Activities for children from 3 to 4 years

Safety first

Learning to use tongs and tweezers

What you'll need

Egg box or ice tray, coloured pompoms, tongs and tweezers.

Tips

When considering colours and contrast, use those which most support your child’s needs. You may also want to consider completing the activity under good task lighting, which can be adjusted to suit your child. You may find it easier to work over a tray so any dropped pompoms can be easily found.

Activity

• Using an egg carton or ice tray, simply paint one side of the casings a variety of colours and allow to dry completely.
• Pour pompoms into one side of the egg box and ask your child to sort the pompoms into the correct coloured sections, firstly using the tongs.
• Once your child has mastered the task you could make it harder by using tweezers. 

Sorting and tidying

What you'll need

A variety of different coloured, shaped, textured, and sized objects

Tips

Once your child has started to recognise shapes, textures, colours and names of objects, you can begin to increase the complexity of matching and sorting by introducing the concept of similar, including:

• Shape - everything that is round or square
• Texture - smooth or rough
• Size - different sizes of the same objects, such as spoons
• Type - grouping different items such as books, toy cars, or balls
• Colour - everything that is red.

Activity

When tidying toys, encourage your child to help, by asking them to collect all the:

• Toys of the same type, such as cars or teddies
• Everything soft
• All of the building blocks

Consider using different containers for different types of toys or objects, such as the red tub for teddies and a green box for building blocks. This will help your child find specific items at a later date.

Playing games through touch

What you'll need

Everyday items such as fabrics, papers and cardboard, plastic milk bottle lids

Tips

• Matching textures games are fun and simple to create. As you develop your own, you can gradually introduce new cards for your child to keep things fresh and fun.
• Always create an organised play space, using a tray is helpful to ensure that the cards do not drift out of reach.

Activity

• Make two copies of each texture by securely glueing to the card or inside a plastic milk bottle top. As your child gets used to the activity, you could extend the number of cards and textures.
• Pass your child one card and encourage them to describe it. You may need to model new language to your child, for example, "This card feels scratchy, smooth, silky."
• Encourage your child to scan visually  from left to right or ask them to use touch to locate and explore each card. Give your child time to check if their new card matches the one in their hand. Reassure your child to use all of their senses to do so.
• Model the amount of time your child should take, encourage a careful, systematic approach and celebrate when together when any person playing the game finds a matching set.
• Take turns, use the same techniques, and keep the activity fun.
• To extend this activity, you could put matching objects in a bag and take turns to reach in and select two cards which match.

Pouring my first drink

What you'll need

A range of containers and pouring equipment; cups, beakers, jugs, bowls, bottles. An organised pouring space preferably with a non-slip surface, such as a large tray or washing up bowl

Cloth or towel to clean up any spillages

Ping-pong ball

Tips

• Consider colour contrasts between objects as well as the impacts of lighting, for example, a plain red tray, clear jug and blue beaker. A coloured liquid (juice) may be easier for your child to use than water.
• Introduce equipment gradually; allowing your child to explore items, their features and how this links to function.

Activity

• You can guide your child by completing the activity yourself as they place their hands over yours to feel the different actions and movements.
• Place your child’s index finger at the rim of the cup or glass to feel the liquid rising to the top (Note: This technique is used with cold liquids only).
• Listen for the sound of liquid entering the container, as well as for sound changes as the liquid reaches the top rim of the cup or glass.
• Place a ping-pong ball into the cup before adding the liquid. Your child can feel and watch for the ball as the cup fills.
• To reduce spilling, place the lip of the container your child is pouring from against the rim of the container they are pouring into. Keep the glass on the level surface of the tray when pouring into it.
• Pour slowly at first and gradually increase speed as your child’s skills improve with practice.
• Practise pouring into different containers such as a drinking glass, beaker, cup, jug to jug or saucepan.