Games for a child of 3 years old are the main activity. As the famous teacher K.D. Uspensky, “in the game the child lives, and the traces of this life remain deeper in him than the traces of real life.” Various kinds of fun and entertainment are critically important for a three-year-old, since it is with the help of games that a child learns to interact with the outside world and other people, receives new information and masters important skills.
Game – it is an effective tool for the psychological, cognitive, emotional and physical development of children. In addition, during the game, the child can show their creative abilities, inclinations to a particular occupation, and this will help parents better understand the baby, while creating a trusting relationship with him.
In addition, at this age, the child begins the so-called “crisis of three years”; – one of the most difficult periods of growing up a baby. During a crisis, it is difficult not only for the baby, who is going through a stage of psychological and emotional transformation, but also for his mom and dad, who do not know how to respond to the behavioral characteristics of a three-year-old. It will be easier for parents to cope with the obstinate baby if they use not screaming, bribery or exhortation, but games. It is not necessary to suppress the children's rebellion by force, it is better to direct it in the right direction in an entertaining way and in a friendly atmosphere.
Games with a 3-year-old child at home together
Not all three-year-olds attend kindergarten; many at this age stay at home with their parents. In such cases, all responsibility for development and useful leisure falls on the shoulders of mom or dad. Of course, the easiest way is to give the child a tablet, turn on some cartoon and go about your business. But this is a big mistake that will lead to problems in the development of the child. Do not be lazy, plan the day with the baby so that you can spend at least a few hours together playing a game that will speed up the development process. What to do mom/dad and child together? Sports games are best left for the street and the playground, but quiet games are perfect for the house.
1. “Build a house”
Props: a large cardboard box, various additional details that can decorate the interior.
This game can captivate even the most restless kid for several hours, because what could be more interesting than making your own mini-house in the middle of the apartment! First of all, you will need a large cardboard box (ideally – from large household appliances: a refrigerator or a washing machine, but a shoe box is also suitable). An adult cuts out doors and windows, and then equips a new apartment with the baby.
The advantage of this game is also that it perfectly develops the imagination, imagination and creativity of the baby. Let the three-year-old choose the color of the curtains for the windows, paint the walls with finger paints or watercolors, resettle your plush friends.
Cardboard boxes of different sizes – This is a real find for parents of young children. Literally everything can be made from boxes: a puppet theater, a “computer”, a toy house, a “mouse trap”, a store for treasures, and so on. With such an ordinary thing that usually just goes to the landfill, it's easy to come up with a lot of interesting games.
2. Rope walkers
Props: rope or long rope (thread, ribbon).
This is a fun and entertaining game for a mom with a 3-year-old child, which does not require special preparation. The parent lays out the track with a ribbon or a skipping rope. It can be straight, or it can stray. Baby's task – walk straight along the impromptu path and not stumble. The task can be made more difficult (walk with a glass of water in your hands, put a book on your head, etc.).
Games for children 3 years old at home
Three-year-old children spend most of their time usually carried out at home. Therefore, parents often have the question of what to do at home with a child of 3 years. Options – weight! All it takes is a little imagination, and then the three-year-old will enthusiastically support almost any game.
Educational games can be alternated with active and entertaining ones. Thus, the child will always be in business, and the fun that replaces each other will not bore the baby.
3. “I see something” hellip;
The facilitator says “I see something” hellip; and then adds color, shape, size, etc. The child must find an object that matches the description. So, the host says “I see something red”, and the kid needs to find something red in the apartment. You can complicate the task and combine the characteristics of – for example, “I see something blue and round,” “I see something iron and big.” Only select characteristics for those items that really exist in the house, so as not to confuse the child.
4. «Obstacle Course»
Arrange a real adventure with your child, the theme of which should be chosen based on the kid's hobbies. Does a 3 year old love space? Then go on a journey through the galaxies! Does your kid love dinosaurs? Welcome to the prehistoric forest!
How to create an obstacle course? To do this, you need any improvised means and a bit of imagination. Here are just a few options:
- you can build a tunnel out of chairs and bedspreads;
- pillows turn into saving bumps in the swamp;
- a jump rope or a tourniquet will become a path , which in no case should be left in order not to fall into quicksand;
- to go to the next level, you need to feed the dragon guard (throw cotton or paper balls into the basket).
- jump, those who ate porridge today;
- sit down, those who love the Peppa Pig cartoon;
- clap your hands, those who hugged mom today;
- those who go to kindergarten dance;
- jump those who have pets at home.
- rain;
- snow;
- frozen river;
- trees with yellow leaves;
- flower field;
- berry field;
- bare trees;
- sledding;
- beach vacation;
- images of different seasonal clothes.
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Music games
Little kids just love dancing games. If so far the situation with songs is not very good, since not all three-year-olds pronounce words well and are able to get in time with the music, then the kids are always ready to dance. In addition, music games can be not only entertaining, but also educational at the same time.
Of course, a win-win option for such a game – it is “Musical Chairs”. But the same fun will quickly bore the child, so you need to have several alternatives in stock.
5. “Guess the Tool”
Props: various toy musical instruments.
First, together with the child, get acquainted with the musical instruments laid out in front of you. It can be maracas, drum, xylophone, triangle, tambourine, wooden spoons, guitar. Listen to how each instrument sounds. Next, the child closes his eyes, his task is – guess the instrument by its sound. In addition, there is another option – the presenter depicts playing an instrument, and the kid must guess what he “plays music” on; adult, and show this instrument among the toys.
You can also find out with a three-year-old how ordinary things sound (pots, bags, keys, doorbell, oven timer), and try to create melody with these sounds. A more advanced version of – add audio recordings that record the noise of a vacuum cleaner, the sound of a working washing machine, the creak of a door, and more.
6. “Guess the melody”
Props: records with famous musical compositions from cartoons, images of cartoon characters or toys.
A three-year-old child probably already has favorite cartoons. The parent includes a song from a cartoon, and the child must pick up a picture with the corresponding character or a toy. You can complicate the task and choose to produce “backing tracks”, compositions without words.
7. “Unusual Dances”
Props: a musical selection of various compositions.
Do you want to fool around a little? Then this entertainment is for you! This game – the best cure for a bad mood, because the participants simply cannot help laughing.
The facilitator chooses several melodies (no need to take too many, because it will be difficult for the child to remember them, a sufficient number – from 3 to 5). Each composition corresponds to a certain movement: for example, to the first one you need to dance only with your hands, to the second – head, under the third – the lower part of the body, etc. The host takes on the duties of a DJ and turns on one or another record, and the children need not get confused while performing their unusual dances.
Board games
Entertaining Games are extremely important for the comprehensive development and socialization of the baby. But various educational games (cubes, cards, quests, etc.) should be selected according to the age of the baby, only in this case they will be the most effective.
It is still difficult for a three-year-old to memorize games with complex rules, so when it comes to board games, you should choose options with easy tasks (for example, just “walkers” with chips and a die).
8. “Animal Sounds”
Props: cards with images of various animals (you can buy a ready-made set or make it yourself).
This is a funny game in which you have to imitate the sounds of different animals, and scream as loudly as possible. Three-year-old fidgets will definitely appreciate this noisy entertainment. At the beginning of the game, each participant takes a few cards for himself and puts them face down in front of him. Each player then reveals one card each. Those who match the images must shout in the voice of the animal depicted on the card. Moreover, you need to get ahead of your opponent (by the way, the conditions of the game can be simplified a bit: open the cards in turn and imitate the sounds of animals). If the player succeeded, he takes both cards for himself, if not – gives his card to the opponent.
9. “Crazy Yudik”
Props: cards with different pictures, among which there are images of funny monsters or emoticons with different emotions.
The cards are stacked and placed face down on the table. Each participant takes turns drawing a card. The one who comes across a weirdo-yudik must portray the same emotion (you can have the other players guess it or evaluate how successful the emotion turned out).
Freaks can not only portray emotion, but also freeze in different poses and perform simple movements (dance, sing, perform some exercise).
Games for a group of children 3 years old
If one three year old – this is a “small tornado”, then a group of three-year-olds – it is a “12 Beaufort hurricane.” To prevent the leisure of kids from turning into destructive chaos, adults need to not only control the gameplay, but also offer suitable options for team games.
10. “Sunshine”
The game is similar to the usual “hide and seek”, but with a slight difference. The facilitator counts with their eyes closed while the children hide. When he starts looking for kids, he cannot leave his place – it is only allowed to rotate around its axis. If a child becomes the leader, it is better to draw a circle beyond which you cannot go.
11. “Do those who” hellip; “
The host comes up with different tasks and conditions for their implementation. For example:
As a rule, during the game, children begin to share, who ate what today, what animals live in their homes, etc. This perfectly develops attention, speech and communication skills.
Logic games
It is necessary to solve simple logical problems from the very childhood. Of course, tasks such as quizzes or quests are still too tough for three-year-olds, but there are other games specially adapted for this age for them.
12. “Find the extra”
This is a simple game that teaches a child to build logical chains. The parent puts several items in a row, one of which is superfluous. So, you can put three animal toys and a hat (an extra – hat, since there are all animals in the row, and it belongs to clothing items) or several kitchen utensils and soap.
Another version of this game – divide objects into groups. From the many different items you need to choose, for example, only animals or vegetables/fruits. In addition, you can sort items by some action (flying, making sounds, jumping).
13. “In the world of professions”
Props: printed images of representatives of different professions, toys/images of attributes that these specialists need.
The parent shows the child a picture with the profession, and the kid must choose from the objects/pictures in front of him what uses this expert. For example, a mother shows a picture of a doctor, and a child must choose a thermometer, a syringe, pills (all this, of course, should be toys, from a children's first aid kit).
Educational games
Three-year-old children, like a sponge, absorb new knowledge, and the task of parents – to give young inquisitive minds as much new information about the world as possible. Games about dinosaurs or animals, games about space or the North Pole, about forest and underwater inhabitants – Themes and options are countless. Main – choose exactly the game, the subject of which interests your child most of all. To put it simply, you don't need to introduce your child to, say, the world of football if he is fond of flora and fauna.
14. “Water World”
Props: ice cubes, small toys, a basin of water, a toy boat.
Prepare ice cubes in advance, you can freeze small toy underwater inhabitants, penguins, seals, mammoths, etc. in them. Take a large basin of water – this will be your sea (you can give it a real name – Azov, Black, Red, Aegean – and during the game tell the child what seas are, or you can come up with your own fantasy name). Select animal toys that will go on an expedition across the “sea” and put them in the boat.
During the expedition, talk about the underwater inhabitants that you meet on the way, explain why a mammoth or dinosaur was frozen in an ice floe. By the way, ice floes can be broken pieces of an iceberg.
One of the participants during the voyage may fall overboard, while others must save him. Thus, the child learns about the rules of behavior on the water, safety and first aid. And if you catch the drowning passengers of the liner with a strainer or colander, then it will also be an excellent motor skills training.
15. “Seasons”
Props: colorful pictures with images of phenomena characteristic of each of the four seasons; four separate large images of the seasons; glue; cardboard folder; velvet paper.
Picture options:
Before the game you need to prepare – paste the images on one side of the cardboard folder, and on the other – glue on velvet paper. Spread small images on velvet paper (this type of paper must be taken so that the pictures do not slip) and start playing with the child. Task – correctly distribute images by seasons. During the game, it is necessary to explain why this or that phenomenon is suitable for a given time of the year.
The second version of the game: the parent decomposes the phenomena into seasons, adding one extra (for example, by the summer he puts a picture that depicts children on skates). The child must find an extra card and explain why it does not belong here.
Math games
Games – it is not only a remedy for boredom, but also an effective way of learning. At 3 years old, it is already quite possible for a baby to be taught oral counting, shapes, location in space and elementary measures (width, length, height). There is nothing to think about how to seat a three-year-old at a desk and hand over a notebook: the child is still too small for such a serious learning process. But useful mathematical games – this is what is needed for the learning process at such a tender age.
16. “What a Number Looks Like”
Props: cards with numbers and images “What a number looks like.”
To arouse interest in mathematics in a three-year-old, you can play the game “What does a number look like?”. The parent reads the poems and shows the appropriate illustrations, and then shows a card with a hidden number. Together with the child, you need to look at both pictures, see how they are similar.
Studying the numbers will be more effective if you use rhymes:
This figure – one,
The nose is thin, like a match,
Hung down. Sad
Because she's all alone.
Who looks like a deuce? Maybe a duck? Wait!
No, it can compare to her
Only a swan, arching its neck.
The number three and letter “З” –
Twin sisters.
Bunny, Zoya and Splinter –
Repeat out loud!< /em>
The wooden chair is broken,
But not at all confused:
Stand upside down in the apartment.
And become the number four.
Five fingers – count, guys.
Here's – big, little finger – fifth,
Indicative – second,
Medium – center… No, wait,
Nameless – he's fourth,
Now tell me the score yourself.
What's the cherry, buddy?
The stalk is bent up.
Try to eat it,
This cherry – number six.
– number seven –
Told the guys all:
«Do not go into this thicket!
There the wolf walks more and more often!»
Let's add two bagels together,
A number will come out. This is – eight!
Eight – two rudders together
Or two zeros together.
The wind blew hard and blew,< /em>
Cherry turned over.
Number six, pray tell,
How did you turn into nine?
Zero is like the letter “O”,
It doesn't mean anything.
But any number at once
< em>Expand tenfold.
17. “In the Land of Geometry”
Props: colored paper or cardboard, album, glue, scissors.
Together with your child, cut out geometric shapes from cardboard or colored paper, and then make applications from them or simply fold different pictures. From geometric shapes, you can “build” a house, a Christmas tree, a sun, a little man, etc.
In addition, you can look for errors by lining up figures in a row by shape, size and color, each time adding an extra element.
Christmas Games
At the age of 3, children are already familiar with Santa Claus and his faithful assistant Snegurochka and are looking forward to their arrival. And so that the wait is not so tedious, parents can captivate the kids with holiday games.
18. “Dress up the Christmas tree”
Props: a small Christmas tree, colorful clothespins.
The game develops fine motor skills well. The task is simple – you need to dress up the Christmas tree by fastening clothespins on it. If several children participate, you can divide into teams and dress up the forest beauty for speed.
19. “Collect presents”
Props: a large bag and many different items.
Grandfather Frost was in a hurry to the holiday to see the kids, but he accidentally stumbled and dropped the bag with gifts. We need to help him collect all the presents as soon as possible. The game is great for teams to compete for speed.
Speech therapy games
It is necessary to develop the speech of a child from birth. According to WHO recommendations, by the age of 3, his vocabulary should be at least 1000 & ndash; 1500 words. Of course, at this age, children may not pronounce some sounds, distort words and build sentences incorrectly – This is absolutely normal for a 3 year old. Parents should not focus on this, but they should not completely ignore the shortcomings of speech.
Phonemic games will help you better perceive spoken language by ear. Parents should also take note of a few gaming exercises aimed at developing speech.
20. “Confusion”
In this game, the parent tells a story that the child knows well. During his narration, he confuses some details (for example, he calls Kolobok Sharobok, at the end he is eaten not by a fox, but by a crocodile, etc.). The child needs to notice mistakes and correct the negligent narrator.
21. “Say the other way around”
Props: ball.
At 3-4 years old, the child already understands what antonyms are, and can independently choose the opposite meaning to the named word. The leader throws the ball to the child and says the word (“hot”, “dark”, “night”, “sweet”, “hard”, etc.), and the kid must return the ball, naming the antonym.
Attention games
At first glance, it seems that a three-year-old and attention – they are completely incompatible things. And the truth is, the baby is not yet able to concentrate on one thing for a long time. However, attention, like any other skill, needs to be trained, and simple games will help with this.
22. “Bouquet”
Props: flowers cut out of colored paper, clothesline (ribbon, rope).
The parent lays out a “path” from the rope, and on both sides of it lays out flowers cut out of paper. The child needs to walk along the path and collect flowers in a basket, following the instructions of the parent (“pick two yellow flowers”, “pick four green ones”, “take one rose”, “find five daisies”, etc.). This game not only develops attention, but also teaches counting, recognizing the colors of the rainbow and flowers that grow in nature.
23. «Traffic Light»
Props: three circles – green, yellow and red.
This is a simple attention game. Each circle corresponds to a certain action, the task of the child – don't get confused. For example, the presenter shows a green circle, which means you need to jump on one leg, red – sit down, yellow – clap your hands. As the game progresses, tasks can be changed.
Role-playing games
In play, children often imitate the serious activities of adults. Similar copying – it is a way to better understand the complex adult world for a three-year-old. Story games will help to cope with this difficult task.
24. “Kindergarten”
Both kindergarten students and those who do not attend preschool can participate in this game. In the first case, parents can learn a lot about what is happening in the garden. Some children do not openly talk about kindergarten, but all the nuances appear during the game. If a kid, playing the role of an educator, carefully feeds his beloved bunny from a spoon and wipes his muzzle, then, most likely, a real educator treats children in the same way.
If the child does not go to kindergarten yet, but the parents plan to send him there, then a role-playing game on this topic will be an excellent preparation. The kid will know what “for the beast” this kindergarten and what to expect from it.
25. “Knight and Dragon”
There are also psychological theatrical games aimed at correcting the emotional and psychological behavior of the baby. For example, with the help of such games, you can save a child from fears.
Let's say a three-year-old kid is terribly afraid of a gray top that can bite on the barrel. Invite the child to play this top: the parent will play the role of the wolf, and the baby will need to drive him away (of course, the child should always emerge victorious from this fight). Then you can switch roles: the child will be a wolf, and the parent, for example, a hare who easily runs away or finds another cunning way to elude a predator. So the kid will understand that the wolf may well be defeated and you should not be afraid of him.
Games for children 3 years old on the street
Above, Kidpassage told what to play at home with a 3-year-old child, and what fun is suitable for the street? The main rule of street games – choose a safe place. Special playgrounds and parks are best suited for children's entertainment. Do not play near the roadway, construction site or other dangerous places – the kid can get carried away and step where he shouldn't, and adults who are carried away by fun can lose their vigilance.
What kind of street games are suitable for three-year-old children?
26. «Slow down – then you will… Stop!"
then you will… Stop!” as the children slowly try to get to him. As soon as the word “stop!” sounds, the young participants immediately freeze in place. Those who didn't stop are out of the game and everything starts all over again. The one who gets to the leader first wins.
27. “Catch my shadow”
This is a kind of catch-up game, only it is not the player who needs to be pinned, but his shadow. As the game progresses, you can change the rules: touch the shadow with your hand or foot (you can also teach the baby where the right and left are) or catch only the head of the shadow. The game is great for young children as their short stature is an advantage.
28. “Train”
This is another simple but fun game. Lead – steering, children – wagons. All participants cling to each other, and the train begins to move. Players must follow the helmsman who can go straight, turn right or left, zigzag, jump on one foot, back up, sing songs. If older children participate in the game, then they can also play the role of a helmsman in turn.
Joint games with a 3-year-old child – it's great and fun. Moreover, it is a connecting thread between parents and crumbs. What matters is not the amount of time spent together, but its quality. Even 15 minutes of fun with a three-year-old will play a part in his development, not to mention that it will help dispel boredom.
Try to play regularly with your baby, and if the supply of entertainment ideas runs out, Kidpassage is always ready to offer a few fallback options. Many more examples of children's games can be found in the article “Playing with children at home: 42 entertaining ideas.” Learn and have fun with your little one!