Pretend Play Activity Ideas: Kick-Starter List for Bored Preschoolers
Pretend Play Activity Ideas: The big sibs are back to school. Do you need a kick-starter list for your bored preschooler?
The littles left behind wander around the house, lost without their older brothers or sisters to instigate activities (or boss them around).
Now the whining refrain is, “What can I do, Mom?” or “Mommy, I’m bored.”
Raise your hand if you’ve had a child who never got bored or complained of nothing to do.
That’s what I thought.
There aren’t many of that type of animal.
So we thought we’d gather a kick-starter list of ideas to encourage pretend play for your preschooler.
Because if they know how to pretend, they will never be bored.
Pretend Play is important.
“Make believe” is a valuable contributor to child development.
It’s not necessary for your child to have all the expensive instructional toys that enhance intelligence.
More important is their ability to pretend big with little available things.
A simple paper airplane, for example, can kick-start an afternoon of pretending to be a pilot or flight attendant.
If a child never pretend plays, they don’t acquire “cognitive flexibility” which in turn gives them the ability to entertain themselves, learning through creativity.
We kept our glittles and two of their friends for a few hours one day. I didn’t do a thing to entertain them.
Gasp!
It’s true. I wanted to see what would happen if I gave them free rein of our toys and books, even our kitchen.
They started out asking to watch something on the computer.
We said we wanted them to just play.
No technology that day at all. They grumbled a little, then slowly began to switch gears.
Once their minds were self-activated, versus screen-activated, they had loads of fun. They played church. They played family. Then they played restaurant.
So thrilling to watch imaginations take flight!
Do you want to try self-activated play for your pre-schooler
who would rather sit slumped over a screen than actually exercise their brain using inner creativity?
Then try some things on this kick-starter list (which is so simple you probably have all of them already)!
Pretend Play Activity Ideas on the cheap
- Acquire cardboard boxes, big, bigger and little. (Duct tape, box cutters, and fat markers are handy in mom’s stash.) Because a box can become a laundry (our littlest city glittle wants a washer and dryer for her birthday); a restaurant kitchen; a fire-truck; a podium for speeches or singing.
- Coloring books, magazines, white paper, construction paper*, child size scissors that actually cut*, manageable glue*, good crayons*. Paper makes boats and airplanes. Paper can be cut and glued into collages of “what did you say this is?” items. Never let the big kids laugh at a mess your preschooler created without reminding them the little one had a goal in mind. And assuring the little one it can be exactly what they say it is. It’s a kick-start to better things as their skills develop.
- Save empty kitchen spice and other small plastic containers, with lids to screw or snap on and off. A hole cut into a Cool Whip lid can become a game of finding things that fit (for littler preschoolers).
- Clothespins become roads, farms, towns, room walls for flat houses, etc.
- Dress up clothes, purses and shoes. Our glittles race for their favorite “loud” shoes from Kim’s cast-off stash every time they come over. Junk should be kept to a minimum, but remember the importance of pretend before you Goodwill your old stuff. Toss them after the kids are grown up. Unless you’re like me. Children consistently came over through the years and made it hard to toss favorite play things.
- Collect clichéd sayings, like “If you don’t find something to do I’ll give you something.” Or, “If you say you’re bored, I’ll show you bored,” and give them a cleaning bucket of water and rag for the kitchen floor.
Parents are the example.
As I mentioned earlier, I don’t usually entertain my glittles the whole time they visit. I try to kick-start them into pretend play by giving them activity ideas. If I don’t take the time for this and provide the “tools” they all too often ask for my phone or laptop. (Which isn’t all bad. They often find something they can’t resist making on Pinterest. It is hard to watch children sit for hours glued to a screen. Does that bother you, too?)
Usually you’ll have to help them make their firetrucks and podiums and cardboard play houses. Then they’ll be off and running, their creativity launched.
When my sister and I were little we cut paper dolls and furniture from those thick catalogs that sold everything. Mom flattened a box for us, then gave us crayons to draw “rooms” to turn the boxes into flat houses. We cut and pasted furniture into our houses and spent hours and hours pretending our paper dolls were going to church, to school, getting married, having fights and becoming friends again.
Save this kick-starter list
to your Pinterest boards for future reference.
And follow our Child’s Play board here.
Other Activities Posts for Kids:
Autumn-Themed Do-A-Dot Downloads for Pre-School Children
Children’s Card Game Printable, History the Fun Way
Free Autumn Printables for Pre-Ks to Color By Number
Do A Dot Art Free Downloads (A Fun Digital Curfew Activity)
Items with * are Amazon affiliate links.
If you pop over via a link and make a purchase,
someday we might make enough to buy
a cup of coffee at Dutch Bros. (Kim’s favorite.)
These links do not affect your purchase cost.
