10+ Fun Montessori Learning Activities & Games for 3-Year-Olds

Give your three-year-old a head start on Montessori learning by engaging them in wonderful, easy to put together learning activities at home. The quintessential “soon to be preschooler” wants to do everything by himself, mimics the adults in his life, and loves hands-on, concrete learning activities.

Each of these learning activities for 3-year-olds will hone your child's independence, focus, and coordination. Plus, your child will enjoy playing while he is learning!

What Should a 3-Year-Old Be Able to Do?

Before diving into activities & games, let's take a step back to understand the milestones of a 3-year-old.

Gross Motor Skills include balancing on one foot for 3 seconds, jumping, and galloping. There are many fun activities kids will love doing at this stage. Fine motor skill development includes being able to cut with scissors, stringing beads, and making a block tower.

Montessori Outdoor Activities for 3-Year-Olds

One of the best parts about working with 3-year-olds is that much of their learning comes in the form of games. There are no boring activities or lessons, simply games for 3-year-olds with built-in learning!

#1 – Walk and Name – An easy learning activity for 3-year-olds is to simply take daily walks. Along the way, point out and identify various objects. Name the objects within the context and cultivate new vocabulary for your child. Use the 3-period lesson.

#2 – Gardening – You know I am a huge fan of gardening with kids. Is there any better learning activity for a 3-year-old? Let your child plant a small herb garden. Have them tend to their garden every day. When the herbs are ready, use them to season dishes your child helps to prepare.

#3 – Environmental Awareness – Teach your child respect for the environment by having them place compost in the bin or by having them place recyclable materials in appropriate containers.

Easy Preschool Activities for 3-Year-Olds

#4 – Chalkboard – This learning activity will be well loved by your three-year-old. Set up a chalkboard, chalk, and erasers, for your three-year-old to work those early writing skills. You will waste a lot less paper, and your child will work fine motor skills required for later schooling.

#5 – Cubbies, Lockers, or Baskets – Let your child play a part in being organized and neat by having them create cubbies out of old cardboard boxes. Allow your child to decide what they will keep in each cubby. Show them how much neater their play area is as a result.

Real Life Learning Activities

#6 – Set the Table – Give your child toddler-safe place settings, and teach them how to set the table. This is a great way to reinforce matching skills. Simply provide a clear image of how the items should be arranged, and let them practice.

#7 – Bread Baking – Make a batch of bread dough. Let your toddler help roll it out flat. Next, arm them with a variety of plastic cookie cutters, and let them choose which ones to use. When the bread is baked and ready to eat, your child will enjoy reflecting on how they helped make them. I love this making butter in a jar learning activity for a 3-year-old.

#8 – Match Socks – When laundry day rolls around, enlist the help of your toddler. Have them find and pair up matching socks. This activity is great pre-math, fine motor skill, and hand-eye motor coordination work!

More Games for 3-Year-Olds

#9 – Mystery Bag – Place a variety of objects with different textural feels into a medium sized bag. Let your child feel around in the bag to identify the objects and name the textures.

#10 – Color Exploration – Teach your child about primary colors, secondary colors and the like by letting them experiment with finger paints. Let them discover what happens when certain primary colors are mixed together. They will make many connections themselves and will gain a better understanding of how colors work.

These examples should give you the inspiration that you need to start introducing a wide array of Montessori learning activities for 3-year-olds in your home and in your classroom.