Preschoolers learn the rainbow's colors with a colorful version of bingo. Print and laminate a game board for each child. Print, laminate and cut out two game cards for each child. Place the game cards in a bag. Give each child a small bowl of dried beans to be used as markers. Ask a child to select a game card from the bag. Demonstrate how to place a bean on the matching color on the game board. Permit the children to take turns selecting game cards from the bag until a winner covers a complete rainbow to win the game.
Preschoolers practice letter, number or shape recognition with a circle game that keeps everyone moving. Write letters, numbers or shapes on index cards. Laminate the cards. Ask your preschoolers to sit in a circle, display each card and tell them to stand and jump whenever you say "Jelly Jump Up!" The children jump until told to sit down.
The game of musical chairs stays happier for preschoolers when no one loses her seat. Arrange the chairs back to back in a line or in a circle. Sing the following song to the tune of "Mulberry Bush":
"Here We Go 'Round the Musical Chairs"
Here we walk 'round the musical chairs,
Musical chairs, musical chairs.
Here we walk 'round the musical chairs,
And then we all sit down!"
The children sing the song, walk around the chairs and sit down in the chair they are standing in front of when the song ends. Substitute the words "hop," "skip," "gallop" and "crawl" for "walk."
Five to 10 players form a circle. Select a child to be the mouse and send him out of the room. Select another child to be the kitten. Ask the mouse to return to the room and instruct him to walk around the back of the circle. The kitten attempts to catch the mouse before he can return to his place in the circle. The kitten gets to be the mouse in the following game if the mouse is caught.