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Games for Kids and Toddlers Age 3

When planning a party or social gathering for a group of 3-year-old children, create a variety of games for them to play to keep them entertained and prevent boredom. Most young children have short attention spans, so create games that are quick and simple for them to participate in. The games will also help the toddlers learn social and fine motor skills.

Animal Games
- Help 3-year-olds learn about animals using flash cards. Go over all the pictures and names of animals with the preschoolers and then lay the cards face up on a table. Call out the name of an animal, such as "monkey." The first child to find the monkey picture wins a small prize. For a more difficult game, call out a letter like "F" and the first child to find an animal that starts with the letter "F" wins a prize. Keep playing until each child has a chance to earn a prize. You can also play a memory game featuring animals where the children must find the animal's match. Make the game appropriate for 3-year-olds by reducing the number of possible matches.
Balloon Games
- Most young children find balloons fascinating and enjoy playing with them. Give each child an inflated balloon and tell him to hit the balloon in the air. Tell the children to try to keep the balloon off the ground. Award a small prize to each player who can keep his balloon in the air for one minute without it hitting the ground. Up the difficulty by giving each child two balloons to keep in the air. Tell the children they can use their heads, feet and arms to try to keep the balloons in the air as long as possible. They can also try to pop balloons by sitting on them for another fun game. Just be sure to clean up all the pieces right away.
Tossing Games
- Create a tossing game for 3-year-olds using some old socks and dry beans or rice. Fill old socks with the beans or rice and tie them off. Place buckets on the ground and mark a standing line 3 feet away. The children must try to toss the homemade beanbags into the buckets. Another idea is to cut holes out of a cardboard box and place it on the ground. Have the children try to toss the beanbags through the holes in the box. Award small prizes to children who make beanbags into the buckets or holes.
Treasure Hunt Games
- Use a variety of items to create treasure hunts for 3-year-old children. Hide gold plastic coins indoors or outdoors and have the children search for the coins. Award prizes to the child who finds the most or allow the children to play for fun. Other items you can hide include party favor items or candy. Add some holiday excitement for Halloween by hiding plastic spiders and for Christmas, by hiding candy canes.

Kids Games