Games to play with 3-year old

[stretchmark]

I am clueless about this and need some ideas, even if they are games that have to be purchased.

[stafl]

games my three year old enjoys:

catch
hide and seek
tag
building forts/playhouses/tents/boxes...
sorting laundry
folding laundry
helping with housework -- really, she loves it. I have a little neat-freak
all kinds of abc games, words, letters, rhymes
making up songs/ singing
telling stories
reading
dancing

We also play basketball with a beach ball and laundry basket. Mostly she comes up with stuff to do on her own and I just go along with it. She's always inventing games. One of her favorites is called "bubble sport" and is played in the tub with cups and bowls.

[dziejen]

My 3 yr old LOVES hide and seek. She also likes to play a memory game (you could make the cards -- just put pairs of pictures on cards -- we use about 6-12 pairs at a time -- and take turns flipping them over and making matches) and to do puzzles. She also loves to pretend just about anything so we have a lot of dress up clothes and puppets.

[kavamamakava]

These days, my 3 yr old likes to:
finger paint
play Vitamin Seek (Hide and go seek)
play Tag
make up stories about family members "Once upon a time there was a lovely mommy sitting on the couch"
play games at pbskids.org
cut shapes out of paper
glue cut out shapes to bigger pieces of paper and add buttons and scraps and things
sing songs that have body motions like ring around the rosie, wheels on the bus, etc.
collect rocks in the backyard in buckets and then sort them by size
string necklaces with big chunky beads and buttons
read books
put his train track together and take it apart
build with his castle blocks
run around with playsilks and say he's a super hero

there's probably more...

[Scoodlebug]

We do all sorts of arts and craft type of things, she is obsessed with puzzles of any kind, books, hide and seek, magnets, etc.

One game she loves is I Spy. I spy with my little eye something .... We play that all day no matter where we are, home, shopping, driving etc. It's great. It has expanded her vocabulary and concentration etc.

I really like the different Briarpatch games. They make a lot of games that are geared towards 3-4 year olds. Check your local library to see if they have some to check out. We get them from our library all of the time.

[Moss's Mommy]

I know this is just wrong bc everybody has put tons of games that are, well, FREE! But somebody bought us this game called Caribou or something like that and it is awesome! We love it!

[Magella]

My 3 year old loves playing I Spy and hide and seek. He likes to make up games too.

He loves playing Go Fish with a set of "I Spy" go fish cards we bought this summer. He also loves the game "Hi-Ho Cherry-O", puzzles, "Twister" and mancala (but he plays mancala his way, no real rules).

[monkaha]

DD's faves right now are hide and seek and puppies (we each have a stuffed puppy and get to talk for it.) she also likes to wash dishes and help throw clothes in the dryer. sesamestreet.com has some fun games online.

running thru the house screaming for her brother to chase(or not!) her is also a big hit.

[ChiroWife]

My 3 yr. old LOVES hide and seek also. She also loves to dance, build with blocks, do puzzles, and help me cook/mix food. (She is better at cracking an egg than I am .)

Her favorite board games are:
Candyland
Hi-Ho Cherry O
Memory
Dora Dominoes (matching)

[skj474]

DS favorite game right now is musical chairs! he is so funny because he focuses really hard, its so cute, and of course he always wins

[annettemarie]

My healthy granola kids love to play Candyland!

Annette

[MangoMamma]

My dd 3.5 loves to play I spy and basically anything that resembles imaginative play.

[NoHiddenFees]

Most of the non-store bought games DD1 likes seem to be covered so I'll pipe up with the boxed ones and card games.

-- Snakes and Ladders
-- Uno
-- war
-- memory
-- Kids on Stage (kinda like charades for wee ones)

I know it's been mentioned already, but she LOVES I Spy. She also loves when I hide a toy and tell her "warmer, colder" as she tries to find it.

[eminer]

My dd also likes the pbs.org games, Uno (needs some help), and Memory. She likes "the color game" where we take turns picking a color and then finding everything that color in the room. She likes being given "challenges" to do while we are walking somewhere. For example, skip sideways until you get to the lightpost. Or, count the doors until we get to the top of the stairs (we live on the 4th floor). She also creates her own, which are significantly more creative (e.g., jog with one hand on your head and one hand on your hip in circles until you get to the lightpost).

[annettemarie]

I've been thinking of making an "I Spy" bottle. You fill an empty plastic bottle with rice (totally in opposition to my "no food for art or for play" belief) and then add little tiny objects for your child to find by twisting and turning the bottle around. You could do it around a theme (a color, things that start with a certain letter, holiday items) to make it more fun. I was thinking of making a fairy one for my daughter. For older kids, you could write out the things they need to find (reading comprehension!. Maybe for younger kids your could draw a list?
Annette

[grumo]

I bought a bag like anettemarie's I spy bottle, and DH and LOVE it! DD is only mildly interested. It is the coolest toy! A friend of mine is making them using fleece and a vinyl window in the shape of the kid's first initial.

[charmarty]

:

[annettemarie]

One more idea (and I hope this doesn't sound mean or anything). When I want to tire them out, we have "penny races." Our house is a circular set-up. I clear everything out of their path, even moving furniture if I need to, and get a cake pan and the penny jar. The kids run laps and I plunk a penny in the pan each time they pass me sitting with my feet up in the easy chair. When they are done (or out of breath) we count the pennies, divide them, and they put them in their piggy banks.
Annette