What an amazing imagination children have at this age!
They love to make up games and act out all sorts of weird and wonderful scenarios. For the most part, it is best to let them explore and create without adult interference but there are some ways you can kickstart your child’s imagination.
Here is a list of low-cost activities for this stage of your child’s development courtesy of Playgroup Australia.
6 games to play with your child aged 4 – 5 years
Natural Object instruments
Go for a walk in a local park and collect natural objects to make sounds eg. small branches, leaves, seedpods, and stones.
Musical Stories
Act out a musical story like ‘There were 10 in the Bed’ – place a blanket or rug on the floor and get children to lie in a line. Children roll off the blanket one by one till they have ‘all rolled out’!
Ten in the Bed lyrics
There were 10 in the bed
And the little one said,
“Roll over, roll over!”
So, they all rolled over and one fell out.
Nine!
There were 9 in the bed
… (repeat through each number) …
One!
There was 1 in the bed
And the little one said
“Come back … I’m lonely!”
Sand Painting
Provide your child with coloured or black paper, and cotton buds or frayed sticks etc for smearing glue onto the paper – then they can sprinkle sand onto the glue to make interesting patterns.
Branch Weaving
Explore outside for small branches and other objects like leaves, feathers and bark. Children can wind brightly coloured wool around the branch, and then weave other objects through the wool – even scraps of coloured paper and cloth.
What’s the Time Mr Wolf?
For this game, you (the wolf) stand with your back to your child, with your child standing a few metres behind you. Your child says ‘What’s the time Mr Wolf?’, to which you reply ‘xx.. o’clock’, with the time you say being the amount of steps they take towards you. The child’s aim is to get past you before you respond with ‘Dinner time!’, when you turn and chase your child!
Pretend Play
Kids love to pretend, and can make use of a few simple objects to have a great time. You can inspire hours of fun inside or outside by providing various sized cardboard boxes, blankets and sheets (great for making cubbies), hoops, or old dress-up clothes etc. If you’re outside, you could use wooden boxes and packing crates, chairs and tables, or a short ladder etc under careful supervision.