When the little cups I planned to use for our balance scale didn’t arrive, I folded two paper boxes instead. The children spooned rice and beans into the boxes and watched one side dip as it got heavier. Keep reading to see what else we did, including a pretend laundromat and a day-and-night I Spy bag.
1. Sort Animals by Habitat
- Land and air animals
- Water animals
- Land picture
- Water picture
Display your wet and dry habitat pages along with the animals, and have kids sort them wet vs dry.
2. Build a Light and Heavy Balance Scale
- Beans and rice mix
- Jumbo popsicle stick
- Cork topper
- Shovel/spoon
- Small containers
Assemble your scale by hot gluing a cork topper to the bottom of a popsicle stick. Hot glue your containers on each end in even spots. Originally I had planned to use plastic condiment ramekins, but they did not show in time so I had to improvise 😂. I made these boxes from an origami lesson I learned as a child. Have kids slowly add bean and rice mixture to each side until it balances. Have them identify which side is heavy, and which side is light!
3. Play Day and Night I Spy
- Small pictures drawn on the bag with a black permanent marker
- A sun cut from light-colored cardstock
- A hand-drawn picture checklist
- Large Ziploc
- Black paper
Slide black paper into the bag behind the drawings. Have children move the cardstock sun between the front of the bag and the black paper to reveal each picture. They can check off the pictures as they find them.
4. Compare Sweet and Sour Jelly Bean Tea
- Jelly beans
- Hot water
- Tea set
Make your jelly bean tea by adding all of the sweet flavors to one pot, and all of your sour flavors to another. Cover in hot water for a few minutes until flavors steep. Let the tea cool completely before offering a taste, then invite children to describe which one is sweet and which one is sour.
5. Hang Wet and Dry Fabric
- Water
- Soap
- Wire rack
- Clothespins
- Fabric pieces
- Baskets
Add a small amount of water with a couple drops of soap to a sensory bin. Add your racks and baskets. Scatter some fabric pieces in the water and hang some on the racks to give a display of the activity. Have kids hang fabric with the clothespins on the racks.
6. Compare Light and Heavy Objects
- Cotton balls
- Rocks
- Bags
- Baskets
- Feathers
- Rocks
- Weights confetti
Add your materials to a sensory bin and play! Can you feel the difference in weight?
7. Explore a Sweet and Sour Sensory Bin
- Pink rice
- Yellow pasta wheels
- Plastic strawberries
- Plastic lemons/limes
- Vines/leaves
- Logs
- Baskets
- Shovels
Add your materials to the sensory bin and mix your sweets and sours!
8. Open a Pretend Laundromat
- Laundromat printouts
- Fabric
- Baskets
Tape the top end of your washers and dryers to a wall. Place a piece of rolled tape behind it, and stick a piece of cloth on top. When the kids lift the washer or dryer, their “clothes” will be underneath. Set up the rest of your laundromat as desired and wash and dry clothes! I used canva for all of these print outs
9. Set Up a Pretend Gym
- Printouts
- Weight lifting props
- Gym dress up/accessories
Print out, or create weights by attaching a styrofoam disc to each end of a paper roll. Write the weight value on the side. Set up a section for light weights, and one for heavy weights. Add props like water bottles, membership cards, sign in sheet etc.
10. Run a Sweet and Sour Fruit Stand
- Sweet fruit
- Sour fruit
- Fruit stand
- Fruit sign
- Sitting area
- Etc.
Set up your fruit stand and have kids buy, sell, and “taste” sweet vs sour fruit!
More Preschool Play Ideas
For more ways to set up pretend play with simple materials, see Community Helpers Activities for Preschool and Around the World Preschool Activities.
