Three year old Learning Activities: Knowing what toys will help your child's development
If you are a parent of a preschooler, you are probably in the midst of three year old learning activities, whether you know it or not!
But if you want more ideas, or aren't really sure whether to go with the Grimm's Rainbow (always a favourite amongst Insta-parents everywhere), or if anything will do, this post is for you!
What to expect from this article:
I'm sharing:
- Some of the most popular learning activities I have seen for this age group
- What I would start with when your child turns 3 (or is nearly there)
- How you can utilise these activities to help your child learn basic concepts
- How YOU get to be a part of this process, and therefore build a deeper relationship with your child
Let's get into it- or Pin it for later!
What are the most popular three year old learning activities?
Three year olds are in what the famous Swiss psychologist Piaget called the 'preoperational stage' of development.
This is summed up (with some big old words) in 'Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour' (Passer and Smith), so I've paraphrased it here to making it easier:
- This age children use symbolic thinking in the form of words and images to represent objects and experiences
- This symbolic thinking means kids in this stage use pretend play (we all know that one, right?
- Their thinking displays egocentrism (thinking everyone has the same point of view as them), irreversibility and centration.
So what should you start with?
Three year olds are in a developmental stage which means they are ALL able to use words and pictures to talk understand what we mean.
This means that these gorgeous, amazing Toddler Flash Cards by Goodnight Fox (or indeed most of the stunning range) are right on the money.
Using these cards means you can apply these three year old learning activities and KNOW they are at your child's developmental level.
How can I use them to help my three year old learn?
Children in this stage are starting to understand matching, which means any game like:
- snap
- memory
- 'Find the mama'
- Who lives here? (Sea animals, farm animals, categorisation)
(Note: They may still take a bit to understand how you can play with the cards, but that's for you to teach! Stay tuned and I'll share ideas below!)
(Use code SMARTMAMASMARTKIDS to get a 10% discount on anything in the shop here!)
Something else which is always in use in our house are the pretend food and tea sets.
This gorgeous set from Fat Brain Toys is affordable and SO gorgeous!
My kids love playing pretend (hello, preoperational stage) and my husband and I are always being served tea and 'breakfast' on pretend plates with our tea set.
I find three year old learning activities are well worth investing in...
... because as the preoperational developmental stage lasts until around 7, these toys get used regularly-especially if you have more than one child!
I have to add-while you may consider a tea set a little more for the girls-many boys love to cook and 'make Mama a cup of tea', so it doesn't have to be that way!
Otherwise, your little one might love to use something like this Doctor's Kit from Entropy Toys. It's super cute! (All my kids have loved our doctor's kit!) This set has wooden instruments, too!
So how can I use these to help my child learn basic concepts?
I mean, aren't they 'just' playing make-believe?
Imagination and role-play are a huge (and super popular) three year old learning activity.
Children who are role-playing are 'testing' out their understanding, learning more about the role they are playing, and role-play can bring things to life for them the way nothing else can.
It also gives them permission to have a little 'pretend' to be Mama or Daddy, or the fireman, and therefore they get to try on different personas, voices, and clothes, let alone actions!
When does a three year old get to be the boss, if not in pretend play?
When do they feel like they can 'act like grownups' or play Mums and Dads, or play shop?
Everything in a small child's life is run by parents doing things which are essentially out of the child's scope and ability-but always seemingly very important.
Children like to feel important too.
Imaginative play and role-play give them these moments in small, acceptable and healthy doses.
So you can help your child learn through these imaginative play moments, by trying some of these strategies:
- Be a participant in the game (not the boss) and buy some ice-cream, or have a pretend emergency!
- If you can't play, be 'outside' the game but present. Ask questions that make your child think-but not hard ones. 'Where will you hang your fireman's hat while you eat your lunch?' or 'Will you sell just ice-cream at your shop, or could someone buy an apple there, too?'
- When they are finished, or winding down, ask what their favourite part of the game was, or which part they would change next time. This inspires higher order thinking and helps your child think outside the box!
So how can I use these three year old learning activities to deepen my relationship with my child?
Be. Present.
Just be present with your child. Be active in their learning, praise them, ask them those simple but out-of-the-box questions like I mentioned just above.
Deepening the relationship with your child will happen as you spend quality, non-judgemental, non-busy time together.
Just come to the play space without an agenda or schedule if you can-and an attitude of observation and learning about your child. Get intentional-and this will open up a world of understanding and relationship between you!
I challenge you to try it for 15 minutes per day if you can!
If the toys mentioned above are not to your liking, try browsing using the links below-there are SO many toys available-it is really up to individual interest!
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