Activities at desks for ages 3 to 5

Children trace a letter or a shape on their desk with one finger, slowly, while saying its name.

Each child tears a sheet of paper into a circle, a square or a triangle and holds it up to compare.

The teacher describes a simple picture: a house, a sun, a tree. Children draw each part as they hear it.

Tap the desk a number of times. Children count the taps and hold up that many fingers.

Children rest their hands flat on the desk, then slowly lift one finger at a time and put it down again.

Give each child a page from an old magazine or newspaper. They find and circle every letter of the day.

Roll a pencil across the desk and count how many times it turns over before it stops.

Draw a pattern of dots on the board. Children copy it on paper and count the dots.

Children make a puppet from one hand and greet a neighbour's puppet, saying hello and their name.

Put a handful of crayons on each desk. Children sort them by colour and count each group.

Children fold a sheet of paper back and forth into a fan, then cool themselves with slow waves.

Without leaving the desk, reach up high, out to the sides, down to the toes, then sit back and breathe.