Top 10 Activities for Three- to Eight-year-olds

Directions: Use these pages to record your top ten selections of developmentally appropriate activities for
children three to eight. Rank activities so that number 1 is your most favorite and 10 is your least
favorite. Be sure to include at least one activity for each of the six areas of learning --- language and
reading, math, science, social studies, art, and music. For each activity, supply a target age group of
children, activity title, area of learning, what the teacher does, what the children do, and materials
required.
10
Activity Title Area of What the What the Materials
Learning Teacher Does Children Do Required
Skittle Sort Math Distribute sheets Listen and Worksheets
(6-8 years old) with questions and observe. Count Colored pencils/
skittles. Give and sort their crayons
instructions. Instruct skittles. Answer Skittles
children not to eat the questions on
skittles until after sheets. Create a
they count and sort bar graph using
them. Circulate the information on
room to see if sheets. EAT
children need help. THEIR SKITTLES

9
Activity Title Area of What the Teacher
Learning Does
Cotton Science Distribute flat pans filled
Ball Cloud with approximately inch
(3-5 years old) of room temperature water.
Make sure to tell children to
keep their hands in their lap
and not touch the pans.
Then pass out one cotton
for each child. Tell the
children to pretend
the cotton ball is a cloud.
Tell children to place cloud
(cotton ball) over the water
on the pan. Meanwhile
explain to the children that
water has evaporated,
traveling to the cloud and
What the Children Materials
Do Required
Children must listen to 1 cotton ball for
instructions first. After every child
being instructed to place
cloud on pan they must Flat pans filled with
observe how the cotton room temperature
ball changes. After water
listening to the teacher
explain evaporation and
condensation that is
occurring to the cloud,
children will pick up the
cloud and see droplets
fall back on the pan.
Children must respond
why rain is falling. The
droplets are the rain and
the pan is either the
 filling the cloud with water. ground or ocean.
Then ask the children to
gently pick up the cloud
and ask questions such as:
How does the cloud feel?
Light or heavy. What is
happening to the water?
The water will start to drip
from the cloud and ask why
it's dripping. The reason is
because the cloud is heavy
and when it gets heavy it
starts to rain, which
explains the water dripping
from the cloud. Also tell
the children that the rain
(droplets) falls back to the
ground or ocean (pan).
After activity is done
teacher must clean up.

8
Activity Title Area of What the What the Materials
Learning Teacher Does Children Do Required
People in the Social Ask the children Children will listen Pictures of a
Community Studies about people in to instruction and librarian, cashier,
(3-5 years old) their neighborhood, participate in teacher, doctor,
excluding family discussion. Also and trash truck
members. Allow children must be driver.
volunteers to able to recall the
answer then start jobs of a librarian, White Board and
activity. The activity cashier, teacher, dry erase marker
will start with a doctor, and trash to write down
discussion about truck driver. After response.
how people in the discussion is over
community have a children will move
Book about jobs
specific job such as to the carpet and
people have in the
the librarian who listen while sitting
community.
helps people find criss cross
books at the library applesauce to the
or the cashier who book that is being
collects money for read by the
the items at the teacher.
grocery store. Also
discuss additional
jobs of a teacher,
doctor, and trash
truck driver. Explain
that people depend
on people who do
 their jobs which
help the community
as a whole. Then
the activity will
proceed where the
teacher holds up
pictures of a
librarian, cashier,
teacher, doctor, and
trash truck driver.
Then ask students
what each person
does and ask about
other people in the
community who
help everyday.
Teacher should
make a list of
students
responses on the
board. Transition to
the carpet and read
a book about jobs
people do in the
community to close
activity.

7
Activity Title Area of What the What the Materials
Learning Teacher Does Children Do Required
Music Hand out white Listen to 1 white paper
Drumming to the paper plates to instructions. Color plate for each
Beat each child. Instruct the white paper child
(3-5 year olds) children to keep plate as you may.
hand in their lap Afterwards listen 1 box of crayons
while materials are to the cd being for each child
passed out. A box played and mimic
of crayons will be the beats on your
1 unused pencil
handed out to each drum using your
that is not
child and they will drumstick.
sharpened for
get to color their
each child
paper plate. After
coloring the teacher
will pass out one CD with beats to
unused/unsharpene mimic
d pencil to each
child. The pencil will CD player
act as the drumstick
and the paper pate
 as the drum. A cd
will be played and
different beats will
be played and
teacher will instruct
children to mimic
the beats on their
drums.

6
Activity Title Area of What the Teacher What the Children Do Materials Required
Learning Does
Spring Bloom Science Give a brief Listen to to instructions. 1 toilet paper roll
explanation of the Listen and answer
(5-8 years old) question about what Brown paint to paint
spring season, happens in the spring. over toilet paper roll
For example when Paint toilet roll brown and
it happens, what let it dry. Then glue down
1 sheet of light blue
happens, and roll onto the blue
cardstock
cardstock. Next glue down
what kind of
the green leaves above
weather is Green construction
and around the bark of the
paper to make leaves
expected. Ask tree. FInally, glue down the
Handful of popped
children what popped popcorn to the
popcorn
happens in spring tree. DO NOT EAT
POPCORN.
and allow children Gluesticks
to respond. Then
introduce activity
which will be to
illustrate spring. At
this time teacher
will pass out
materials for each
child. Instruct and
guide children on
painting their toilet
rolls brown to act
as the bark of the
tree. After it is
dried children will
glue it down to the
 light blue
cardstock. Then
use the green
leaves cut out
from the green
construction paper
beforehand and
instruct children to
glue it above the
bark of the tree.
Finally allow
children to glue a
small handful of
popped popcorn
onto the leaves of
the tree. Explain
at the end of the
activity that spring
allows trees to
bloom and be
green.

5
Activity Title Area of What the Teacher What the Materials
Learning Does Children Do Required
Language Teacher beforehand Listen to Construction
and Reading should have made bingo teachers
Alphabet Bingo paper to make
Development cards beforehand using instructions.
(3-5 year olds) bingo cards
construction paper and Know what
labeled accordingly using letter to cover
marker. Teacher will pass with bingo chip Marker
out one bingo card to in order to get
each child and a small BINGO and
Sandwich bag
handful of bingo chips to win a prize.
each child. Teacher will
call out one of the 26 Sissors
letters that are in the
sandwich bag and child Bingo chips
must be able to identify
the letter. Once bingo
chips cover 5 in a row
either horizontal or
across child will be able
to receive a prize.
4
Activity Title Area of What the Teacher What the Materials
Learning Does Children Do Required
Music Instruct children to Children will 1 Washed out
Sticker Shaker bring a rinsed out milk listen to teachers milk jug with lid for
(3-6 year olds) jug to use as the instruction. With each child
instrument. Children the help of other
will have them on their teachers the child Plain solid round
desk ready to will fill up their jug colored stickers to
decorate. Teacher will with filling. Then decorate jug
pass out a handful of children will
either bird seeds or decorate the jug Filling for the jug
small beans to each using stickers such as bird seeds
child. Also stickers will provided for them. or small beans
be passed out to Teachers will walk
decorate the jug. After around making
materials are passed sure the cap of the
out teacher will jug is closed shut
instruct students to to prevent any
NOT put any of the filling from spilling.
filling used in their After finishing
mouths. Instead it will children will be
be used to fill the jug able to make their
and after jug is own tunes using
filled teacher will the instrument
instruct students to they have made.
decorate their juge as
they please using the
stickers. After this
step is finished
children will be able to
play their instruments
and make fun tunes.

3
Activity Title Area of What the Teacher What the Materials
Learning Does Children Do Required

Cherry Art Pass out 1 bare Listen to 1 Bare tree

Blossom Trees tree template per teachers template for
(3-5 year olds) child. Pass out instructions. each child
one small paper Use fingers
plate per child with and thumb to Light Pink
a squirt of light dip in pink Paint
pink paint. Instruct paint to add
students to dip blossoms to 1 Small Paper
only their fingers the bare tree. Plate per child
and thumb into the Fill up the tree to put pink
paint and add the until there's not paint on
blossoms using more
their fingers. After additional Use of childs
they have filled up space and fingers and
most of the tree allow teachers thumb
instruct additional to guide you to
teacher(s) to the bathroom
assist in washing to wash your
the child's hand. hands.

2
Activity Title Area of What the What the Materials
Learning Teacher Does Children Do Required
Language and Have the brown Listen to Brown
Reading
Alphabet Tree Development branches and instructions. Construction
(3-6 year olds) bark of the tree Glue down Paper
cut out branches and (Branches and
beforehand to bark to make Bark)
pass out. Each the tree. Then
child should glue down all Green
 have 6 26 green Construction
branches and 1 leaves around Paper
bark. Pass out the branches. (Leaves)
26 green leaves After the work
slightly bigger is dry write all Black Markers
than a dime. 26 letters in
Instruct children capital form, Scissors
to glue down one letter per
branches and leaf. Glue Stick
bark with the
assistance of
teacher(s).
Then instruct
children to glue
down the leaves
around the
branches. After
the leaves are
glued down
instruct children
to write down all
26 letters in
capital form.

1
Activity Title Area of What the What the Materials
Learning Teacher Does Children Do Required

Art Have work Sit quietly and Clear CDs

Suncatcher surface covered listen to 1 per child
Craft with newspaper. teachers
Pass out 1 CD instructions. Craft Glue
to each child on Glue down 4 1 per child
their table. Pass rhinestones
out 8 large and 4 beads to Colorful
rhinestones and the CD. Let it rhinestones or
8 medium sized dry and flip beads
beads (color disk over and
does not repeat the Tape
matter). Instruct process. After
children to glue the project is Yarn (to hang
down 4 beads dry wait till suncatcher)
and 4 teacher comes
rhinestones with by your table Scissors
assistance from to tape the
the teacher(s). yarn to the disk
Let these dry so the project
and then do the can be
same process displayed in
on the other the classroom
side of the CD. or on a tree.
Once the two
sides are dry go
to each child
and tape the
yarn to the CD
to be able to
hang it.