Reader ideas for fun games for kids of three years old.
A three year old's world is full of magic, imagination - and questions about life, the universe and everything!
Maybe as a response to new-found fears, three year olds adore a familiar story, or a favorite puzzle or video.
Playing games with your three year old means mixing up a bit of the familiar with something new - and fun! As you'll see in the games below.
Fun Games for Kids of Three
Shipwreck We play shipwreak and rescue. We pretend that we are on a ship and sit on the couch and then one of us falls in and the other has to save him or her. Jo, United States
Around the world We love to pretend that we're going in trip around the world (usually I choose places where Kids have been or have heard of so that they can tell me why we're visiting this place in particular). It's very educational and full of fun! They love it! Raphaela, Brazil
Blanket wrap A game I like to play with my son is Blanket wrap. I just get a blanket and roll him up in it, then unroll it and he comes rolling out! He loves it and wants to do it again and again! Remember to unroll the blanket slowly though! James, Taiwan
Farm animal fun My daughter and I pretend we are farm animals. Sometimes I am a chicken egg and she is the hen. Great for learning new words such as hatch, mare, foal, rooster, piglet, and other vocabulary. We end up singing "old macdonald" every time. Taryn, South Africa
Shared story - in the car! I have a quite verbal 3 year old. When traveling in the car she likes to create shared stories. Someone starts a story and after 30 seconds the next person adds to the story and so it goes around each of the travellers. Keep going as long as you want.
I picked up this idea from Amanda Blake Soule at SouleMama Rebecca, Laos
Dance parties My daughter and I have "dance parties" - we blow up balloons and turn up fun, wild, loud music and dance all around the kitchen and living room. She loves to dance, jump, spin and move her whole body. This is a great way to get 3 year olds moving, have a great time with the whole family and laugh together. This seems to be a bit of a tradition in our house after supper and before the bath. Wonderful time. Mary, Canada
Fishing trip I sit in a big chair with my grandson, we pretend we are fishing in a boat, sometimes we see alligators, sharks, whatever comes to mind. I have a magnet fishing pole and we have an easy half hour of fun, at least once a day. It is a very scenic boat ride. Debi, United States
Imaginative sandbox play We like to play with construction vehicles in the sandbox and pretend that there are workers working on a road or a basement for a house. Amy, Canada
Family stories Making up stories from family pictures - my 3-year-old son loves to look at the family pictures and listen to me telling (or making up) stories from our family. he askes questions and shows great interest in those stories (and asks to watch them all over again) Sophia, Canada
Pretend go carts I baby sit a three year old, we pretend that we are riding in a go cart. We do this by sitting in a big chair. We use a sofa cushion as the door. I ask him where we are going. As we drive I ask him what kinds of things he would see on our way to this specific place. Pam, United States
ABC 123 car wash! I like to wash the car with my girls (I have twins.) I have them count diffrent things on the car. We also sing the ABC's while we play. They have so much fun! Jennifer, United States
Build a pretend house We enjoy making a cubby house, with our kitchen bar stools and sheets! My son will bring in pillows and his toys and have a great time... Amy, Australia
Card memory game I bought my daughter these Dora cards the are just regular cards with Dora all over them and we play a memory game and match them all up it really has brightened her memory skills. Kristina, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands
Big basin fun! I fill up a big basin with dry beans or big seeds, like maize, which is cheap here, add measuring cups, funnels, and small scoops and a child - great fun! Lindy, South Africa
A clapping game My 3 year old daughter was born weighing only 1 lb and 13 oz. She is very disabled so can't play too many games, but playing patty cake with her absolutely makes her giggle bunches. This is very special to us because she does not talk. Christina, United States
Musical Hula-Hoops Place several hula hoops side by side on floor. Have children walk around hoops while music is playing. When music stops, everyone has to stand inside of a hoop. You can have more than one person in a hoop. When the music starts back, remove one hoop. Eventually you end up with one hoop and everyone trys to squeeze in to stand in the hoop. We just tried this at our music camp with 3yr-pre-K and they loved it! Jessie
Balloon decorating Making funny animals with balloons and paint, sticking things onto balloons. For kids 3 years as some games are too boisterous at this age. Clare, United Kingdom
Sing song fun We take songs she knows and try to make up new words to them. Making them up is not hard...singing them with the new words is! She loves to sing and this is a great way to get her to expand her vocabulary. of course, we get LOTS of nonsense words included, but we try together to come up with words that make sense. Liroi, United States
Runs and jumps and spins! My daughter's favourite game is a very simple game which she calls 'runs and jumps and spins'. It has been her first choice and favourite game consistently for about the last year or so.
The name says it all. We run, we jump and we spin until we're dizzy and fall over together. It's great fun, keeps you fit, can be done anywhere and it wears them out. You don't need any tools to play and as many people as you like can play at one time.
We play 'runs and jumps and spins' almost every day and now my little boy is starting to join in too. Imojen is just turning three and Haydon has just gone fifteen months but it's a game they can play from as soon as they can walk pretty much, I used to carry Haydon before he could walk so that he could join in with our game and he always had a ball, laughing and giggling.
I imagine that I have quite a few more years of 'runs, jumps and spins' ahead of me. When they grow out of it I might have to go and do some real exercise to keep fit! Sue, Australia
Pretending My children and I love to play pretending. We can play it for hours and it cost nothing but our creativity. We could do it anywhere, anytime and still having fun! Lala, Indonesia
Your child's own garden My 3 year old has her own little garden. Every day we have so much fun. We water the flowers together, see how they grow and make little sticky notes on a wooden flower planted in the garden telling us when we planted the flowers, fertilized it etc. She enjoys it very much. Vicky, South Africa
Buried treasure Treasure find - dig holes in sandpit and bury plastic cups, etc.. then give kids a spade and say go find the buried treasure. They love it (3-5 year olds) Wendy, Australia
