By this age, children are getting quite skilled at entertaining themselves and making up their own games and activities. But there are still opportunities for parents to direct play – especially when it is raining outside or kids claim they are bored.
It isn’t always easy to know what games you should play with your child when they’re aged 3 – 4 years. What are age-appropriate games that are simple to set up and to understand? What games can you play that will offer opportunities for learning?
Here is a list of low-cost activities for this stage of your child’s development courtesy of Playgroup Australia.
6 low-cost games for your child aged 3 – 4 years
Word games
Make a routine activity fun – maybe in the car or while cleaning – by playing word games with your child. Help them think of rhyming words, words to describe an object, beginning or ending sounds, or opposites.
Window art
On a gloomy rainy day, use window paints or wet chalk to decorate the windows. Colourful rainbows will brighten up the day, and will be easy to clean off later!
String Magic
Dip a piece of yarn or string into glue and place it on construction paper in an interesting pattern. Let it dry overnight, then your child can colour inside the spaces between the yarn to make an interesting design.
Alphabet Fun
This is fun, but not always easy! Help your child to make the letters of the alphabet by using their body. This will help them learn the shapes of the letters, and move their body.
Counting
This activity can help your child to improve counting andfine motor skills. You can use a variety of objects for sorting and counting – buttons, rocks, or pasta. Pasta can be dyed with food colouring for colour matching and counting.
Paper planes
Help your child fold paper planes, and have them decorate the planes brightly. Take the paper planes outside and see how far they can go.
