little one.

Skill Development: Helps with cognitive development, motor skills and problem solving

What you need: Rubik’s cube

Not only is the Rubik’s Cube a classic game that’s perfect for helping your child learn about colors and patterns, but it’s also a great way to develop their problem-solving skills. You can help your child get started by teaching them how to solve the first layer of the cube. Once they’ve mastered that, they can move on to solving the entire cube.

Tip: Many online tutorials and how-to videos are available to help your child learn how to solve the Rubik’s Cube.

Skill Development: This game helps with critical thinking and problem-solving skills. It’s also a great way to teach your child how to count. 

What you need: A deck of cards

Sequence cards is a classic card game that is perfect for helping your child learn about numbers and patterns. The game aims to lay down cards in numerical order, from 1–10. Not only will they be having fun, but they’ll be learning essential math skills too!

Tip: Make sure to start with an easy level before moving on to the more difficult ones.

Skill Development: This game is a lot of fun and also a great way to teach your child about numbers and strategic thinking.

What you need: A piece of paper and a pencil.

This game is a classic for a reason—it’s easy to learn, and it’s a lot of fun! Draw a grid with nine squares, and label each square with a number from one to nine. Players take turns drawing Xs and Os in the squares, trying to get three in a row. The first player to do so wins the game!

Skill Development: It is a great way to teach your child about aiming and hand-eye coordination. It’s also a lot of fun! 

What you need: An empty can and a softball.

This is a classic outdoor game for active kids. Players take turns throwing the ball at the can, trying to knock it over. The first player to do so wins the game! Your child will love spending time outdoors while playing this game.

Tip: Set up the can at different distances to make the game more challenging.

Skill Development: This game helps with letter recognition and letter sounds.  

One of the most basic games you can play with your child is Alphabet Bingo. Write out the alphabet on each piece of paper, leaving a few spaces blank. The player then draws a letter from a bag or hat and fills the blank space. The first player to fill in all of their spaces wins the game!

What you need: A piece of paper for each player and a pen or pencil.

Tip: You can make the game more challenging by having the player fill in the spaces with words that start with the drawn letter.

Board games for children are a great way to teach them about different concepts. They’re also a lot of fun! Here are a few of our favorites:

The game’s objective is to be the first player to finish by climbing up ladders and avoiding slides (chutes). This is a perfect math game for younger kids, as it doesn’t require any reading. It’s a great way to spend some quality time with your child while they learn important skills.

Skill Development: This classic game is a great way to teach your child about numbers and counting. 

What you need: Chutes and Ladders board, dice, and different colored counters

Tip: Use dice with pictures instead of numbers to make the game more accessible for younger kids.

Candy Land is a classic board game for children. The game is simple—players move their pieces around the board according to the colors of candies they draw from a deck of cards. It is a fun, easy game that young children will enjoy.

Skill Development: It is perfect for 5 year olds, as it helps to develop counting and color recognition skills.

What you need: Candy Land board game

Scrabble Jr. is a great way to introduce your child to spelling and vocabulary. The game is played with two to four players. Players take turns making words with the letter tiles they have been dealt. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins! You can even help them by teaching them the definitions of words they don’t know.

Skill Development: This game is perfect for helping your child expand their vocabulary and learn new words. 

What you need: Scrabble Jr. board game

Tip: Use smaller words and simpler rules when playing with younger children.

This game is about matching shapes and colors. The aim is to get the Woozle fed by matching the right colored food to his mouth. This is an extremely fun game for 5 year olds as it is both fun and educational. Your child will love playing this game, and you’ll love watching them learn!

Skill Development: It’s a great way to help your child learn about shapes and colors and develop their fine motor skills.

11. Guess Who?

Guess Who? is a classic board game that has been around for years. The game’s objective is to be the first player to guess which character their opponent has selected.

To play, each player chooses a card with a character on it. They then take turns asking yes or no questions about the other player’s character, such as “Do they have blue eyes?” The first player to guess correctly wins the game!

What you need: All you need is the game board pack of Guess Who?

Skill Development: It’s a great way to help your child learn about facial features and matching.  

12. Katamino 

A puzzle game that helps kids with spatial awareness. With eighty different challenges to solve, it’s a great way to keep little ones engaged and learning.

You can also play the game with multiple players, making it a great option to spend more quality time with your child.

Skill Development: Katamino is perfect for kids starting to get a handle on shapes and geometry

What you need: Katamino puzzle set

Exhausting Physical Games for Kids

Along with the indoor games, there are a lot of outdoor games for children they can play to have some physical activity in their daily routine. Here are some popular and fun games for 5 year olds.

13. Hula Hoop 

Hula hooping is not only a great workout but also a lot of fun! It’s the perfect game for 5 year olds to play to use up some of their boundless energy. Your kid can practice hula hooping in the backyard, at the park, or even indoors if you have enough space. With some practice, your kid will be a pro in no time!

Skill Development: This physical activity can also help improve coordination.

What you need: One or more Hula Hoops, and you’re good to go!

14. Scavenger Hunt 

A scavenger hunt is a great way to get kids moving and exploring. To play, hide different items around your backyard or house. Then, give your child a list of items they need to find. Once they find all the items on the list, they win the game! Depending on your child’s age and ability, you can make the game as easy or as difficult as you like.

Skill Development: It’s also a perfect opportunity to teach them about nature and the world around them.

What you need: Some items that can be hidden as treasures and some sheets do draw maps or write clues for the hunters.

15. Don’t Let the Balloon Touch the Ground 

All you need is a balloon and an outdoor space. The game’s objective is to keep the balloon from touching the ground. Players can use their hands, feet, or other body parts to keep the balloon aloft. If the balloon touches the ground, the player who last touched it is out! The last player standing wins the game.

Skill Development: This game is great for coordination and gross motor skills.

What you need: A balloon, that’s it!

16. Hide and Seek

Hide and seek is a classic game that children can play anywhere. It’s a great way to get kids moving and exploring their environment. 

Your child can play hide and seek with you, another adult, or even older kids. If you’re playing with younger children, be sure to provide them with some good hiding spots!

Skill Development: It’s the perfect opportunity to teach them about blending with environments and how to use their senses.

What you need: An enclosed area indoors or outdoors, like a small field or in a hall where players can hide

17. Bean Bag Toss 

A bean bag toss is a great game to engage children in physical activity. To play, have your child stand a few feet away from the target and try to toss the bean bag inside. If they succeed, move the target further away. 

If they miss, move the target closer. You can also make the game more challenging by having them toss the bean bag with their eyes closed or from a sitting position.

Skill Development: It is a great way to get kids moving and improve their coordination.

What you need: A bean bag and a target. You can make your target by drawing a circle on a piece of cardboard or using a hula hoop.

18. Ring Toss

Ring toss is a classic carnival game that children can play at home with a few simple supplies. Set up the target can in the middle of the room, and let your child take turns tossing the rings from a few feet away. 

As they get better at releasing the rings, move the target further away. Your 5 year old will love the challenge of getting all the rings on the target.

Skill Development: This game will help improve hand-eye coordination.

What you need: You only need a few small objects for rings and something to use as a “target”—like an empty soda can. 

19. Freeze Dance! 

Turn up the music and get moving! This is a great game to get kids up and active. When the music stops, everyone has to freeze in place. The last person to freeze is out of the game. To make it more challenging, ask kids to make different moves when the music is playing—like hopping on one foot or touching toes.

It would be best if you also tried different genres of music to keep the game interesting. Your child will love busting a move to their favorite songs!

Skill Development: This will enhance their improve their attention to detail as well as their body movement skills.

What you need: Speakers and some free space for the kids to dance.

Indoor Games For Kids to Stimulate Their Brain

Not everyone has access to an outdoor space, but that doesn’t mean your child can’t be active. There are plenty of games for 5 year olds that can be played indoors!

20. Tangram 

Tangram is a Chinese puzzle game that people of all ages can play. The game’s objective is to create different shapes using all seven pieces. 

You can help your child get started by showing them how to make basic shapes, like a square or triangle. They can try to make more complex shapes as they get better at the game.

Skill Development: This game is great for problem-solving and spatial awareness.

What you need: The Tangram puzzle set

21. Balloon Volleyball 

Set up a net in your living room or basement and play a game of indoor volleyball! To keep the game fair, you can have one person on each team hit the balloon three times before it goes over the net. The first team to reach 21 points wins the game!

Skill Development: This is a great way to get kids moving and improve their hand-eye coordination.

What you need: A balloon instead of a volleyball and if you don’t have a net you can use a rope or a laundry basket.

22. Cup Stacking

Cup stacking is an easy game and all you need is a set of plastic cups and some patience!

To play, have your child stack the cups into towers of different heights. As they get better at the game, they can try to stack the cups faster or in more complex patterns. 

Skill Development: Cup Stacking is a great way to improve your child’s hand-eye coordination and improve motor skills.

Tip: You can also turn cup stacking into a race by timing how fast your child can stack and unstack the cups.

What you need: Just a bunch of cups!

23. Dots and Boxes 

Dots and Boxes is a simple game that kids can play with a pencil and paper. The goal of the game is to create as many squares as possible by connecting the dots. 

However, one player can only make one line per move. To make the game more challenging, you can increase the grid size or have your child play with more than one person.

Skill Development: This game is great for honing problem-solving and planning skills.

What you need: A pencil or pen and a sheet of paper.

24. Frozen Words

Simply write down a bunch of words on slips of paper, and put them in a container. Then have your child draw a slip of paper out of the container and try to guess the word from the definition you give. If they guess correctly, they get to keep the word. The person with the most words at the end of the game wins!

Skill Development: This is an excellent game for teaching kids vocabulary. 

What you need: Some small chits of paper to write the words and a big sheet of paper or board for the kids to draw on.

25. Who’s the Baby? 

This game is a great way to introduce fundamental concepts like family and relationships. Players take turns asking questions about the baby in the picture, and the player who correctly guesses the baby’s identity wins the game.

Objectives:

• To learn about family and relationships
• To practice identifying people in pictures

Skill Development: This game will help your child practice their memory and observation skills.

What you need: Lots of photos of family and friends.

Let’s Make Learning Fun!

Learning should be enjoyable for both you and your child. By incorporating games into your child’s learning, you can help them retain information while having fun! Try out some of these games the next time you’re looking for a learning activity. Your child is sure to love them! So get out there and make learning fun for your kids!

What are some benefits of playing games for 5 year olds?

Playing games has many benefits, including improved problem-solving skills, hand-eye coordination, and concentration. Games can also help to introduce new concepts and vocabulary words. Educational games for 5 year olds can also prepare them for the skills they’ll learn in school.

What should I do if my child isn’t interested in educational games?

Don’t worry! Not every child is interested in games, and that’s okay. There are plenty of other ways to help your child learn. Try reading books together, doing puzzles, or even just talking about the things that interest them. As long as you’re spending time together and engaging with your child, they’ll be learning!

How can I tell if my child is ready for some of these games?

The best way to know if your child is ready for a particular game is to try it out and see how they do. If they seem to be struggling, that’s okay! Just try an easier game or one that’s more tailored to their interests. With time and practice, they’ll be playing more complex games in no time!

Do I need to buy anything special to play these games?

No, you don’t need to buy anything special. There are various free games for 5 year olds to enhance their learning. Many of the games on this list can be played with items that you already have around the house!

Are there any games for kids that can be played quickly?

There is no need to worry if you don’t have much time to spend on these games. Just a few minutes here and there can make a big difference. If you’re short on time, try incorporating learning into everyday activities like cooking or cleaning. Add games to your weekly or monthly schedule since every little bit helps!

20 Best Board Games for Preschoolers in 2024

12 Best Indoor Recess Games For Kids

12 Best Dice Games for Kids to Play

Most Popular

15 Best Report Card Comments Samples

101 Best Riddles for Kids (With Explanation)

40 Best Good Vibes Quotes to Brighten Your Day

Recent posts.

15 Fun Fourth of July Activities for kids in 2024

Math & ELA | PreK To Grade 5

Kids see fun., you see real learning outcomes..

Watch your kids fall in love with math & reading through our scientifically designed curriculum.

Parents, try for free Teachers, use for free

• Games for Kids
• Worksheets for Kids
• Math Worksheets
• ELA Worksheets
• Math Vocabulary
• Number Games
• Addition Games
• Subtraction Games
• Multiplication Games
• Division Games
• Addition Worksheets
• Subtraction Worksheets
• Multiplication Worksheets
• Division Worksheets
• Times Tables Worksheets
• Reading Games
• Writing Games
• Phonics Games
• Sight Words Games
• Letter Tracing Games
• Reading Worksheets
• Writing Worksheets
• Phonics Worksheets
• Sight Words Worksheets
• Letter Tracing Worksheets
• Prime Number
• Order of Operations
• Long multiplication
• Place value
• Parallelogram
• SplashLearn Success Stories
• SplashLearn Apps
• [email protected]

© Copyright - SplashLearn

Make study-time fun with 14,000+ games & activities, 450+ lesson plans, and more—free forever.

Parents, Try for Free Teachers, Use for Free

Practise phonics by matching the pictures to the vowel sounds.

Activity: Phonics guidance

3. Memory games

• Play ‘Kim’s game’. Put a few items on a tray (for example, a crayon, an apple, a building brick, a toy car). Then look, cover, remember and check!
• Talk about, photograph or write out some ‘events’ from something you have done together – can your child remember the correct order?
• Go shopping – try to remember the list together!

4. Listening games

• Play games such as ‘Simon says’ – party games are often good ways to practice speaking, listening, and memory skills, without them even noticing!
• Listen to music and talk about the instruments being played – find pictures on the internet together.

5. Action games

• Make a puppet theatre with cardboard boxes or a towel over a chair and encourage your child to make up or retell a story to you (or any willing family members!).
• Have lots of fun dressing up with clothes and props at home so that your child can dress up as a character and act out favourite stories. You can find lots of cheap props and clothes for dressing up in charity shops.
• Play games such as ‘What’s the time Mr Wolf?’, but write the times down for them to read instead of saying them.

6. Tactile games

• Use magnetic letters to spell names and simple words on the fridge or radiator.
• Use modelling clay to make your child’s name or simple words like mum.
• Enjoy jigsaws together and chat about finding the right pieces!

7. Screen games

• Watch TV programmes linked to books and then read the books afterwards.  Little Princess , Katie Morag , and   Charlie and Lola are good places to start. Talk about what they like or don’t like about the characters.
• Find story-telling sites like   Little Kingdom , story-telling TV programmes, or story apps for your phone.

8. Car journey games

• Play ‘The cook’s cat is an amazing cat/beautiful cat/clever cat/daft cat … ‘ and so on, and then make up your own versions (for example, ‘The doctor’s dog … ‘).
• Play this noisy version of the car game, ‘Who can spot … ?’. It’s great fun – but check out with the driver first before you start this one! Decide on a noise, or a word to call, when you spot the things you’re looking out for. For example, ‘Bang!’ for a yellow car, ‘Buzzz!’ for a bus, and ‘Wow!’ for a bird.
• Listen to an audiobook.

Video: Car journey games

Get ideas for fun and educational car games for kids! Educational author and parent Isabel Thomas shares her ideas to relieve the boredom of long car journeys.

9. Out and about activities

• Ask your child to find the things you need to buy when out shopping by reading the labels on products together.
• Check out your local library or community centre to find out what special activities or clubs are running.
• Try to do a few visits or find some information together to link with the topic or project work at school.

10. Reading books of all kinds together

• Carry on reading books of all kinds to and with your child: picture, pop up, information, poetry, eBooks, print books … and the levelled books brought home from school. Video or record your child reading them for fun!
• Why not  choose a book from our free eBook library   to share on-screen together?
• Fun ideas for toddlers
• Fun ideas for 4-year-olds
• Fun ideas for 5-year-olds
• Fun ideas for 6-year-olds
• Fun ideas for 7-year-olds
• Fun ideas for 8-year-olds
• Fun ideas for 9-year-olds
• Fun ideas for 10-year-olds
• Fun ideas for 11-year-olds
• Creative writing
• Times tables

• Infertility
• Miscarriage & Loss
• Pre-Pregnancy Shopping Guides
• Diapering Essentials
• Bedtime & Bathtime
• Baby Clothing
• Health & Safety
• First Trimester
• Second Trimester
• Third Trimester
• Pregnancy Products
• Baby Names By Month
• Popular Baby Names
• Unique Baby Names
• Labor & Delivery
• Birth Stories
• Fourth Trimester
• Parental Leave
• Postpartum Products
• Sleep Guides & Schedules
• Feeding Guides & Schedules
• Milestone Guides
• Learn & Play
• Beauty & Style Shopping Guides
• Meal Planning & Shopping
• Entertaining
• Personal Essays
• State of Motherhood
• Home Shopping Guides
• Work & Motherhood
• Family Finances & Budgeting

Viral & Trending

• Celebrity News
• Women’s Health
• Children’s Health
• It’s Science
• Mental Health
• Health & Wellness Shopping Guide
• What To Read
• What To Watch
• Mother’s Day
• Memorial Day
• Summer prep
• Single Parenting
• Blended Families
• Community & Friendship
• Marriage & Partnerships
• Grandparents & Extended Families
• Stretch Mark Cream
• Pregnancy Pillows
• Maternity Pajamas
• Maternity Workout Clothes
• Compression Socks
• All Pregnancy Products
• Pikler Triangles
• Toddler Sleep Sacks
• Toddler Scooters
• Water Tables
• All Toddler Products
• Breastmilk Coolers
• Postpartum Pajamas
• Postpartum Underwear
• Postpartum Shapewear
• All Postpartum Products
• Kid Pajamas
• Play Couches
• Kids’ Backpacks
• Kids’ Bikes
• Kids’ Travel Gear
• All Child Products
• Baby Swaddles
• Eco-Friendly Diapers
• Baby Bathtubs
• All Baby Products
• Pregnancy-safe Skincare
• Diaper Bags
• Maternity Jeans
• Matching Family Swimwear
• Mama Necklaces
• All Beauty and Style Products
• All Classes
• Free Classes By Motherly
• Parenting & Family Topics
• Toddler Topics
• TTC & Pregnancy
• Wellness & Fitness
• Please wait..

Activities for a 5-year-old: Fostering your child’s development

From cooking to volunteering to fort building, your 5-year-old is eager to learn and help and play.

By Jessica D'Argenio Waller, MS, CNS, LDN June 10, 2023

Sergio Marcos/Stocksy

We independently select and share the products we love—and may receive a commission if you choose to buy.

By age 5, your growing kiddo is on the move from morning till night, which can mean entertaining them outside of school hours can be a challenge. But your 5-year-old is eager to learn and help and play, and there are plenty of opportunities to engage them in low-lift activities that support their development and growth. Here are our 10 favorite activities for 5-year-olds. 

Related: Innovative company lets parents save money by renting toys for kids

Sensory activities for 5-year-olds

1. nature bracelets.

Before your next nature walk, wrap masking tape around your child’s wrist with the sticky side facing out. Let them collect small natural items like leaves, flowers, or twigs to stick onto their bracelet, creating a wearable sensory masterpiece that connects them to nature. You could also make a crown! 

2. Sponge paint

Gather a few various painting tools like sponges, feathers, or cotton balls, and let your child explore different textures and patterns while painting ( washable paint is our pick!). This activity enhances their creativity, fine motor skills and sensory exploration.

3. Rainbow sorting

Your local craft store might sell a big bag of random sewing buttons, which makes for a great rainbow craft opportunity. Ask your child to glue the buttons into a rainbow on a piece of cardstock, which helps with sensory discrimination and color recognition.

Related: 11 outdoor art toys that will keep your little one creatively entertained this summer

Developmental activities for 5-year-olds

1. paper maze.

Draw a maze on a large piece of paper for your child to complete, filled with turn-arounds, dead ends and traps. Can they draw one for you to try? Mazes help kids explore problem solving and critical thinking. 

2. DIY memory game

Make a customized memory game by cutting out pairs of pictures from magazines, printing out images of their favorite characters or drawing on index cards. Play the game with your child, taking turns to flip over cards and find matches, which helps enhance their memory, concentration and turn-taking skills.

3. Fort building

Hand your child a pile of blankets and a few pillows and set them to work on making a cozy fort. Is there room to read a book inside or have a snack? Can they find a way to hang up a strand of string lights? This activity empowers their creativity, problem-solving and STEM skills, like engineering. 

Related: 18 best books for 5 year olds

Things to do with a 5-year-old

Week 1: get cooking.

It can be fun to involve your 5-year-old in simple cooking or baking activities , allowing them to measure ingredients, mix, and observe chemical changes during the cooking process. This hands-on experience develops their math skills, following instructions, and understanding of cause and effect. Plus, they might be more motivated to try a few new foods!

Week 2: Grow a green thumb

Help your child create a mini garden in a container (an old egg carton works well) or a small patch of soil. Let them plant and care for seeds, like sunflowers or a tomato plant, teaching them about plant life cycles, responsibility and nurturing. 

Related: 6 ideas for indoor gardening with kids

Week 3: Volunteer in your community

Is there an organization in your community that’s in need of volunteers? Whether you’re dropping off donations at the animal shelter, staffing a bake sale at your church or signing up for a fun run/walk, incorporating your kids in charitable work instills a sense of pride and highlights the importance of giving back. 

Week 4: Sight-word scavenger hunt

Create a sight-word scavenger hunt for your child by writing out a few sight words (the, at, by, etc.) on sticky notes and placing them around the house. Give them a legend with the sight words to find and cross off their list as they locate them. This game helps them review and recognize any sight words they may be working on in kindergarten. 

Our favorite products for 5-year-olds

1. Outfoxed!

At five, you can start to phase out games of chance like Candyland and Chutes and Ladders (you’re welcome) in favor of games that start to work their strategic thinking. Outfoxed is a favorite among parents and kids alike for its engaging game play that tests their thinking skills without being overly difficult. If Clue and Guess Who had a baby, this is the game that would result. It’s even fun for adults to play!

2. Creatibles DIY Window Cling Art Kit

With all the artwork they’re creating these days, you’re bound to run out of fridge space sooner than later. Why not mix it up a bit with this fun window cling kit? It comes with everything they’ll need to create fun and colorful designs that add a pop of color to a surface that isn’t already covered in their self-expression.

3. Rainbow Pack

What is Clixo? Well, a better question might be what  isn’t it ? A flexible, magnetic and modern-twist on building toys, Clixo sets invite kids to create any 2D or 3D structures they can dream up. The pieces, which are made from a durable and eco-friendly material they can bend and twist, feature secure magnets at the ends that click together with an impressive hold. From robots and jewelry to purses and rocket ships, the sky’s the limit on what they create!

4. Switch-Eroo Color Changing Markers

What’s more fun that a brand new set of markers? A brand new set of color changing markers. Each color has a secret alter-ego that’s revealed when they doodle over top with the other end!

Our editors also recommend...

Dad’s viral TikTok hilariously nails every parent’s anxiety when little kids sleep in

Child Shopping Guide

The 4 best kids’ tablets for travel and more.

Children's Health

Researchers find a little childhood independence can reduce kids’ anxiety.

Mom shares wet playground hack that’s a game-changer for rainy play

The mom’s guide to tween stink: 5 kid-friendly deodorants they’ll want to use

Fun Learning Growing

50+ Screen-Free Indoor Learning Activities for 5 year old- FREE Printables

VACATIONS or stuck indoors (like current situations when school, parks & all public places are shut down because of spread of deadly corona virus) are equally exciting, relaxing as well as stressful & difficult times (especially for parents) when kids are house-arrest because of weather or illness or some other unforeseen reasons, when you are just paranoid to take kids out to park or play area or play dates.

And you can neither match the energy levels of 5 year old nor entertain them whole day 24*7 for a couple of days….. phew!! THAT IS EXHAUSTING!

And you are tired of hearing “I am bored” every 5 minutes!!

And you don’t want them to be glued to screens or video games whole day!!

So now how do you save yourself from losing sanity & maintain peace at home, so that no-one kills each other?

Try these simple Screen-Free no-preparation easy fun and creative activities for kids at home , which will entertain them, tire them and there will be some or the other learning or skill development at the end of it.

Favorite ones go for repeat!!

How to entertain a 5-year old?

Honestly these kids are rolling balls of energy and it’s near-to impossible for the parents to “play with them” for the whole long day. And mine uses cartoons as the escape plan – either you play or let me watch cartoons.. 

Here is a list of indoor activities for kids which do not require much preparation or too many essentials and will keep kids busy for considerable time, atleast enough to let you have a coffee in peace or think of next activity to engage them to.

50+ Ideas of No-Screen Indoor Learning Activities for kids to keep them busy while at home

It would be a good idea to start the day with yoga or some kind of exercise, as there is less of physical activity when they are not going out, but is absolutely important for overall development.

A stock of colorful play dough always helps and is a winner with every age,  paired with some stencils, knife, shape cutters and some free play models. Here are some ideas for inspiration. Encourage them to give shape to their imagination.

Finger Puppets

Make finger puppets with kids out of paper or cardboard boxes or felt or foam. And ask them to tell stories with the puppet characters. Do volunteer to become audience while sipping your hot coffee.

Cloud Dough

A simple dough to make at home my mixing flour and oil, you can give your child hours of entertainment. Variations like dino fossils, dino or animal jumping in it and then taking animals for bubble bath are surely to get kids excited and busy. Recipe of cloud dough here .

Kids love nature, plants, flowers and especially planting these themselves. So involve them in planting some seeds and encourage them to remember to water the plants daily. They will surely become responsible and caring. Possibly one the best indoor learning activities for kids .

Painting Pots

Gardening can be made more fun by asking kids to paint and decorate their planting pots with pom pom, stickers, glittery foam, glitter glue.

Memory Games

Holidays give enough time to work on memory and play some memory games. They can make flash cards on their own and then play with them or try this Memory Game by Skola Toys (Amazon purchase link below*) .

Some toys with enhanced creativity will settle the war of screen-time and no-screen, as  they will be  looking at screens  anddrawing andthen playing with theri creations. Check Skipy  Travel toys (Amazon purchase link above*).

Indoor picnic is a good idea. Ask kids to pack their favorite snacks, or better prepare their own vegetable sandwich and pack in picnic basket along with mat and drinks. Inviting friends home would even be a better idea.

Picture Collage

Make use of old magazines at home, cut picture from them and handover to the kids with a glue and paper. Kids love gluing, atleast mine does. Differnet textured papers like gift wrapping papers can also be used to create mosaic arts .

Reuse used activity, coloring and alphabet books for making collages.

Check below a video of my boy making a picture collage from old magazine cuttings. Absolute free thinking!!

Kids love to imitate others and they often amaze us by the minute details they notice. Utilize the spare time as wonderful opportunity to learn what all they see and notice in the surroundings – at school, park, hobby class, home, shops etc. Our favorite are kitchen plays, shopkeeper and delivery boy role plays 😉

Paper airplanes

Need to utilize the energy outbursts, so engage them in some running round the house with paper airplanes.

Sensory Play

Some sensory play with mud, sand, grains, rice etc. by creating a scenario in a box like construction, sea, farm or jungle. Sensory plays are good for overall sensory development.

Another way of involving physical work-out is balloons throwing, catching and kicking. One more interesting idea to charge up the balloons by rubbing against hair or some surface and then seeing them stick to face and walls and roofs.

Building Blocks

Different varieties of  blocks are useful in mental and cognitive development along with fine motor skills. Let the kids explore and create their imagination with the blocks – free play preferred.

Creating something is what every child loves. Just keep a stock of few craft essentials like pom poms, glitters, paper plate etc. and get crafting with kids. Ask them their favorite animal or object and then do crafts related to it.. season related crafts are always hit with kids.

Check here for 50+ easy craft ideas good for toddlers as well as for kids of age 5+ years. Try modifications and variations as per availability of crafting essentials and interests.

Best way to wear up the energy balls and that too the super fun way. Do join them in dancing and get join the fitness club. You and kids will get a sound sleep at night after dancing joyfully.

Tracing Patterns

Tracing the blocks or matching the size/ shape of drawn patterns is an activity boosting logical reasoning and cognitive skills.

Bookish Activities

Adding on the bookish activities and bedtime stories, to encourage them to pick up books in vacations would be a good idea like –

• Puzzle books,
• story telling with book props,
• creating book-related crafts or
• asking the children to draw characters or scenes from their favorite book, or
• tell a new story with their favorite characters.
• puppet show

Our recent favorite is Gruffalo Jigsaw Book. Shop below: *

Books on Environmental Awareness

No-school days are still need to continue the learning process. Books based on science concepts that explain basic fundamentals in the form of story are the easiest to understand and relate and follow for kids aged 5 and above, like this series of Zayn and Zoey .

Zayn and Zoey series is based on The adventures of twins and stories are narrated in fun learning way that young learners are sure to  be fascinated and will try to inculcate the science concepts in practical life. Reading and Vocabulary building are bonus, so win-win.

There are various concepts and story narrations to choose from in this series. We started reading with the Solar Power and Rain water Harvesting and finding these absolutely intriguing. (Amazon purchase links given below*)

Hurdle Race

Placing objects, pillows, cushions on the floor to jump and run is a  2-in-1 activity, playing and exercising. Better to place rug , carpet or mat below to avoid hurting upon falling.

Cardboard Box Parking or Doll House

Needless to say how much kids love parking spaces and doll houses. It’s super easy to reuse a cardboard box and turn it into a car-parking or a dolly house and ensure hours of play, without continuous nagging.

Treasure Hunt

By hiding favorite toys at simple places in the house and then giving interesting clues or tasks to find them would be an amazingly interesting activity. Make them work their brain cells up.

Frozen Dinosaurs/Toys

This activity has always been a hit with us. Simply freezing his favorite dinosaurs or construction vehicles and then excavating them during the bath time. I prefer the break the ice in the bath tub. Sometimes I do add food colors for added fun. 2 fun ways of doing this activity:

• Salt & warm water can be used to melt the ice and dig out the frozen toys.
• Break the ice with hammer or throwing small ice cubes in the bathtub.

I love jigsaw puzzles. Best to boost logical and analytical reasoning. Age-appropriate jigsaw puzzles, word puzzles, picture puzzles, map puzzles are recommended to encourage kids to solve. We love wooden and floor jigsaw puzzles currently.

All kids love camping with their frozen or stuff toys. And so camping in the house will be a wonderful idea to keep them engaged and happy with self-play. A colorful foldable light-weight play tent is all we need to encourage the creative play. These ones occupy less space, so can be easily placed in living or play room as well.

Shop Now (Amazon purchase links below*)

Handmade Greeting Cards or Gifts

Encourage kids to make greetings cards or gifts for upcoming festivals or occasions. One benefit of preparing these now would be it will save your last-moment efforts and hassle. Plus they will pour their heart out in making cards or gifts for their loved ones. Hence working up on emotional quotient and social behaviour.

Some 50+ inspirations for handmade gifts and cards for daddy .

Science Experiments

Who doesn’t love some fascinating magical science experiments! What can be better opportunity to turn science into fun.

Probably the best indoor learning activities for kids. Also utilize the opportunity to explain the reasons behind the magic so they understand the phenomena as well. Some easy one that can be done at home with whatever is available, with kids of age 5+ are 

• Density experiment – with different density/weight toys
• Lava Lamp (oil-water density difference)
• Fireworks in a jar 
• Balloon rocket (static electricity)
• Walking Rainbow
• Skillets Rainbow
• Magic Milk Coloring Experiment   (Emulsion – Suspension) – video below

Board Games

Good opportunity to have some quality family time. Choose any of your favorite board games and play together with kids, without gadgets. They will love these memories forever.

Hide & Seek

No child ever says “NO” to hide & seek! This game has been the most all-time favorite of all age groups, anywhere, any place. One of the most engaging and interesting indoor activities for kids. Adult supervision is recommended. 

Printable Activities

Some printable activity sheets are useful in practicing for the alphabets, numbers etc. I have provided few FREE printable sheets below which include memory games, odd ones out etc.

DOWNLOAD FREE PRINTABLE ACTIVITY SHEETS

House chores

There is no age to learn household chores, and one MUST know basic life-survival skills like making a snack, making their bed, cooking, cleaning, tidying up, drying clothes, emptying dishwasher, folding laundry, setting up the dining table etc. Some ideas for Montessori-activities at home here .

Tidying-up before bed

It’s always a good habit to encourage them to tidy-up before going to be, so that you wake up to clean and sparky house. Tidying up their own mess also makes them responsible and next time they will be careful in scattering the stuff as they know they will be the one cleaning it up later. This Also wears them out, so ensures good night sleep.

This is a difficult time for everyone. It’s tough & demanding and troublesome to entertain kids 24*7 confined at home, but hoping and praying for it all to be fine soon.

Keep kids safe and protected. Engage them indoors with some indoor fun activities.. Stay strong mommas.

Stay Blessed & Safe!

Did you find these screen-free activities for kids helpful & useful?

Which is your favorite learning activity fr kids from the above list?

Share your favorite out of the above list, in the comment section below.

Share with parents you think might find it useful.

Follow on Pinterest , Instagram, Facebook and Youtube for more ideas and interactions. Also do subscribe to my blog so that you don’t miss any updates about new craft ideas and posts.

Subscribe to get NEW POSTS & FREE PRINTABLES in your Inbox.

Disclaimer: This printable material is for personal use only. You may download & use and even blog about it, but a back link to the post is must. Tag @Momlearningwithbaby on social media (Instagram/Facebook) while sharing.

No selling or commercial use of printable material is allowed.

Copyright © momlearningwithbaby

* Disclosure : Some of the links above are affiliate links, means, I will earn a commission if you make purchase using my link by clicking through and purchasing, at no additional cost to you.

Share this:

• Click to print (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)

Leave comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *.

Notify me of new posts by email.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Welcome to my Blog

Join us in our journey of fun learning. We create, imagine, laugh, learn and explore.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Email Address

You might also Like

Salt art for kids.

Follow on Instagram

Enter your email to download PDF and receive updates from OSMO

Scan to get started.

The Assessment App is available only on the Apple App Store . Please scan the QR code below with your iPhone device to download the app.

Learning Activities For 5 Year Olds

Best learning activities for 5 year olds.

What’s the best way to connect with your 5 year old child? Have you thought about activities to do with a 5 year old? If not, let us take you through some of the activities for 5 year olds that can help them to develop important life skills. To achieve this, conduct learning activities for 5 year olds in a creative way. You come up with different activities for kids at home so that they learn new things by themselves and eventually help in their curriculum. 

What are the activities for 5 year olds to do at home? We can think of many things that a 5 year old can do to learn and improve their cognitive skills. These developmental activities for 5 year olds motivates them to excel in academics as well as become independent learners. Apart from this, there are kids learning toys that can help them learn new things. These activities for 5 year olds are extremely beneficial for their educational development. 

15 Fun Activities For 5 Year Olds

Children love playing so why not engage them in learning activities that they find exciting and fun, while you spend quality time with them? Sounds good, right? Here, we will be listing down some enthralling games and educational activities for 5 year olds to do at home. As we said, these are learning activities, which implies that kids will learn something new and build better skills while performing these activities. So, let’s begin

• Fun with Flashcards: This can be a great activity to do with a 5 year old. You can make flashcards on your own, or buy them online, or even get them online for free and take their printouts. Flashcards can be on different topics- English alphabets, colors, numbers, etc. Say you create flashcards to teach English alphabets to your 5 year old kid. You can write every alphabet on a separate flashcard and draw anything whose name starts with that alphabet.  For instance, write “A” “a” and draw an apple! You can ask your little one to color the apple and write the word “apple” in the flashcard. 

What do kids learn through this? Through flashcards, children can learn and practice alphabets, words, numbers, colors and much more.

• Spot the Change: Spotting the difference between two similar images is fun and brain-tickling. You can find lots of Spot the Difference worksheets online for free and get them printed. Next, ask your kid to find out the difference between similar images. You can give cookies as a prize for finding all the differences in the first 2 minutes or so.

  What do kids learn through this? This activity sharpens mental ability in kids and improves their attention to details.

• Find the Matching Ones: Make flashcards with identical pairs of things like a pair of apples, a pair of giraffes, a pair of penguins, so on and so forth. Put the flashcards on the table (or any surface) such that the object image faces the table (or the surface) and remains hidden to the kids. Now, the player has to flip one of the flashcards and try searching for its pair in the rest of the unflipped flashcards. The player needs to find all the identical pairs. 

What do kids learn through this? Children get to refine their attention to details and problem-solving skills. 

• Rubik’s Cube: Solving Rubik’s Cube not only engages kids but also improves muscle memory. With its vibrant colors, Rubik’s Cube can be a highly addictive game for children. 

What do kids learn through this? This game teaches kids to be patient and improves their problem-solving skills and muscle memory.

• Learning with Tangrams: Tangrams are amazing when it comes to learning about shapes. Moving pieces and making new objects is a super-cool activity. You can also check out OSMO’s Tangram game that gives kids a hands-on experience of Tangram by integrating the digital world with the physical world. 

What do kids learn through this? Children get a sound understanding of shapes and develop better creativity. 

• Trace it: For this activity, you can find many tracing worksheets online. In these worksheets, kids should trace the dotted lines to create pieces of art, numbers, words, animals, birds and other objects. 

What do kids learn through this? Tracing helps kids have a good grip which eventually assists them in picking good handwriting and learning to draw objects faster. 

• DIY Emoticons: Don’t we all use numerous emoticons? Why not have an enriching experience by drawing these emoticons on sheets of paper and coloring them with their choice of colors? Also, ask children to write a word describing that emoticon- happy, sad, grumpy, excited, etc.

What do kids learn through this? Making emoticons and identifying these expressions will let kids develop better social understanding.

• Learning with Toy Trains: Toy trains are found in almost every home where there’s a kid. Why not use these toy trains for some learning activity? All you have to do is write numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) on the wagons, and ask your kid to attach a sticky note to each of the wagons where the sticky note contains the number spelling (one, two, three, so on and so forth). Want your kid to play another exciting number learning game? 

What do kids learn through this? Kids get a better understanding of numbers, counting, and you can even teach them addition, subtraction and multiplication with this activity. 

• Think More and Win: This game will be much more fun if played with multiple players. You or any instructor would say an alphabet. Kids have to write words that start with that letter. The one who can think and write more words in the least amount of time will win. Don’t forget to check out OSMO’s Words game that is built to offer kids an opportunity to experiment and learn more than 500 words. 

What do kids learn through this? This game improves vocabulary and linguistic skills in children.

• Reverse Pictionary: In the game of Pictionary, the player is given a word that he/she needs to draw and other players in his/her team need to guess the word, right? In this reverse pictionary, you would show an image of the object or the object itself to the 5 year old kid and he/she needs to write what the object is. For example, if you show an orange in your hand, the kid will have to write “orange” on the board. Simple yet brilliant activity for children.

What do kids learn through this? Kids get to work on spellings of different words and object recognition.

•   Learning Origami: Origami is just art, isn’t it? No. It is so much more than that. Origami involves lots of instructions to create something. Plus, you need to be very particular about how you twist and turn the origami paper in order to make clean origami arts.

What do kids learn through this? This activity works on kids’ motor skills, improves muscle memory, requires concentration and develops social skills. 

• Sort the blocks: Building blocks are of different colors and you can engage your kid in sorting these building blocks according to their colors. The trick here is that kids have to be as fast as possible. 

What do kids learn through this? Kids will learn more about colors, sharpen their motor skills and of course, learn the importance of time. 

• So lve it: Puzzles are a great way to enhance kids’ learning experience by developing their critical thinking and problem solving skills. You need to provide them puzzles where they can decode words or arrange different types of shapes to become academically sound. There is not much effort required for this other than using their imagination and thinking abilities to solve the puzzles. 

What do kids learn through this?  

With this, kids will learn about words and other important concepts. Besides this, there is a lot of improvement in concentration and being able to focus on things that they are doing. 

• Color it: Kids just love coloring or painting anything that you specifically want them to do. You can assign them different themes and ask them to depict that on the paper. Allow them to use attractive watercolors and crayons to make it visually appealing. These are printable activities for 5 year olds where you can download many coloring pages for kids to learn and have fun with colors.

What do kids learn through this? 

Kids will learn different concepts to Science, Maths and other curriculum topics while coloring. The main objective is to make them understand the concept that they are learning with the help of art. 

• Build it: Wondering what are the activities to do with 5 year olds? Not to worry, this is one of the best activities for 5 year olds where they expand their creativity to a higher level. You can provide some materials such as wooden blocks, popsicle sticks, color papers, cardboard, wires or any household items that are kids friendly. Ask them to build a structure which has some meaning to it or you can assign them a task which has to be completed within the given time. 

Kids will learn to systematically plan strategies to build the structure being assigned to them. They will read and discuss ideas with others in order to come up with perfect structure. Besides this, they will learn creativity, critical thinking and problem solving skills. 

Benefits Of Educational Activities For 5 Year Olds

Some of the benefits of activities for 5 year olds are mentioned below: 

• Provides fun and entertainment to the children. 
• Improves concentration and focus towards learning. 
• Develops interest in learning new things. 
• Develops fine motor skills, problem solving and critical thinking skills. 
• Provides opportunities for kids to engage themselves in learning activities. 
• Enables children to become independent learners. 

Frequently Asked Questions on Learning Activities for 5 Year Olds

What are the learning activities for 5 year olds.

Some of the Learning Activities for 5 Year Olds are spotting the changes, number flashcards, alphabet bingo, matching the relevant objects, tracing the numbers and letters, playing with educational toys, origami, organizing the blocks, etc.

What are the benefits of Learning Activities for 5 Year Olds?

The advantages of Learning Activities for 5 Year Olds are that it allow kids to have fun while learning, develops their logical thinking and critical thinking skills, and motivates them to think independently and make right decisions.

• Vishal's account
• Play & Activities

Top 36 Activities for 5 Year Olds

Importance of Activities for 5-Year-Olds

Educational and learning activities, art and craft activities, fine and gross motor activities, montessori activities, sensory activities, indoor activities, outdoor activities.

Engaging young children in activities is vital for their holistic growth and development. The combination of physical movement and creative endeavors provides the necessary stimuli for both the body and mind. Physical activities contribute to overall health and enhance brain development, while creative pursuits foster imagination, instill a sense of well-being, boost self-confidence, and nurture independence. These experiences play a pivotal role in shaping a child’s cognitive, emotional, and social capacities, laying a solid foundation for their future endeavors. In this article, we shall look at fun activities for 5-year-olds.

Engaging in activities is crucial for 5-year-olds as it promotes holistic development. Physical activities enhance health and cognitive functions, while creative pursuits boost imagination, self-confidence, and a sense of well-being. Activities also foster social skills , and emotional regulation, and lay the foundation for future learning, ensuring a well-rounded and thriving child.

Here are some educational and learning activities for 5-year-olds:

1. Word Board

This is one of the simple activities for 5-year-olds at home that can be done with the easily available material.

How to Play

Use a bulletin board and write down words on strips of paper. The words should be those that your child comes across in everyday life during playtime, mealtimes or in school. Put a picture next to the word to indicate what it means. For example, truck, car, bus, toy, daddy, mummy, rain, sun, etc.

What Does It Teach?

It improves their reading ability.

2. Skip Counting

This activity is one of the simple math activities for 4-5-year-olds.

How to Play?

Draw or stick pictures of objects like apples, cars or butterflies on cards to help your child count in twos, threes, etc. For example, to do skip counting by twos, stick two apples on the first card, four apples on the second, six apples on the third, and so on.

What Does it Teach?

It improves their math skills.

3. Dice Game

This game for five-year-olds is a math activity that can be played with easily available items in the house.

You need an ice-cube tray, a couple of game dice, whiteboard markers, and kitchen tissue. Put one of the dice into one ice-cube hole and the other into the adjacent hole. Use the marker to make plus, minus, and equal-to signs between the holes where the dice are placed. Help your child add or subtract the number indicated on the dice to arrive at the answer.

Improved basic arithmetic skills

4. Butterfly life-cycle activity

This activity can be done using craft paper or different-shaped pasta.

Draw the stages of a butterfly’s life cycle on a chart paper. Use craft paper or pasta shapes to make the shapes of the egg, caterpillar, cocoon and butterfly.

Teaches kids about the life cycle of a butterfly.

5. Junior Scrabble

It is structurally similar to regular Scrabble but designed for young kids.

The words are already printed on the board. All your five years old has to do is match the tiled letters onto the letters on the board.

Improved vocabulary

Here are some examples of art and crafts for 5-year-olds:

Origami or paper-folding is an activity that children will enjoy immensely.

How to Make

You can use coloured origami paper , craft paper or plain old white sheets coloured with crayons for this. Teach your child how to fold paper to make interesting shapes like aeroplanes, rockets, boats, birds, etc.

Improves spatial reasoning

2 . Craft Box

This is one of the fun 5-year-old activities that helps them explore their creativity.

Fill up a craft box with supplies like pipe cleaners, craft eyes, colourful yarn, safety scissors, coloured mini-puff balls, ice-cream sticks, felt squares, and tape. Let your child get creative with these. For example, your child can draw a garden scene or playground scene on paper and make it come alive by sticking green felt for grass, puff-balls for flowers and trees, etc.

Improve the imagination and creativity of the child.

3. Squeeze Paint

Kids love this activity as it is a lot of fun and they can let their imagination run wild.

How to Make?

Put plain white glue in several empty, squeezable plastic containers and add various watercolours to make bottles of different coloured glue. Now let your child squeeze out various coloured patterns onto white chart paper and let it dry. This will make a colourful display piece once the glue has dried.

It teaches them about colours and art.

4. Art with Seeds and Grains

This activity is fun to do for kids and can keep them engaged for hours.

Draw the shape of a flower or an animal like a dinosaur, duck or dog on a sheet of paper. Spread glue inside the shape and ask your child to fill it with seeds and grains to make the picture beautiful. You can use bird seeds, toor dal, masoor dal, moong dal, chana dal etc. to fill the picture.

Kids develop better hand-eye coordination when they pick up little seeds and glue them onto paper.

5. Parts of a Plant Craft

This is a simple craft idea that is also a learning activity.

Use markers, ice-cream sticks and coloured paper to make a picture of a plant on chart paper. Once this is done, label all the parts such as flower, petal, stem, leaf, root, etc. and teach your child the part of a plant.

This teaches the kids about the different parts of a plant.

Here are some activities that boost the development of your child’s fine and gross motor skills:

1. Lego City

This activity makes kids use their hands, wrists, and fingers, thus helping them develop their fine motor skills.

Use legos, regular building blocks, toy cars, trucks, aeroplanes, and small animal and human-shaped toys to build a city. You can let the children use the entire room, including the bed and study table . They can make a parking garage to park trucks and cars, use railway lines and trains to build a railway crossing. They can also put little shapes of animals and humans in various places in their toy city.

What Does it Teach

This activity makes kids use all the muscles of their body, thus helping them gross and fine motor skills.

2. Barbie Dress-up

This is another activity that helps children develop their fine and gross motor skills.

Kids love to play with dolls. Create a theme such as a house party or day on the beach and help them dress up their dolls with dresses and accessories to suit the theme. Let them make up stories about each activity that the dolls are engaged in. They can also comb or braid the dolls’ hair and style it with tiny clips that come as doll accessories.

The kids develop their fine motor skills when they work with tiny doll accessories to dress up the dolls.

3. Sorting Coloured Candy

This activity is excellent for helping kids develop their fine motor skills.

Give your kids a bowl full of coloured candy like jelly beans or gems. Ask them to sort them colour-wise and arrange them in different cups.

This teaches kids about colours.

It also helps them develop their fine motor skills as they use their fingers and hands to sort the little candies.

4. Art Using Leaves and Petals

This is a fun activity that helps children develop both gross and fine motor skills.

First, ask your child to go out to the garden and collect different leaves, petals and tiny sticks. Next, use chart paper to draw an outline of scenery, flowers or a tree. Now spread glue over the outline and stick real petals, tiny branches and leaves to form a beautiful picture.

This helps kids develop both fine and gross motor skills.

It also teaches them about nature and plants.

5. Bubble Art Using Straws

This is an activity that 5-year-olds find immensely enjoyable as they love blowing bubbles!

Fill several cups with mild soap solution and add drops of different food colour to it to make colourful liquid soap. Let your child blow bubbles into the cup with a straw. Make sure the child does not sip or swallow the soap solution. When the bubbles rise to the surface of the cup, place a white card over them. As the bubbles burst, they leave a colourful imprint on the card, making beautiful patterns.

This helps kids use the muscles of their hands, fingers and lips, thus helping them develop fine motor skills.

Here are some Montessori activities for young children:

1. Things that Go

Young children love vehicles. This activity will keep them constructively engaged for hours.

Get them vehicles of various types, like cars, trains, trucks, diggers, buses, auto rickshaws, etc. Let them play with the toys.

This teaches kids about various means of transport and the types and uses of different vehicles.

2. Animal Habitats

Animal habitats are fun to make and can keep your child engrossed for a long time.

Collect plastic animal toys like bears, apes, lions, giraffes, polar bears etc. Help your child use cotton and thermocol balls to make an Arctic habitat covered with snow and icebergs. You can put toys such as polar bears and arctic foxes in the habitat and teach your kids about how these animals live in such places. Similarly, you can make an African or Amazonian jungle.

This teaches kids about animals and their habitats.

3. Study of Colours

This activity is fun for young children as they love learning about colours.

Cover one or two colours at a time. If you are studying red, collect various things that are red, like a picture of a ladybug, a strawberry, etc. teach your child about that colour.

This teaches kids about colours in nature.

Here are ten sensory activities specifically designed for 5-year-olds, offering a blend of fun and educational benefits.

1. Playdough Sculptures

Provide different colors of playdough and various tools like cookie cutters, rolling pins, and plastic knives. Let the child mold, shape, and create their own playdough sculptures.

Playdough activities enhance fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Additionally, they encourage creativity and imagination as children transform simple materials into unique creations.

2. Scented Sensory Jars

Fill clear jars with different scented items, such as cinnamon sticks, lavender, or citrus peels. Seal the jars and let the child explore the various scents by shaking and smelling them.

Scented sensory jars engage the olfactory senses, promoting sensory awareness. This activity also introduces vocabulary related to different scents, enhancing language development.

3. Nature Scavenger Hunt

Take the child on a nature scavenger hunt, providing a checklist with items like leaves, rocks, and flowers. Encourage them to touch, smell, and observe each item on the list.

This activity promotes outdoor exploration and observation skills. It also connects children with nature, fostering an appreciation for the environment.

4. Texture Collage

Collect various textured materials like sandpaper, fabric, foil, and bubble wrap. Provide glue and a large sheet of paper for the child to create a texture collage by sticking different materials onto the paper.

Texture collage activities enhance tactile discrimination, helping children distinguish between different textures. It also encourages artistic expression and creativity.

5. Bubble Wrap Stomp

Secure a sheet of bubble wrap on a flat surface and apply paint on top. Let the child stomp on the bubble wrap, creating a unique and colorful piece of artwork.

Bubble wrap stomping combines gross motor skills with sensory input. It provides a sensory-rich experience while promoting physical activity and creative expression.

6. Mystery Bag Feel Test

Place different objects with varying textures inside a cloth bag. Blindfold the child and have them reach into the bag to feel and guess the objects based on touch alone.

The mystery bag feel test hones tactile discrimination skills, encouraging children to rely on their sense of touch. It also promotes concentration and focus.

7. Musical Sensory Shakers

Fill small containers with various materials like rice, beans, or beads, and seal them tightly. Attach the containers to a stick or ribbon to create sensory shakers. Play music and encourage the child to shake the shakers in rhythm.

Musical sensory shakers engage both auditory and tactile senses. This activity enhances rhythm perception and coordination, providing a multisensory experience through music and movement.

8. Taste Testing Adventure

Introduce a variety of foods with different tastes, textures, and temperatures. Let the children taste, describe, and compare the sensations of sweet, sour, salty, and savory flavors.

Taste testing activities foster sensory exploration through the sense of taste. It encourages descriptive language, expands taste preferences, and promotes awareness of different flavors.

9. Balloon Painting

Fill balloons with different textures, such as rice, flour, or sand. Dip the balloons in paint and let the children create textured paintings by pressing and rolling the balloons on paper.

Balloon painting combines tactile exploration with artistic expression. It enhances fine motor skills and provides a unique sensory experience through the feel of the textured balloons.

10. Mirror Reflection Play

Place a large mirror on a table and provide various objects with reflective surfaces. Children can explore reflections, experiment with angles, and create patterns using the reflective surface.

Mirror reflection play enhances visual-spatial awareness and introduces concepts of symmetry. It encourages exploration of light and reflection in a hands-on and engaging manner.

Here are some indoor activities for 5-year-olds that can be performed in the comfort of your home:

1. Story Time

This is one of the best quiet-time activities for 5-year-olds.

Use different voices, impressions and facial expressions to make the story more fun and animated.

This activity helps you bond better with your child and teaches a love of reading.

2. Watching Favourite Shows

This is one of the perfect rainy-day activities for 5-year-olds.

Pick a favourite animated movie such as Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, etc. and watch it with your child.

The sad and happy moments in the movie will teach kids about emotions and how to handle them.

3. Building Blocks

This is an indoor activity that can keep your child usefully occupied for hours.

Give your child legos or building blocks and ask her to make different constructs with them.

This can teach kids about the stability and balance of a construct and help them develop better hand-eye coordination.

Here are some outdoor activities for 5-year-olds:

1. Sand Pit

Children love playing in the sand, so this will be an enjoyable activity for your child.

Get your child a sand castle building set and let her play in a sand pit with other children, building sand castles and shapes.

It teaches kids about the feel and texture of dry and wet sand and also about how to share things and play well with others.

2. Running through Sprinklers

This is a really fun thing to do for kids.

Turn on the garden sprinklers and let your child run through them, getting wet.

It teaches kids about water and balance. It also is immensely amusing for the children.

3. Bug Hunting

This is an interesting outdoor activity for young kids.

Go bug-hunting with your kid in the garden. Find different insects and explain them to your child.

It teaches children about nature and insects.

4. Gardening

This is an enjoyable activity and also is educational.

Get your child to help you with weeding the garden or planting a sapling.

It teaches kids about plants, soil and how plants grow.

5. Play Park

This is the best outdoor activity for kids.

Take your kids out to a play park and let them play with other children.

It teaches kids about how to behave with peers in a social setting and teaches them to get along with other kids of similar age.

With these 36 activities, you’re bound to keep your kid occupied while at the same time taking care of their development.

1. How Shall I Encourage My 5-Year-Old to Play Independently?

Encouraging independent play in a 5-year-old involves creating a conducive environment and fostering self-reliance. Provide a variety of age-appropriate toys and activities that capture their interest. Set up designated play spaces, establish routines, and gradually increase playtime independence. Offer choices, praise their efforts, and allow them to explore their interests at their own pace, promoting confidence and creativity.

2. How to Improve the Behaviour of a 5-Year-Old?

Improving the behavior of a 5-year-old involves a combination of positive reinforcement, clear expectations, and effective communication. Establish consistent routines and boundaries, providing clear explanations for rules. Use positive reinforcement such as praise and rewards for good behavior. Address unwanted behavior with calm and consistent consequences, focusing on teaching alternatives. Foster open communication, actively listen to their feelings, and model appropriate behavior for them to emulate.

It is important to give your child different games for five-year-olds to play every now and then because each one has the ability to develop 8 different kinds of ‘smarts’ in your child. To help nurture these ‘smarts’, get your hands on FirstCry Intellikit – a fun activity box that encourages learning through play. To know more or subscribe to the Intellikit, click here.

Also Read: 

Behaviour Problems in 5 Year Old Development Milestone for 5 Year Old Ideas for Birthday Party of Five Year Old

• RELATED ARTICLES
• MORE FROM AUTHOR

Positive and Negative Effects of Cartoons on Child Behaviour and Development

Delightful Pirate Songs for Toddlers and Kids

Ninja Turtle Coloring Pages - Free Printable Pages For Kids

12 Easy Animal Crafts for Kids

Your Child And Beauty Pageants - What To Do

Games that Promote Social Development in Kids

Popular on parenting.

245 Rare Boy & Girl Names with Meanings

Top 22 Short Moral Stories For Kids

170 Boy & Girl Names That Mean 'Gift from God'

800+ Unique & Cute Nicknames for Boys & Girls

Latest posts.

Cookie Monster Coloring Pages - Free Printable Pages For Kids

Robot Coloring Pages - Free Printable Pages For Kids

Cheerleading Coloring Pages - Free Printable Pages For Kids

Essay On Holi - 10 lines, Short and Long Essay for Students and Children

Where play and imagination meet!

13 Easy Art Activities For Your 5-Year-Old

February 23, 2015 Anna

From rock painting to spin art to melted crayons, your 5-year-old will love these colorful and creative craft activities!

Add some color and life to your 5-year-old’s day with these 13 easy art activities!

Easy and Colorful Art Activities For Kids

1. easy diy colorful friendship bracelets.

These DIY friendship bracelets craft idea from Kids Activities Blog would make great gifts for your kid’s friends! Bond that friendships of 5-year-olds with easy-to-make loom band bracelets!

2. DIY Spinning Machines for Easy Spin Art Activities

Don’t have a spin art machine? No problem – try one of these super easy DIY spin art machine ideas by Housing a Forest instead! Your 5-year-old will surely have fun creating spin arts with them!

3. Fun Pour Painting Activity for Your 5-year-old

Do you know that your 5-year-old can create a beautiful mess? This easy, pour painting activity by Housing a Forest makes kid art so pretty, I’m sure you’ll put it up for display!

4. DIY Paperweights from Rocks and Crayons

Creative minds have no limits! Your 5-year-old will love making these DIY paperweights craft ideas from Kids Activities Blog out of melted crayon and ordinary rocks!

5. Easy and Colorful Salt Painting Art Activity

Watercolors and salt can be perfect together. This raised salt painting art activity from Housing a Forest creates amazing raised watercolor designs, your 5-year-old will surely love creating!

6. Easy Edible Paint Your Kiddo Will Love

You can combine art and food! Your 5-year-old will love creating art with this awesome edible paint idea from Kids Activities Blog! You won’t believe what the secret ingredient is!

7. Easy and Awesome Printmaking Art Activity

Add more colors to your kid’s day! Explore printmaking with this super easy styrofoam sculpting craft idea from Kids Activities Blog!

8. DIY Twistable Crayons for a Fun Art Activity

Don’t throw those old broken crayons yet! You and your 5-year-old can turn them into large, twistable crayons in this easy art idea from Kids Activities Blog!

9. Easy and Colorful Melted Crayons Art Activitiy

Your 5-year-old will surely love this creative idea from School Time Snippets! Turn melted crayons into a colorful keepsake, and have great fun making it!

10. Fun Rock Painting Activity with Your Kids

These colorfully painted rocks would make a great garden centerpiece! Thanks to Play Dr. Mom for this art activity, your 5-year-old will be so proud every time they see them displayed!

11. Math and Colorful Art Activity For Kids

Combine math and art with this fun tessellation activity by What We Do All Day! Yep, your 5-year-old will love colors, shapes, and Math in this easy art activity!

12. Creative Stained Glass Art Activity

Let your 5-year-old turn your windows into a stained glass with this simple activity by What We Do All Day! It’s so easy and safe to make, they will surely have fun creating them!

13. Simply Colorful Tie Dye Art Activity

Tie dyes are so fun to make, even your 5-year-old can do this! Try this super simple tie-dye activity by Kids Activities Blog with just paper towels!

More Fun Crafts and Activities From Play Ideas!

• Making pumpkins out of toilet papers have never been this cute and easy!
• Yarn and popsicle sticks can turn into cute and easy to make catterpilllars for your kids!
• Discovery bottles are fun and easy to make, perfect for kids of all ages!
• Craft these awesome LEGO art activities with your kids!
• Winter is so cool with these super fun and easy winter activities for your kiddos!
• Food and science is so fun when combined! Your kids will love making these easy and edible science activities !
• Ice experiments on a hot summer day is perfect for kids of all ages!

Which colorful art activity are you doing with your 5-year-old today?

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to content
• Skip to primary sidebar

Rooms Need Love

Simplify. Organize. Live.

27 Stay-at-Home Activities for 5-Year-Old Girls

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Your use of these links is greatly appreciated!

Last updated on April 9th, 2022 at 08:54 pm

About a million years ago, I posted a list of stay-at-home activities we came up with on Instagram. Since we’ve forgotten everything we wrote down millions of years ago, I thought I’d throw it all into a blog post for anybody to use.

I’ve included links to as many things as I can.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jena Love • Pro Organizer (@jenawithlove) on Mar 20, 2020 at 3:00pm PDT

Here are 27 stay-at-home activities for 5-year-old girls.

• Learn to draw from Art for Kids Hub
• Brain Quest , flashcards
• Memorize a bible verse
• Read a bible story
• Audible free books
• Stories Podcast
• Build something together with scrap wood
• Build a fort
• Zoo live feed —learn about that animal
• Help with chores —drying bag dishes, making bed, get her own snack utensils
• Give daddy back rub
• Write a poem together
• Start an interview journal
• Learn a foreign language together— Duolingo
• Write emails to family and friends
• Self-portrait in the mirror
• Coloring books & print out pages
• Learn Uno / Bananagrams , other games
• Take turns creating a story—do on Zoom with the family
• Living room dance party
• Outdoor scavenger hunt
• Learn a new dance (YouTube)
• Learn to follow LEGO instructions
• Giant Barbie house
• Fancy tea party with dress up

There are probably a lot more ideas out there but this was the original list we came up with. Make sure to pin it for later!

Share this:

• Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Homeschooling homeschool , kids activities , organizing kids

You may also like

How Does She? The Secret to Intentional Motherhood, Homemaking, Career, and All the Things

The Secret Weapon to Your Family’s Most Organized Year Ever: A Family Meeting

5 Classic Animal Tales You Must Read to Your Kids

Reader interactions, leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

GO BEHIND THE SCENES @JENAWITHLOVE

• COURSE LOGIN
• TERMS & CONDITIONS
• PRIVACY POLICY
• STATEMENTS & DISCLAIMERS

This site uses cookies through Google Analytics for advertisements and to monitor site performance and traffic. We may share information with our partners as necessary but never share personal information. By continuing to use this site, you agree to the use of cookies. Cookie Policy

• Trying to Conceive
• Signs & Symptoms
• Pregnancy Tests
• Fertility Testing
• Fertility Treatment
• Weeks & Trimesters
• Staying Healthy
• Preparing for Baby
• Complications & Concerns
• Pregnancy Loss
• Breastfeeding
• School-Aged Kids
• Raising Kids
• Personal Stories
• Everyday Wellness
• Safety & First Aid
• Immunizations
• Food & Nutrition
• Active Play
• Pregnancy Products
• Nursery & Sleep Products
• Nursing & Feeding Products
• Clothing & Accessories
• Toys & Gifts
• Ovulation Calculator
• Pregnancy Due Date Calculator
• How to Talk About Postpartum Depression
• Editorial Process
• Meet Our Review Board

5-Year-Old Child Development Milestones

Your child’s growth and development at age 5

• Language and Cognitive Milestones
• Movement Milestones
• Emotional and Social Milestones
• Other Milestones
• Help Your 5-Year-Old Learn and Grow
• Keep Your 5-Year-Old Safe
• When to Be Concerned

Five years old can be a really fun age! Your child loves to play and is extremely imaginative. They still feel little and adorable, but they are becoming quite the conversationalist, and their ability to pick up new information and ask thoughtful questions will seriously impress you.

This age isn’t without its ups and downs. Five-year-olds are still learning to regulate their emotions, so meltdowns happen from time to time. Still, your child is moving toward becoming more mature, and is able to do big kid things like going to school , and brushing their own teeth.

Let’s take a look at what to expect in terms of growth and development as you parent your 5-year-old, as well as some red flags that might warrant a call to your pediatrician.

5-Year-Old Language and Cognitive Milestones

Your child’s language skills are really exploding at this age. “Five-year-olds are fluent talkers,” says Molly O'Shea , MD, official pediatrician of  Goldfish Swim School . “They use pronouns correctly, recognize colors, and understand and use direction words like 'over,' 'under,' and 'next to.'”

Dr. O’Shea says that children this age love to recount the things that happened to them during the day, and can recall details from hours before. They are also able to carry out more detailed directions than they did before, a skill that will help prepare them for kindergarten.

“When following directions, five-year-olds can usually carry out a three-step sequence such as, ‘Get your shoes, put on your jacket, and pack your backpack,’ with few reminders,” Dr. O’Shea describes.

Cognitively, you will be wowed by how quickly your child is absorbing new information, says Tiffany Kimbrough, MD , associate professor and pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU. “Five-year-olds are like sponges and are constantly learning,” Dr. Kimbrough explains. “They can count ten or more items, can understand concepts like money, print letters and numbers, and copy shapes.”

Although your child still enjoys playing imaginatively, they are better able to distinguish between imaginative play and real life, says Dr. O'Shea. “Fantasy vs. reality are getting clearer, but kids still struggle to understand what can really happen and what can’t,” she notes.

Language and Cognitive Checklist

• Five-year-olds have a vocabulary of about 2000 words, and speak in sentences with at least five words.
• They can recount things like their phone number, and the first and last names of their parents.
• They still ask a lot of questions, but they can also answer simple questions.
• They can recognize rhymes, like "hop" and "stop."
• Their speech is more easily understood by others, and they are starting to use the future tense when speaking (“I will go to school tomorrow”).

5-Year-Old Movement, Hand, and Finger Milestones

As your child moves from preschool age to school-age, they are growing a bit more slowly, and their round cheeks and chunky thighs may start to lean out a bit. At this age, your child will gain about 4 or 5 pounds a year, and grow about 5 to 8 centimeters. On average, 5-year-olds weigh roughly 40 pounds and are about 40 inches in height.

Your child is no longer a teetering toddler or preschooler. Their movements are becoming more synchronized and their hand-eye coordination is getting more refined.

“Five-year-olds have gotten a lot more coordinated and are ready for action,” Dr. O’Shea says. “Gross motor skill development allows them to throw and catch smaller balls, run, jump and skip, and even do more complex movements like gymnastics and swimming real strokes.” They should also be able to hop on one foot.

As for fine motor skills, your child should be able to do things like feed themselves easily, and may even be able to use a child-safe knife to do things like spread butter on bread. Your child’s writing skills are also improving, which is readying them for exciting things like printing their own name. They also have some ability to dress themselves, such as by buttoning large buttons.

“They should have established hand dominance and be exhibiting a mature pencil grasp called a dynamic tripod (or quadrupod) grasp,” explains Caitlin Sanschagrin, an occupational therapist at Bright SpOT Pediatric Therapy . But all children are different, Sanschagrin says, and you shouldn’t expect your child to have a “textbook” pencil grasp at this age. 

Physical Milestones Checklist

• Your 5-year-old should be able to stand on one foot for about 10 seconds.
• They are mastering the art of climbing, swinging, and somersaulting.
• They should be able to use the potty on their own.
• They can hop, and may even be able to skip.

5-Year-Old Emotional and Social Milestones

One of the things you may notice at this age is just how much fun it is to chat with your 5-year-old. Yes, they still say the cutest things, but they also have a lot of interesting thoughts and opinions to share. “They are very capable of participating in conversations and may ask questions to gain information,” says Emily Rooker, a speech-language pathologist at Bright SpOT Pediatric Therapy.

Additionally, Rooker notes, your 5-year-old is growing and maturing when it comes to making friends and engaging with people outside their immediate family. At this age, children more consciously make and choose friends on their own, Rooker says.

They are also able to engage in play that involves directions, expectations, and cooperation, Rooker explains, which is another important prerequisite for the type of activities they will engage in once they begin elementary school. A 5-year-old can also do simple chores, such as putting their plate and cup in the sink after a meal.

But as much as your child is becoming more able to adhere to rules and become a team player, they are still very much capable of testing limits , especially with their parents. Regressing in behavior—and even having the occasional meltdown—is typical at this age, and it’s important to remember that you child is young and still learning.

“It can be frustrating for parents to see children behaving ‘like babies’ in their eyes, but by acknowledging the feelings and supporting the child, their emotional capabilities will grow and the child will have more ways of handling tough situations,” Dr. O’Shea advises.

Other Milestones for Your 5-Year-Old

Get your tooth fairy skills ready, because 5 years old is when most children start to lose their baby teeth. Starting at around age 5 or 6 is when your child’s mature sets of incisors (the middle bottom and middle top teeth) start to come in. The teeth will be wiggly for a few days or weeks before they fall out, and they often fall out while your child is eating. There may be a little blood, but the bleeding should be minimal.

At this age, your child should also be fully potty-trained, for both pee and poop. Most children this age can clean up after themselves in the bathroom as well. Don’t be surprised if your child still has accidents, though (that’s why their kindergarten teacher will have you send in an extra set of clothes). Kids this age still sometimes wet the bed.

How to Help Your 5-Year-Old Learn and Grow

As a parent, you may feel frustrated by the fact that your child still has occasional tantrums at 5 years old. This behavior is normal, says Dr. O’Shea, but there are some things you can do as a parent to help your child navigate these difficult feelings.

“Children will get upset,” she says. “When they do, parents can try hard to empathize rather than diminish their children’s feeling by saying things like ‘stop crying’ or ‘you’ll be fine.’” Even though your instinct as a parent may be to try to make the behavior stop immediately, allowing children a chance to share their emotions is important.

“By leaning into it with empathy, we give our children an opportunity to express their feelings and for us to help them come up with new ways to express themselves in the long run,” Dr. O’Shea offers.

How to Keep Your 5-Year-Old Safe

Your child will have a well checkup at the pediatrician's office soon after they turn 5. Their healthcare provider will make sure they are up to date with their immunizations , especially the ones required for school. Immunizations typically offered at this age include additional doses of the DTaP vaccine, the polio vaccine, the chickenpox vaccine, and the MMR vaccine. Your child’s provider will likely offer the flu shot as well.

Additionally, your child’s pediatrician will discuss the kinds of lifestyle choices that will keep your child healthy during this time. Five-year-olds need regular physical activity—at least one hour of movement a day. They need to get adequate sleep as well, and many kids this age need to sleep between 11 and 13 hours each night.

When to Be Concerned About Your 5-Year-Old

Every child is different when it comes to reaching milestones, and this is especially true at age 5. Some children are able to read a little at this age, while others are still learning their letters. Some children are little gymnasts while others are still mastering catching a ball . There is a wide range of normal, so don’t worry too much if your child has or hasn't mastered certain skills before others.

Still, there are some signs that your child may need a little extra help or an evaluation by a medical professional.

“If your child cannot say their first and last name, doesn't play with a variety of toys or play different games, doesn't respond to others, has extreme emotions (anxious, shy, or overly fearful), is unable to wash their own hands, cannot draw a picture, or if your child ever loses skills they once possessed, you should speak with your child's pediatrician or family practice doctor for more of an in-depth developmental assessment,” Dr. Kimbrough advises.

You can bring up your concerns with your pediatrician. If they agree that there may be an issue, they will be able to refer you to a specialist who can evaluate your child, and help them get the help they need.

A Word From Verywell

As you observe your 5-year-old and consider their growth and development, you probably have their entry into elementary school at the forefront of your mind. This is natural, because starting kindergarten is a major milestone for both you and your child.

Thankfully, although the adjustment to school can be bumpy, most children do fine in kindergarten—and yes, their parents learn to let go as well. But there are some children who struggle.

If you are concerned about your child’s ability to self-regulate their emotions, or if your child is showing lags in social skills or pre-reading and math skills, don’t hesitate to reach out to your pediatrician with your questions and concerns.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Important milestones: Your child by five years .

Mott Children’s Hospital. Milestones for 5-year-olds .

U.S. National Library of Medicine. Developmental milestones record - 5 years .

Nemours KidsHealth. Growth and your 4- to 5-year-old .

Nemours KidsHealth. Your teeth .

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccines at 4 to 6 years .

Nemours KidsHealth. Your child's checkup: 5 years .

By Wendy Wisner Wendy Wisner is a lactation consultant and writer covering maternal/child health, parenting, general health and wellness, and mental health. She has worked with breastfeeding parents for over a decade, and is a mom to two boys.

Important Milestones: Your Child By Five Years

CDC’s milestones and parent tips have been updated and new checklist ages have been added (15 and 30 months). For more information about the updates to CDC’s developmental milestones, please review the Pediatrics journal article  and these  important key points .

How your child plays, learns, speaks, acts, and moves offers important clues about your child’s development. Developmental milestones are things most children (75% or more) can do by a certain age.

Check the milestones your child has reached by 5 years by completing a checklist with CDC’s free Milestone Tracker  mobile app, for  iOS  and  Android  devices, using the Digital Online Checklist , or by printing the checklist [1 MB, 2 Pages, Print Only]  below.

“Learn the Signs. Act Early.” materials are not a substitute for standardized, validated developmental screening tools .

What most children do by this age:

Social/emotional milestones.

Close this video

Language/Communication Milestones

Cognitive milestones (learning, thinking, problem-solving), movement/physical development milestones, follows rules or takes turns when playing games with other children.

Image 1 of 3

Image 2 of 3

Image 3 of 3

Does simple chores at home, like matching socks or clearing the table after eating

Hops on one foot

Other important things to share with the doctor…

• What are some things you and your baby do together?
• What are some things your baby likes to do?
• Is there anything your baby does or does not do that concerns you?
• Has your baby lost any skills he/she once had?
• Does your baby have any special healthcare needs or was he/she born prematurely?

Concerned About Your Child’s Development? Act Early.

You know your child best. Don’t wait. If your child is not meeting one or more milestones, has lost skills he or she once had, or you have other concerns, act early. Talk with your child’s doctor, share your concerns, and ask about developmental screening.

If you or the doctor are still concerned:

• Ask for a referral to a specialist who can evaluate your child more; and
• Call your state or territory’s early intervention program to find out if your child can get services to help. Learn more and find the number at cdc.gov/FindEI .

For more on how to help your child, visit cdc.gov/Concerned .

As your child’s first teacher, you can help his or her learning and brain development. Try these simple tips and activities in a safe way. Talk with your child’s doctor and teachers if you have questions or for more ideas on how to help your child’s development.

• Your child might start to “talk back” in order to feel independent and test what happens. Limit the attention you give to the negative words. Find alternative activities for her to do that allow her to take the lead and be independent. Make a point of noticing good behavior. “You stayed calm when I told you it’s bedtime.”
• Ask your child what she is playing. Help her expand her answers by asking “Why?” and “How?” For example, say “That’s a nice bridge you’re building. Why did you put it there?”
• Play with toys that encourage your child to put things together, such as puzzles and building blocks.

Click here for more tips and activities

• Use words to help your child begin to understand time. For example, sing songs about the days of the week and let him know what day it is. Use words about time, such as today, tomorrow, and yesterday.
• Let your child do things for himself, even if he doesn’t do it perfectly. For example, let him make his bed, button his shirt, or pour water into a cup. Celebrate when he does it and try not to “fix” anything you don’t have to.
• Talk about and label your child’s and your own feelings. Read books and talk about the feelings characters have and why they have them.
• Play rhyming games. For example, say “What rhymes with cat?”
• Teach your child to follow rules in games. For example, play simple board games, card games, or Simon Says.
• Create a spot in your home for your child to go to when he’s upset. Stay nearby so your child knows he is safe and can come to you for help calming as needed.
• Set limits for screen time (TV, tablets, phones, etc.) for your child, to no more than 1 hour per day. Make a media use plan for your family.
• Eat meals with your child and enjoy family time talking together. Give the same meal to everyone. Avoid screen time (TV, tablets, phones, etc.) during mealtime. Let your child help prepare the healthy foods and enjoy them together.
• Encourage your child to “read” by looking at the pictures and telling the story.
• Play games that help with memory and attention. For example, play card games, Tic Tac Toe, I Spy, or Hot and Cold.
• Let your child play with other children, such as at a park or library. Ask about local play groups and pre-school programs. Playing with others helps your child learn the value of sharing and friendship.
• Teach your children about safe touch, such as hugging when both people want to and touches that help keep children healthy (touches from doctors or parents). Unsafe touches are touches that might make a child feel hurt, uncomfortable, scared, or confused. Teach your children that they are in charge of who touches them. Help them practice saying ‘no’ to unwanted or unsafe touch and let them know there are adults they can turn to for help.
• Teach your child to look for “helpers” if she is lost or needs help, such as parents with children, a store clerk with a badge, or a police officer. Teach your child her name and your name (first and last names).
• Encourage your child to pretend play. Help your child find items she can use to play dress up, school, or house.
• Keep a box of crayons, paper, paint, child scissors, and glue for creative play. Encourage your child to draw and make art projects with different supplies.
• Take your child to the playground. Teach her how to pump her legs back and forth on a swing and help her play on the monkey bars.
• Create a calm, quiet bedtime routine. Avoid any screen time (TV, tablets, phones, etc.) for 1 to 2 hours before bed and don’t put any screens in your child’s bedroom. Children this age need 10 to 13 hours of sleep a day (including naps). Consistent sleep times make it easier!
• Read to your child. Ask questions, such as “What is happening in the picture?” and “What do you think will happen next?”
• Explore things your child likes. For example, if he loves animals, get some library books about animals, look for birds and squirrels in a park, or visit a zoo to learn about animals.
• Try to make time for active play each day. Your child will have more fun if she can choose the activity. For example, give her choices, such as playing music and dancing together, playing outside, or taking a walk together.
• Your child might start to talk back or use profanity (swear words) as a way to feel independent. Do not give a lot of attention to this talk, other than a brief time out. Instead, praise your child when he asks for things nicely and calmly takes “no” for an answer.
• Help your child be ready for new places and meeting new people. For example, you can read stories or role play (pretend play) to help her get ready for Kindergarten.

Special acknowledgments to the subject matter experts and others who contributed to the review of data and selection of developmental milestones, especially Paul H. Lipkin, MD, Michelle M. Macias, MD, Julie F. Pajek, PhD, Judith S. Shaw, EdD, MPH, RN, Karnesha Slaughter, MPH, Jane K. Squires,  PhD, Toni M. Whitaker, MD, Lisa D. Wiggins, PhD, and Jennifer M. Zubler, MD.

Sincere gratitude to Natalia Benza, MD and José O. Rodríguez, MD, MBA for their thoughtful review of the Spanish-language translation of these milestones.

• Developmental Disabilities
• Child Development
• Positive Parenting Tips
• National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities

Print Milestone Checklist

English pdf icon [1 MB, 2 Pages, Print Only] Spanish pdf icon [1 MB, 2 Pages, Print Only]

Order free materials

31 Crafts for 5 Year Olds

Home » DIY » 31 Crafts for 5 Year Olds

You’ve found the right place, so bookmark this post to reference it year-round to keep your little ones busy. Today, I have thirty-one crafts for five-year-olds !

Although five-year-olds are not nearly as busy in a tactile way, they are still in an age group that is curious and excited by working with their hands in more structured ways.

Gathering enough of those crafts or ideas can get a little tricky.

From jewelry to dinosaurs to microphones and binoculars, there’s a project for every kid between the toddler phase and full-fledged independent play kid.

Crafts vary in complexity, of course, but nothing unmanageable and is easily customizable.

As always, the projects are price-friendly and use many common home goods, objects, or tools.

Also, if you can upcycle other objects into these crafts, it’s all the sweeter–reusing items instead of throwing them out is always a good idea.

I hope the five-year-old in your life and you enjoy the post as much as I do! We keep many crafts here in our back pockets because my kids still ask to do them post-five.

And now, on to the post!

1. Paper Ring

Source: craftsyhacks.com

As mentioned, five-year-olds are curious creatures and start noticing everything. If your kid is into jewelry, consider making these paper rings together.

Grab any paper the kid or kid loves and customize each with gemstones, glitter, and the like. This pack of paper is an eclectic mix and should have an option for everyone.

2. DIY Microphones

Source: soeasybeinggreen-blog.com

Say goodbye to using hairbrushes as home microphones and make these fun glittery ones! A toilet paper or paper towel roll does most of the work–all that is left to do is decorate.

3. Painting With Salt

Source: momminfromscratch.com

Painting with salt is a great option for the curious and motivated artist–there’s a bit of technique to it, so have everything ready.

The first two steps–are applying glue and adding the salt since they rely on one another.

Watercolors work best since they move more independently through a liquid.

4. Toy Binoculars

Source: lovelyindeed.com

These toy binoculars are the perfect addition to any adventurous little one! Again, TP rolls are the champion here; just add some of this glue and decorate.

For an extra addition, punch two holes on either side of the binoculars to add a yarn or string strap.

5. Paper Squishies

A child of any age loves squishies, so why not turn their favorites into a smaller tabletop version?

Talk with them to see if they’d rather fully craft the design themselves or if you should print a template.

Regardless of the route the kid takes, this cute craft turns out just darling. Opt to make two so their Squishie can have a friend.

6. Paper Chains

Source: diycandy.com

A classic but a favorite amongst kids, great for birthday or holiday decor, a countdown counter, or adding it into some other craft, it can do no wrong.

Stick with one color, opt for multi-color, and they get to practice those scissor skills!

7. Dinosaur Toilet Paper Roll Craft

Source: conservamome.com

Toilet paper roll crafts may never get old because you can do anything with the tube. Stick with this cute long neck, or choose a favorite dinosaur or dinosaur.

If you’re straying, the construction may look a little different! Don’t be afraid to get creative, and make sure to share if you do.

This is one of the most fun crafts for boys !

8. Coffee Filter Flowers

If you’re looking for a sweet, cheap, and easy gift to make for a loved one from a kid in their life, these coffee filter flowers are a great option.

Make a big, beautiful bouquet of these; the most detailed part of it all is the drying time of the filters.

Grab this pack of coffee filters , and you’ll never need to buy any again (for crafts, anyway).

9. Q-Tip Painted Dragonfly

Source: projectswithkids.com

Try this Q-Tip painted dragonfly craft for kids who need to practice hand-eye coordination or fine motor skills.

Q-Tips are a great alternative tool to paint, and since it’s a different size, children have to hold the new brush intentionally while doing the same while painting.

Have a few different Q-Tips available in different color pots to keep the dots clean on the dragonfly.

10. Handprint Bookmarks

For the avid readers in the bunch, these handprint bookmarks are the perfect oversized marker to keep their page.

Smaller bookmarks always seem to get lost, so this handprint has a harder chance of disappearing (which isn’t impossible).

Add a popsicle stick like these to give them extra security and support within the book.

11. Pop-Up Rainbow Card

Source: redtedart.com

This pop-up rainbow card is the perfect catch-all card for a kid to make for a friend, family member, or other loved figure in their life.

A simple accordion fold for the cute rainbows glued to the card will do the job.

If you make this card during a specific time of the year, have them color the rainbows a solid or corresponding color of holiday or season.

12. DIY Play Dough

Source: craftsbyamanda.com

Naturally, Play Dough is a must for a child, but the brand name can get pricy quickly. Also, you can completely customize your play dough stash by color, amount, and even scent.

13. Apple and Pumpkin Fine Motor Activity

Source: busybloomingjoy.com

If you’re looking to add a little bit of a challenge to a project for your youngsters, consider this cute fall-themed fine motor activity.

The project is delicate, and more so, depending on the paper you choose to use.

14. Beaded Wind Chime

Source: artsyfartsymama.com

Nature-loving kids will love this beaded wind chime, although, admittedly, you can keep this indoors.

Have a nature walk before assembly in case they find anything they’d like to add to the chime while constructing.

15. Salt Dough

Salt dough is similar to play dough but works more as a clay option if you have some sculptors in your life.

Traditionally, salt dough is used to make holiday ornaments, but it can be used to make any figurine or decor item they’d like to try.

Look for specific directions in my post titled “DIY Salt Dough.”

16. Apple Paper Plate Lacing Activity

This apple paper plate lacing activity is another great option for hand-eye coordination practices.

Before the activity, prick or punch holes into the plate so the kids can jump right in, trying their hand at stringing the plate.

17. Jellyfish Craft

Source: simplyfullofdelight.com

Jellyfish are an aquatic creature kids just seem to love, so this paper jellyfish craft is a no-brainer.

It’s simple and doable with essentially any material you have on hand, and of course, you can decorate it however you want.

Your kiddos might also have fun with this DIY paper spider craft!

18. Handprint Paper Plate Sun

Source: familyfocusblog.com

Too cool for school, this handprint paper plate sun shines brighter than most. Trace one or two of the kids’ hands and then use those as templates–it’ll save a lot of wiggle time.

Stick with one tone of yellow or a few to make the sun even brighter. Also, to give you a head start, grab these yellow paper plates .

19. Paper Plate Hot Air Balloon

Source: taminglittlemonsters.com

Hot air balloons have a perfect whimsy for a kids’ craft, and using a paper plate is the perfect multi-dimensional addition.

The best part about this paper plate craft is that each one is completely different from the last because the kids get to decorate it.

20. Paper Mache

Paper Mache is normally strictly associated with pinatas, and for good reason, but the craft can be used to make essentially anything!

Anything from dinosaurs to letters is possible with planning or YouTube tutorials.

Start small, get comfortable with the medium, and grow if the project is a hit with the kids.

21. Marshmallow Squish Art

Source: steampoweredfamily.com

These bagged art sensory activities are, of course, the stuff of adults’ dreams, but kids may love squishing it just as much without cleanup.

The marshmallows give the experience a whole other feel as they incorporate the paint and other additives.

22. Earth Day Activity

Source: theinspirationedit.com

Talking about the world can be a little hard for a kid to grasp fully. Using this globe activity can help jump the gap.

It’s a great way to introduce what the world looks like, what the colors mean, and where you’re located. Or, just having a fun craft for the day is perfect, too.

23. Toilet Paper Roll Bracelet

Source: amumtomum.com

These bracelets are so fun and caterable to each child. Some used them as superhero cuffs, while others used them to complement an ensemble.

There needs to be at least a cut across to fit most wrists–the way you cut it is up to the designer.

This is one of the best toilet paper tube hacks to try!

24. Unicorn Paper Plate Craft

Source: mamaofminis.com

Paper plates, as always, will be one of the best canvases for kid art projects. This unicorn craft is simple but completely adorable to make at a party, sleepover, or group setting.

All the unicorns can play together after they are completed.

25. Ice Painting

Source: thebestideasforkids.com

Kids will get a kick out of ice painting and the process it takes to set up. Grab an ice cube tray like this and fill each with water and a different dab of color (watercolor works best).

Stick popsicle sticks into each square and freeze. Once frozen, pull them out and let them create.

26. Ice Cream Handprint

Source: simpleeverydaymom.com

As the weather starts to warm up, or if it’s a day when everyone is craving ice cream, break this craft out!

These ice cream handprints are just darling, and everyone can pick out their favorite flavor through the color of their paper.

27. Paper Bag Dog Puppet

Source: ottawamommyclub.ca

Paper bag puppets are a classic and cute project that can be anything, but today, it’s this sweet little pup.

Alter the dog’s look if the kids have a favorite or family dog; assembling the pieces may take extra time.

Add a ball or favorite toy to the foreground for a cute touch. Grab this pack of paper bags –it’s a great deal.

28. Crayon Name Craft

This sweet crayon name craft is a cute and academic craft to pull out any time of the year.

Letter recognition is an important skill to learn, making it a little less intimidating for those who may struggle with it.

Shuffle up the letters before giving them to the child so they can piece it together. Make sure they know they need it checked before pulling out the glue.

29. Turtle Paper Plate Craft

Source: bethannaverill.com

Turtles are another favorite aquatic animal that is so easy and customizable with materials to make. Of course, one of the easiest ways to construct this turtle is to use a paper plate.

Grab a few different sizes of paper plates to make a family of turtles.

30. Paper Bag Jellyfish

Source: twokidsandacoupon.com

I can’t get enough of these paper bag jellyfish–completely adorable, bright, and easy. Opt for a lighter-colored bag so it’s easier to paint or color your jellyfish.

Don’t cut the tentacle before decoration, but after everything has dried. It’s much easier to do it when everything is dry and avoids gunking up the scissors.

31. Beaded Snakes

Source: homanathome.com

Finally, these cute beaded snakes close up the post for today. Pipe cleaner and beads are always a winning combination that produces endless results.

These beads are the key to these slinky and shiny snakes. Opt for a singular color or go rainbow with it–they will all be excellent.

Advertisement

Eclipse 2024: 5 of the best pictures of the total solar eclipse

On 8 April, a total solar eclipse passed over Mexico, the US and Canada – here are some of the most stunning images

By Leah Crane

8 April 2024

Graphic designer Kendall Rust captured a plane flying through the total eclipse in Jonesboro, Arkansas

Kendall Rust

The total solar eclipse that passed across North America on 8 April drew millions out to the path of totality – the thin strip of land across which the moon’s silhouette blocked out the entire disc of the sun. Even more gawked at the partial eclipse visible across most of the continent. Here are five of New Scientist ’s favourite images from 2024’s total eclipse.

The beginning of the solar eclipse

NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

On the right side of this image, which was taken in Kerrville, Texas, you can see the edge of the moon just beginning to encroach on the sun. Closer to the centre and left side of the sun are a pair of sunspots – dim areas where the surface of the sun is unusually cool.

The surprising ways animals react to a total solar eclipse

Baily’s beads

This picture, also taken in Kerrville, Texas, shows a phenomenon called Baily’s Beads. Just before and after complete totality, the topography of the moon allows small beams of sunlight to peek around its edges, creating bright spots on the edge of the moon’s silhouette.

Sign up to our Launchpad newsletter

Voyage across the galaxy and beyond with our space newsletter every month.

The shadow of the moon

This image was taken by the GOES-East satellite, which observes Earth from space for weather monitoring and forecasting. The moon’s shadow swept across Mexico and the US during the eclipse, creating a pool of twilight-like darkness at its centre and partial eclipses at its edges.

Prominences

NASA/Joel Kowsky

During totality, pictured here from Indianapolis, Indiana, several prominences were visible on the edges of the sun. These are areas where the sun’s complex magnetic field shapes hot plasma into bright loops and flares that burst off the sun’s surface, and they are easiest to observe when the disc of the sun is blocked by the moon.

Solar corona

NASA/Keegan Barber

For scientists, the main importance of a total solar eclipse is that it provides a unique opportunity to view the sun’s diaphanous outer layer, the corona. When the disc of the sun is not blocked, it far outshines the corona, so an eclipse is the perfect time to study this mysterious sheet of plasma, shown here during totality in Dallas, Texas.

Solar Eclipse 2024

On 8 April a total solar eclipse will pass over Mexico, the US and Canada. Our special series is covering everything you need to know, from how and when to see it to some of the weirdest eclipse experiences in history.

• solar eclipse 2024

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox! We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers.

More from New Scientist

Explore the latest news, articles and features

Eclipse 2024 live: Watch the full NASA broadcast – latest

When is the next total solar eclipse visible from the uk, 5 solar eclipse activities to do with children, how a total solar eclipse in 1919 left physicists 'more or less agog', popular articles.

Trending New Scientist articles