Indoor Games for Kids Ages Three to Five

Feather Games

• Give each child a craft feather to practice blowing in the air. Craft feathers are available in large bags at many craft and retail stores. Time each child to see how long he can blow the feather in the air without its touching the ground. For another feather game, cut straws in half (short straws help with suction) and give one straw to each child. Tell him to set the feather on a table or on the floor and suck the feather to the bottom of the straw. See who can hold their feathers to the end of the straw for the longest amount of time. Time is up once the feather hits the ground.

Memory Games

• Print pictures of random items on card stock paper. Print two of each picture for a game of memory. Laminate the pictures to make them more durable and long-lasting. Place the pictures face down and help the children play a game of memory. Another memory game is tray memory. Place several random items, such as an apple, a key, a hairbrush, a doll and a plush dog, on a tray. Show the tray to the children for about one minute. After taking the tray away, have the children call out items that were on the tray.

Marshmallow Games

• Young children can use a bag of large marshmallows, a bag of miniature marshmallows and thin pretzel sticks to create fun works of art. If you have several children, see who can build the tallest marshmallow tower. After they build their projects, they can eat them. For another game, place small pails about two feet from a standing line. Give the children five marshmallows and have them try to toss the marshmallows into the pails. If the game is for a birthday party, award a small prize to each child who gets a marshmallow into the bucket.

Hunt Games

• Print the numbers 1 through 10 on different sheets of paper and cut each number out. Hide the numbers all over the house and have the children find the numbers. However, they must find the numbers in the correct order. If they find the number 1, they must find the number 2 next. If they find another number, they must put it back and keep looking for the number 2. For another hunt game, hide several small plastic toys all over a certain room in the house. Count how many you hide and have your child try to find all the hidden toys.