Activities for 3-4 year olds
Where to start - advice for 3-4 year olds
Tools for Talking 3-4 years: Talking about past and future
Help grow your child's language skills and understanding of the world by introducing them to talk about the past and future.
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Not sure what activity to try?
Answer a few question and we'll pick out an idea to try with your little one.
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How does talking about the past help children's language skills?
Dr Saloni Krishnan helps a parent explore the effect that talking about past events has on her child's language skills.
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Practising talking in different tenses
Planning adventures with teddy
Use toys to help create a future adventure with your child.
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Talking about the past
Encouraging your child to talk about past events will help them think beyond the present moment.
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Play the tomorrow game
The Tomorrow Game is a simple way to encourage talking about the future.
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Play memory games
Why memory games based on your everyday activities are a brilliant way to learn.
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Fun activities to boost language development
Building sentences together
Build speaking confidence in your child by encouraging conversations in full sentences.
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Retelling stories together
Help your child practice the important skill of retelling stories with our easy and fun activity.
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Building towers against the clock
Try this fun building game with your 3-year-old to test their patience and resilience but also have fun.
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Playing Teddy says together
Teddy says is a fun game, which is great for developing listening, attention and memory skills.
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Games with a ball
When toddlers play with balls, it can help them master individual gross-motor skills and social skills too.
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Cooking together with your child
Cook with your child to develop coordination and counting skills, boost their confidence and encourage adventurous eating.
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What's in the sensory bag?
This activity is a fun twist on 'what's in the bag' using different textured objects.
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The iceberg game
This game combines pretend play and ball games to create a fun, learning experience for young children and pre-schoolers.
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Games to help emotional development
Exploring feelings using dance and play
Find out how you can use dance to get children talking about their feelings
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Talking about feelings with toys
In this game your child can get to know their teddy a bit more as your questions bring them to life.
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Let's play make believe
Use pretend play to boost your child's imagination and their conversation.
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Chatting at any time of day
Give your child time to chat
Waiting for a response shows your child that you're listening and helps them to use longer sentences.
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What can we spot on the way?
Playing I Spy on walks is a great learning and talking experience for your child.
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Take time to chat
Encourage your child to talk imaginatively about their day.
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Sleepy time games
Playing sleepy time games can develop their attention and help them to wind down at the end of the day.
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Dressing for the weather
Encourage your child to talk about the weather and choose what they will wear.
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Colour theme your day
Plan a colour-themed day to help build your child's vocabulary.
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Sorting clothes together
Sorting out clothes together encourages your child to talk about different textures, colours, and fabrics.
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Getting ready for the day
Getting ready with your child is a great way to encourage them to form longer descriptive sentences.
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Take a bus trip
Why a bus trip is full of exciting opportunities for your child to chat.
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Playtime games
Sharing and having fun
Setting up a group activity for your child is a great way to help them learn about taking turns.
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Can you remember?
Turn a selection of household items into a fun memory activity.
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Matching halves
Matching halves is a fun way of learning about things that are the same or different.
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Have a kids' dance party
Play music and limber up for dancing games like musical bumps and musical statues.
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Have fun learning opposites
How chatting about the opposites of words or situations can help your child learn.
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Cosy corner
Build a cosy corner for their imagination to run free.
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Getting crafty
What can this box be?
How sorting recycling can be turned into a fun activity for your child.
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Finger painting
Finger painting is great, messy fun and a chance to talk about the different colours and objects they're drawing.
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Making shakers
Simple shakers help children learn about rhythm.
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Drawing and creative play
Creative activities with your child build their language.
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Building people from recycling
Have a go at building scrap people and explore your child's imagination together.
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