Home / Plans by age / Ages 3–5
Things to do with a 3-, 4- or 5-year-old
Preschoolers want a real job and a real say. These plans give them both, in anything from a few minutes to an afternoon.
Good to know at this age
- CDC suggests letting preschoolers help with simple chores, reading to them and taking them to the library, and being clear and consistent with discipline. CDC, Positive Parenting Tips: Preschoolers (3–5 years) Checked Oct 15, 2026
- CDC says children 3 to 5 need to be active throughout the day. CDC, Child Activity: An Overview Checked Oct 15, 2026
- CDC recommends 10 to 13 hours of sleep a day for ages 3 to 5, naps included. CDC, About Sleep Checked Oct 15, 2026
Quick: 30 minutes or less 44
- Tie a square knot and a bowline30 min · $0 · Ages 5+ · Indoor & Rainy Day
- Find north with a stick and the sun30 min · $0 · Ages 5+ · Outdoors
- Spend, save, give: three jars30 min · $0 · Ages 4–9 · Money
- Show your kid what you do at work30 min · $0 · Ages 5–12 · Work & Home
- Toy cleanup race: picture bins, a song and a timer15 min · $0 · Ages 1–4 · Chores
- Sort, fold, put away: the laundry crew30 min · $0 · Ages 4–10 · Chores
- A chore chart you'll actually keep30 min · $0 · Ages 5–14 · Chores
- Toddler snack helper: wash, tear, stir, pour20 min · About $5 · Ages 2–4 · Cooking
- Picture-book point-and-name for toddlers15 min · $0 · Ages 1–3 · Reading
- Rainy-day hallway obstacle course30 min · $0 · Ages 2–6 · Indoor & Rainy Day
- The screen-free swap box30 min · $0 · Ages 3–10 · Screens
- The feelings check-in: a number, a word, what helps15 min · $0 · Ages 3–8 · Emotions & Hard Conversations
- Repair after you lose your temper10 min · $0 · Ages 3+ · Discipline
- Set up a calm-down corner30 min · $0 · Ages 2–7 · Discipline
- A week of “when-then”: calm limits that stick10 min a day · $0 · Ages 2–8 · Discipline
- The after-dinner family walk30 min · $0 · Ages Any · Dad Health
- A 20-minute family workout in the living room20 min · $0 · Ages 4–14 · Dad Health
- Water-safety rules before summer swimming30 min · $0 · Ages 3–12 · Outdoors
- Catch them being good: a week of specific praise10 min a day · $0 · Ages 2–10 · Discipline
- Consequences that fit: logical, not harsh20 min · $0 · Ages 3–12 · Discipline
- The school-morning launch pad30 min · $0–$10 · Ages 5–12 · Chores
- The first-week-of-school check-in15 min · $0 · Ages 5–14 · Emotions & Hard Conversations
- A summer reading streak20 min a day · $0 · Ages 4–12 · Reading
- Make a family whistle and hand-signal code25 min · $0 to $5 · Ages 5+ · Classic Field Skills
- Play Kim's game: remember the tray20 min · $0 · Ages 5+ · Classic Field Skills
- Find the North Star with the Big Dipper30 min · $0 · Ages 5+ · Classic Field Skills
- Pretend shop and a wait jar (ages 3 to 5)20 min · $0 · Ages 3–5 · Money
- Play Quicksight and Farsight: two eye games30 min · $0 · Ages 5–12 · Classic Field Skills
- Find Orion, the winter hunter30 min · $0 · Ages 5+ · Classic Field Skills
- The transition timer: they press start, then we switch5 min · $0 · Ages 1–4 · Toddlers
- Two good choices, and the silliest-way game10 min · $0 · Ages 1–4 · Discipline
- Toddler pouring station with cups and funnels30 min · $0 · Ages 1–3 · Toddlers
- Remote-control Dad: pause, rewind, fast-forward15 min · $0 · Ages 2–6 · Toddlers
- A day home alone with a toddler, in blocks15 min to plan · $0 · Ages 1–3 · Toddlers
- The nightly question journal10 min a night · About $5 · Ages 4–14 · Emotions & Hard Conversations
- They're having a hard time, not giving you one10 min · $0 · Ages 2–10 · Discipline
- Teach a kid to ride a bike, balance first30 min a session · $0 with a bike and helmet · Ages 3–8 · Outdoors
- Throw and catch: a hundred quick reps with Dad20 min · $0 · Ages 3–10 · Outdoors
- Telling your kid someone has died20 min · $0 · Ages 3+ · Emotions & Hard Conversations
- Build a snack board for the family30 min · About $10 · Ages 3–10 · Cooking
- Balloon volleyball in the living room30 min · $0 · Ages 4–10 · Indoor & Rainy Day
- Freeze dance with Dad's playlist20 min · $0 · Ages 2–8 · Indoor & Rainy Day
- Sticker storybook: they stick, you write30 min · About $5 · Ages 3–7 · Reading
- Trash-can basketball league30 min · $0 · Ages 3–10 · Indoor & Rainy Day
An hour or two 20
- Skip a stone five times45 min · $0 · Ages 5+ · Outdoors
- A no-flashlight moon walk40 min · $0 · Ages 4+ · Outdoors
- Pancake Saturday45 min · About $5 · Ages 4–10 · Cooking
- Make-your-own pizza night60 min · About $15 · Ages 3–12 · Cooking
- Library card day: their own card, their own books90 min · $0 · Ages 3–12 · Reading
- Blanket-fort reading den45 min · $0 · Ages 2–8 · Indoor & Rainy Day
- Cardboard marble run on the wall or a box90 min · About $10 · Ages 5–12 · Indoor & Rainy Day
- Make a family media plan together45 min · $0 · Ages 5–17 · Screens
- Build a real-food dinner together60 min · About $15 · Ages 5–12 · Dad Health
- Read tracks in mud, sand or snow60 min · $0 · Ages 5+ · Classic Field Skills
- Lay a trail with 1911 trail signs45 min · $0 · Ages 5+ · Classic Field Skills
- Toddler bedtime: a 15-minute wind-down, then the routine40 min · $0 · Ages 1–3 · Toddlers
- The dice-roll rainy day1 hour · $0 · Ages 3–10 · Indoor & Rainy Day
- Co-op game night: think out loud45 min · $0 · Ages 5–12 · Screens
- A first fishing trip with your kid2 hrs · About $35 · Ages 4–12 · Outdoors
- Find five plants on a neighborhood walk45 min · $0 · Ages 4–12 · Outdoors
- Cookie decorating night90 min · About $15 · Ages 3–12 · Cooking
- Kitchen band: pot drums, shakers and a song45 min · $0 · Ages 2–8 · Indoor & Rainy Day
- Audiobook and coloring hour: a calm reset1 hour · $0 · Ages 4–10 · Reading
- Dad builds, kid launches: straw rockets45 min · $0 · Ages 4–10 · Indoor & Rainy Day
Half a day or more 4
- Living-room campoutOvernight · $0 · Ages 4–12 · Indoor & Rainy Day
- A Junior Ranger day with DadHalf a day · Park fee, if any · Ages 5–13 · Outdoors
- A first campout in the backyardOvernight · $0 · Ages 4–12 · Classic Field Skills
- Building-brick set night: they read, you run parts2 evenings, about 90 min each · About $20 · Ages 5–12 · Indoor & Rainy Day
Co-parenting? The plans for two homes are on the co-parenting hub. Plans for you, not the kids (health, money, marriage), are under Topics. Other ages: Under 1 · 1–2 · 3–5 · 6–9 · 10–12 · 13+.