Below, you’ll find a list of 25 activities for 4 year olds that you can try at home. These activities are fun, stimulating, and won’t break the bank and they utilize many common household items!
Four is a very special age when it comes to the mental, physical, emotional, and social development of a child. Just past the torrential toddler stage, slightly more independent, yet still irrevocably adorable and inquisitive as ever. The mind of a four-year-old is still like a sponge, and they are constantly learning about the world around them through experience. As caregivers, we do our best to offer activities that not only entertain them but stimulate their minds.
25 Fun Activities for 4 Year Olds with Household Items!
Activities for 4 Year Olds with ONLY Household Items
Homemade Instruments
DIY projects are always the best. Making instruments at home is a fun and cheap activity for your four-year-old and you both can enjoy an in-home concert! Here are a few instruments you can make at home with stuff you most likely have:
Rain-maker: Take some uncooked rice and place it inside a cardboard roll (toilet paper or paper towel) and secure both ends.
Harmonica: Tape plastic straws together that are cut at different lengths.
Baking
It’s no secret that young children love baked goods- but how fun would it be if they could learn how to make their favorite treats? Baking with your four-year-old is an activity that comes with a multitude of benefits. Learning to read and understand recipes, measure, and count time are all benefits of baking with your four-year-old.
This activity also teaches patience and the importance of paying attention because they get a yummy reward at the end.
Dress Up
Costumes don’t always have to come from a Halloween store at a steep price. With a little imagination, you and your four-year-old can use some items from around the house to come up with their own unique costume. When you’re done, have fun with some imaginative play!
DIY Play Dough
Homemade playdough is easier than you think! Here’s a great recipe – you probably have all the ingredients around your house! It’s inexpensive, you can make as many colors as you like, and it’s non-toxic! This playdough can also last for a few months if stored in a Ziploc baggie.
Cheese graters, cookie cutters, and other household objects can be used as molds to make cool soft creations.
At Home Puppet Theater and Show
Making your own puppets and a puppet show theater is actually pretty easy. There are plenty of cool DIY ideas online and puppets can easily be made from old socks, paper bags, or just about anything your four-year-old can stick googly eyes on (with your permission of course!).
Watching your four-year-old put on a puppet show can also give you a glimpse as to what’s on their minds.
Creative Activities for 4 Year Olds
Finger/Feet Painting
Not only is painting with hands and feet loads of fun, but it’s also great way to get in some sensory play. Washable finger paints are easily found online or in craft stores, and you can recycle old newspapers, paper bags, or junk mail to use as a canvas. There are so many different creations you and your little one can make together with your built-in paintbrushes.
Find a cute room and decorate the playroom or kid’s bathrooms with your creations!
DIY Silly Putty
Let’s face it, kids love potty sounds, I know I did as a kid! Combine borax, school-glue, and some food coloring to make your own silly putty that’ll have your four-year-old laughing hysterically!
Make a Collage
Finally a use for those old magazines and newspapers collecting dust in your attic! Collages are fun to put together and the end product is a satisfying project for any four-year-old. Whether you’re making a dream/vision board or just a collage of favorite things, your little one can express their creativity with different colors and scissors with different designs.
DIY Storybook
Having your four-year-old create their own storybook is a really enjoyable way to enhance their reading and writing skills. Staple a few blank pages together and let your little one’s imagination run wild, complete with hand-drawn illustrations. When they’re done, read the book together!
Invent a New Toy
Creativity in a four-year-old is full of imagination and innovation. Why not have them invent a new toy with household items?
DIY Bird Feeder
A DIY bird feeder is an easy home project and your four-year-old will love seeing the different types of birds and other woodland critters come up for a bite. Simply find a pine cone and have your four-year-old cover it with peanut butter, attached a string, and hang it up outside where you can see!
Gardening
You don’t have to have a green thumb to enjoy this activity with your little one. Many large retail home and garden stores sell already sprouted plants, all you have to do is plant them and water! Tomatoes, cucumbers, and herbs are all fairly easy starter plants.
Yes, your four-year-old might ask you every day if the plants are ready to harvest, but the joy on their faces when that day comes is incomparable, and they can take pride in their hard work and patience.
Sidewalk Chalk
On a warm sunny day, there’s no better activity than covering a driveway or patio in bright and colorful creations with your four year old. Your little one will love spending time doodling on this giant canvas.
Create a New Song
If you listen closely, you’ll often hear your four-year-old singing a silly song they made up. Why not join them? Write down the lyrics and record them on your phone.
If you’re handy with an instrument, accompany your little one. If not, it’s still fun to add in some DIY instruments.
Classic Activities to Play Together
Legos
Most of us probably grew up with Legos in our home. Whether you and your four-year-old are working together to build a specific Lego kit, or just having fun and letting imaginations go wild, building with Lego blocks are a great way to express creativity and fine-tune those developing fine motor skills.
Puzzles
On a day where the weather may not be the best for outdoor activities, a puzzle might be just what you and your four-year-old need to chill out and concentrate on for some time. Puzzles are a great way to spend some downtime with your four-year-old, talking and working together.
Karaoke
Who doesn’t love a good karaoke session? Whether you and your four-year-old are performing in the car or at home, karaoke is a fun activity that releases energy and brings you and your little one closer. Sing along to the radio or find the karaoke version of your favorite song on YouTube!
Hide and Seek
Hide-and-seek is a fun activity that only requires you and your four-year-old! For a few extra “players” hide some stuffed animals or action figures around the house.
Freeze Dance!
Freeze dance is a fun way to release some of that four-year-old energy. The rules are simple: play your favorite song and when the music stops, everyone has to freeze!
Indoor/Outdoor Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts don’t have to wait until Easter time. This is an easy and educational activity for your four-year-old than can be done with objects already at home. Create a list of everything you’re hiding and let your four-year-old find them and check off the boxes.
Add an extra challenging element by making an obstacle course to get to some of the items!
“Simon/Simone Says”
I’m sure we’ve all played this game at some point in our lives, and it’s a timeless one. This game is a quick activity that only requires you and your four-year-old. Simon/Simone says is a great way for four-year-olds to learn to give and receive directions.
Sink or Float?
My son’s current favorite internet personality is Blippi. Blippi creates highly interactive videos for young preschool-age children and provides many great ideas for parents on activities they can do with their young ones. One simple activity is the “sink or float” game – it’s just as simple as it sounds. All you need is a large container filled with water, like a spare fish tank and a few items you don’t mind getting wet.
Ask your four year old if they think the item will “sink or float”, and then test out their theory!
Paper Airplanes
A classic indoor or outdoor activity that we’ve all enjoyed ourselves when we were younger. Paper airplanes don’t have to be simple. There are plenty of online ideas on how to create a unique plane that’ll be loads of fun to test out.
Pretend School
As four-year-olds are preparing to enter kindergarten, they may be curious as to how the school day will go. A great activity to get them used to the formal school day is to set up a pretend school. Let your four-year-old be the teacher and you and other family members (or stuffed animals) can be the students. This is also a great learning activity as your little one will be “teaching” and leading the class.
These are just a few of the many activities that you can do with your four-year-old at little to no cost. Whether you’re spending the day indoors or enjoying some fresh air, there’s always plenty to do with your little one.
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Pin for Later: 25 Fun Activities for 4 Year Olds with Household Items!
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