Preschool Games for Toddlers

Toddlerhood is a period when children learn to move around independently and explore their surroundings. This is known to be a developmental stage where children start walking, talking and recognizing people and things around them. Nowadays, more and more parents are enrolling their children in preschool, where they learn basic skills before joining elementary school. At a preschool, children have fun and enjoy playing with other children of their age. These games are structured in such a way that children learn new things in an entertaining way. Here are some preschool games that would be educational as well as fun for the kids.

Hide and Seek
Hide and seek is a game that has been played by children all over the world for centuries. But, for toddlers it is a new and exciting game. The teacher should gather all the children around her and explain to them that when she closes her eyes and counts upto 10 or 20, they all should hide. The child who is caught from his hiding place has to find the ones hiding. It may happen that the children do not understand the game initially, but through repetitive playing, they will surely get hold of the concept. This game is also helpful in teaching the children to count.

Bunny race
Bunny race is a game that is mostly played outdoors, but if there is enough place in the classroom, it can be played indoors too. Make groups of 4-5 children and ask them to stand in a line. Instruct them to start hopping like bunnies when they hear the whistle (or any other signal). Reward the child who comes first with a chocolate or a cookie.

Chase
Playing chase is a very good game for toddlers because they love to run around and remain active. The first thing that one needs to do is to remove all the furniture inside the classroom, so that no one gets hurt while running. The teacher has to show the children how to play the game. The child who is caught first by the teacher, takes the game forward. If there are more that ten children in the class, it would be better if this game is played outside, where there is more space to run around freely. Games that involve lot of running and jumping are good for the motor development of children.

The Tagging game
Tagging is a fun game that is enjoyed by most children. Choose or ask a child to volunteer, to start the game. Explain that he / she has to first catch someone and when a person is caught, they both have to join hands and catch another person and so on. This will continue till it becomes a huge line. Another version of tagging is the freeze game. When a child is caught, he / she has to freeze at that place, till someone else comes and relieves him / her by touching.

Cat and Mouse Game
For playing this game, you will need hula hoops. Place them at different areas of the room, maintaining some distance between each hula hoop. The teacher has to tell the children that they are all mice and she is the cat. Then while she closes her eyes and sings a song the children have to run around the room and when she stop singing, they should all try and get inside one of the rings. The child who is not able to get inside is out of the game. Continue this till only one child remains and declare him / her as the winner.

The Game of Recollection
This is a simple game through which toddlers can be taught to learn, recognize and recollect shapes, colors and numbers. Make several cards containing certain shapes like squares, rectangles, circles, etc. Place them face down on the table and ask the child to pick one and look at it carefully. Then take away the card and ask him / her to search for a matching card. You can repeat this process with numbers and colors too.

Fishing Game
For this game, the teacher will have to cut shapes of fishes and write certain instructions on them. Then place them in a box on the floor and ask each child to pick any one fish and perform the activity mentioned in it. Activities could include reciting a poem or singing a song, imitating an animal sound, etc.

These toddler games can be played not only in school but at home too. Besides these, there are many more educational and entertaining games on the Internet specially meant for toddlers. These online games help in developing motor skills, alertness and hand-eye coordination. Parents and teachers can come up with innovative ideas to adapt the toddler games or to create new ones. Incorporating games in preschools would definitely enhance the growth and overall development of toddlers.