Games for Kids 4 and Under: Educational Games for Young Children

Games for Kids Under Four

Children under the age of four are constantly learning new skills by exploring their environment. Educational games will help children develop both cognitively and socially, which will prepare them for kindergarten. The games you play should be simple and fun because kids under four have short attention spans and complex games may cause boredom and frustration.

Count the Snacks

This snack time game will help your child learn her numbers. Get a snack such as peanuts, Cheerios or fruit snacks. Tell her a number and have her show you that amount with her snack. For example, if you say the number two, she will show you two peanuts. This game will help your child develop number sense. You can also label small Dixie cups zero through ten (or higher) and have her put the correct number of snacks into each cup.

Sponges

This game will teach your child cause and effect and measuring. You will need an empty bucket, water and three sponges. The sponges should range in size from small to large. First have your child predict which sponge will hold the most water.

Then, have your child dip the small sponge in the water and squeeze the sponge into an empty bucket, then use a pencil to mark the amount of water he squeezed out. Dump the water out and have him do the same with the medium and large sponge. Have him compare the three marks, then ask your child which sponge absorbed the most water and why.

Letter Parking Lot

This fun activity will help your child with letter recognition, which will help her with literacy skills as she gets older. Write each letter of the alphabet on sheets of paper, and then line them up in a row. You can choose to write both upper and lower case letters depending on what you want your child to learn that day. Have your child get a toy car and park the car on the letter that you tell her. You can also do this activity with a small toy, such as a doll or stuffed animal and have it walk to the different letters. Once she has mastered letter recognition, you can play this game with letter sounds.