Activities for Preschoolers That Promote Physical, Cognitive & Creative Development

Being a child by its very nature means using your imagination on an everyday basis. Because most children have the ability to live in a rich fantasy world, you can use that to your advantage as you help your child develop his physical, cognitive and creative skills.

  1. Putting on a Play

    • Whether or not you have formal dramatic and theatrical training, you can interact with your children and develop a variety of skills by putting on a play. Sit down with your children and write an adaption of their favorite storybook to act out for your family and friends. Have children create puppets using paper bags, or draw props. Use old clothing and sheets to make your costumes.

    Drawing

    • Though drawing seems ordinary, it plays an important role in many children's lives. Drawing helps children develop fine motor skills by using crayons, and it enhances creative awareness of the world around them and cognitive function. Have children sit down and draw elements of a story or how they are feeling that day. Ask your children to describe what they have drawn when they have finished to challenge their cognitive skills further.

    Dancing

    • Dancing helps children develop motor skills and increases their awareness of their own bodies. Preschoolers who have a hard time learning their left from their right will especially benefit from dance classes that challenge them to use their left or right arm on command. Ask children to learn both choreographed routines to work on their memorization skills and make up their own dance moves for creativity.

    Free Play

    • Almost all children participate in imaginative free play. Free play can be defined as children defining their own world and its parameters and acting out scenes within them or participating in an ongoing "drama" they have set up for themselves such as "playing house" or "playing mothers." Use bedsheets and other old items to create houses and hideouts for your children and help them define the parameters of their imaginary worlds. Don't get too bogged down with reality; instead, let the children guide you as you participate to enhance their cognitive and creative skills. Physical skills can be explored by having them build props for their play with you or running around as part of their play.

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