Without getting too philosophical, ‘play’, like children’s play, may be one of the most magical of all human endeavours. You really do feel like you’re an astronaut! In any discussion of daycare activities, the question ‘what will the children be doing all day?’ inevitably comes up. However, if the answer was just ‘play’, it might raise a few more questions than answers.

Still, when you look at the following list of the best daycare activities, you’ll notice there is a level of play involved. But these activities bring a lot more to the table.

1. Dynamic Play

Running around, jumping, climbing, sliding. In a nutshell, anything with activity. Children love the sensation of movement and accomplishment. I made it to the top! Even activities like swinging can get them to challenge themselves to go higher, or faster. And to observe the results of their actions. There’s also the idea of trying something new, risk taking and developing motor skills while you do them all.

2. Singing & Dancing

This is another set of dynamic activities. But there may be even more benefit through language development, learning, working together and physical strength, balance and coordination..

3. Building Blocks & Puzzles

Have you ever noticed the level of concentration even a young child can have when trying to complete a puzzle? While puzzles help in the recognition shapes, sizes and colours, building blocks quickly teaches children about space utilization, planning and innovation.

4. Art Play

Whether its drawing and painting, or papier maché and play dough, art play means creating something with the tools at hand, expressing yourself, making decisions on colours, and developing the dexterity to make it all happen.

5. Role Playing

With or without costumes, pretending to be someone or something else opens up new worlds. Remember the astronaut? Now we know how they might feel, the problems they have and even invent some new ones. Better yet, we have to figure out how to solve them all.

6. Outdoor Play

We all know the health benefits of outdoor activities. But certain activities, particularly sandbox play, water play (activities using water from a bucket or tub, not necessarily swimming) and interacting with nature are also multi-dimensional in how they help children develop. The sand box an have roads, homes and mountains. And they all can be quickly changed to something completely different. Water play lets you find out what floats and what doesn’t. And how long can you watch water roll down an incline? Nature play, the sort that children would get at Forest Schools, is all about our senses, the world around us, feeling the elements, and observing life.

If you enjoyed this post, check out our recent article What To Look For When Choosing A Daycare, and download the Kinderdrop App through the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store today!