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photo credit: tomeppy

Have you ever wondered how teachers can come up with preschool education games – those simple games that teach some basic skill like listening or color recognition or whatever?  It’s really just a matter of breaking down daily tasks into their simplest elements and then making a fun way to learn them.

Say for example you want your child to learn to listen quietly (a very important skill).  Create a game that makes it fun to listen closely.  Like – “I am going to make an animal sound and you tell me what the animal is?”  Or, “Can you tell me what kind of thing makes this sound?” and make a car or truck sound.

If you want your little one to learn their colors or shapes, then take the time to point out various colors and shapes until you think they have them down and then ask them to find a red truck or play I Spy a green rectangle and have them point it out to you.

Children love to interact and puppets can be a different way to get them to interact if they seem disinterested in you.  So take a paper lunch sack and draw a face of a person or animal or robot or whatever and then teach them using your puppet.

You can make a different puppet for each letter in the alphabet as you introduce the ABCs.  You can introduce colors by making one puppet a brown bear or a yellow flower.  Let your imagination run wild. And have fun playing preschool education games with your child.

What games do you play with your child?

Fine Motor and Counting Activity

There are many preschool education games out their to enhance your child’s development.  Children’s fine motor development is an important part of there growth.  It is a critical part of their learning to write.  This fine motor activity is very simple, fun and educational.

To complete this activity:

• Print out the Fine Motor Activity Template (click the link to the left to get it)
• Get some small round stickers
• Demonstrate for your child how to put a sticker inside the box, trying not to touch the lines.
• Have your child put the stickers in the grid.
• Count all the stickers you put on the grid.

This is great fine motor practice for your child.  In addition you will reinforce their one to one correspondance when you have them point to each sticker and count each one they point to.

Another of the many preschool educational games out their is a variation on this activity.  You can play tic tac toe using stickers.

Tic Tac Toe Game:

• Print out TicTacToe Template (click the link to the left to get it)
• Get two different type of circle stickers
• Explain to your child how they win- by getting 3 and a row
• Play the game! Allowing them to put their stickers in the spot they choose!

I’d love to hear if you try any of these activities how you liked them!  If you have fun games you play with your children please share them in the comments below.