My Favorite Stress-Free Preschool Products
If you are balancing homeschooling bigger kids with little ones close by or if you only have a toddler, it still can be a lot of work but also a lot of fun. Keeping your preschool-aged littles busy and entertained is a full time job. What a blessing to have so many preschool products available now that will help them stay happy and learning at the same time!
As a big sister, a nanny, and an in-home preschool teacher I have discovered many products and activities to keep the littles entertained and happy. Every day I am surprised at how much and how fast they learn. Every child is different and I absolutely love working with each one and seeing where they get the most excited.
One of the best things to do is to provide toys, sensory activities, and games that introduce your child to learning but are not overstimulating. Little ones learn by watching the big kids do things and they want to match them. Having plenty of books on hands is also important. Reading to your child is a priority from the very beginning for bonding but also for their little minds to begin to understand the magic of the written word!
Before the age of 4, children don’t have the patience or attention level to sit down at a table or desk for hours of time. But introducing them to small amounts of time at the table to do things that are enriching and exciting can spark early learning skills that may surprise you. Coloring pages, water books, painting, and play dough are some of the best things to keep your little one excited to learn new things.
Below is a list I have made of the best toys, crafts, and sensory items that I recommend for your little ones. I love these products and have found them so useful in my journey as a nanny and teacher!
Playdough and Kinetic Sand
Both playdough and kinetic sand are awesome sensory items and the ideas are endless! No matter how old your child is, their creativity will shine through. Keeping the mess on a tray and providing lots of cookie cutters, a small rolling pin, and other things to stamp with makes this fun time last even longer. Perfect for when you are working with the older ones and need your little to be self-entertained.
Washable Paint
Kids love to get messy and providing them something to do so within the limits you set is great for them. I was shocked when I started using washable paint with the littles I care for now. It is so fun and literally washes right off their hands and clothing. Providing a space that they stay at to do their painting is best, though. Make sure to provide a few different size paintbrushes and let them have fun! They can paint on large paper, wooden dollar store crafts, and even in the bathtub!
Water Books
These water books by Melissa and Doug are some of the best creations ever! In the last year I have come to realize just how awesome these books are. They provide endless hours of mess-free painting that will keep your child happy. All they need is a paintbrush and water or just the refillable pens that come with these books. The best part is that they just need to dry out for a few hours and are ready to be painted in again. Seriously, these are amazing!
Mess-Free Coloring Books
Besides water books, these mess-free coloring books by Crayola are also super awesome. They come with colored markers that are meant just for this special paper. It is like magic as the child colors and the paper shows the color. These markers can’t write on anything else – protecting your couch or table which is truly a life saver! Best for older toddlers who want to color the pages the colors they desire.
Dry Erase Books
It is surprising how many amazing things you can find in stores these days. Dry erase books are some of those hidden treasures. These books are amazing with all the things they pack inside them. From letters and numbers to tracing activities, they will introduce your kiddos to some of the best of early learning all while they are having fun. These are also reusable! Just wipe clean when you are done and you will have it ready for next time. This lessens the amount of paper and provides easy learning for years to come.
Sidewalk Chalk
One of the simplest and timeless treasures will always be sidewalk chalk. Providing a small area outside your door on your porch or sidewalk for your child to sit and draw all they want is wonderful. From little letters to big pictures and even tracing the kiddos, this provides hours and hours of creativity and memories. How many of us remember when we were that little and drawing on the sidewalk!?
Shaving Cream
If you are ready for another messy craft, shaving cream is also a fun way of giving your child more time to play. Put some shaving cream in a dish and let them use their hands or tongs to find treasures. Have them find animal toys or search for the letters of their name written on the bottom of the dish. The ideas are endless with this activity and the sensory skills are a great bonus.
Puzzles
There are many great puzzles out there that teach toddlers shapes, colors, letters, and numbers. Simple foam ones are perfect to start your little toddler on as they grow their fine motor skills they can work up to the larger cardboard ones. Store them in a bag for easy access later and to keep the pieces from getting lost.
Magnetic Drawing Boards
Magnetic drawing boards are amazing travel toys that save you from having to bring crayons and other drawing supplies. These are mess-free and provide entertainment for even the longest trips. With an attached pen and included stamps your little ones can draw anything they would want to on these and then easily erase it to make another picture. Truly one of the best inventions for children of all ages.
Sensory Busy Boards
There are a wide variety of sensory boards out now, but you can also make them. Use things you have around the house to teach fine motor skills. With latches, hinges, switches, buttons, buckles, gears, zippers, Velcro and much more, these fun boards are captivating to your littles and are actually so much fun to make!
Tracing & Lacing
A fun way to increase your child’s sensory skills are with these tracing blocks and lacing cards. I have found that teaching a child to trace letters, numbers, and shapes with these blocks helps to build early pencil-holding skills as many come with a small stylus. These tracing cards are also great for teaching patience and keeping little fingers busy. Both of these are not hard to find with many options online, in your local teacher store, and even at consignment sales.
Everyday Learning
It is never too early to start teaching letters, numbers, shapes, and colors to your baby or toddler. Many will surprise you with how fast they catch on and what they remember from the last time. But it should be fun and not stressful. Every child learns from their surroundings and every day activities.
Just talking to your child and showing them things that are interesting to them is the best way of teaching. When they are playing with their favorite toy, tell them the color. When they are looking at pictures in a book, say the names of the items. Teaching the names and sounds of animals can be an exciting game. Most moms and dads do these things without even thinking about it and it is the interaction that your child loves the best. They don’t even realize that they are learning!
As your toddler grows and their attention span also grows, you can introduce more things to them. Sit them down with chunky crayons and see what they can do on a coloring page. Show them letter and number flash cards and see what they have learned. Sort counting bears into colored cups to know what their favorite color is. Use stencils to teach them to trace shapes and pictures. Always watch them to discover what they are most excited about and use that to help them in the future.
Don’t forget the importance of music in preschool and before as well! It amazes me as I work with these little ones how much children really learn from music! I have many great resources for this coming up so subscribe so you don’t miss out!
If you have any other ideas you would love to add to help out other moms at home, please comment below. I love hearing your ideas!
God Bless!
Jesus overheard them and said, “I want the little children to come to me, so never interfere with them when they want to come,
for heaven’s kingdom realm is composed of beloved ones like these!….”
Matthew 19:14a TPT
