The classic game of memory--or concentration--uses pictures on cards that you place face down. Each child has the opportunity to flip over two and try to match the pictures. If it's a match, she keeps the pair and gets another turn. If not, it's the next player's turn. This challenges students to improve memory skills and vocabulary. You can make or purchase cards that match the same picture or that use more complex concepts, such as matching opposites.
In musical chairs, you line up chairs--one less than the number of students--and students must walk around the chairs while music plays. When the music stops, everyone rushes to sit in a chair, and the student left standing is "out." You remove another chair and repeat the process until there is just one winner. You don't have to use chairs for this game. Instead, you can use papers on the floor.
Red Light, Green Light practices large motor skills. One student is the "traffic light," and the other students line up at a starting line across the gym or playground. When the traffic light says, "Green light," students can move closer, and when he says, "Red light," students must freeze. If the traffic light catches a student moving, she must return to the starting point. The first student to touch the traffic light gets to be the traffic light in the next round.
Children sit in a circle, and one student walks around, touching each student's head and saying, "Duck." When the student tags another, saying, "goose," the tagged student must get up and chase the other around the circle. If the student doing the tagging is able to make it around the circle and back to the empty space, he is safe. If the other student tags him, he must sit in the middle of the circle until another student is tagged.
In Simon Says, the leader--or "Simon"--tells other students what to do. Students must do the action as long as there is a "Simon says" preceding the command. If the statement is a command only, and a student performs the action, that student is out. This practices listening skills.
There are a number of board games that are appropriate for preschool quiet play. Candy Land teaches colors, while Chutes and Ladders helps teach actions and consequences. You can also find board games that teach numbers, counting, shapes and body parts.