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List of Games for Kids 1-5 Years Old

It is no secret that children 1 to 5 years of age have a lot of energy to exert. Children around this age group can become easily bored and need activities to keep them occupied. Therefore, it is crucial that you provide children with games to play. Luckily, an abundance of games are well suited to this age group.

Parachuting
- Spread out a parachute in the middle of a room. Stand around the parachute and have everyone grab the parachute and hold it. Raise the parachute and say something along the lines of "up" as the parachute rises. Once the parachute is fully exerted into the air, say "down" and pull the parachute down. Repeat this process a few times. When you pull the parachute up the last time, run underneath the parachute as it falls down upon everyone. This game will teach toddlers listening and waiting skills.
Domino Knock-Down
- Since toddlers enjoy knocking objects down, this game allows them to do so. Take about a half-dozen empty cereal boxes and stack them up next to one another. Show the toddlers how to play by knocking the first box over and showing that each box after the first one will fall down as well. Stack the boxes back up and allow the toddlers to have fun making a domino effect.
Elbow Tag
- If you have a large group of older children (ages 4 to 5), elbow tag is an appropriate game to play. Designate one child to be "it" and allow the other players to link their arms together. The children must then chase the "it" child and attempt to tag him. At any point, "it" can link his arm into the end of the linked set of children and force the child who is at the end of the link to become the new "it." Once the new child is "it," the process repeats itself.
Guess Who
- For a rainy day, nothing that beats the boredom of being forced to stay inside quiet like a board game. One of these games that is appropriate for younger players (3 to 5 years of age) is "Guess Who." To play "Guess Who," each player must pick a card that displays an image of a person; this card is what the other player will try to guess. Each must raise her set of cards on her board that displays images of other people. Each player must then ask questions about the physical attributes of the person pictured (e.g. "Does your person have black hair, "does your person have brown eyes," and so on). Players will then fold down each image of a person as they narrow down which card the other player has.

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