Looking for preschool activities to do with your pre-k child or toddler? You will have so much fun learning with these events aimed and young children and hands-on activity ideas to get ready for kindergarten. Start with these articles and get the most out of the short preschool years:
Indoor Preschool Activities
Entertain, educate or just tire out your preschooler year round with these great activities at home and around the Twin Cities metro.
- Got Preschoolers? 10 Twin Cities Spots to Entertain & Educate – Put away the worksheets, coloring books and pencils for and get out to these educational and entertaining Preschool spots and meet other moms and dads, too.
- Twin Cities Indoor Playgrounds Guide – Play is important for gross motor skills. Find year-round play opportunities at these indoor playgrounds.
- Get Moving: Open Play, Gym & Swim Spots for Tots in the Twin Cities – These open play times offer preschoolers some of their favorite activities and provide toys that can help kids develop important skills like hand-eye coordination.
- Preschool Open Gym at Gleason’s Gymnastics School – Preschool kids can bounce, navigate obstacle courses, while exploring the gymnastic equipment.
- Parent & Tot Open Play Time at St. Paul Rec Centers – Kids Activities in St. Paul while the big kids are in school.
- Our Top 3 Games to Play with Preschoolers – These board games help with stress reduction, early math skills and literacy skills – all while you have fun together.
- Buildzi: A Fun Family Game That’ll Keep Kids Busy for Hours – Our friends at I’m Game if You’re Game recommend this building game to increase fine motor skills.
- Kid-Friendly Twin Cities Coffee Shops/Cafes – Need a little caffeine boost? Head to these kid-friendly coffee shops where you will find things like sensory bins, toys and books to keep your kiddo busy.
- Mall of America Toddler Tuesdays: Fun & Freebies – They call it Toddler Tuesdays, but it include more preschool learning activities than toddler activities. If you’ve got both a tot and PreK, you’ll find plenty to do.
- A membership to Crayola Experience at the Mall of America can be a fun way to encourage creativity and energetic play all in one place.
- The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum offers printable alphabet pages filled with birds for kids to color. Build letter recognition while learning about birds.
- Get comfy on a pillow and hang out in the preschool-friendly Family Room at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
Outdoor Preschool Activities
- I highly recommend signing up for Tinkergarten’s Weekly Activities Newsletter. It is stock full of DIY outdoor fun with an emphasis on encouraging curiosity with nature and science activities.
- Nature Playgrounds in the Twin Cities – Let your kids run around these nature playgrounds and they’ll learn problem-solving, make mini science experiments and get fun sensory play opportunities using mainly mud, water and sticks.
- Twin Cities Parks & Playgrounds Search – Over 400 parks and growing. Find a playground near you.
Preschool Water Activities
- Tot Time Open Swim at Twin Cities Pools & Aquatic Centers
- Goldfish Swim School is idea for the youngest swimmers
- 35 Best Twin Cities Splash Pads & Wading Pools
-
Parents can watch the lessons while siblings play and learn
Library Activities for PreKs
Libraries and book stores offer endless opportunities for families with preschool aged children.
- Top Preschool Storytimes in the Twin Cities
- Library Play and Learn Spaces – Built to promote learning through play, these spaces have literacy activities, hands-on learning stations, art activities and sometimes even offer a science experiment to try.
Parenting PreK Children
- Screen Free Preschool Fun: Entertaining My Youngest While the Others are Off to School. From play-dough to preschool programs, Gianna shares her favorite resources for entertaining her pre-k while the big kids were at school.
- Six Ways to Raise Socially Aware Preschoolers and Caring Toddlers
- Guide to Twin Cities Preschools – Preschool teachers in a classroom setting.
More Ideas for Fun with the Little Ones
- We also offer fun number activities for preschoolers — a matching game, a sorting game, balloon games and more — in 75 Fun Indoor Games for Kids: Boredom Busters for All Ages and 60 Fun Outdoor Games for Kids This Summer
- Find Preschool Stem Activities on our our STEM Fun Calendar + 6 Places for Any Time Hands-On Science with Kids.
- 25 Easy Arts & Crafts for Kids Throughout the Year – Get out the scissors, pipe cleaners, pom poms and crayons. We share our favorite crafts, printables and art activities.
- We love Lakeshore Learning for its free lesson plans and fun activities. It is also a great place to buy supplies.
- Get out the sidewalk chalk and create some Kindness in Chalk for National Bullying Awareness Month or anytime.
- Don’t forget to check our calendar for more fun ideas.
- See our Preschool Activities Pinterest Board for more fun ways to entertain kids ages 3-5.