Activities for 5 year olds: 15 screen-free ideas

Five is a big year. Kids are often starting kindergarten, getting more coordinated, and developing opinions about rules, fairness and what counts as "winning". They like to make something and show it off, and they love being given a real job.

These 15 activities suit that stage. Most take 15 to 30 minutes and use things from around the house.

What 5 year olds tend to enjoy

• Making things with a clear result
• Games with simple rules and a bit of competition
• Being the expert or the "boss"
• Missions, hunts and puzzles
• Playing with friends and siblings
• Jokes, riddles and silly rhymes

Every child is different, so treat this as a guide, not a checklist.

Make and build

1. Cardboard marble run. Tape tubes to a wall and test what works.
2. Paper plate masks. Make a character and then put on a play.
3. Leaf rubbings. Make a nature collage from the leaves and rubbings.
4. Comic strip. Fold a sheet of paper into panels and tell a story with stick figures.
5. Box city. Use boxes and tubes to build a town for toy cars or figures.

Move and play

6. Floor is lava. Let them design the course and time the family.
7. Backyard Olympics. Choose five events like a sack hop, a long jump and a bean bag throw, and award silly prizes.
8. Treasure hunt with clues. Write or draw five clues, each leading to the next.
9. Balloon volleyball. Tie a string across the room as a net and keep the balloon in the air.

Think and explore

10. Sink or float. Predict, test, record. This is one of many science activities for preschoolers that also suit 5-year-olds.
11. Nature scavenger hunt. Make a list: something smooth, something rough, something that smells, something round.
12. Memory game. Put objects on a tray, let them look, cover it and remove one. What's missing?
13. Kitchen helper. Let them make a simple sandwich or fruit salad, reading a picture recipe.

Pretend and calm

14. Blanket fort. Build it together, then read inside.
15. Story dice. Draw pictures on small pieces of paper, pick three at random and tell a story that includes them all.

Tips for playing with a 5 year old

• Let them be the expert. "Can you show me how?" turns them into the teacher.
• Add a challenge. A time limit, a goal, or "can you do it with one hand?" keeps a repeat game interesting.
• Make a plan together. Ask what they want to make, and what they'll need.
• Let them finish. If they want to keep going on one drawing for 40 minutes, that's focus.
• Keep competition kind. Try family-vs-the-clock games, so no one loses to a sibling.

What to say

Who do you want to turn into today? A tiger? A robot? Something I have never seen?

If it stalls

Let them be the boss for a minute, or give them a job like timekeeper. If they're frustrated by a tricky bit, offer to be their assistant instead of fixing it. If they've had enough, switch to something quiet.

More ideas

For a wider range, see our guide to activities for kids by age, our list of things to do with kids, and the page for activities for 4 year olds.