creative writing activities for 4 year olds

ThinkWritten

300 Fun Writing Prompts for Kids: Story Starters, Journal Prompts & Ideas

Are you a parent or teacher? Here are 300 fun and creative writing prompts for kids to spark the imagination of young writers everywhere. Use these kids writing ideas as journaling prompts, story starters or just for fun!

We may receive a commission when you make a purchase from one of our links for products and services we recommend. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for support!

Sharing is caring!

It’s never too early to start writing, and so we’ve created this fun list of 300 creative kids writing prompts for teacher and parents to use.

You’ll love these fun ideas for kids writing prompts to use as creative sparks to get young imaginations writing in no time!

These are perfect to use as kids journal writing prompts, as short story writing prompts, or just for exercises to help students and children of all ages tap into their creativity. Maybe your kids will write an essay, maybe a poem, or maybe even a whole book!

Whether you are a teacher or parent looking to inspire your kids to write, or maybe even an adult who would like to practice writing with a more playful and young-hearted approach, I hope you find these creative writing prompts inspiring!

Buy the Printable Cards!  We will always have this list of 300 kids writing prompts available for free, but I’m very excited to now also offer an  ad-free printable version of these prompts  in my online Etsy shop. Thank you for your support!

The Ultimate List of 300 Fun & Creative Writing Prompts for Kids

#1. Imagine a giant box is delivered to your front doorstep with your name on it. What’s inside and what happens when you open it?

#2. Write a short story about what it might be like if you woke up one morning with a mermaid tail.

#3. Which is better, winter or summer? Write about the reasons why you think winter or summer is better.

#4. Write about what would it be like if you had an alligator as a pet.

#5. If you had $1,000, what would you buy and why?

#6. Write a story using these 5 words: apple, train, elephant, paper, banjo

#7. What do you want be when you grow up and why?

#8. Who is your favorite person on the planet? What do you like most about that person?

#9. If you could have any secret super power, what would you want it to be and why?

#10. Write about 3 places you would like to travel someday. What do these three places have in common?

#11. Write about a time you felt really happy. What happened? What made you feel happy?

#12. Imagine what would happen if someone shrunk you down to be only 1″ tall. How would your life change?

#13. If you were in charge of the whole world, what would you do to make the world a happier place?

#14. Write a story about what it would be like to climb to the very top of the highest mountain in the world.

#15. If you were in charge of planning the school lunch menu, what foods would you serve each day?

#16. What are some of your favorite animals? What do you like about them?

#17. Imagine that dogs take over the world. What do they make the humans do?

#18. Write a story about flying to outer space and discovering a new planet.

#19. You are a mad scientist and have invented a new vegetable. What is it called? What does it look like? What does it taste like? Most importantly: Is it safe to eat?

#20. You go to school one morning to discover your best friend has been turned into a frog by an evil witch! How do you help your friend?

#21. Describe what it is like when trees lose all of their leaves in the autumn season.

#22. Write about your favorite sport and why you like it so much.

#23. Imagine what it might be like to live on a boat all the time and write about it.

#24. If you had one wish, what would it be?

#25. Write about what you might do if you have the super power to become invisible.

#26. You are walking through the forest when one of the trees starts talking to you. What does it say? What do you do?

#27. The weather forecast is calling for a blizzard in the middle of the summer. What do you do?

#28. What types of transportation will people have in the future?

#29. What were some of your favorite toys when you very little? Do you still enjoy playing with them?

#30. What would a day in your life be like if you were a movie star?

#31. Imagine you’ve invented a time machine! What year do you travel to?

#32. What are your favorite things to do over summer vacation?

#33. What is your favorite holiday and why?

#34. If you could meet any fictional character from a book, who would it be?

#35. You are writing a travel guide for kids visiting your city. What places do you think they should visit?

#36. What is a food you hate? Write about it!

#37. Imagine what it would be like if there was no electricity. What would be different in your daily routine?

#38. You are building a new city! What types of things do you think your city needs? How will you convince people to move to your new city?

#39. What is your favorite movie? Write your review of the movie and why you think people should watch it.

#40. Imagine you get a magic sweater for your birthday. What happens when you wear the sweater? What do you do with these new found magical powers?

#41. You are the security guard at the zoo and someone has stolen a rhinoceros! How do you track down the thief?

#42. You have been invited to have lunch with the queen. What foods do you eat and what topics do you and the queen discuss?

#43. If you could design a school uniform, what types of clothes would you suggest? What colors would they be?

#44. Imagine you are a reporter interviewing a celebrity about their life. What questions do you ask?

#45. You are running a lemonade stand. Describe the steps for how you make lemonade and the types of customers you see during the day.

#46. Write a story about being the ruler of an underwater world.

#47. Write an acrostic poem for the word “treehouse”.

#48. You decide to grow a sunflower, but the sunflower grows so tall it reaches up to the sky! Write about what happens when you decide to climb to the top. What do you discover?

#49. Imagine you look out the window and it is raining popsicles from the sky! Write a story about the experience.

#50. If you could be any animal, which one would you be and why?

#51. If you were on a spaceship, what would you be most excited about seeing?

#52. Do you have any pets at home? Write an essay about how you take care of your pets. If you do not have a pet, what type of pet might you like?

#53. Imagine you are opening a store that only sells items which are blue. What types of items do you sell?

#54. Have you ever lost something that is important to you? Were you able to find it?

#55. Write a story about a kid who is moving to a new school. How do you think they might feel?

#56. Rewrite the ending of your favorite fairy tale. For example, what would have happened if Cinderella never went to the ball?

#57. Have you ever forgotten to do your homework? What happened?

#58. Do you have a favorite song? Write about the type of music you like to listen to.

#59. Imagine your parents wake you up one morning to tell you they will take you to do anything you want to do for the whole day – you don’t even have to go to school or do your chores. What would you choose to do and why?

#60. Do you like amusement parks? What are some of your favorite rides?

#61. Write a story using these three words: detective, piano, and pizza.

#62. Have you ever been to the beach? Write about your favorite things to do. If you have never been to the beach, what would you like to do the first time you visit?

#63. Is there a favorite tv show you like to watch? Write about your favorite character and why they are your favorite.

#64. Write a poem using onomatopoeia , where the words you use are pronounced similar to the sound they make. For example, buzz, bark, sizzle, slam and pop.

#65. Have you ever had to stand in line to wait a long time for something? What did you do while you waited? How did you feel while waiting? How did you feel once the wait was over?

#66. Is it a good idea to keep ALL secrets a secret? Write about examples of when it is okay to spill a secret – and when it isn’t.

#67. Is there something you are good at doing? Write about your best strengths.

#68. What historical time period and location would you go back to live in if you could? Write about it!

#69. Write about 5 things you can do that are important for you to stay healthy and safe.

#70. Do you think thunderstorms are scary? Why or why not?

#71. What would you most like to learn over the next year? Think about things that interest you or questions you might have about the world and make a list!

#72. You are going on a trip to a jungle safari! What items do you pack in your suitcase?

#73. Imagine you are sitting at home one day and you hear someone shrieking in the living room they see a mouse in the house! Write a story about what might happen next.

#74. You are writing a letter to someone who is having a hard time making new friends at school. What do you write? What advice do you give them?

#75. Imagine you just met a magician – but their beloved rabbit who they pull out of a hat for all the tricks has been kidnapped! How do you help find the rabbit?

#76. Do you hear what I hear? Set a timer for 5 minutes and write about all of the sounds you hear in those 5 minutes.

#77. Imagine you go to get a haircut and they accidentally shave your head! How do you feel about that and what would you do?

#78. Do you find it easy to talk to people you don’t know? What are some ways you can start up a conversation with someone you have never met before?

#79. Are there any chores you have to do at home? What are they? What do you like – and not like – about each one?

#80. Open up a random book to any page. Write for 5 minutes about the first word you read.

#81. Pretend you are a writer for your city’s newspaper. Who would you like to interview for a news story and why?

#82. There are many fictional characters who live in unusual houses, such as the old woman who lived in a shoe. What kind of unusual house would you like to live in? Write about what it would be like to live in an unusual house!

#83. Write a list of 10 things you can do to practice kindness to others.

#84. Is there a homework subject you dread? Why do you not like getting homework in that subject?

#85. What is your favorite month of the year? Write about why you like it and some of your favorite things to do during that month.

#86. Imagine you are planning a surprise birthday party for someone. How do you keep it a surprise?

#87. Pretend you walked outside to find a sleeping dragon in the grass! Why is the dragon there? Is it a friendly dragon? What do you do? Write about it!

#88. What are you grateful for today and why?

#89. You were on your way to a very important event when you fell into a puddle. Now what?

#90. Have you ever watched a movie and didn’t like how it ended? Write what you think should happen instead.

#91. Can you answer this riddle from Alice in Wonderland ? How is a raven like a writing desk?

#92. Imagine you are the captain of a pirate ship. Write a diary entry for what your day was like.

#93. If you could start any type of business, what kind of business would you start? What types of products or services would you provide?

#94. Write a sequel to one of your favorite fairy tales. For example, what was Goldilocks’s next adventure after she left the bears?

#95. What is something you are afraid of? What helps you to feel less afraid of something? What would you say to a friend who feels scared to help them feel less afraid?

#96. Write a letter to your future self in 20 years.

#97. In addition to basic survival needs such as food, water, air and shelter, what are 3 things you would you need to be happy?

#98. If you could invent a robot of any type who could do anything you imagine, what types of things would you would have the robot to do?

#99. Which do like better? Apples or Oranges? How are they alike? How are they different?

#100. Why did the chicken cross the road? You are a detective and are assigned to the case. How do solve the mystery?

#101. Write instructions for how to make your favorite snack. Be sure you add your favorite tips and suggestions for how to select the best ingredients!

#102. Imagine you borrowed a friend’s favorite lucky pencil to help you pass a math test – but then it snapped in half! How will you ever tell the news to your friend?

#103. Look around the current room you are sitting in and choose 3 random objects that are nearby. Now write a story or poem that includes those three items!

#104. Write a letter to the author of a book you recently read and tell them what you liked most about the book.

#105. Ernest Hemingway is famous for writing a six word story. Can you write a story in just 6 words?

#106. What do you think will be the future for cell phones? Will people still use them in 25 years or will something else take its place?

#107. Do you want to go to college? Why or why not?

#108. Write a story or poem about a kitten who wanders off and gets lost. How does the kitten find its way home?

#109. Currently, it is required by law that kids go to school. Do you think this is a good or bad idea?

#110. If you could invent a new board game, what would it be called? How is it played? What are the rules? What makes it fun to play? Write about it!

#111. Imagine you come home to discover your entire bedroom is covered in ketchup! What on earth happened? What is your reaction? How do you clean everything up?

#112. What is something you learned today?

#113. Would you rather have a goldfish or shark as a pet?

#114. From A-Z: make a list of something for every letter of the alphabet.

#115. Have you ever gone fishing? If you have, did you like it? Why or why not? If you haven’t, do you think you might want to?

#116. What is one of the most important things you do each and every day?

#117. Write a story about Gretchen the Grouch, a girl who is always angry! Will she ever be happy? Why is she so grumpy all of the time?

#118. How do you feel when someone takes something of yours without asking? What is a good way to deal with it when that happens?

#119. Write a poem that starts with the word “if”.

#120. Write a story about a family of rabbits who live in the woods. What are some of the challenges they face?

#121. What clothes do you think are the most comfortable? What kind of clothes do you like to wear the most? What clothes do you NOT like to wear?

#122. Imagine there are no grocery stores and you must get your own food. What are some of the ways you find food? What types of things do you eat?

#123. What are 3 things you can do that are good for the environment?

#124. If you could meet any famous person today, who would you want to meet and why? What questions might you ask them?

#125. A tongue twister is a quick poem where many of the words start with the same letter and are similar in sound. For example, “Peter picked a peck of pickled peppers.” Try writing your own with this fun kids writing prompt!

#126. What is the first thing you think of when you hear or see the word green?

#127. A hero is someone who is admired for their courage and achievements. What do you think makes someone a hero? Who are some of your heroes?

#128. What did you do during summer vacation last year? What do you want to do for summer vacation this year?

#129. Write a story about a super hero dog who saves the day! Who does the dog help and why?

#130. Would you rather live somewhere that is always cold, or somewhere that is always hot? Write about which one you would rather choose.

#131. Have you ever volunteered to help a charity? If so, write about the experience! If not, what are some charities you think you might like to volunteer for?

#132. What does the word courage mean to you?

#133. What makes you unique? What are some things about you that make you an individual?

#134. Have you ever been to a museum? What is your favorite thing to look at on display?

#135. What can you do to set a good example for others to be kind?

#136. A Tall Tale is a story that exaggerates something that actually happened. Write a tall tale about something that recently happened to you.

#137. What is one of your favorite toys that you think you might still want to have and play with when you are 22 years old?

#138. Oh no! Everyone around you is sick with a nasty cold! Write a silly poem about how you try to avoid catching their germs!

#139. Personification is when a non-living object takes on human characteristics. Write a story where you personify a common electronic gadget in your house, such as the Television or toaster.

#140. Write a poem using similes, which is when you say an object is like something else. Here is an example of a simile: “Her eyes were as blue as the sky.”

#141. Have you ever read a book written by Dr. Suess? Write your own “Suess-style” story, complete with rhymes and made up words.

#142. Do you have any siblings? Think about what it might mean to be a good brother or sister and write about it!

#143. Make a list of questions to interview your parents or grandparents about what it was like when they were growing up as a kid. Then, ask them the questions and write about their answers!

#144. You are in charge of writing a new radio show just for kids! What topics will you talk about? What music do you play?

#145. What do you usually eat for breakfast every day? What, in your opinion, is the greatest breakfast food ever created? What makes it so great?

#146. Write a 12 line poem where every line is about a different month of the year.

#147. What is something you look forward to doing the most when you are an adult?

Use these prompts in your classroom!  Get the  ad-free printable version of these prompts  to inspire your students to write! Thank you for your support!

#148. Do you like to try new things? What is something new you have tried recently or would like to try?

#149. Imagine what it might be like to be alive in Egypt when the pyramids were built. Write about what it was like.

#150. A credo is a statement of personal beliefs. Try writing your own credo for things that you believe in and feel are important.

#151. The circus has come to town but they have no place to perform! How do you help the ringmaster find a place to put on a show?

#152. Do you like to act? What are some of your favorite actors or actresses? What do you think makes someone a good actor or actress?

#153. “Practice makes perfect” is a popular saying. What is something you like to practice so you can become better at it? A sport? A musical instrument? A special skill? Do you like to practice?

#154. Write about what it might be like to be water drops freezing and turning into ice.

#155. Do you think it is important to keep your room clean? What do you like about having a clean room?

#156. Imagine your parents are sending you away for a two week summer camp trip. Would you be excited? Why or why not?

#157. What are you currently learning about in history class? Write a fictional story about someone from the past you are learning about.

#158. Many wars have been fought in the past. Instead of going to war, what do you think countries could do to resolve their differences peacefully?

#159. Every year over 8 billion plastic bottles and cans are thrown away. What are some things you can do to help encourage your family and friends to recycle?

#160. Imagine if you were the principal of the school. What might you do differently? What things would you do that are the same? Write about it!

#161. Pretend that one day you are at your neighbor’s house and you notice a strange noise coming from the basement. You go downstairs to investigate to see a large machine running with many lights and buttons. Why is it there?

#162. Write an essay that starts with the line, “Tomorrow, I hope…”

#163. If you could give one thing to every child in the world, what would you want to give them?

#164. Do you have a piggy bank at home? How do you earn money to add to your savings?

#165. What qualities make a house a home? What are 3 things you think every house should have?

#166. Would you rather go scuba diving or rock climbing? Write about which one you think you would like to do more and why.

#167. Do you think it is a good idea for kids to write a daily journal? What are some of the benefits of writing every day?

#168. Do you like watching fireworks or are they too noisy? Write about a time when you saw fireworks in the sky.

#169. Oh no! Your friend has turned into a statue! How did this happen? What do you do? Does your friend ever turn back into a person again?

#170. If you could be any movie character, who would you be and why?

#171. A mysterious message appears in code on your computer screen. What could it mean?

#172. If you could go to work with one of your parents for a day, what do you think the day would be like? What types of things do your parents do at work all day long?

#173. Imagine you are the President and you are creating a new national holiday. What is your holiday about? How is it celebrated? What day of the year do you celebrate? Write about it!

#174. You won a never-ending lifetime supply of spaghetti noodles! What will you do with all of these noodles?

#175. Would you rather be a bunny rabbit or a hawk? Why did you choose the one you chose?

#176. Your teacher has been acting mysterious lately. After school one day, you notice a weird green light shining through underneath the door of your classroom. What do you do? What is happening with your teacher?

#177. Write an article about tips for how kids can be more organized and study well for tests.

#178. Look at any product in your house and read the ingredients labels. Research what each ingredient is. Do you think these ingredients are good or bad for people?

#179. If you were a doctor, what do you think would be the most important part of your job every day?

#180. The school librarian needs your help! A truck just arrived with 2,000 books and she can’t fit all the books onto the shelves! What do you do? How do you find a place to put all these books?

#181. Do you think it would be fun to plant a garden? What types of plants would you want to grow? Write about your garden ideas.

#182. What is a sport or activity you would like to try playing for the first time?

#183. Do you think kids should be allowed to do the same things as adults? What things do you think kids should be able to do that only grown-ups can?

#184. Imagine you and your parents switch places for a day. Your parents are the kids and you are now in charge! What would you do?

#185. Write a get-well letter to someone who has been sick. What can you say to make them feel better?

#186. If you could visit any planet in the solar system, which planet would you like to visit the most and why? Write about what it might be like.

#187. Have you ever been to a farm? What did you like about it? If you haven’t been to a farm, do you think you might like to visit one? Why or why not?

#188. The mayor of the city has a big problem and needs your help! What is the problem and how will you solve it?

#189. Pretend your little sister ate carrots for dinner and the next morning woke up with rabbit ears!  How did this happen? What do you do? Will she be a rabbit forever?

#190. Imagine you wake up in the morning to find out you get to relive any day of your life again for the whole day. What day would you want to experience again and why?

#191. Do you think you might like to be a firefighter? Why or why not?

#192. You are a lawyer and your client has been accused of stealing a car. How do you convince the jury your client is innocent?

#193. Think of the four elements: fire, air, earth, and water. Which of these four elements do you like the best?

#194. What would you do if you could be invisible for a whole day? Do you think you would enjoy it or be glad to be back to normal the next day? Write about it!

#195. Imagine you are a meteorologist and people are starting to get angry that your weather predictions are always wrong. What do you do?

#196. If you could create any law, what would it be? Why do you think the law is an important one to have?

#197. You are going incognito and need to hide to your identity so you aren’t recognized or discovered while you walk through the city. What type of disguise do you wear?

#198. Write a persuasive letter to your parents explaining why you should get a new pet. Make sure you provide a convincing argument they won’t be able to refuse!

#199. Your friend wants to do something dangerous. What should you do?

#200. How do you think the world would be different if there were no oceans?

#201. What do you do when someone disagrees with your opinions? Is there a better way to handle conflicting opinions?

#202. What do you think you as a kid could do to help encourage more people to read?

#203. Do you have a good luck charm? What makes this item lucky? When do you use it? How do you use it?

#204. What is at the end of a rainbow? Imagine you follow a rainbow to the end. What do you discover? Is it a pot of gold, or something else?

Use these prompts in your classroom!  Get the  ad-free printable version of these prompts  to inspire your students to write! Thank you for your support!

#205. What do you think the consequences should be for someone who is caught cheating on a test at school?

#206. Imagine you are riding your bike one day when you encounter an older kid who wants to steal your bike. What do you do?

#207. You are the lead singer and star of a famous rock and roll band, but there is one problem – your drummer is jealous of your fame! How do you solve this situation?

#208. If you could help a group of kids in any part of the world, what kids would you want to help the most and why? What are some things you think would help these kids?

#209. Everyone knows the house on the end of the street is haunted. What are some of the strange things that happen there? Why is the house haunted?

#210. You notice at school one day there is a door to a secret passage next to the janitor’s closet and decide to explore. Where does it lead? Why is it there? Do you go alone or bring a friend along?

#211. A bucket list is a list of things you want to accomplish in your lifetime. What are 5 things on your bucket list?

#212. Imagine the perfect treehouse or clubhouse for you and all of your friends as a place to hang out. Describe what it is like inside.

#213. Do you get bored easily? Make a list of things you can do whenever you feel like you are bored and there is nothing fun to do!

#214. Now vs. Then: Think about how today is different from one year ago. How have you changed? What things in your life are different?

#215. Write your autobiography about your life.

#216. It’s a heat wave! What do you do when the weather is hot? What are some of your favorite ways to stay cool?

#217. What are three important safety tips every kid should know to stay safe?

#218. What genre of books do you like to read the most? Write about the characteristics of the genre and list some of your favorite books as examples.

#219. Holiday Traditions: How does your family celebrate the different holidays and events? What are some traditions you do each and every year?

#220. Imagine one day in science class a science experiment goes terribly wrong and now you and all of your classmates have superpowers! What are your superpowers and what do you do with them?

#221. Who is favorite teacher? Why are they your favorite?

#222. You are baking a cake, but you accidentally put salt in the cake instead of sugar. Nobody will eat it! How do you feel? What will you do next time?

#223. Do you think it is important to have good table manners? What do you think some good manners to practice might be?

#224. Many schools no longer teach cursive handwriting. Do you think this is a good or bad thing? Do you know how to write cursive handwriting? Would you like to learn if you haven’t?

#225. If you were the owner of a theme park, what types of rides and attractions would have? Describe what they would be like and why people would want to visit your park.

#226. Your parents give you $100 to spend at the grocery store. What do you buy and why?

#227. Some people who are alive today grew up without computers or video games. What would you do if you didn’t have a computer or video games? How would life be different?

#228. You walk into your living room and discover there is a giant elephant standing there. How did the elephant get there? What do you do about it? How do you explain the elephant in the living room to your parents?

#229. Have you ever had a weird dream? What happened in the dream? What do you think it means?

#230. Do you like to draw or paint? Write a story inspired by a painting, doodle, or sketch.

#231. You are being sent on a mission to outer space to live in a space station for 5 years. What supplies do you pack and why?

#232. What is the scariest creature alive on earth? Describe in detail what makes it so horrifying.

#233. What do you think your pet might say if they could talk to you?

#234. Imagine your school is putting on a talent show. What act will you perform? What other acts will be in the show?

#235. If you could breathe under water, what would you do?

#236. What time of day do you think school should start? Write a convincing argument on why or why not the time of day school starts should change.

#237. If you were to start your own YouTube video channel, what would the videos on your channel be about?

#238. Do you like to cook? What are some things you like to make and eat?

#239. Your school is having a field day and you are in charge of planning the activities and games. What types of activities and games would you plan for the event?

#240. If you had a remote control drone that takes video of everything it sees from the sky and you could take it anywhere, what would you film? For example, the inside of a volcano or soar it over the plains of Africa.

#241. The Bermuda Triangle is an area of the ocean where many ships and planes have gone missing. Why do you think this could be? Write a story about what it might be like to travel there.

#242. There are 7 great wonders of the world – which one do you think is the most wonderful?

#243. If you could speak any foreign language fluently, which one would you like to speak and why?

#244. You are inventing a new flavor of ice cream! What is the new flavor called and what ingredients do you need to make it?

#245. Would you rather go to a baseball game or read a good book? What reasons do you have for your choice?

#246. You walk outside to get your mail and your mailbox starts talking to you! What does your mailbox have to say?

#247. Imagine you are a famous person. What are you most famous for? What is it like to be famous?

#248. What do you think would be the most fun job in the world to have? Give examples of why you think it would be a fun job to have.

#249. Write a poem about an object that is shiny and dazzling.

#250. Do you like to watch the Olympics? Why or why not? If yes, what is your favorite Olympic sport?

#251. What kind of car do you want to drive when you are older? Do you think learning to drive will be easy or hard?

#252. What do you think would make for a great gift to give someone on their birthday?

#253. Describe a time when you needed help and someone helped you. What did they help you with and how did it make you feel?

#254. If you could be any type of fruit or vegetable, what would you be and why?

Love these prompts?  Get the  ad-free printable version of these prompts  to use at home or in the classroom!

#255. Do you think it is more important to have a good imagination or have all the facts proven?

#256. Do you have a favorite aunt, uncle, or another relative? Write a story about their life and why you like to be with them.

#257. Think of a time you laughed really, really hard. What was so funny? Why were you laughing? Write about it!

#258. Write a poem about an emotion. For example: happy, sad, angry, embarrassed, guilty.

#259. Do you ever have a hard time falling asleep? What are some things that help you feel sleepy?

#260. If you could drive a car, where would you drive and why?

#261. Imagine you are trading places with your friend for a day. What will it be like to be at their house? What will your friend think while they are at your house? Write about it!

#262. If you could break a world record, what would it be? What do you think would be necessary to be able to break the world record?

#263. Imagine you live in Colonial times. What would it be like to grow up as a kid in Colonial America?

#264. You are building a new city. What is the name of your city? What is the weather like? What buildings will you build?

#265. What do you think it would be like to work as a sailor on big ship in the ocean each day?

#266. Imagine you are the teacher for the day. What types of activities do you make the students in the class do?

#267. How would you feel if your parents told you that you would be getting a new baby brother or sister? Write about it!

#268. Do you know any good jokes? What are some of your favorite jokes? What makes them funny? Do you think you could write your own?

#269. Imagine you are floating down a river on a raft. What types of things can you see from the river that you normally wouldn’t see from the land?

#270. You want to start a new hobby collecting something. What kinds of things would you collect and why?

#271. Your mom announces she is having a yard sale. Would you let her sell any of your things? Why or why not?

#272. Imagine you walk out your front door one morning and it is raining popcorn! What do you do?

#273.  You are camping in the woods one night and hear a scary noise. What do you do? What might be the cause?

#274. What do you think might make kids really happy to go to school? What are some things you think schools should do so that it could be more fun?

#275. Today’s lunch at the cafeteria was unusually horrible. You are a detective on the case to investigate. What do you think is the cause?

#276. If you had a tree that grows money, what would you do?

#277. What would you do if you had a unicorn as a pet?

#278. Would you rather go to the zoo or go to the aviary? Which one would you pick and why?

#279. What are some safety tips you should follow when riding a bike?

#280. You are designing the cover of a magazine. What are some of the headlines on the cover?

#281. Are you afraid of the dark? Why or why not?

#282. If you could learn to play any type of musical instrument, which one would you like to learn how to play and why?

#283. Imagine you are playing a sport that involves a ball, such as soccer, baseball or kickball. What would it be like if the ball could talk?

#284. You come home to discover a friendly alien has been living in your closet. What do you do? Why is there an alien in your closet?

#285. Is there something you are afraid of that you wish you weren’t afraid of? Write about it.

#286. Write about the best party you’ve ever been to. What made the day fun and special?

#287. What makes you feel loved and cared about? What are some ways people can show you that they love and care about you?

#288. There is a kite flying competition coming up and you are going to design your own kite. What will your kite look like? What colors will it be? Will it have any certain shape?

#289. You are given the challenge to drop an egg on the floor – without it breaking! What are some things you might try to make sure the egg won’t break?

#290. What are some of the things you can do every day to stay healthy?

#291. Do you think grown-ups are boring? Why do you think they are so boring all of the time? What is something fun that boring grown-ups could do instead of being so boring?

#292. Write a lyrical poem or song about what kids do while they are at school all day long.

#293. What are the first things you like to do when you are done with school each day? What are some of the activities you like when you are not at school?

#294. Imagine dinosaurs were still alive today. How do you think our lives would be different?

#295. Would you rather visit a volcano or a desert? Which one would you choose and why?

#296. Is there a sound you think is annoying? What types of sounds drive you crazy? Write about them!

#297. What do you think it would be like to be the size of an ant for a day? What types of things would you do?

#298. Imagine one of your stuffed animals comes to life and starts talking to you. What types of things will you talk about? What will you do?

#299. What makes you feel happiest? Write about the things in life that make you feel happy!

#300. Imagine there is no gravity. What kind of things would you do you for fun? How would some of the things you already do for fun be different?

Buy the Printable Cards!  We will always have this list of 300 kids writing prompts available for free, but I’m very excited to now also offer an  ad-free printable version of these prompts  in my online Etsy shop. Thank you for your support!

Parents and teachers, I hope you enjoyed these 300 writing prompts for kids and that you will use them to inspire your children’s creative imaginations.

These prompts of course can be used in a number of different ways and can be adapted for a variety of different styles of writing !

What do you think? Do you think these are good conversation and story starters for kids? Do you have any ideas for writing prompts you would like to share?

And of course, if you’d like to make it super fun and easy to use these prompts at home or in your classroom, be sure to get our ad-free printable version of these kids writing prompt cards now available in my Etsy shop.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on different creative writing ideas and topics for kids to write about! Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Chelle Stein wrote her first embarrassingly bad novel at the age of 14 and hasn't stopped writing since. As the founder of ThinkWritten, she enjoys encouraging writers and creatives of all types.

Similar Posts

101 Poetry Prompts & Ideas for Writing Poems

365 Creative Writing Prompts

108 Romance Writing Prompts & Love Story Ideas

7 Creative Writing Exercises For Writers

42 Fantasy Writing Prompts & Plot Ideas

• Math for Kids
• Parenting Resources
• ELA for Kids
• Teaching Resources

How to Teach Number Formation in 5 Easy Steps

13 Best Resources for Math Videos for Kids: Math Made Fun

How to Teach Skip Counting to Kids in 9 Easy Steps

10 Best Math Intervention Strategies for Struggling Students

How to Teach Division to Kids in 11 Easy Steps

How to Cope With Test Anxiety in 12 Easy Ways

Developmental Milestones for 4 Year Olds: The Ultimate Guide

Simple & Stress-Free After School Schedule for Kids of All Ages

When Do Kids Start Preschool: Age & Readiness Skills

Kindergarten Readiness Checklist: A Guide for Parents

How to Teach Letter Formtaion to Kids in 9 Easy Steps

15 Best Literacy Activities for Preschoolers in 2024

12 Best Poems About Teachers Who Change Lives

6 Effective Ways to Improve Writing Skills

40 Four Letter Words That Start With A

60 Fun Animal Facts for Kids

12 Best Behavior Management Techniques for the Classroom

13 Best Online Teaching Tips for Teachers

How to Teach Kids to Write in 9 Easy Steps

13 Challenges for Teachers and How to Address Them

12 Best Writing Activities for Kids: The “Write” Way to Fun

1. Online Writing Games

2. feelings journal, 3. personal time capsule letters, 4. use creative writing prompts, 5. picture storytelling, 6. diy comic strips, 7. outdoor observation, 8. letter to a hero, 9. recipe writing, 10. story cubes.

Did you know that many kids today find writing a bit challenging? In fact, studies show that lots of children struggle with putting their thoughts into words. But guess what? We have some super fun and exciting ways to help them become amazing writers!

SplashLearn: Most Comprehensive Learning Program for PreK-5

SplashLearn inspires lifelong curiosity with its game-based PreK-5 learning program loved by over 40 million children. With over 4,000 fun games and activities, it’s the perfect balance of learning and play for your little one.

We’ll show you how writing activities will make your kids love writing, just like they love their favorite games and toys .

But why is this important? Well, teaching kids to write is not just about school—it’s about expressing yourself, telling stories , and sharing ideas. Plus, it’s a skill that will help them in so many areas of life. Let’s dive right in and discover fun writing activities for kids that will light up their imaginations and help them become confident writers!

12 Fun and Creative Writing Activities for Kids

Writing can be as exciting as a treasure hunt or a fantastic adventure, and it doesn’t have to feel like homework. Here are some ways on how to practice writing:

In today’s digital age, engaging children in learning can be both fun and educational. Online writing games are an excellent way to foster creativity and enhance writing skills in kids. One such platform that excels in this regard is SplashLearn .

SplashLearn offers a wide array of interactive games and worksheets designed to enhance kids’ writing skills. From letter tracing activities that help strengthen fine motor skills to engaging sight word games that boost reading and writing proficiency, SplashLearn transforms writing practice into an engaging and rewarding experience.

A journal is like a secret friend where kids can pour out their thoughts and feelings. This writing activity is a safe space for self-expression and emotional growth.

Ideas for journaling:

• Ask them to write about their favorite day.
• Let them draw or stick pictures to make it even more personal.

Keeping a journal is like having a personal therapist on paper. It aids in emotional development by encouraging self-reflection and expression of feelings. Additionally, it hones writing skills, vocabulary, and the ability to organize thoughts coherently.

The idea of a time capsule is to capture the present moment for the future. In this activity, kids write letters to their future selves, detailing their current lives, hopes, dreams, and questions they might have for their older selves.

How it works:

• Provide kids with paper, envelopes, and writing tools.
• Ask them to imagine they’re writing to themselves 5 or 10 years in the future.
• They can describe their current life, friends, hobbies, and dreams.
• Once done, seal the letters in envelopes with the date to be opened in the future.
• Store them in a safe place or create a decorative time capsule box.

Writing to one’s future self is a reflective activity that encourages introspection. It helps children articulate their current feelings, aspirations, and uncertainties. As they ponder what the future might hold, they also develop a sense of hope and anticipation. When they eventually open these letters years later, they can see how much they’ve grown, which can be a profound and emotional experience.

Imagine starting with a simple sentence and turning it into an amazing story! That’s what creative writing prompts do—they make writing an adventure.

Examples of prompts:

“If I could go anywhere in the world, I would visit…”

“Once, I found a magical key that opened…”

Creative writing prompts spark imagination and creativity. They prompt children to think outside the box and develop their unique voice. Additionally, it improves their storytelling abilities and vocabulary.

Pictures can speak a thousand words, and when kids write about them, they learn to describe things in detail.

Picture-based prompts:

Show them a picture and ask, “What do you see? Write a story about it.”

Describing pictures in detail improves observational skills and the ability to convey ideas clearly. It encourages children to think critically about visual cues and translate them into written narratives.

Creating comics is like being a superhero! Kids get to draw, write, and think about how stories flow.

Step-by-step guide:

• Draw a series of boxes to make panels.
• In each panel, tell a part of the story with words and pictures.

Creating comic strips nurtures artistic and storytelling talents simultaneously. It teaches visual storytelling, enhances writing skills in a concise format, and encourages the creative interplay between words and images.

Prompt: “What’s a funny incident that happened to you recently? Try turning it into a 3-panel comic strip!

Writing about nature connects kids with the world around them. It’s like taking a walk in the park with a pen.

Outdoor observation prompts:

• “Create an alphabet list using things you see in nature. For each letter, write the word of something you found, and describe it in one sentence.”
• “Draw your favorite tree and write about it.”
• Pick up a fallen leaf and make up a story about where it came from, the tree it belonged to, and its adventures on the ground.
• Look up at the sky and observe a unique shape in the clouds. Write a short story (2-3 sentences) about what this cloud shape resembles and a whimsical tale that could involve this cloud character.

This activity connects children with the natural world. It cultivates an appreciation for the environment, promotes keen observation skills, and sharpens descriptive writing abilities.

Writing a letter to a hero or role model is a way to say thank you and share admiration. It’s all about showing gratitude.

What to write:

• Tell your hero why you admire them.
• Say how they inspire you.

Writing letters to heroes promotes gratitude , empathy, and the articulation of admiration. It helps children develop persuasive writing skills and the ability to express their feelings respectfully.

Writing recipes is like creating magic potions! It’s also a fun way to learn about measurements and following instructions.

Write down a simple recipe, like making a peanut butter or jelly sandwich.

Crafting recipes enhances attention to detail and understanding of the order of operations. It teaches the importance of clear, concise instructions and reinforces basic math and measurement skills.

Story cubes are like dice with pictures. Roll them, and see where your imagination takes you!

How to make and use them:

• Draw pictures on cube-shaped paper or use stickers.
• Roll the cubes and create a story based on the pictures that come up.

Story cubes stimulate the imagination and encourage spontaneous storytelling. They help children think on their feet, connect disparate ideas, and weave them into a coherent narrative. This activity also promotes vocabulary expansion as kids search for the right words to describe the images they see.

11. Newspaper Reporter

Kids can be little reporters and learn about news writing. It’s a sneak peek into how newspapers work!

Activity: Brainstorm: Think of an event like “Aliens Visit Local School” or “Lost City Found in Backyard”.

Details: Answer: Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How?

Headline: Create a catchy title to grab attention.

Draft: Write the story, adding ‘quotes’ from ‘witnesses’ or ‘experts’.

Illustrate: Sketch a related image or scene.

This activity merges news writing with creative storytelling. Kids learn the structure of news while enhancing both their factual and creative writing skills.

12. Book Reviews

Reading is fantastic, but talking about what you’ve read is even better. It helps kids think critically and share their thoughts.

How to do it:

• Pick a book you love and tell others what you liked and didn’t like about it.
• These writing activities are like hidden treasures waiting to be discovered. Pick one, or try them all, and watch your child’s writing skills grow while having a blast!

Writing book reviews enhances critical thinking and analytical skills. It encourages children to form opinions, express them clearly, and engage in thoughtful discussions about literature. It also promotes reading comprehension.

6 Benefit of Writing Activities for Students

Did you know that these fun writing activities can do wonders for your child’s growth? Let’s explore how:

1. Improves Literacy Skills

Engaging in creative writing activities fosters a deeper understanding of language and literacy. This enhanced literacy proficiency not only aids them academically but also equips them with a crucial life skill for effective expression and comprehension.

2. Improves Communication Skills

Through storytelling, journaling, and letter writing, kids learn to articulate their thoughts, feelings, and ideas coherently. They become more adept at conveying their messages, whether in written assignments at school or in everyday conversations. 

3. Boosts Creativity

Creative writing activities are like playgrounds for the imagination. When children engage in storytelling, compose poems , or craft imaginative narratives, they exercise their creative muscles. 

4. Enhances Critical Thinking

Many of these activities encourage children to think critically about the content they create. When they write book reviews, they must analyze the plot, characters, and themes, developing the capacity to assess literature thoughtfully. Storytelling and creative prompts compel them to structure narratives logically, considering cause and effect. These experiences foster analytical thinking, enabling kids to approach complex issues with a more discerning eye.

5. Improves Emotional Well-being

Journaling, in particular, serves as a therapeutic outlet for children to express their emotions, fears, and aspirations. It allows them to process their feelings and gain a better understanding of themselves, helping children manage stress and anxiety more effectively. 

6. Cultivation of a Lifelong Skill

This can lead to a lifelong passion for literature, creative expression, and effective communication—an invaluable skill that serves them well in education, careers, and personal relationships.

In other words, the benefits of these creative writing activities extend far beyond the classroom to nurture well-rounded individuals with enhanced literacy skills, effective communication abilities, heightened creativity, and a deeper understanding of themselves and the world around them. Encouraging children to embrace these activities is an investment in their personal and intellectual growth, providing them with tools that will benefit them throughout their lives.

To wrap it up, these writing exercises for kids make learning fun and beneficial. These activities to improve writing skills help kids become great writers, improve their reading , and boost their creativity. By enjoying these activities, children can express themselves better and learn to tell amazing stories. So, let’s encourage our little ones to dive into this exciting world of writing. It’s not just homework; it’s a lifelong adventure where imagination and self-expression reign.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the 5 minute writing exercise for kids.

The 5-minute writing exercise for kids is a quick and creative activity where they write about anything that comes to mind for just 5 minutes, no rules, just free writing.

What is a fun writing game for kids?

A fun writing game for kids can be “Story Dice” where they roll dice with pictures and create a story using those images, sparking imagination.

How do you make a writing lesson fun?

To make a writing lesson fun, incorporate games, writing worksheets for kids, storytelling, or interactive prompts to engage students and make learning enjoyable.

12 Best Activities for Kinesthetic Learners

15 best speech therapy activities for toddlers.

15 Best STEM Activities for Preschoolers

Most Popular

15 Best Report Card Comments Samples

117 Best Riddles for Kids (With Answers)

40 best good vibes quotes to brighten your day, recent posts.

10 Best Online Homeschool Programs

Math & ELA | PreK To Grade 5

Kids see fun., you see real learning outcomes..

Watch your kids fall in love with math & reading through our scientifically designed curriculum.

Parents, try for free Teachers, use for free

• Games for Kids
• Worksheets for Kids
• Math Worksheets
• ELA Worksheets
• Math Vocabulary
• Number Games
• Addition Games
• Subtraction Games
• Multiplication Games
• Division Games
• Addition Worksheets
• Subtraction Worksheets
• Multiplication Worksheets
• Division Worksheets
• Times Tables Worksheets
• Reading Games
• Writing Games
• Phonics Games
• Sight Words Games
• Letter Tracing Games
• Reading Worksheets
• Writing Worksheets
• Phonics Worksheets
• Sight Words Worksheets
• Letter Tracing Worksheets
• Prime Number
• Order of Operations
• Long multiplication
• Place value
• Parallelogram
• SplashLearn Success Stories
• SplashLearn Apps
• [email protected]

© Copyright - SplashLearn

Make study-time fun with 14,000+ games & activities, 450+ lesson plans, and more—free forever.

Parents, Try for Free Teachers, Use for Free

10 Fun Writing Activities for Kids to Improve Writing Skills

Share this post!

Do your students grumble when it’s time to practice writing? Is getting them to write an essay about as much fun as getting grapefruit juice in your eye? Maybe it’s time to try some fun writing activities instead. Here are ten of our favorite fun writing activities for kids.  

Breaking Kids out of a Writing Rut

We’ve been through so many stages of learning to write in our homeschool: reluctant writers, frustrated writers, bored writers, curious writers, and obsessive writers (my favorite!).

Over the years, we’ve tried countless writing programs and curricula in a constant effort to keep writing fun and interesting. While we’ve had success stories with a few programs, I find one of the best ways to keep kids engaged with writing is to integrate a fun activity alongside our regular curriculum.

When kids are having fun, they want to write more, which helps them develop stronger creative writing skills and become better writers. Introducing them to different ways of generating creative writing ideas and thinking about writing turns a once-stressful activity into a much-loved pastime.

Here are ten of our favorite ways to make writing fun for kids.

10 Fun Writing Activities for Kids

1. write a comic book/graphic novel.

Using a template, students create their own comic strip or graphic novel complete with speech bubbles and annotations.

First, you’ll need a comic strip template. You can draw your own or allow kids to do so if they choose. Or, download the companion files at the end of this post to grab some pre-formatted templates.

The amount of guidance each student needs will vary depending on their age and ability.  By design, comics and graphic novels are straight to the point. They don’t have room for any superfluous content.  

Therefore, it’s a good idea to take time beforehand and plan what’s going to happen in the short story, either using a story planner or just jotting down a quick storyboard sketch. They’ll want to have a sense of what’s going to go in each square before they start drawing the pictures in earnest. 

Have them draw the pictures first and then add speech and thought bubbles and annotations. If possible, display the finished works so everyone can enjoy them.

Kids are naturally drawn to the comic book or graphic novel format. It’s fun it’s engaging, it moves quickly, and there are lots of pictures.  

But the space constraints make it necessary for them to think through their story before they start writing and this is such an important skill to develop. Usually, when we’re writing an essay or a short story , we just write whatever comes into our minds without editing as we go. Often, we write way more than we need to and when we go back to read it later, we find we haven’t even made our point.  

Learning how to outline and determine in advance the best way to get a point across is an important skill and creating comic strips is a great way to learn it. 

This writing activity can be adapted for any age range, from kindergarten to grade 12. Younger kids may need assistance with printing small letters. 

2. Write a Story Together

What it is:.

Students work in pairs or groups or with a parent or writing coach to write a short story together.

There are many ways that two or more people can work together to write a short story. The method you choose will depend on who you’re working with, how much time you have, and what your goals are for the activity.  Here are a couple of options:

• Writing together: Kids work in pairs or groups (with or without a parent, teacher, or writing coach) to collaborate on each part of the story. Everybody pitches ideas and the group comes to a consensus about them. Kids can take turns acting as the scribe for the group (an adult can do the writing for younger children). 

Agree in advance about how you’ll know when the project is finished. Are you aiming for a certain number of words or pages? Or do you just want to see a story with a beginning, middle, and end? Perhaps you want them to practice a specific concept, like seeing how many similes and metaphors they can use. 

Determining and articulating the goal ahead of time ensures everyone knows what they’re working towards. 

• Writing consecutively.  Students take turns writing sections of the story. For example, they might alternate paragraphs or pages, depending on how long it is. 

You can either have them agree in advance about the topic and plot points or you could add a twist by not letting them talk about it in advance and having them improvise.  

Another variation is to have a group of students working together and have each of them write a sentence or a paragraph of a story and then pass their story on to the person beside them. That person then continues on with that story while the one who started it is continuing on with another person’s story themselves. Continue passing them around in a circle until everyone has added to each story and then can share them with each other.

• Write concurrently: Kids decide on a plot for a story and then divide and conquer. For example, they might come up with a story that has multiple perspectives and have each person can write scenes from a different perspective. After, they can integrate them into a cohesive, well-rounded story.

In my experience, kids love creating stories much more than they actually love writing them, especially when they’re younger.  The physical act of getting their thoughts onto paper is time-consuming and because their hands can’t move as fast as their thoughts, kids often get discouraged.  

Collaborating with a sibling, a friend, classmates, or adults gives them the immediate reward of progressing in a story without necessarily having to bear the burden of doing all the work themselves.

This writing activity can be adapted for any age range, from kindergarten to grade 12. Lower elementary students should work with a parent, teacher, or writing coach who can guide the collaboration and record the story for them. 

For ideas to get you going on your collaborative writing project, check out this huge list of story starters and writing prompts .

3. Retelling a Favorite Story

Reading or listening to a favorite story and retelling it or rewriting it in their own words.

Ask a student to choose one of their favorite books.  For younger kids, this would ideally be a board book or a picture book, while older students might like a chapter book or novel. If choosing a novel, make sure it’s one they’re very familiar with so they don’t need to re-read the whole thing. 

(For inspiration on this, or to build out a mini-unit on the topic of retellings, check out this list of Peter Pan retellings ).

If it’s a shorter book, read it together. Then, ask the student to either narrate or write down the major parts of the story in their own words. 

Another variation: if you have more time, get a big piece of paper or poster board and ask the kids to draw a map of the story. Then, have them draw and cut out pictures of the story’s characters and move them around the map as they tell the story.

Writers learn to write by imitating other writers. Reading a favorite story with the goal of committing its key points to memory is an important step toward becoming a better storyteller. By telling and retelling popular tales, students learn to intuit the elements of a great story and will naturally include those aspects in their own writing. 

This writing activity can be adapted for any age range, from kindergarten to grade 12. Students who are not yet reading or writing will need someone to read the story and transcribe their words. 

4. The End. Or, The New Beginning.

Students choose a book they love and give it a new ending or a sequel.

Have students choose a favorite book and decide whether they’re going to rewrite the ending or write a sequel. 

Ask them questions to help them give structure to their writing and get their creative juices flowing. Here are some examples:

If re-writing the ending:

• What did you like about the current ending?
• What didn’t you like?
• What questions did you have at the end of the book?
• What event in the story, if changed, would have resulted in a completely different outcome?
• Did the main character get what they wanted or not? What would have happened if they didn’t (or did)?

If writing a sequel:

• Which character(s) in this story did you wish had bigger roles? What else might you have liked to know about their sides of the story?
• What do you think happened after the last chapter of the story?
• What other threats or enemies might still be waiting for the main character?
• Think about the life of the book’s characters at the end of the story. What new character or event might completely topple the balance they’ve found?

Asking students to write a new ending or sequel takes away the pressure of having to come up with an idea from scratch, while still giving them a valuable opportunity to improve their writing skills. 

Also, it helps them hone in on the skill of writing endings, which are often the hardest part of the story to write. 

This writing activity can be adapted for grades 4 to 12.

5. Dictating a Story

Dictating a story using voice typing and then editing it

Using a Google Doc, click on the Tools menu and select Voice typing (or press CTRL+Shift+S). Click on the microphone icon and have the student start dictating. 

When they’re done, click the microphone again. They can even make changes or fix punctuation as they go without disabling the microphone. 

Again, people think much faster than they write or even type. 

For emerging writers especially, printing each letter takes so long that by the time they’ve gotten a full sentence down, they may have lost their steam. Being able to dictate the story at the speed they think and talk is highly motivating and puts the focus on idea generation and plot progression, not on the physical act of writing. 

Also, this activity gives kids a wonderful opportunity to practice their editing skills. 

This writing activity can be adapted for any age range, from kindergarten to grade 12. Younger kids will need help with editing. 

6. Create Mad Libs

Students design Mad Libs for you or for each other

If your students have never played Mad Libs, you will first need to explain this writing game to them and maybe have them do a practice round to get used to the concept. Here’s a sample Mad Lib you can use. It’s also included in the companion files download at the bottom of this post.

Then have them prepare the story. They can either create it from scratch or use an existing text. For example, they might copy out the first paragraph or two of a book. Have them write it on lined paper, double spaced. 

Next, they can choose some words to remove from the story. Once they’ve erased the words they want to remove, they should draw a line for the blank word and write a hint under the line to indicate what kind of word is needed. 

It’s helpful if they have an understanding of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. If they don’t, this is a great time to introduce these concepts. They might also use qualifiers such as ‘something you wear,’ or ‘a job people do.’

Here’s how a finished Mad Lib might look:

When they’re done preparing the story, someone else (a friend, parent, teacher, etc.) gives them the words needed to fill in the blanks. As the respondent gives their answers, the student writes them in the blanks. When all the blanks are filled, the student reads the finished work aloud. 

I’ve yet to meet a kid who doesn’t love Mad Libs. They’re such a fun way to approach word choice and sentence structure! Kids get a kick out of making up a really silly story while subtly learning the differences between the various types of words. 

This writing activity can be adapted for grades 3-12. Young learners can also enjoy and benefit from Mad Libs, but they aren’t likely to be ready to create their own. Instead, just ask them to provide words for the blank spaces.

7. Custom Printing Pages

Creating custom writing worksheets for younger kids who are learning to print

I know….I promised fun writing activities . And usually, worksheets are not fun. But I think these ones are different. 

My five-year-old doesn’t enjoy practicing her letters and she puts up a huge fight when I ask her to copy things out. Fair enough—learning a challenging new skill is frustrating, even for adults. 

But then I discovered this resource . Among the many cool custom worksheets this site can generate, I discovered the customizable printing pages. You can choose the line size, the style of writing, whether you want students to trace or copy, and—most importantly—the text they’ll be copying. 

For my daughter, I wrote out a really fun story based on her life but with lots of embellishments and twists. She is the star of the story and she wants to know what happens to her. It took me about five to ten minutes to come up with enough content to fill 27 pages of writing practice sheets (about a month’s worth). I give her one page per day to copy. I haven’t heard a single complaint. 

Give it a try. Pick the settings that suit your student(s) best and write a few paragraphs that they won’t be able to stop reading. Then have them trace or copy a small amount each day. 

Young learners tend to engage more with the learning process if they think it’s a game rather than a lesson. Who wouldn’t want to read a story starring themselves? (I still have a customized Christmas book my dad ordered for me when I was three!)

It incentivizes them to practice their printing or cursive handwriting by giving them a delightful reward. This is the perfect exercise to do when you’re teaching handwriting .

This writing activity can be adapted for kindergarten to grade 6. For younger learners who need more extensive writing practice, I’m in love with these free printable alphabet worksheets for preschool . This is such a great resource for helping young kids master their letter formation skills.

8. Photographic Writing Prompts

Writing a story based on an image.

A picture is worth a thousand words, right? And nobody wants to read a thousand-word writing prompt , so why not try photographic writing prompts? This fun story writing activity is simple and can be pulled off with almost no prep time. 

First, choose an image you want to display. Then, set a timer. Have everyone (even you) write a story inspired by the picture for fifteen minutes. No planning for this one; this time we’re writing by the seat of our pants. When the timer ends, stop writing. Give students an opportunity to share their stories if they like. 

The companion files document at the bottom of this post includes ten fun images you can use as creative writing prompts.

Images are often more inspiring than words and leave more room for interpretation. This, combined with the focus on writing, rather than planning, encourages kids to simply write, rather than fretting about ideas or structure. 

Because of the timed and independent nature of this writing activity, it’s best for older children in grades 5 to 12. 

9. Convince Me

Using a creative piece of writing to influence someone’s opinion.

In this writing activity, students create a persuasive piece of writing aimed at convincing you that their favorite thing is the best, i.e. Why Wings of Fire is the Best Dragon Series You’ll Ever Read, or Why Strawberries are the One Fruit We Could All Live On. 

Offer suggestions on what format they might choose, but leave the decision up to them. They might write a short essay, a poem , a song, or a rap. Maybe they’ll even decide to create a brochure. Put as few limitations on this final product as possible to encourage maximum creativity. 

When they’re done, have them read what they’ve written to try to persuade an audience.  

Kids can be highly persuasive, but adults often shut them down when they’re trying to make an argument. For example, every time my daughter says she has a compelling list of reasons why we should let her get a hedgehog, I typically say no immediately without giving her a chance to share her list. 

Giving them the opportunity to persuade you about something that matters to them, and to do it in a format they feel comfortable with is an opportunity they won’t want to miss. This fun writing activity also helps them develop their persuasive writing skills. In your feedback, you might offer points on how they can enhance their argument even more. 

This writing activity can be adapted for grades 2 to 12. 

10. A is for Author

Using photos or drawings, along with original writing, to create a new alphabet book. 

If possible, go on a nature walk or at least go to a yard or a field. For this writing activity, it’s important that students have many things to observe. Bring notepads and pens or pencils. 

Have them try to find one thing for each letter of the alphabet. Allow them to be creative here: ‘eXcess dandelions’ might be a perfect choice to represent X. Have them use their notepads to keep a list of what they’ve found.

Then, set them to work. Let them choose how they will lay their book out. They might use a full page for each letter, a half-page, or a quarter-page. (I’ve included templates for half- and quarter-page layouts) below. 

For each letter, they should include a drawing or photograph and a small amount of writing. The writing can be as simple as ‘C is for Crane,’ or it could be more creative, such as a short poem or a paragraph about that thing. Determine how much leeway you’ll give them with the writing component based on their ages and ability. 

Have them add a cover page and then assemble their book with staples or by punching holes along the side and tying ribbon or string through each hole. 

This fun writing activity works well for both reluctant and eager writers. It takes the focus of writing by including other activities such as walking outside and drawing, while also giving ample opportunity to practice printing (for younger kids) and composition (for older kids). 

Eager writers will enjoy the opportunity to add prose or facts to their pages and appreciate the challenge of coming up with something creative for each page. 

For this activity, kids may work independently or together, depending on time and preferences. Our family worked together on a single book and it turned out great. 

Like most of the creative writing exercises here, this one can be adapted for any age range, from kindergarten to grade 12. 

Get the Companion Files

Use the form below to download everything you need to start teaching with these fun creative writing activities for kids today!

Sign Up for Your FREE Writing Activity Companion Files

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Monday 2nd of October 2023

Well, can't access anything.... disappointing. I subscribed like 4 times already.

Thursday 12th of October 2023

can you please email hello @ storywritingacademy.com (remove spaces) and let us know which download you're trying to access? We will send it over to you directly.

Thursday 22nd of June 2023

Very innovative ideas inculcate an interest in writing and then working on honing their writing skills

Shruti Shah

Sunday 28th of May 2023

Hi I can't see any form to fill up nor am I getting any access though I have already subscribed Pls help

Thursday 21st of September 2023

The form is at the end of this post, just above where you posted this comment. Thanks.

Friday 21st of April 2023

where the heck are the comic strip templates. I signed up 3 times!!!!!

I'm sorry you are having difficulty. Please feel free to email hello @ storywritingacademy.com if you need help and we can send them to you directly.

Privacy Overview

13 Fun Writing Activities for 4 year olds

Are you looking for creative and fun writing activities for 4 year olds? Then you’ve come to the right place. We’ve put together a list of some fun, educational and creative writing projects for preschoolers.

The following article includes a variety of fun writing activities that you can use to help your 4 year old develop his or her writing skills.

1 – Create a Story Together

2 – use funny words, 3 – salt tray drawing, 4 – shape tracing, 5 – playdough shapes, 6 – paper cut out letters, 7 – sidewalk chalk, 8 – make a mural, 9 – play i spy, 10 – clay letters, 11 – word puzzle, 12 – word scavenger hunt, 13 – use flashcards, 13 writing activities for 4 year olds.

Here’s our list of fun pre-writing activities for 4 year olds.

Ask your 4 year old to help you create a funny or silly story.

Sit down with your child and ask him or her to help you write a funny story. You can brainstorm ideas together or even have your child dictate a story to you. You can then write the story down using big words and funny pictures.

If your child is learning the alphabet or is just starting to learn to read, then you can use funny words to help him or her develop an understanding of letters and words.

Just try using funny words in your speech. For example, use words like:

“Aubergine”

“Borgle”

“Flappin”

“Zoink”

All of these words sound funny and will help your child to remember them. You can also then teach them how to spell the words.

This is a fun, creative project that can help your child learn to form letters without making (too big) of a mess. All you need is a tray with salt. Children can use their fingers to make shapes in the salt. Helping them form letters with their fingers will help your child to learn to write.

This is another fun and creative activity that will help your child to learn to write. Trace shapes like stars, circles and squares into your child’s back with your finger. You can do this in the bath or even on a warm summer’s day.

Playdough is a great toy that you can use to help your child learn all about shapes. By making shapes out of playdough, your child will learn to recognize and form shapes in the real world. You can make shapes out of playdough and then ask your child to make the same shape using playdough.

Help your child to learn to write by cutting out paper letters and having him or her place them in the correct order to make words.

Sidewalk chalk is always a fun toy to play with. You can use it to teach your child to write letters by spelling out words using big letters on the sidewalk. The best part is that the next time it rains, it’s all washed away and you can do it all again.

Make a mural to teach your child to write letters. You can use chalk, paint, crayons or pencils to draw letters on a large piece of paper. When your child draws in the letters, it will help him or her to learn to recognize the different letters in a word.

Play I Spy with your child. This is a fun way to teach your child about objects and words. You can use it to help your child learn to recognize words, understand them and then write them down.

This is a great project that your child can do with you. Use some clay to mold letters and then bake them in the oven. After they have cooled, you can help your child paint them. Then you can combine them to show your child how words are formed.

Create a word puzzle for your child to complete. You can do this using very big letters or small letters. It’s a great way to help your child learn to recognize particular words and how they are formed.

Hide words written on index cards around your home and have your child find them and write them down. When they find one, have them say the word and then write it down.

Flashcards are a great way to help your child learn and recognize letters. Write the letter on one side of a flashcard and the word on the other side. This will help your child recognize the letters and then write them down.

These activities should help you and your child have some fun and engage with writing at home. If you want to find out more about fun writing activities for 4 year olds then take a look at the rest of the website. We’ve got a ton of great articles on fun writing activities for preschoolers .

We’ve also got some great tips and ideas for games that you can play with your child to help develop spoken and written language skills.

Related Posts

• 9 Pre-writing activities for 3 year olds
• 7 Great Pre-Writing Activities for Preschoolers
• 5 Fun Activities To Do With Your Children This Weekend
• Best Educational Toys for 6 Year Olds
• Best Electronic Educational Toys for 5 Year Olds
• 12 Fun Birthday Party Ideas for a 1 Year Old
• Top Games for 10 Year Olds (Ultimate List)
• 21 Screen-Free Activities for Kids on Summer Break
• 10 Fun Hot Weather Play Ideas for Kids
• 7 Fun Sweater Weather Play Ideas for Autumn
• What Should a 10 Year Old Know How to Do?
• Christmas Pictures: 15 Fun Family Holiday Photo Ideas
• Halloween Party Games for Kids: 7 Unusually Fun Ideas
• 7 Best Dinosaur Toys for Toddlers

Kenny Kings

This Reading Mama

Creative Writing Activities for Kids

By thisreadingmama 1 Comment

Writing is one of those subjects that isn’t always a favorite for kids. And it’s no wonder with the meaningless writing activities we sometimes ask kids to do. That’s why I’m sharing some creative writing activities that can make writing a little more purposeful and yes, even fun for kids.

You can also find creative writing ideas on my Writing Activities for Kids Pinterest Board as well as in our Google+ Group,  Writing With Kids . Feel free to ask to join!

*This post contains affiliate links.

Creative Writing Activities to Make Writing Meaningful

We want the writing we’re asking kids to be meaningful and purposeful. And, as unpopular as this statement might be, a steady diet of writing prompts and copy work does not foster meaningful and purposeful for most kids . Am I saying you can never use them? Absolutely not . {I even have a Writing Prompt Pack in my store.} But I don’t recommend them as a steady diet when teaching writing.

One way to help make writing meaningful is to create an audience/reader  for kids.

• Writing letters to friends and family is the PERFECT way to get kids writing for authentic purposes, like Mama Smiles shares she does with her kids. Remember the days of pen pals. Why not start one between an older relative who lives far away and your child? You can also download this cute freebie for teaching kids how to write a friendly letter.

• Creating a simple scavenger hunt with Post-It Notes is a fun way to include an audience for your child’s writing. Kids can do this for family members or friends. It helps to have a super fun treat at the end, too!
•  I also love to allow kids to include their writing among the other texts and books on your shelf. Treat their writing like you do your other favorite read alouds . Pull it out and read it before bedtime to all the kids. Another fun idea is to include an Autograph Page {found here } to the end of their creations so that those that listen to them read can sign their autograph.

• Kids need to understand that, even from a young age, they have a voice. They have something to write about. I love the series I was able to do with The Measured Mom called Preschool & Kindergarten Writing Lessons . In that series, we explored how to model, support and and celebrate early writing and spelling. If you teach younger kids writing, I urge you to look through this amazing resource!
• Let them write about themselves. I love how this Weekend News writing  from Planet Smarty Pants can feature a built-in audience {her classmates} that can encourage even reluctant writers.

Creative Writing Activities to Make Writing FUN

We also want to sprinkle FUN into our writing instruction at times. While writing may not be fun every day, it’s nice to have a few fun activities in our back pocket when we need them. And here are a few FUN writing ideas.

• Add some movement with Photo Stacking Blocks . See how my 2nd grader and I explored writing longer sentences in a silly and active way. {These blocks are AWESOME, by the way. We use them for so many activities !}
• Ditch the pen and paper for a salt tray and chopsticks  {Mama Smiles}. This looks like FUN! And it’s great for handwriting, too!
• The Educators’ Spin on It shares quite a few ideas for fun writing activities in this great post .

• Work on handwriting out of the context of writing. Sometimes, kids struggle with the handwriting aspect of writing. I love how creative and hands-on this printable Big and Little Letter from Boy Mama Teacher Mama is for learning handwriting. I also think this printable cursive dominoes game from Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational is pure genius!
• Put on some instrumental music and create/write stories together . What story does the music tell? What’s happening? This works with fast and slow music, even Christmas music ! This one is super fun and it’s neat to hear each person tell or read what they envisioned after you’re finished.

For More Writing Resources, Visit:

• Primary Writing Lessons – a 12-week series on teaching writing to grades 1-2 with LOTS of free printables. These lessons are designed to show you HOW to teach writing, not just tell you. 🙂
• Unleashing the Writer in Your Child – a 5 day series where I explore teaching writing as a craft
• Roll a Simple Sentence – great for Kindergartners learning about complete sentences
• Roll a Silly Sentence – a silly way to teach about complete sentences
• 25 Ways to Make Writing Fun

Want MORE Free Teaching Resources?

Join thousands of other subscribers to get hands-on activities and printables delivered right to your inbox!

January 8, 2015 at 9:59 am

Thank you so much for all the great lessons! I really think they help y 4 year old. There are too many distractions in her Pre-k class for her to really pay attention to what she is doing. I wanted to try the 10 Pre-K writing lessons, but the page will not load. Thanks again for all you do for us busy Moms.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Creative ELA Book Clubs are HERE Learn More

Activities & Games to Get Kids Writing

Play is one of the best ways to teach and encourage writing. It takes away the pressure and fear writing can sometimes offer. Games and creative writing activities encourage kids to experiment with language, storytelling, organization, and ideas. Through play, writers learn spelling, vocabulary, how to create imagery, develop a plot, and even revise. Play also offers fun ways to learn skills that can be pretty boring. When play and writing go hand in hand, writers who love to write are filled with ideas, and reluctant writers might just forget they don’t like writing.

While using writing games or writing activities may take more time than printing off a worksheet, in the end, play = practice = confidence = learning and growth!

10 Games and Activities to Get Kids Writing

1. story cards & dice.

One of my favorite ways to help kids gather and organize their ideas, Story Dice create hysterical narratives. They also teach the importance of plot development, characterization, building conflict, and revision.

Writers can build stories together or individually. They roll the dice and use the images to help them find their words and visualize their story.

We also love Story Cards. We have several packs of eeboo Story Cards. They are beautiful and offer sweet story prompts. My daughter loved them as a young child and continues to love them as a pre-teen.

2. Story Maps

Do your kids love it when a book they’re reading includes a map? Mine do! They flip back and forth from text to image, looking for the places their characters go.

A great way to help writers play with the setting, get ideas for a story, flesh out the plot, or even retell a story they’ve read is to create a map.

To get writers started, I like to ask them questions to consider:

• What lives on your land?
• What types of vegetation is there?
• What types of bodies of water?
• What is the climate?
• How do your characters travel from one place to another?
• Where do your characters live?
• What obstacles are on your land?
• What is your land called?
• Where do people/creatures gather?
• Are there important landmarks?

We go over these questions together and share ideas. Then they get to work drawing and creating the place their story will take place.

My unit study, Courage Is… explores story maps. One of four creative writing projects you’ll find, it is definitely one of my students’ favorites.

3. Accordion Stories

Play with two people or twenty; an accordion story is fun because you never know what’s happened or going to happen until the end when the paper is unfolded and the story is read.

Sidenote- I did this activity in my adult class recently, and it was hysterical!

How to play –

Each writer starts out with a piece of lined paper. On the top of the page, they begin a story or poem by writing on two lines of the page. This can be a continuous sentence or a couple. The important part is they write on two lines.

Once they finish, they fold down the first line so it can’t be seen and pass the paper, the second line showing to the next writer.

The new writer writes two more lines, based on the one line they can see, fold down the top two lines (the other writer’s line and their first one), and passes the paper, their last line showing to the next writer.

And so it goes until the paper is folded up tight like an accordion.

Once complete, open the page up, and a story is waiting. Be ready for a good belly laugh!

4. Scavenger Hunt

A scavenger hunt is one of my favorite learning tools. I’ve used scavenger hunts to get kids learning Pre-K through High School. They help kids get to know each other , learn about the backyard or schoolyard science , find items in a library, a book, or an old school dictionary. A scavenger hunt can also get kids writing!

The first step to any scavenger hunt is deciding what skills you hope your kids will learn. Descriptive writing, parts of speech, vocabulary, spelling- a scavenger hunt can help kids practice lots of things.

The second step is simple. Take a piece of paper and fold it equally into eight squares.

Next, decide where this scavenger hunt will take place: inside, outside, both, or in a special location.

Fill in the squares, or have your kids create their own!

Ready for your kids to get learning? Encourage kids to get four in a row or see who can fill in the most boxes. Have kids work together or apart. Be sure to explain any terminology they might not know. No fun looking for a verb if you have no idea what one is!

5. Play with Poetry

Free verse poem.

One of our favorite ways to write free-verse poems is with magnetic poetry tiles. Super fun, there are all sorts of kits you can buy like: Art Poetry , Psycho Kitty Poetry, and Pirate Poetry .

A free verse poem is pretty much an anything-goes poem, but it might be good to share some examples of what free verse poetry is and isn’t with children to see what they notice.

While you’re reading poetry together, you might talk about how imagery, stanzas, and a subject or main idea are typically found.

Children might also enjoy crafting their poems in prose first. Then they can decide what words to cut, where to create stanzas, and what needs more description.

If you’re looking a poetry class, I love teaching poetry to kids and teens and offer workshops on Outschool and Curiosity Encouraged.

• Describe something you love or can’t stand. What does it look like, smell like, how does it make you feel?
• Describe your perfect day, moment, or memory.
• Write about dreams or wishes.
• Write about fears or scars.

Acrostic Poem

An acrostic poem uses the letters in someone or something’s name to begin each line or stanza of a poem. A younger child might choose one word, whereas an older child might choose a descriptive word or phrase.

Acrostic poems are written vertically. Young children might write one word. Older children a phrase, sentence, or stanza.

Concrete Poem

Also known as a shape poem, kids choose an object that represents the subject of their poem. They then use words to create that shape. For younger kids, it could be the same word or just a few repeated. Older kids can challenge themselves to write a poem in their chosen shape.

Often a silly poem, a limerick is fun to write because it follows a rhyme scheme. Lines 1, 2, and 5 rhyme, and lines 3 and 4 rhyme, making the rhyme scheme AABBA.

A haiku is a Japanese verse poem that has three lines, with each line having a certain number of syllables- 5,7,5. Tapping or clapping out syllables is helpful (as is knowing what a syllable is). A couple of these poems would be nice or one with an illustration.

Simile Poem

A simile compares two things, often unlike, using like or as. Metaphors, alliteration, or other types of figurative language could also be included or substituted.

Illustrations, placing poems on homemade cards, framing a poem, or writing one on decorated paper are additional ways writers can add to their poetry.

6. Play Writing Games

I am always on the lookout for new writing games. We recently came across a handful at one of our favorite second-hand stores. They give us a good dose of fun and practice!

• Poetry for Neanderthals
• Banana Grams
• My First Banana Grams
• Scrabble Slam
• Snap It Up- Reading and Phonics 
• Telestrations
• Apples to Apples Jr
• Scattergories
• Wacky Words

7. Create Comic Books

Kids who like to read comic books might be motivated to make their own !

8. Give National Novel Writing Month a Try

Each November, writers from around the world set to work on one goal- a novel. The National Novel Writing website has a TON of great resources, including a workbook just for young writers . We worked through one last year and it is not your average boring workbook!

Of course, you can give novel writing a try any month!

9. Write to a Pen Pal

A few years ago, when my oldest was in elementary school, and I was looking for a way to encourage writing, I created a Pen Pal group on Facebook. Made up of friends near and far, for a couple of years, my kids wrote to my friend’s kids, and my friend’s kids wrote to other friends’ kids. It was super fun and, best of all, got kids writing!

Now I offer a homeschool pen pal group on Creative ELA. Each season, homeschoolers are paired up, given prompts (to take or leave) and encouraged to write at least twice to one another. We’d love to have your kids join us! Join Creative ELA to learn more.

10. Keep a Favorite Book Going

Have you ever finished a book you wished would keep going? Thought a character should have acted in a different way or wanted to change a story’s ending? FanFiction gets readers writing!

Students in my Creative Writing Workshop class often enjoy writing fan fiction, but they don’t have to. The beauty of a writing workshop is writers can write in any genre they want. Each week we meet to learn about writing, write, and share our ideas. Through games, writing prompts, and a lot of laughter, students grow confidence and interest.

Need more resources? I offer writing games, mini-lessons, free classes, and so many ideas over on my free homeschool community, Creative ELA.

Share this:

About Kelly Sage

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Find a Resource

Hi, I’m Kelly. Curiosity Encouraged is where I share my passion for helping kids love to learn. It’s where I share the many things I’ve learned as a teacher, homeschooler, mother, and writer. Thank you for being here!

Create a Homeschool Journal

Create a Family Rhythm

Shop My Store

Curiosity Encouraged is now affiliated with Bookshop ! We love how they support small businesses.

Stay Connected:

• Custom Link

Your cart is currently empty!

Hundreds of Awesome Creative Writing Topics for kids

Creative writing is a great way for children to express themselves using imagination. At Kids Play and Create, we value young writers, and we are constantly updating our list to bring you new, fun, and imaginative writing prompts for kids.

We have story starters, icebreakers, fiction writing prompts, and fun topics to inspire kids through writing. From young students to middle school students and even high school, we have great writing prompts for all writing styles and even the most reluctant writers.

We started out with 50 creative writing topics for kids but have added many more. Check back regularly for newly added writing topics. 

                Check the end of the article for updated Creative Writing Topics for Teens. Are you looking for Creative Writing topics for 1st grade and 2nd grade with free printables? We have that too!

What is Creative Writing?

Creative writing can be used to explain many types of writing. It is a writing style that lets the writer express themselves.  Some forms of creative writing entertain the reader, while others are therapeutic.  Creative writing lets the writer use their imagination and takes the reader on a journey into their thoughts.

Is Creative Writing Important?

Creative writing is a great way to learn more about the children you work with.  You can find out things about what they like and don’t like.  Depending on the topic you choose, you can also find out things about their personality, what kind of friends they are, how they feel about themselves, and if they set goals and more.  

There are many benefits to writing. Creative writing helps build critical thinking skills and writing skills. These writing prompts will build a child’s confidence to write their own stories.

How do you get kids to want to write without complaining?  Give them fun topics that they will learn about themselves while writing.  On this list, you will find various good topics for both younger and older children.

Creative Writing is fun for All Ages.

Creative writing isn’t just for older children. It can be for the little ones too. Young students as early as Preschool or Kindergarten may not have the ability to write but can express themselves through drawing.

Have young students concentrate less on the writing and more on drawing a picture that goes with the topic. Children are great at expressing themselves through art.

Awesome Creative Writing Prompts for Elementary Students

1. Have the children write on top of the page:  I Am Special Because… This is a good topic to help children express themselves.

Have the children think about why they are special and ask themselves questions, here are some examples: what am I good at? Who have they helped? How have I made a difference? What special talent do I have?

2. If I was a superhero, what kind of superhero would I be, and what powers would I have? (This can also be done using villains)

 Examples of powers they can write about: are flying, super speed, eye lasers, walking through walls, shooting ice, shooting fire, changing the weather, camouflage, shapeshifting (changing shape), and turning invisible. 

Activity:  Keep track of who chose a superhero or a villain. Do not let the children know that another activity will follow after the writing activity. When the writing activity is over, split the children into two teams, the superhero team and the villain team.  Have them vs. each other in a game of tag.  Who will champion the superheroes or the villains? 

3. What do I want to be when I grow up and why? This a great way to get to know children.  By asking what they want to be when they grow up, you can find out what the children like.  It’s also a great way for children to start thinking about the future.

4. If you were given three wishes, what would they be and why? This is a fun topic.  Children can think about having anything in the world.  Will they pick something like peace on earth or go the million-dollar route?  

5. If I could invent a new animal, what animal would it be?  Have the children ask themselves the following questions: What does the animal look like (what color, is it big or small, is it a combination of two animals)?  What sounds does the animal make?  What does it eat?  Where does it live?  Describe the animal’s habitat.

Creative Writing Topics for Kids

6. If I could invent a new toy, what kind of toy would I create and why? Or, If I could improve a toy, which toy would I improve, and how would I make it better?  You can talk to the children about the creative process:  First, you come up with an idea, then you have to get it made.  You can talk to the children about manufacturing toys.  Here are some questions you can ask the children about improving a toy.  How do you want to make the toy better?  Do you want to make the remote control car faster?  Is the game challenging enough?  Do you want your doll to have more features or do more?  These are all questions you can ask the children to get their brains thinking.

7. If I could make something disappear in my life, what would it be and why? Ask the children if there is something in your life that makes them unhappy.  Is there a problem you are having?  

8. All About me essay. Some sample questions the children can ask are:  What are my likes and dislikes? What is my favorite subject in school? What do I want to be when I group up?  Who is their favorite actress/actor?  Where do they want to visit? They can name the people in their family, talk about any extracurricular activities they do, etc.

In what ways do I help my family? Have children write about the ways they help their families.  Do you have chores?  If so, what are they?  Do you help your mom or dad cook?  Do you talk out the garbage? Do you take care of your siblings?  Do you have a job to help pay bills?  

10. How can I be a better friend?  Have children think about what type of friends they are.  Are they good listeners?  Are you kind?  Do you talk about your friends to other people?  Have them think about how they would like to be treated by a friend, do they treat their friends the way they want to be treated?

The Best Creative Writing Topics for 4th and 5th grade

11. If you could be invisible, what would you do and why? Have the children think about what it would be like to be invisible.  Would they use this new power for good or would they try to do something bad?

See also   Top 10 Ways you can Encourage Good Homework Habits for Elementary Students .

12. What do you think about bullies and why? Have the children define what a bully is to them in their paper.  Do they think they are a bully?  Do they think bullying is wrong?  Remember, these are things the children are feeling, there are no wrong answers.

13. Why is it important to be honest and not lie?  To them, the children with their writing ask them the following questions. What does it mean to be honest?  Have you ever told a lie that turned into another lie?

14. What would you do if you won a million dollars?  This question is usually a favorite topic with the children.  Ask them if they think one million dollars is a lot of money.  Depending on where you live, it might be just enough to buy a small house and a car.  What are some things you would buy?  Would you save some or spend it all?

15. If you could change the world, what would you do and why? This is a good question for older children.  Would they change things, such as ending hate and violence in the world? Would they change things such as making gas or food free for everyone? You will get various answers, making this a fun and interesting topic.

Fun Writing Prompts Ideas

16. If you were a king/queen, what would you do and why? This is a fun topic for both younger and older children.  Activity: Have the children draw their kingdom and a picture of them as king or queen

17. If you could invent a video game, what kind of game would you create and why? This topic is also great for older children and young er children.  Children love playing video games, they may not realize that they can make video games for a living.  Talk to the children about video game developers and the process of creating video games.  Have them brainstorm ideas for games, and find out what they can come up with.

18. Write about a time when you had to be brave, what did you do, and how did it feel?  Ask the children if they have ever been afraid. What were they afraid of? Did something scary happen to them?  What did they do to get through it?

19. Write about a trip to the moon, how did you get there, what did you see, it was fun or scary?

20. Write about something you are good at?

21. Write about one thing you want to learn about?

22. Write about a time when you worked hard to get something. This can be a thing or an accomplishment, like making a team, finally getting that cartwheel, or passing a test.

23. Write about five things you could be better at if you worked hard and gave more effort.  There is always room for improvement.  Talk to the children about the importance of trying hard and working towards a goal.

24. If you had to give away $1,000, what would you do with it, who would you give it to? This is a great question when talking to children about being kind and helping others.  

Journal Prompts or Kids

25. What is the best thing someone has ever given to you?

26. What is the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?

27. Write about what you can teach others. Everyone is good at something.  This question helps children think about what they’re good at and how they can help others.

28. Did you ever get into an argument with a friend or family member? How did that make you feel?  

29. Did you ever hurt someone’s feelings?  Explain what happened and how it made you feel.  

30. Did someone ever hurt your feelings? How did it make you feel? Did you talk to that person about it?

31. Is there anyone you would like to switch places with? who and why?

32. What does it mean to be loyal?

33. When was a time you were loyal to a friend or a friend who was loyal to you?

34. What famous person would you like to meet? Write about a day spent with a famous person.

Self-Esteem Writing Topics

34. Has a friend ever betrayed you? How did it make you feel? What do you think your friend should have done differently?

35. Have you ever been friends with someone who was unpopular or not part of the group?  This is a great question to ask children when teaching them about acceptance and how it feels not to be part of a group.

36. When was a time you felt you were treated unfairly? How did it make you feel?

37. Is it fair to give someone a head start in a race?  When is it fair? When is it not fair?

38. Write about a time when you had a strong opinion about something? Why did you feel so strongly about it?

39. Write about a time you made a big mistake.  How did you fix it?  Everyone makes mistakes.  This writing topic helps children understand that mistakes are part of the learning experience.

40. Write about a time when you were very angry.  What happened? How did being angry make you feel? I find that many times children will feel sad when they are angry.  Did I make a good choice when I was angry? This is a great writing topic when discussing feelings with children.  It is important for them to understand that anger isn’t wrong, and you are allowed to feel angry.

41. If you heard a rumor about a friend you knew wasn’t true, what would you do? How would it make you feel?

42. Write about a time when you cheered someone up. What did you do? How did it make you feel? How did it make that person feel?

43. Write about a time you used your inner strength to get through a tough situation.

44. Write about three things that are hard for you and why.

See also   Free Colorful Printable Tracing Worksheets for Kids ‘

45. When was the last time you were afraid? What scared you? How did you react?

46. What is the bravest thing you’ve ever done?

47. Who is your hero, and why?

48. What do you think risk-taking is?  Have you ever taken a risk?

49. Write about your best friend. Who are they, how long have you known them, and why are they your best friend?

50. What does it mean to have good character? Do you think you have good character, why?

Short Story Writing Topics for Kids

51. Think about something you are not allowed to do but wish you could.  Write about why you want to do it and why you should be allowed to do it.

52. If you could be on a t.v show, which one would it be and why?  

53. If you had to choose to be one age for the rest of your life which age would you want to be?  Why?

54.  If you could pick the perfect job, what would it be?

55. You just found a treasure map, write about what you would do next.  Do you decide to look for the treasure?  Who is going to help you?  What supplies do you need? Did the map lead you to the treasure, or was it fake?  If you found the treasure, what was it?  What did you do with it?

56. You just built a time machine.  Where in time would you go?  What did you do?  What did you see?  Would you want to stay there or come back to the present time?

57.  You just discovered a new land.  What are you going to call your land?  What kind of animals live there?  Have you discovered anything on your land?  What are you going to build on your new land?

58. Challenge the kids to write a scary story.

59. If you are working with younger children, instead of having them write, you can have them draw and answer questions about their drawing.  Try some of these topics.

1  Create a monster.  Your monster can be silly, scary, funny, big, little, colorful, etc..  What is your monster’s name?  What does your monster eat?  Where does your monster live?  Is your monster nice or mean?  You can write the answers to the questions on the paper for the child or have them come up and share their drawing, while they are showing their picture, ask them questions about their monster.

2.  Create an animal.  This is the same as the monster but just an animal instead.

3. Create new food. What kind of food is it?  Is it a dessert, is it something spicy, is it a combination of both?  Have the children draw a picture of their new food.

Group Writing Prompts for Kids

I’ve been working with kids on group writing and art projects.  The kids enjoyed these topics the best.

58. Create a fairy tale. have each group member write one part of the story. Then have each member of the group draw one part of the story. When the children are finished writing, have them come up in front of the class and retell their story.   

59.  Create an amusement park.  Discuss as a group the name of the park.  Have each member of the group write about the parts of the park. 

A. What is the theme of your park?  Adventure, thrill rides, water rides, safari, etc.

B.  Write about the type of rides in the park.  Are there shows in the park?

C. Describe places to eat at the park and what type of food they serve.

D. Do they have a gift shop?  What do they sell at your park?

Art Project:  On a large poster board, have each group member draw a park map.  List of attractions, games, food, restrooms, gift shops, shows, etc..

 60. Create a planet – Your group has just discovered a new planet.  Have a group discussion about the planet.  What is the name?  Do anyone live on the planet? Is there water on the planet? Did you find fossils, aliens, or animals?  Is there oxygen? Are there plants, trees, or water?  Have each member of the group write something about the planet.

Art Project: Make a planet out of paper mache.  Once dry, paint, and decorate the planet.

Newly Added Creative Writing Prompts

61. Create a new food/or meal and make a recipe to teach others how to make it.  Have the kids draw a picture of the new food/meal.

62. Create a new game and describe how to play.  This writing topic lets children use their imaginations.  Have the children draw out the game on paper.  If creating a  board game, have the children turn the paper into a board game.

63. Write about a time you lost a game, didn’t do well on a test, or made a mistake, what lesson did you learn? This is a great writing topic to use when teaching children about losing.  Everyone loses sometimes.  losing actually makes you better.  Without losing, sometimes, you won’t strive to become better.

64.  Your video just went viral on Youtube.  What did you do in your video? These days children spend so much time looking at videos on Youtube.  Have them imagine what it would be like to become famous overnight with a viral video.

Fabulous Creative Writing Prompts for Kids

65.  Pretend you had an evil twin.  Write about some things your evil twin does.

66. What is the grossest lunch you have ever been served?  Write about this gross meal.  Remember to add many details about what the food looked and tasted like.

67. What is your sorcerer’s name?  What kind of sorcerer would you be?  Would you be evil or nice?  What kind of powers would you have?  What is something that you did as a sorcerer?

68. What are your personal superpowers?  Are you a great friend, are you smart, do you have a hidden talent?  Write about the superpowers that you already have.

See also   Black History Month Writing Prompts for Students .

69. Write about a time when you were proud of your work and did your best.  How did that make you feel?  Do you always try your best?  Why or why not

70. You have been working hard on your schoolwork/project all for a while, and your mind and body are tired, and you need a break.  What are some ways that you like to take a break?  Do you like to color, take deep breaths, play your favorite game, nap, or have a snack?  Tell us about how you like to take a break.

• Invent a new holiday. What would you call your holiday? When is it celebrated? How is it celebrated?
• You became a movie star overnight, what movie were you in? What character did you play?
• Write about your favorite sport. Why is it your favorite? Give directions on how to play.
• What is your favorite thing? Describe it and tell why it is your favorite.
• Who is your favorite teacher? Explain why they are your favorite.

The Best Creative Writing Prompts and Topics for Teens

• Have you ever seen somebody being treated unfairly?  If so, did you do anything about it, or did you ignore it and walk away?
• Do you talk to people the same way in person as you do on social media?
• How do you think social media has changed or is changing the world?
• What kind of America do you want to live in?
• What are your plans after high school?
• What do you think college life is like?
• Do you think it is important to save money at your age?  If so, how do you save money?  Why do you think it is important?
•  Do you know what it means to have good credit?  Do you think it is important to have good credit?  Why?
• Would you ever join the military?  Why?
• Who is your idol, and why?
• What is your favorite childhood memory?

New Creative Writing Prompts for Middle School and High School Students

• If you could take a trip anywhere in the world, where would you go?
• Write about something you would love to try and why
• Write about something you did but then felt guilty about it later.  How did you handle the situation?
• What is the hardest experience you have ever been through?  How did you handle it?
• Have you ever been to a job interview?  Where are you prepared?  Did you get the job? Would you say something different if you could do it over? Would you be better prepared next time?
• How do you think the world will be 50 years from now? How do you think people will treat each other?  How do you think the internet/social media has changed the world?  What kind of cars do you think we will be driving?  Will we still be using gas?
• Write about your dream home.  Would you live in a house or an apartment in the city?  Do you want a big house or something small?  What kind of fun features would your dream home have?
• If you were a parent, would you let your child have a social media account?  Why or why not?
• Would you rather work in a team on a project or alone?
• Write about your favorite song, why is it your favorite?  What is your favorite verse?  How do you feel when listening to it?
• If you were a clothing designer, what kind of clothes would you design?
• You have to spend one year stranded on a deserted island, you can bring five things or people with you, what do you bring?
• You are a superhero, you have to use your powers to make a positive change in the world.  What powers do you have?
• You are given the power to change one thing you don’t like about yourself, would you change anything?  If yes, what would you change and why?
• Write about your future self. What is your life like?

Updated Creative Writing Topics for Middle School and High School

• You are creating a new amusement park.  What kind of park would it be?  What kind of rides does it have?
• Write about the best Christmas gift you have ever received. Explain what it was, why it was your favorite, who gave it to you, do you still have it.  
• You were given 1 million dollars, but you must give it away.  Who would you give it to?  would you give it to one person or a couple of different people?  Would you donate it to an organization? 
• Name 5 of the most important things in your life ( house, family, health, etc..); now you just lost all of them.  How would you feel, what would you do?
• You just became a YouTube sensation.  What did you do that made you famous?  How does it feel to be recognized by people on the street?
• A friend of yours has been depressed and said that they told you they don’t want to live anymore.  What do you do and why?
• How would people describe you and why?
• Do you think that violent video games make people violent?  Do you think there should be age restrictions on video games?
• You have a choice of giving up social media or hanging out with your friends for a week, which one do you choose and why?
• Do you think what you learn in school can help you in the real world?  What topics do you think you should be learning and why?

The Best Creative Writing Prompts for Teens Continued 

• Do you think that money can buy happiness, why or why not?
• Do you think you need higher education to become successful?
• How important is your cell phone with you? I rather give up….blank…. than my cell phone (explain).
•  Describe the perfect day. What would you do?
• Have you ever been faced with discrimination?  Were you the one being discriminated against, or were you a witness to discrimination, How did you feel?
• If you were given the opportunity to meet anyone in the world, living or dead, who would you want to meet and why?
• Why do you think we pay taxes?  Do you believe taxes are necessary?  What do you think our tax money is used for?

Related Posts:

• Halloween Activities for Kids
• DIY Homemade Spa Party Recipes for Kids
• Fascinating Orca Facts for Kids
• Fun Halloween Facts for Kids! Halloween 2021
• Amazing Animal Facts for Kids!

Related Posts

All about me collage self-esteem/character building activity for kids, being thankful activities for kids, thanksgiving activities for kids, feel good notebook self-esteem character building activity for kids, positive notes game self-esteem character building activity for kids, how to get kids to work together, games for kids.

• How To Get Pregnant
• Infertility
• Pregnancy Week by Week
• Second Pregnancy
• Giving Birth
• Post Pregnancy
• Breastfeeding
• Development
• Browse Names
• Play & Activities
• Coloring Pages
• Food & Nutrition
• Health & Fitness
• Style & Beauty Care
• Collaborations
• New Parents
• Single Parenting
• Relationships
• Baby Eye Color Calculator
• Online Pregnancy Test
• Chinese Gender Predictor
• Implantation Calculator
• hCG Calculator
• Period Calculator
• ovulation calculator
• pregnancy due date calculator
• Child Height Predictor
• Pregnancy Weight Gain Calculator
• Breast Milk Calculator
• Child Growth Percentile Calculator
• Baby Cost Calculator
• BMI Calculator For Kids & Teens
• Contraction Calculator
• Immunization Scheduler and Chart
• C-Section Checklist
• Online Twin Pregnancy Quiz
• Numerology calculator
• Child Blood Type Calculator
• Nakshatra Calculator
• Diaper Bag Checklist
• Baby Name Combiner

Home • Kid • Play And Activities

15 Creative Writing Games And Activities For Kids

Help your children develop their writing skills with the help of games and practice.

Elisa has 17 years of experience in early childhood education as a teacher and a director. With a passion to work with young kids, she did her post graduation in Education and received her online teaching certificate from California State U... read full bio

Harshita is a graduate in commerce and holds a PG Diploma in Patent and Copyrights Law from NALSAR University. She has also pursued CA and has more than three years of internship experience in auditin... read full bio

Deepa Rachel Thomas holds a master’s degree in English from the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. She has done a certification course in Child Development and worked as a mentor for... read full bio

Nisha Bharatan is a writer with six years of experience. After completing her engineering from Savitribai Phule Pune University, she did content marketing courses to complement her interest in writing... read full bio

Mark Twain said, “Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.” Although children may not find it that easy and entertaining, you can inculcate the habit through interesting writing games for kids . It is a fun and distinct way of piquing their interest in this skill by letting them enjoy it as they learn. In this post, we have a list of the best games and activities to help you engage your children in writing while having fun.

Fun Writing Games For Kids

Writing games need not be all plain, boring or intense. You can try some creative ways to make writing pleasant and enjoyable. Try these fun games for children to begin their lessons in writing.

1. Secret Pictionary

A game of Pictionary is fun to play when there are more than three players. You can play this game even without the Pictionary cards as all you need is a pencil and a blank paper.

• The first player writes a random phrase and passes it on to the next player.
• The second player has to draw an image based on his/her perception of the phrase written by the first player. Fold the first phrase, and pass it to the next player.
• Now the third player has to understand the drawing by the second player and write a line or a phrase based on the drawing. Fold the paper to cover the first phrase and the first drawing, and pass it on.
• This shall go on with the phrase and drawing alternately until it reaches the last player.
• Unfolding all the pages at the end of the game will reveal a very funny short story.

Charlotte Bismuth, a mother and an author, shares how pictionary brings her family together for a fun after-dinner entertainment. She says, “Last week, my husband and I played Pictionary with our little girls after dinner for three consecutive nights… The first night, I was just so happy we’d played. The second night, I thought it was just a lucky break. By the third night, I was ecstatic —we were on the brink of a family tradition! I couldn’t believe it was possible to anchor in something fun ( ⅰ ).’’

2. Telephone oracle

Image: IStock

Asking your questions to the Oracle is like sitting with a funny magic ball. Come up with wacky questions and gear up for equally wild answers.

• Every player has to write one question each which they want the Oracle to answer, at the top of the page.
• Now every player has to pass their papers to the person on their left.
• Each player has to answer the question according to their perception.
• Now the players have to conceal the question written on the top portion by folding it and then pass on the papers again to their left.
• This step is tricky but interesting. Every player has to write a possible question after reading the previous answer they see in their paper.
• Fold the paper such that only the latest question is visible and pass it to the left side player.
• The same rounds continue till the bottom of the page and end with an answer.
• At the end of the game, all the players unfold their papers to read their original question, the answers they have received, and everything in between. Kah-ray-zee! You will be surprised to see the crazy answers to your original question.

Free Worksheets and Printables for Kids

3. finish the story.

Your search for creative writing games for kids ends here. This is a delightful and engaging storytelling game you can indulge in during playtime.

• The first player writes two lines on a paper and folds the first line so that only the second line is visible to the next player.
• The second player has to guess the first line, read the second line, add another line to the story and fold the paper such that the first two lines are covered and only the last line is visible.
• All the players continue adding their lines to the story.
• The end result will be a very funny tale with no meaning at all.

4. Consequences

Image: Shutterstock

This incredibly enjoyable writing game will keep your child writing on new pages for multiple rounds. You will need a pen, paper, and a minimum of 6 players to play the game.

• The first player has to write the name of a male, on the paper. After writing, conceal the name by folding the paper.
• The second player has to write the name of a female and then fold it again, to conceal it.
• The next player has to write about where they met and fold the paper.
• The fourth player has to write about what he said and fold to conceal it.
• The fifth player writes what she said, and conceals it.
• The last player has to write about what happens in the end.
• Then, unfold the paper to read a very funny story .
• Note that children can write any name, be it their favorite hero or friends in the school, parents or just anybody.

Interesting Writing Activities For Kids

These activities can enhance writing skills and benefit the family’s daily life. Children can tap into their creativity beyond just playing board games and quizzes.

5. Grocery list writing

This is one of the fun writing activities for kids that requires minimal effort and helps them learn the names of many grocery items, such as types of bread, toiletries, and even spices.

• Grab a pen and paper, and head to the kitchen pantry.
• With the assistance of parents, kids have to note down each item and the quantity required.
• You can color code each item to make it easier for them to access.
• Make an elaborate grocery list and head out for shopping.

6. Writing letters

Writing letters is old school but is still relevant. So, why not introduce your kids to the old-world charm with this letter writing activity?

• Decide which form you wish to write — a formal letter or an informal one.
• Accordingly, choose whom to address the letter.
• Keep the letter content crisp if it’s a formal letter and give it an emotional feel if you are writing an informal one.

7. Advertisement writing

This writing activity can keep their creative juices flowing.

• Pick an item to write about. For example, children may choose to write an advertisement for their favorite candy.
• Let them write an entertaining advertisement to sell the product.
• Kids can get innovative and may design brochures, leaflets or even a hoarding style ad.

8. Dialogue writing

Dialogue is a conversation or interaction between two or more people. This activity can also improve their style of conversation. You can begin with simple dialogues.

• Write an introductory line to begin the activity.
• The next player has to reply to the previous line.
• Keep adding dialogues after each line. In the end, you will have your very own record of the conversation.

9. Written debate

This activity is similar to dialogue writing, but will have an argumentative tone. This writing activity will help in enhancing their conversational and presentation skills.

• Pick a subject and write down your first argument on the paper.
• Let your child reply to the argument, putting forth his/her point.
• It goes on like a debate but in a written format.

10. Writing instructions

Learn direct speech through this activity.

• Choose a subject to write instructions about. For example, an experiment on lighting a bulb.
• Kids must write about the tools required and elaborate instructions about how to light a bulb, in detailed steps.
• The style of writing must be communicative and simple to follow.

11. Writing a poem

Poetry knows no boundaries or age limits. Writing poems is a creative pursuit well-suited for children who love writing.

• Select a theme to write about.
• Kids can use rhyming words or just express their emotions in whichever poetic style they like.

12. Writing a message on the envelope

Be it a birthday greeting or a thank you note, this activity will help the child write short messages on cards and envelopes.

• Pick a card or envelope depending on the occasion.
• Write a short crisp paragraph to convey the message.
• Add a salutation, “To” address and a “From” address.
• If your child enjoys crafts, they can also make unique cards with meaningful messages.

13. Newspaper summary writing

This activity is ideal for older kids. It helps in understanding their level of reasoning and perception.

• Assign a newspaper headline for them to read and follow.
• Kids have to go through the entire news article, read and understand it in detail.
• Now the challenge is to write a summary about the same news article in their style.

14. Five lines about their hero

Children will enjoy playing this game for sure as it involves their favorite superhero.

• Find out who your child’s favorite superhero/ idol is.
• Ask them to write any five things about him/her, which they admire.

15. Drawing words

This activity does not involve writing directly but inspires to write and makes learning enjoyable for kids. Make their imagination run wild with this game.

• Choose a word to draw. It can be any word like sun, moon, precious, beautiful, mountain or anything.
• Let the child draw the word in their style. Do not insist on drawing it perfectly. They can create a doodle too if they want.

15. Starting a feelings journal

Children often find it difficult to express how they feel as expressing oneself is a learning process that develops gradually. This activity can serve as an amazing emotional outlet for your child and help you understand them much better.

• Printed journals are available that contain pictorial depictions of various feelings and emotions from which the child can choose daily.
• You may also DIY such a journal from a regular one by printing different pictures of emotions and telling your child to add a few words every day.
• Encourage them to write vivid descriptions of what they feel and the reason behind it for the activity to become more productive.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How does writing help in the growth of a child?

Writing helps in a child’s growth by promoting language development, improving spelling knowledge, increasing communication skills, enhancing creativity, promoting critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and fostering emotional intelligence. It also helps children develop fine motor skills and self-discipline. Additionally, writing can serve as an outlet for children to express their thoughts and feelings, leading to increased self-awareness and self-esteem.

2. What are the benefits of writing games for kids at home and school?

Writing games for kids offers numerous benefits, such as improving language skills, encouraging creativity, boosting confidence, enhancing critical thinking, and developing fine motor skills. Writing games can help children develop their language skills, including vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure. These games can also challenge children to think critically and encourage them to be imaginative in their writing, leading to a more positive attitude toward learning.

3. What age range are writing games suitable for?

Writing games vary for children of varying age groups, depending on the game’s complexity. For example, a game of writing a poem can be played by children over six years, while drawing games are ideal for toddlers. As your child grows, expose them to a variety of writing games.

4. Can writing games help children overcome writer’s block?

Writing games enhance critical thinking, improves language skills, and sparks creativity in children, enabling them to overcome writer’s block. Provide different prompts and challenges to your child to promote thinking abilities. Besides, you can invite their friends and organize a collaborative writing activity. Give feedback to everyone so that children can refine their writing.

5. Can writing games help kids develop their storytelling abilities?

Children engaging in writing while playing games boosts their imagination and creativity. They can also express their thoughts and emotions when playing writing games, thereby aiding in developing their storytelling skills. Encourage your child to explore various writing styles and create a unique composition.

6. How can technology be used for writing games for kids?

Technology provides opportunities to choose interactive games and apps containing several engaging learning experiences, capturing children’s attention and promoting creativity and inclusivity. Parents can choose age-appropriate writing activities and receive instant feedback and suggestions that help sharpen their writing skills.

Writing is an integral part of children’s education that helps them express themselves better. It is a life skill that relates to communication and allows children to better understand and remember a particular concept. Writing skills should be developed in children from a young age. However, many children are not enthusiastic about writing because they feel it is a difficult task. In such circumstances, you may introduce writing games for kids. Puzzles and games such as Secret Pictionary or Finish the Story and activities such as Dialogue Writing or Message Writing can help children learn about writing. Anagrams, crosswords, creating secret code puzzles, and the hangman are other good options that will help fine-tune their writing skills. Reading books and journaling are other activities that can help enhance a child’s self expression abilities.

Infographic: Fun Writing Games For Children

Illustration: Momjunction Design Team

Key Pointers

• Pique your children’s interest in writing by introducing Pictionary of secret phrases followed by drawing.
• “Finish the story” will enhance the child’s creativity as they take turns to add sentences to the story.
• Dialogue or advertisement writing, word drawing, etc., for your children as you scroll down.

Image: Stable Diffusion/MomJunction Design Team

Engage your kids in fun pre-writing activities! Learn how to help them develop their writing skills in a creative way.

Personal Experience: Source

MomJunction articles include first-hand experiences to provide you with better insights through real-life narratives. Here are the sources of personal accounts referenced in this article.

• Fact-checker

Elisa Yi Early childhood educator

Harshita makvana b.com, pg dip, deepa thomas ma (english), nisha bharatan b.tech, latest articles, 100 heart-touching mother's day quotes & wishes.

Express your love, admiration, respect, and affection for her.

11 Fun Things To Do On A Friday Night With Your Teens

Plan a campfire, go bowling, eat a pizza - the idea is to have a relaxed weekend with your teen.

12+ Fun Weekend Activities To Do With Your Family

Amp up your weekend vibes with your family and spend quality time bonding over fun activities.

11 Cool Teen Birthday Party Ideas And Games

Make your teen’s birthday celebration unique, happening, and rave-worthy.

16 Engrossing Drama And Improv Games For Teens

These games can encourage teens to express themselves with confidence.

24 Fun-Filled Sleepover Games And Activities For Teens

Bond with friends over an exciting sleepover party with these novel games and activities.

100+ Clean And Funny School Jokes For Kids

Crack up your class into bursts of laughter by sharing school jokes with them.

95 Naughty And Funny Jokes For Kids To Laugh Out Loud

Leave your little one in splits with these puns, jokes, and one-liners.

Top 11 DIY Diwali Greeting Cards And Gift Ideas For Kids

Because the joy of preparing something yourself is out of the world.

22 Learning Activities And Games For Your 7-Month-Old Baby

Exciting ideas to advance the development and skills of your little one.

17+ Exciting And Interesting Games For 4-Year-Olds To Have Fun

Keep your little one engaged with games and watch them forget about everything else.

10 Interesting French Games And Activities For Kids 

Not only are French art and fashion popular, but so are French children's games.

Enter your email to download PDF and receive updates from OSMO

Scan to get started.

The Assessment App is available only on the Apple App Store . Please scan the QR code below with your iPhone device to download the app.

Best Writing Games For Kids To Practice At Home And School

Writing is an important skill that we use in our daily lives. Children need to practice writing every day to improve their skills. One of the best ways to entice children to practice writing is to involve them in some fun writing games for kids.

List of Writing Games For Kids

We’ve compiled a list of simple writing games for kids that are sure to get even the most reluctant of them to write.

Pictionary writing games for kids

Things you need for Pictionary writing games for kids: Pencils and sheets of paper Instructions

• This is one of the most fun and creative writing games for kids and is best when you have a bunch of kids. Ask the kids to sit in a circle.
• Hand the first player a sheet of paper and ask them to write a random sentence at the top of the sheet. Pass the sheet to the next player.
• The second player should read the phrase and draw a picture related to the sentence on the paper. Then, they fold the paper to cover the sentence and hand it to the next player.
• The third player should observe the drawing and write a sentence describing the drawing. Ask the child to fold the paper to conceal the drawing and pass it to the next player.
• The next player draws an image based on what they understand from the drawing and passes it to the next player.
• This continues until the last player gets their turn to play or there’s no space on the sheet of paper. Finally, unfold the paper sheet to compare the original sentence with the drawings and sentences and have a laugh!

Rapid-fire writing games for kids

Things you need for rapid-fire writing games for kids : White sheets and pens

Instructions

• Rapid-fire writing games for kids are more exciting when you play with friends! As the name suggests, the players are supposed to play the game at a quick pace.
• Divide the kids into two teams with an equal number of participants in each team. Nominate one child in each team just to assign the words.
• The nominated child should call out any random word like trees, lakes, mountains, dogs, etc. The other kids from both the teams should write any phrase related to the word within ten to twenty seconds.
• The team with the most meaningful sentences related to the topic is the winner. Continue the game until each child gets a chance to win.

Creative story writing game for kids

Things you need for story writing games for kids : A long sheet, writing pad and pen

• Kids have a very active imagination and are natural-born storytellers. In this game, channel their storytelling abilities towards writing. These kinds of creative writing games for kids improve their creative thinking, visualization, handwriting and vocabulary skills.
• This writing game can be played in school or at home with the family.
• Hand the child a sheet of paper and write the first sentence of a story. The children will have to use their imagination and complete the rest of the story. And it’s ok if it’s just 1 or 2 lines too.
• Some children might struggle initially, but slowly they’ll get the hang of it.

Creative writing using different consequences for kids

Things you need for play consequence-based writing games for kids : White sheets and pens

• First, explain to the child that most stories have two main characters, the ‘protagonist’ and the ‘antagonist.’
• The conversations between the protagonist and the antagonist in the story leads to certain consequences.
• Write the name of the protagonist and antagonist on the board and a particular consequence. For example, Jack and Jill fell down the hill.
• Then ask the children to think creatively and write a sentence on where and how the two characters met.
• Then, encourage them to think of and write about the conversations that take place between the two characters that led to that particular consequence.
• In the end, ask the kids to read out their stories to see their take on the conversation.

Letter-writing activities for kids to improve their writing skills

Things you need for letter-writing activity for kids : A long sheet of paper and a pen

• Letter writing is an important part of learning English, learning how to write letters is one of the best writing games for kids.
• First, teach your kids about the different types of letters and their formats. Then ask them to write letters or messages to their friends and family.
• There are two types of letters: formal and informal letters. Formal letters are used for formal communication like letters addressed to your teacher or employer.
• Informal letters are letters, which are written to friends or loved ones. These letters have a casual tone with a personal touch.
• There are specific formats for both formal and informal letters. Formal letters have from address, to address and date. They begin with a salutation (respected sir/ma’am) and end with thank you or sincerely and regards. The matter in the letter should be short and to the point.
• Informal letters have a date and place, written on the right side. They begin with a salutation (dear) and end with a complimentary closing (with love).

Writing A Journal

Things you need for writing a journal: A new journal, colorful pens, stickers etc.

• Hand your child the new journal, the colorful pens, stickers etc.
• Explain to them the importance of maintaining a journal. Then ask them to write their thoughts or anything they wish in their journal.
• It can be a safe space to talk about their feelings or talk about their dreams. They can even write a story or a poem.

Comic Strip Dialogue

Things you need for comic strip dialogue writing: Printed comic strips with your child’s favorite character with blank speech bubbles and pens

• This is one of the best writing games for kids who love comics and storytelling.
• Hand your child the printed comic strips with blank speech bubbles and some colorful pens.
• Then ask them to use their imagination to fill in the speech bubbles and create a story.

Ask The Oracle

Things you need to play this writing game for kids: Sheets of paper and pens

• This is one of the most entertaining writing games for kids that also tests their creativity.
• Have the kids sit in a circle and hand each of them a sheet of paper and a pen.
• Ask each child to write a question that they want the Oracle to answer at the top of the page.
• Then ask them to hand the paper to the child on the left.
• Now ask the children to read the question and write a suitable answer according to their perception. Now, ask the child to fold the paper to conceal the first answer and hand it to the child on the left.
• The next child writes another answer based on their understanding of the question above.
• Continue the game until there’s no space left on the paper. Finally, ask each child to read the crazy answers written to the original question.

These 8 writing games for kids are sure to get your little ones more eager to practice their writing skills. Check our kids learning section for more such games and learning activities.

Frequently Asked Questions on Best Writing Games For Kids To Practice At Home And School

What are the best writing games for kids to practice at home and school.

The Best Writing Games For Kids To Practice At Home And School are Creative writing activities for kids, letter writing, story writing competitions, instant writing games for kids, etc.

What are the benefits of Best Writing Games For Kids To Practice At Home And School?

The benefits of Best Writing Games For Kids To Practice At Home And School are that they are helpful in teaching kids the importance of writing and improving their spelling skills for better learning outcomes.

• Kids Activities

10 Fun Storytelling Activities for Kids

Did you know that March the 20th is storytelling day? If not, don’t worry! We have your day sorted. Our list of storytelling activities for kids is filled with quick and easy activities to set up. So you too can get involved this storytelling day! I have roamed the internet to find a list of the top 10 storytelling activities for kids to improve their creativity, visualisation skills and communication skills.

Here is our list of 10 storytelling activities for kids perfect for storytelling day :

1. Storytelling Prompts Jar

Grab an empty jar from your kitchen and some torn up pieces of paper. On each small piece of paper write a random word or phrase. This could be anything, such as cat, princess or a phrase ( list of story prompts for kids ). Put all the torn up pieces of paper inside the jar. Then take turns to take out a piece of paper. Whatever the word is on that paper, that person must tell a story using that word or phrase. If your child gets stuck, you can use prompts, such as:

”What does your character see or hear?”

“Who else is there?”

“What does the place look like?”

2. Using Maps to Tell Stories

This next storytelling activity for kids was inspired by the old DIY pirate treasure hunt activity for kids . I have slightly changed the idea to fit any occasion.  First tell your child to draw a map of a town, imaginary or real. They could include places such as a school, hospital, library, park and shops. Now with your map created, you can use it as a prompt for storytelling! If your map is of an imaginary town, you can imagine what it would be like to live there. Tell a story about the day-to-day activities in that town or of different scenarios. For example “one day a hurricane comes and destroyed the town…” or “Aliens coming to the town…” Of course you can still pretend that you’re a pirate on a treasure hunt or a tourist trying to find your way around town!

3.  DIY Paper Finger Puppets

DIY finger cone puppets are extremely good for creating a dialogue between characters . You can make some quick finger puppets out of paper, using this tutorial. Your paper puppets can be any character you like, such as some fairy-tale characters or even family members. Try practising dialogue between the characters in different scenarios, such as “You stole my toy…” or “I’m going on holiday to…” If your child gets stuck you can use the 5 W’s and 1 H technique as a prompt. For example “What is your character doing?” or “describe who your character is in this story?”

4. Story Stones

I found this idea on the happyhooligans website and is a great addition to any toy box. Story stones are smooth rocks that you can find at the beach or purchase at a craft store. You can use stickers, paints or magazine cut-outs to decorate your story stones. Depending on what is printed on the stone, you can use it in many ways. For example as characters in a dollhouse or as building blocks. Similar to the storytelling prompts jar, you can randomly pick up a story stone or multiple story stones to tell a story.

5. DIY Story Cubes

Just like the story stones and storytelling prompts jar, the DIY stone cubes can be used to provide some inspiration on how to start your story.  Follow the instructions over at our story cubes blog post  to create your own story cubes. Once done, you can toss the cubes around and see what object they land on. Whatever you land on, that’s the object you can include in your storytelling! You can also use multiple story cubes to structure your story. For example, your story cubes can be used decide on the hero in your story, the setting, the villain and any other extra props to include.

6. Family Photos

Get those old family photos out and tell some memorable stories! Sometimes you can capture the most interesting things in photographs. You can play a game, such as tell a story in less than 10 photographs. Or flip through different photos, saying what you see in each one. Don’t worry if your child keeps repeating the same story over and over again. Just provide them with some extra suggestions to help change the story. You can try using the the 5 W’s and 1 H technique as mentioned above to help your child.

7.  Draw a Picture Game

This one is a fun little group activity. Everyone starts off by drawing any picture they like on a piece of paper. Then they swap their drawings with the person next to them. That person now tells a story based on the drawing they have. This is a great game for bonding with each other and improves your child’s visualisation skills as well as interpretation skills! Try it out, you may get some funny stories out of your kids.

8. Paper dolls in a Paper City

Made by Joel has a great collection of printables with paper dolls in a paper city. The pintables are perfect for your colour-crazed kids. Colour in your paper people and paper buildings any way you like! When done, you are ready for some storytelling. Best of all, all his pintables are free!

Yes, your toy box is an excellent source of storytelling. Filled with dolls, Lego, animal pieces and who knows what else, you’re spoilt for choice on story ideas. You can organise your toys into different story characters. Who will play the villain and who is the hero? And use your home as a setting, any other toys as props or side characters. Then let the storytelling commence!

10.  Upcycled Story Magnets

Of all the storytelling activities for kids, I love this idea on the sun hats and wellie boots website. What makes this idea even more brilliant, is that you can recycle any old books you no longer need. Cut out the images, stick them on a sheet of cardboard and add some adhesive magnets on the back. You can do the same with copies of family photos! And your upcycled story magnets are done! You kids will love sticking these story magnets on your fridge and re-arranging all the items to make a unique story.

11. Finish The Story Game

This is a great group story-telling game. Pick a random first-line prompt and then players take turns to continue this story. For instructions on how to play this game, along with an example game, see our post on how to play the finish the story game .

12. Image Prompt Games

Use photographs, images from magazines, images from the internet and use them to tell stories. See our post on fun storytelling games with images for 8 image prompt game ideas.

13. Telephone Pictionary Game :

Telephone Pictionary is another great storytelling activity for groups. It all starts off with a simple sentence. Then the paper is passed around the group folded allowing players to create funny and unique stories every time. See this post on how to play the Telephone Pictionary game for more information.

14. The Story Telling Board Game (Amazon Affiliate link)

This is the ultimate board game for storytellers. Just wind the buzzer up and pick a random card from the selection. Based on the card, you tell a story until the timer runs out. The win the game, a player needs to get rid of all their cards before the other players.

15. Once Upon A Time Card Game (Amazon Affiliate link)

Just like the name suggests, this is a fairytale-inspired card game great for inspiring kids into creating their own fairy tales . Cards include images, prompts, story starters and more. Not only are these cards are a great way to boost communication and speech skills, but you can also use them to tell imaginative stories!

Any more suggestions on storytelling activities for kids?

Got any more ideas for storytelling activities for kids? Let us know in the comments below. You might also want to try these creative storytelling activities to inspire your kids to write. And once you’re ready you can create your own story online with our unique story creator for kids!

In the meantime why not check out our other kids activities on the Imagine Forest blog.

Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.

Related Posts

Comments loading...

Top 7 Writing Activities For Kids

Writing is a core life skill for children to build, and providing them with fun writing activities is a great way to help them get ahead.

Learning specific writing skills, including grammar , spelling , and punctuation , can be overwhelming for some children, so it’s important to provide your child with fun writing activities to help them develop these skills effectively.

At Night Zookeeper, we believe in making writing practice fun at home, and love to come up with new ideas on how you can help your child improve their writing skills!

Here are our top creative writing activities that will transform your child’s attitude towards writing:

1. Story cards

Using story cards is a great creative writing idea that prompts your child to experiment with story starters & endings, different settings , characters , plots , new words, and everything in between!

You can make this fun writing activity as simple or as complex as you’d like, from writing a short sentence in each of the cards, to including images or drawings of what you’d like your child to write about.

This fun activity is great for reluctant writers, as it eases the creative process and helps them through the initial stages of writing a full narrative. It’s also very versatile, and can be effective with preschoolers , as well as with older students!

2. Have fun with mad libs

Mad Libs is a fun activity that prompts children to fill in the gaps in different sentences with the aim to create a unique and funny story. For this fun writing activity, all your young learner will need is a piece of paper, a pen or pencil, and their imagination! Write down a few sentences to form a short story, and leave some gaps for your child to fill in with their own ideas.

Leaving intentional gaps can help your child develop their literacy and writing skills, including when to use nouns, verbs, adjectives , and punctuation to make a story flow. This is also a wonderful creative writing exercise, as the guided storylines will spark new ideas and help to develop students’ imagination.

3. Follow a story map

Who doesn’t love an exciting adventure? You can find lots of different story map worksheets and inspiration online, and they make for fantastically fun writing practice! This is a great way to get your child to explore different story starters and endings, plot lines and twists, while also getting them to use their creative thinking skills as part of their writing practice.

Here’s a free story map to get you started!

4. Try picture writing prompts

Sometimes it’s difficult to think of a story from scratch, so having a visual prompt to help your child think creatively about writing can go a long way! Picture writing prompts can be the inspiration for many different styles of writing, from story writing , to acrostic poems , and can be a wonderful opportunity for your child to expand their vocabulary, improve descriptive writing skills and work on observation and reflection.

Try these picture writing prompts with your child!

5. Unscramble the sentences

Understanding the rules of sentence structure is crucial for writing quality texts, and this fun writing activity is the perfect way for your child to practice!

There are many ways to play this “writing game”, from writing sentences down on a piece of paper, cutting up the paper and scrambling the sentence pieces for your child to reassemble, to playing it online! Night Zookeeper’s Waterfall World Jumble is a favorite among children who use our program!

6. Write to a pen pal

Writing to a pen pal can be a very fun way for your child to work on their physical and cognitive writing skills. Whether they choose to type, or send a handwritten letter , they’ll be instantly motivated to express themselves clearly and communicate using correct English language practices.

This can be a particularly effective writing practice activity if you’re homeschooling your child , as they’ll get the chance to communicate with other children through writing, which is something that is quite common at school. If you’re a little hesitant about finding a pen pal for your child, you can instead suggest that they regularly write to their future self, and become their own pen pal. Not only will this continue to help your child build writing skills, but the different letters will also make for wonderful memories!

7. Try an online writing program

Night Zookeeper makes writing fantastically fun for your child by turning writing into a game! Whether you’re homeschooling or want to ease your child’s learning process, our writing program for kids will help your child improve skills such as spelling, grammar, and punctuation through a wide variety of games, challenges, and interactive lessons.

Sign up today to get a FREE 7-day trial!

More Writing Activities

Visit the pages below for more fun writing activities for kids, including free printable worksheets, creative writing prompts, and other fantastically fun educational content:

• Elementary Writing Activities
• Elementary Writing Prompts
• Picture Writing Prompts

Got any questions about our writing program? Reach out to us via email at [email protected] , or through our social media pages:

Make Reading & Writing Fantastically Fun!

• Award-winning reading & writing program for kids
• Improves spelling, grammar, punctuation & vocabulary
• Over 1,000 different learning games and activities

“My Child Hates Writing.” What do I do?

25 Creative Writing Prompts for Kids

Literacy Games For Kids

50 Creative writing prompts for learners of all ages

50 fascinating writing prompts for kids that will get them inspired. Plus, online creative writing classes and clubs. Read the full article .

With thousands of options for classes, camps, and tutors, learners are inspired to connect with inspiring teachers, build new skills, develop new passions, and forge new friendships from home.

Recommended for you

Six ways you can give back this #giving tuesday, what outschool class format is right for me, how tamara's family finds "rare and wonderful gifts" through online learning.

No results for your search, try something different.

• Grades 6-12
• School Leaders

Free printable Mother's Day questionnaire 💐!

Every product is independently selected by (obsessive) editors. Things you buy through our links may earn us a commission.

36 Fun Alphabet Activities That Make It Easy for Kids To Practice Their ABCs

Games, crafts, and more!

Alphabet activities make learning their ABCs more fun for kids. There are so many ways to practice your ABCs, you might be able to do one alphabet activity a day for a year without repeating. We’ve gathered 36 super-fun alphabet activities so kids can play and learn every day. Share this article with parents too so kids can practice at home!

1. Read alphabet books

Always our number-one go-to, especially with little ones: Read, read, read! There are hundreds of books to choose from that explore the alphabet. Here’s a list of 16 of our favorite alphabet books to help you get started.

2. Play alphabet hide-and-seek

Set up a sensory bin with sand, rice, or cornmeal and hide plastic alphabet bins inside. Challenge students to find a letter, identify its name and sound, and keep track of the letters they find on a whiteboard or piece of paper.

3. Write letters on dried beans

Large dried white beans are inexpensive to purchase and easy to write on. Grab a Sharpie and write all the upper- and lower-case letters on them. Then put each set in a pile (or baggie) and ask your kids to match them.

4. Line up in alphabetical order

Give each student an 8 x 11 piece of card stock with one letter written on it. Call out the ABCs one at a time and have students line up in alphabetical order. For example, call out the letter A. Students will look at their cards and whoever has A will start the line. Next, call out the letter B. That student joins the line. Continue until you get to the end of the alphabet.

5. Match uppercase and lowercase letters

Help your students learn to match uppercase and lowercase letters with this fun game. Using a Sharpie, label a divided container (like a mini quick pan or muffin tin) with lowercase letters. Give students a collection of uppercase alphabet beads and have them place the corresponding letter in the right compartment.

6. Use alphabet tracing strips

Sometimes learning a new skill takes repetition. Give students time to practice writing the letters in the alphabet with alphabet tracing strips.

7. Letter sort with sticky notes

Write individual letters on sticky notes and then place them all over your house or just on every stair in a staircase. This practice game has a lot of variations—all tied to sorting. Ask kids to sort by:

• Lowercase letters
• Uppercase letters
• Letters in their name
• Straight lines (H)
• Curved lines (c)
• Both curved and straight lines (B)

For even more practice, have them sort their finds into alphabetical order, match lowercase letters to uppercase letters, and then, find a way to sort them that’s new.

8. Use Q-tips

Let students dip Q-tips into paint and fill in letters on these Q-tip Letter Cards . Other tools you can use are pencil erasers or pushpins that students can use to poke holes.

9. String together letter beads

Letter recognition is the first step on the way to literacy. Help your students learn their letters with this fun bead-stringing activity. All you need is pipe cleaners, large alphabet beads, and small alphabet beads.

10. Write letters in shaving cream

Squirt shaving cream on a table and let your kids write letters in the cream. Smooth it out to erase and start again. Bonus: Their hands and your table will be cleaner than ever!

[contextly_auto_sidebar]

11. Serve up some alphabet soup

Teach kids name recognition with this alphabet soup game. Get instructions at Play Teach Repeat .

12. Take it outside

Take your little ones outside with sidewalk chalk and let them practice their letters in the sunshine. Give students letter cards attached to an O-ring to work from.

13. Bend letters with pipe cleaners

Pipe cleaners have always been a trusted source for fine motor practice as well as a fun craft resource. Now use them to have kids create uppercase and lowercase letters.

14. Use an ABC floor mat

Invest in an inexpensive interlocking foam alphabet floor mat for your classroom. Kids can get down on hands and knees and trace each letter with their finger. Or do a little one-on-one with a student and have them hop to the letters you call out. For more ideas, check out this list of activities .

15. Make sensory ABC bags

This one is great because you can change up what you put in the bags and even move to sight words. You’ll need a gallon bag with a ziplock top. Add letters written on pieces of paper, magnetic letters, scrabble tiles, or anything else you can think of with letters. Then fill the bag with rice or oatmeal and seal it. Kids dig through the rice in the bag to find the letters. When they find them, they write down the letter they find until they locate all 26 letters of the alphabet.

16. Find invisible letters with watercolors

This is a classic. Using a white crayon, draw letters on a piece of white paper. Give your kids watercolors, let them paint the paper, and watch the letters appear.

17. Play musical alphabet

Set up letters in a big circle on the floor. You can use magnetic letters or just write them on index cards. Put music on and have your child walk around the circle to the music. When the music goes off, your child tells you the closest letter. Expand on it: Ask your child to name three things (colors, animals, etc.) that start with that letter.

18. Sponge the alphabet

Cut sponges into letters and use them for sponge painting letters or playing in the tub, or at school at a water table.

19. Put together name puzzles

Write the uppercase and lowercase letters in a name and then cut them apart in a simple zigzag. Mix up the letters and ask a child to match them up and put them in the right order.

20. Make letters from nature

Discover the alphabet right outside your door. Choose natural objects that already look like letters, or arrange them to form letters of the alphabet.

21. Eat your ABCs

We know from Alphabet Soup that eating your ABCs is plain old fun. So think of all the ways you can practice the alphabet at mealtime. Pancakes can be made into letters, Jell-O can be cut into letters, noodles can be used to make letters, and there’s even a recipe from Raspberri Cupcakes for making alphabet marshmallows .

22. Go on an alphabet scavenger hunt

The fun part about this for grown-ups is that there is no prep. Tell kids to go find objects that start with each letter of the alphabet. To make this game take longer, designate spots for them to bring each item back—one at a time. Every item must be approved before they can move on to the next. This allows for fewer meltdowns at the end when an item is deemed inaccurate.

23. Make your own ABC book

Personalizing the ABCs helps kids process and retain their learning. One of our favorite alphabet activities starts by creating a book out of 26 pieces of paper and staples or hole punches with a ribbon. Have kids write an uppercase and lowercase letter on each page. Finally, have them draw or cut out pictures of things that start with each letter.

24. Create ABC pop-up books

Use the tutorial video to learn how to make different kinds of pop-up pages. Then, create a page per week for 26 weeks for each letter. At the end, use a glue stick to glue them all together to make an ABC pop-up book!

25. Stamp letters in play dough

Roll out play dough and push letter stamps right into the dough. Alphabet activities using play dough are both tactile and great for practicing pre-reading skills.

26. Make tactile letter cards

There’s lots of research (and experience) to support the value of using all the senses to learn. Making these tactile alphabet cards will be fun and have lasting benefits.

27. Trace letters in spices

This one combines touch, smell, and sight. It gives you an opportunity to talk about what we use spices for as well. Put the bottle in front of a child and have them write the spice name in the spice to make things a bit more challenging.

28. Study a letter of the week

Many pre-K and kindergarten classes do a letter of the week, and for good reason. Teaching instant recognition of letters and practicing writing them is so important for learning to read. Doing alphabet activities for one letter each week reinforces knowledge and recollection.

29. Do the yoga alphabet

Show kids this video and take the time to learn each yoga pose. Connecting the mind and the body is great for learning.

30. Sing songs about the alphabet

Everyone loves to sing The Alphabet Song, but did you know there are lots of other songs to sing that can help you remember the alphabet? Try out this Sesame Street favorite.

31. Draw pictures from letters

Using letters as a starting point, teach kids how to draw. If this is too difficult at first, just write a letter and then draw a picture around the letter.

32. Highlight letters on a page

Print a page of text or grab your favorite magazine and a highlighter. Ask kids to highlight as many of one letter as they can find. This is also great for sight word recognition. Here’s a freebie from The Inspired Apple to get you started.

33. Do-a-Dot letter tracing

These fruit-scented dot markers you can buy on Amazon make tracing letters more fun and help kids with directionality and remembering how to write and recognize letters.

34. Play letter slap

Make two sets of index cards with all the letters on them (52 cards in all). Shuffle the cards together and deal them so each kid holds 26 cards. Together each player takes their top card and turns it upright. The player with the letter closest to A wins the hand and takes the card. If two of the same letter are played, the players slap the card. The one on the bottom of the slip wins the hand. The game ends when one player holds all the cards.

35. Match plastic egg letters

Surely you have some plastic Easter eggs hanging around your attic. Use a Sharpie or letter stickers to put an uppercase letter on one half and a lowercase letter on the other. Then separate the two and throw them all in a basket. Kids pull them out and match them up. Tip: Add difficulty by not coordinating the colors.

36. Create loose-part letters

Loose parts are exactly what they sound like—a collection of loose materials or objects. These can be small pebbles, bottle caps, random LEGO bricks, seeds, keys—anything. Draw big letters on a piece of paper and have kids line up loose parts to make the letter.

Recognizing letters is a fundamental part of learning how to read. Without it, children struggle to learn letter sounds and identify words. Beginning readers who know their alphabet have a much easier time learning to read. Making alphabet practice a part of every day in fun ways helps create a lifelong love for letters and words.

What games and activities do you like to use for practicing the alphabet? Come share in our We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

Plus, check out our favorite activities using alphabet beads and the best alphabet books ..

You Might Also Like

20 Activities to Support Letter Naming Fluency

Super fun ways to practice, practice, practice! Continue Reading

Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. 5335 Gate Parkway, Jacksonville, FL 32256

Write your best story ever!

Author Christopher Edge gives us his top 10 tips to create your most amazing story yet.

Top 10 writing tips

How to find story inspiration

Every story starts with a flash of inspiration. But how can you find that spark?

Find inspiration for your story

Develop characters for a story

Dream up some page-turning protagonists with these fun and creative activities.

4 ways to develop characters for a story

Creative writing videos

Take a look at our YouTube playlist of creative writing tips, featuring amazing authors such as Malorie Blackman, Gill Lewis, and Ali Sparkes.

Find the perfect words

Find out how to write similes that shine like the sun and wield weird, wonderful words.

Find the perfect words for your story

Creative writing challenge

Read Harriet Muncaster’s top tips, download her guide to writing stories, and join in with her challenge.

Harriet’s creative writing challenge

How to edit a short story

Editing can turn a good story into a great one. Here’s how to polish your story to perfection!

3 top tips for editing a story

• Fun ideas for toddlers
• Fun ideas for 4-year-olds
• Fun ideas for 5-year-olds
• Fun ideas for 6-year-olds
• Fun ideas for 7-year-olds
• Fun ideas for 8-year-olds
• Fun ideas for 9-year-olds
• Fun ideas for 10-year-olds
• Fun ideas for 11-year-olds
• Creative writing
• Times tables

• Prodigy Math
• Prodigy English
• Is a Premium Membership Worth It?
• Promote a Growth Mindset
• Help Your Child Who's Struggling with Math
• Parent's Guide to Prodigy
• Assessments
• Math Curriculum Coverage
• English Curriculum Coverage
• Game Portal

225 Fun & Free Creative Writing Prompts for Kids in All Grade Levels

Written by Maria Kampen

Prodigy English is here! Get your students playing — and learning — today.

• Teacher Resources
• Elementary school writing prompts

Middle school writing prompts

High school writing prompts.

• Social emotional learning jounal prompts
• Math writing prompts

Writing prompts are meant to unlock creativity. They’re story starters designed to inspire creative thinking. They can take you to places you’ve been or recall an important time in your life. 

But mostly, they’re useful tools for teachers to inspire writing growth in students from grade school to high school.

“Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…”

It’s amazing how one simple sentence can send you on a journey to places you’ve never been, filled with untold possibilities. 

Reading is great, but you know what’s even better? Giving your students the power to write stories for themselves. 

Writing prompts for kids help students:

• Express themselves and their creativity
• Grasp lifelong literacy skills and concepts
• Tell their own stories and build self-confidence
• Develop a growth mindset when it comes to their writing skills

Writing is like a muscle — it takes practice to build up skills. Luckily, we put together a list of over 200 writing prompts to help your students get started. We’ve also organized them by middle school, high school and elementary school to help teachers decide whether these prompts are age-appropriate for their students.

Grade school writing prompts

Grade schoolers can definitely begin to address complex ideas when it comes to story writing — but you should seek to keep the prompts simple and straightforward. 

Reluctant writers might be intimidated by complicated writing ideas — and this is an age where we should be encouraging creativity.

Creative writing prompts for elementary schoolers

Whether it’s exploring the furthest reaches of outer space, traveling across the Sahara desert or sticking a little closer to home, these creative writing prompts will have students imagining endless possibilities for their writing.

• Write about what your life would be like if you turned into a squirrel. What would you do every day?
• A strange spaceship just crashed and landed in your backyard. What happens next?
• Make up a story about where thunder comes from.
• You find an old notebook hidden in an attic. What does it say? Who did it belong to?
• You have a magic garden. What magical plants do you grow? How do you take care of them?
• Write a story about running away with the circus when it comes to town.
• Rewrite “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” from the perspective of one of the dwarfs (Happy, Sleepy, Dopey, Doc, Grumpy, Sneezy and Bashful).
• There once was a little boy who ate nothing but oranges. What happened to him?
• Write a story about a magical hat. Where is it from? What does it do? What does it look like?
• You’re exploring the rainforest and come across a flower that no one’s ever seen before. Describe it!
• Tell me a story about a dinosaur living a long, long time ago.
• Tell me a story about an astronaut visiting another planet. Where are they going? How do they get there? What do they take with them?
• You discover a magic portal in the park. Where does it lead to?
• Pick a partner and write a story together! Start by writing the first sentence, then pass it to your partner to write the second sentence.
• You find buried treasure in the park, hidden in a big wooden chest. What kind of treasure is it? Who left it there?
• Write a story about a family that can travel in time. 
• Write a story without using the letter “E”.
• Write the funniest story you can think of. 
• There’s a kangaroo in your classroom. How did it get there? What happens when you find it?
• Write a story about an explorer who keeps getting lost. Where are they trying to go? What do they find along the way?
• Write a story about a wooden door, a can of soda and a blue shoe.
• If there was a magical portal in the back of your closet, where would it lead to? 
• Finish this story: There was a knock on the door. I opened it to find a dog sitting there, and…
• You come home and find that everything in your house is upside down. What happened?
• Describe the color “red” without using the word “red”.
• There’s an old, abandoned house at the end of your street that’s been empty for years. One day, someone moves in.
• Rewrite the story of Cinderella from the perspective of the stepsisters.  
• Write a backstory for Ed, the orange Prodigy mascot. 
• You wake up one morning and find a mermaid in your bathtub. How did they get there? What do you do?
• Write a story about a monster looking for some friends. 
• Oh no — your balloon blew away! Write about what happens from the balloon’s perspective. 
• You and your friends are out for a walk when, out of nowhere, your friends start disappearing! What’s going on?
• Once upon a time, an old inventor built a weather machine. It sat undiscovered for years — until you found it. What happens next?
• You just ate a cookie that turned you 15 feet tall. What do you do next?

Fun writing prompts for grade schoolers

Everyday life is full of great inspiration for writing! Get students thinking with these easy and fun writing prompts.Write about something you are good at. 

• If you could write a book about anything, what would you write about?
• If you could have any animal as a pet, what would it be and why?
• Do you have a favorite animal? Tell me all about it! Why do you like it?
• What would you do if you woke up one morning and everything was pink — including you?
• What food can you not live without? Why?
• If you could add any class to your school schedule, what would it be?
• Invent a new day of the week. What is it called? When is it? What do people usually do on that day of the week?
• If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live? 
• If you could spend a Saturday doing anything you wanted, what adventures would you get up to?
• If you could have any wild animal as a pet, what would you choose? Why?
• What's your favorite, wacky food?
• Where is your favorite place to read? Why?
• What was the coolest day of school for you? What made it exciting?
• Which of your toys do you wish could talk? What would they say?
• If you could only wear one outfit for the rest of your life, what would it look like?
• Invent a machine to do a chore for you. What does the machine do? What does it look like?
• What's your favorite season? What makes it the best?
• What is your favorite math game and why?
• Describe your real-life superpower.
• Finish the story: When I'm older I want to be an expert in…
• If pets could talk to each other, what would they say?
• If you were the captain of a ship, what would you call your ship? What would it look like? Where would you go?
• If your pet could talk to you, what do you think it would say?
• If you were the only person on earth for one day, what would you do?
• Plan the perfect birthday party for yourself. 
• What is your favorite thing to do over summer break?
• Describe your ideal birthday cake. 
• If you could add any type of room to your house, what would it be?
• What’s your favorite movie and why?

Persuasive writing prompts for elementary school

Are your students’ opinions up for debate? Ask them to flex their critical thinking skills with these persuasive writing prompts. Once they’re done, get class discussion flowing with a spirited debate!

• Write a letter convincing your parents to let you get a pet dog. What arguments do you use to persuade them?
• Convince your teacher that you should be allowed an extra 15 minutes of recess.
• Convince your best friend to read your favorite book.
• How would you convince someone to do your chores for you?
• Write a commercial for your favorite breakfast food. What would convince someone else to try it?
• What flavor of chips is the best? Why?
• What would make a better pet — a monkey or a peacock?
• Do you think children should be allowed to stay up as late as they want?
• What’s your favorite holiday and why should it be everyone’s favorite? 
• Convince us that your favorite food should be a staple in everyone’s diet.

As students enter middle school, they’re starting to feel like bigger, older kids. They can start writing original short stories and abstract persuasive essays. 

It’s best to inspire creativity at this age and encourage them to explore their own voice and different writing styles. These prompts will definitely go a long way in inspiring that.

Creative Writing Prompts for Middle Schoolers

• Invent a new type of transportation for the future. Who uses it? Where does it go?
• If you had a time machine, where would you visit first — the past or the future? Why?
• You get on the bus and find a four-piece jazz band giving a concert. What do you do?
• Design and name your own Prodigy pet . What element are they? What’s their special power?
• Finish this story: “Something just touched my foot,” they shouted, swimming frantically towards the shore. 
• Write a silly or scary story to tell around a campfire. 
• Finish this story: Everything was going so well today — until I tripped and fell, right in front of…
• Throughout your adventures as a pirate on the high seas, you’ve seen lots of strange and magical creatures. Which one was the most interesting?
• Deep in the heart of a dark and mysterious cave, there lies a magic stone. Write about your quest to find it. 
• Write an acrostic poem using the word “strawberry.”
• There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. She knit and she baked, but what else did she do?
• Finish this story: “One thing I’ll never do again,” she said, “Is go on vacation with an alpaca.”
• Make up a new planet and describe it. 
• Write a story about a family of penguins living on an iceberg.
• Write a story about a girl who can walk through walls. 
• You’ve been invited to a ball at the Queen’s palace! What is it like?
• Imagine you’re exploring the Amazon jungle. Write a diary entry about your day.
• If you could invent a TV show, what would it be about?
• You discovered an underwater kingdom! What is it like there?
• A lonely trumpet player makes friends with the dancer who lives next door. What happens next?
• You go to the park to fly a kite, but get carried away by the wind! What happens next?
• Write a story about a volcano that’s about to erupt.
• Write a story about visiting an old lady who lives deep in the woods.
• Boom, you’re a superhero! Give yourself an origin story, describe your superpowers and plan what you’ll do to make the world a better place. 
• Write a story using these six words: calendar, headphones, lipstick, mug, bear.
• You wake up to find you’re invisible. How did it happen? What do you do?
• There’s been a robbery at the bank, and you’re in charge of finding the culprit. How do you solve the case?
• Finish the story: Once upon a time, there was a dragon...
• You just joined a super-secret spy organization. What’s your first mission?
• Write a story about being cold without using the word “cold.”
• You’re a scientist and you’ve just discovered a new type of bug. Describe what it looks like, where it’s from and what you’re going to call it. 
• Imagine a world where all the birds can talk. What would they say?
• Write about what happens after the end of your favorite book or movie.
• Finish the story: She sprinted down the driveway to the mailbox. The package was here!
• You’re on a hike and a bird starts talking to you. What do you do? What does it say?
• Write a story using these five words: bubblegum, stapler, spoon, lightbulb, strawberry.
• You ate a magical carrot and your skin turned orange! What happens next?
• Write about what it would be like if you had an elephant for a pet.

Fun Writing Prompts for Middle Schoolers

• If you were in charge of the classroom for a day, what would your class do?
• Tell me about the last dream you had.
• You’re trapped on a desert island. What three things did you bring with you and why?
• What mythical creature would you like to have as a pet? Why?
• Invent a new type of pasta. What does it look like? What does it taste like?
• If you could go on vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go? Make a plan and tell the story of your dream vacation.
• Plan the perfect picnic. Where would it be? What food would you have?
• If you could decorate your bedroom any way you wanted, what would it look like?
• Write a story that sounds loud, using onomatopoeia (words that sound like their meaning, like crash, snort, bang and boom.)
• Invent a new type of cookie. What does it taste like?
• Invent a new sport. What is it called? What are the rules?
• How would you disguise yourself to blend in with a forest?
• You just won a special award from the president. What did you do to earn that award?
• Do you collect anything? What is it and why? If not, what would you like to collect?
• You just found a genie in a bottle. What three things would you wish for? (Remember, no wishing for extra wishes!
• Explain how to play your favorite sport or do your favorite hobby. Make it as exciting as possible!
• Describe the most beautiful sunrise or sunset you’ve ever seen.
• If you could live in any book or movie, which one would you choose and why?
• Imagine that you’re going on a camping trip. What do you pack to make sure the trip is fun?
• If you could invent a robot to do any chore, what chore would it be? How would the robot do it?
• Would you rather it was always raining, or always snowing?
• Imagine you’re a toy inventor. What will you create?
• Would you rather climb to the top of a mountain or go scuba diving?
• Interview a family member about their childhood, then write it as a story.
• What was your favorite toy growing up — why was it so special to you?

Persuasive Writing Prompts for Middle School

• If you could change one thing about your school, what would it be and why?
• Is it better to read the book before you watch the movie, or watch the movie before you read the book?
• Persuade someone to try out your favorite hobby or sport.
• What’s the best way to try and persuade a friend to do what you want to do?
• When is peer pressure good? When is peer pressure bad?
• Is it better to have lots of friends, or just a few really good friends?
• Should students be in charge of what they learn in school?

High school students can either be tasked with more complex writing prompts or breathe nuance into simple story ideas. Students can drive these prompts in a million different ways.

So while not necessarily more complicated than middle school, these prompts can be tweaked, either by the student or teacher, to encourage thought-provoking output.

Creative Writing Prompts for High Schoolers

• Write a story about someone your age who lives on the other side of the world. 
• Pick up the nearest book and turn to page 7. Close your eyes and point to a random word on the page, then write a story about that word.
• Write a story in ten words or less.
• You fell asleep for 100 years. What does the world look like when you wake up?
• Finish the story: “This isn’t what I hoped would happen,” she said….
• You’re walking down the street when you see someone who looks exactly like you.
• Write a story where the main character learns something new about themselves.
• Write a story that takes place in the desert. 
• Write a story about a day where everything seems to go wrong. 
• Write a poem about the color blue.
• How would your life be different if you didn’t have access to a computer, video games or your phone?

Fun writing prompts for high schoolers

• You win a million dollars, but there’s a catch — you have to spend it all in 24 hours, or you lose all the money. What do you do?
• Write about something you or your family does from the perspective of someone from another country.
• If you could make up a new holiday, when would it be and what would it celebrate?
• Go out on a nature walk and find a tree. Write the story of that tree, from the time it was a seed until now.
• What’s the most boring superpower you can think of? How would it be useful?
• If you could pass any law, what would it be?
• You meet yourself in the future, as a grown-up at age 35 — what do you talk about? 
• If you had to show aliens the most important/best things in the world, what would you show them?
• Who is your hero and why?
• Write about the best surprise you ever got. 
• What are three good things you can do for the environment? How can you encourage the people around you to do good things for the environment?
• What is your earliest memory? Write down as many details as you can remember.
• If you could take two people – real or fictional – on a cross-country road trip, who would you take? Where would you go?
• If you could have any job in the world tomorrow, what would you do?
• What is the best thing about living in your city or neighbourhood?
• Write a letter to your 30-year-old self. What do you think you’ll accomplish by then?
• Teach me how to make your favorite recipe.
• Describe the sound of your favorite song using descriptive words.

Persuasive writing prompts for high school

• Should kids be allowed to use social media unsupervised? Why or why not?
• Persuade someone to start a healthy habit, or get rid of a bad one.
• Should all single-use plastics be outlawed? Why or why not?
• Should our school have a dress code? Why or why not?
• Is it more important to be right or to not hurt someone else’s feelings?
• What important historical figure do you think belongs on the ten-dollar bill?
• Do you think you’re born with your personality traits, or do you gain them as you grow up?
• Should mobile apps be responsible for protecting your privacy — why or why not?

Social emotional learning journal prompts

School is about more than just books and quizzes — it’s about preparing students for the rest of their lives. Social emotional learning teaches them how to build good relationships with peers, understand and control their emotions and make healthy life decisions.

Journaling is a great way for students to reflect on their feelings in a safe, private space. Use these journaling prompts as thought starters for more social emotional learning!

Check out our list of the 25 best social emotional learning activities for students here. 

• Tell me about a tradition you have with your family or friends. 
• What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
• Have you ever found something that you lost? How did you feel when you found it?
• What is something you haven’t learned this school year that you’re still wondering about?
• What do you do when you’re angry? Write about three ways you calm yourself down.
• Where do you feel the safest? Why do you feel safe there?
• Write a poem to make a friend happy.
• When was the last time you were kind to someone? How can you be kind to someone today?
• How are you feeling today? Are you happy, sad, excited or anxious?
• If you could give your best friend a present, what would it be?
• What are the qualities you look for in a friend? Why is it important to be a good friend?
• What does responsibility mean to you?
• Who do you talk to when you’re worried about something? How do they make you feel better?
• If you could make a card for anyone in your life, who would it be for and what would it say?
• What’s your favorite thing about yourself?
• Write about a time you had to make a hard decision. How did you make your decision?
• What do you do to make yourself happy when you’re sad?
• Write about a time you were disappointed. 
• What are three things that make your best friend awesome?
• What do you think empathy means? Why is it important?
• How can you cheer up a friend who is sad?
• What makes you a good friend? How can you be a better friend?
• What’s the best piece of advice a friend, parent or teacher has ever given you?
• Write three goals for the rest of the school year. How are you going to accomplish them?
• What does responsibility mean to you? What are you responsible for at school and at home?
• What person in your life makes you feel confident?
• What scares you? How can you overcome your fears?
• Tell me about a time when you tried something new. How did it feel? Did you do it again?

Math writing prompts for kids

Whether it’s tackling word problems or explaining a new concept, writing is a surprisingly good tool for the math classroom. 

A math journal can help you understand what students already know, while giving them space to work through tricky concepts on their own. Use these writing prompts to promote literacy in every subject — and help students avoid math anxiety .

• Tell me everything you know about ________.
• Explain, in words, how to solve this problem.
• What is and isn’t true about this situation?
• What is _______?
• Explain two different ways to solve this problem. Which one is better?
• What did you get correct in this problem?
• What mistakes did you make while solving this problem?
• What do you not understand about _____?
• Write a word problem using the concept we’re learning about. 
• What did you learn today?
• How do you use math in your everyday life?
• What is the easiest/hardest part of math class?
• What discoveries did you make in math class today?

Final thoughts on writing prompts for kids

Writing prompts aren’t the end of the story — they’re just the beginning. Encourage your students to build a regular writing practice, and soon you’ll see the benefits in every class. 

Where will your students’ imaginations take them?

Inspire student imagination with Prodigy English

Prodigy's brand-new game, Prodigy English , encourages students to build creativity and reading and language skills. Students can explore and create a world of their very own as they answer questions to gain energy, meet new characters, earn coins and build a village. And as they play, you'll be able to track their progress and achievement for easy assessment!

Create your free teacher account today to get started.

GET OUR LATEST UPDATES!

44+ Fun and Easy Activities for 4 Year Olds

• Kindergartner
• Preschooler

Check out these fun and easy activities and play ideas for 4 year olds. Here you will find tons easy ideas that you can set up for your preschooler while you take a meeting or get some work done at home. There are also fun sensory bin ideas, cool crafts for them to make and amazing hand-on learning ideas that are playful and fun. Tons of easy ways to keep your 4 year old busy, engaged and entertained at home!

And check out my short form crafting series Curious Crafting on TVOkids and TVOkids YouTube ! Watch all the episodes here . Look for Season 2 of Curious Crafting coming in the new year.

Ways to Keep 4 Year Olds Busy

This amazing list of ideas is organized into a few sections. Let me highlight them here for you so you can quickly find what you are looking for fast. Scroll down to find each section.

• Easy Activities That 4 Year Olds Can Do Alone While You Work. These are ideas that you can set up and let your 4 year old do while you work, tend to baby, fold laundry or simply sit down scroll through your phone (yup you’re allow to do that every once in a while)!
• Low Prep Activities for 4 Year Olds. Activities that require little to no prep to create for your preschooler.
• Fun Sensory Bins. Easy sensory bins to create for your 4 year old!
• Easy Crafts for 4 Year Olds . Fun arts and craft ideas that you can do with your 4 year old.
• Hands-on Learning Activities . Fun ways to learn everything from letters, to their name, to numbers, shapes, counting and more.
• Simple STEAM for 4 Year Olds. Engaging Science Experiments four year olds will love!
• Easy Process Art Activities. Process art ideas to help develop creativity and have fun!

5 Easy Activities That 4 Year Olds Can Do Alone While You Work

1. wash the toys..

Grab two large sensory bins or Tupperwares ware containers. Fill one container with water and dish soap. Mix it up to make it bubbly. You don’t need a lot of water to make this fun and engaging just an inch or two will do. Lay a towel underneath everything in order to reduce the mess and clean up afterwards. Fill the other tub with tons of farm animals or dinosaurs or cars. You can set up one thing to wash every week! Let them wash the animals in the soap water. Add towels for drying. You can also add fine motor tools like eye droppers or turkey basters for washing, sponges or scrub brushes. If you’re feeling ambitious you can also place the animals outside the tub and put clean water in the second tub allowing your child to wash and then rinse the animals off before drying them.

Fun Activity using Magnets

2. playing with magnets..

Fill a sensory bin with all the metal object you can find. Think toy trains, cars, coins, paper clips, fridge magnets, bells, magnetic letters, keys. Throw in some other nonmetal items too. Hand your child a magnetic wand and let them explore trying to pick up item. Add cardboard tubes to the sides of the sensory bin using painter’s tape and have them toss metal items down the tubes that will fit and then have them recover the items using the magnetic wand . Check out here how we did it.

Make Foil Presents

3. foil puzzle match ..

Tear off sheets of foil to fit the puzzle pieces and have them do the wrapping for you! Model how to wrap with foil, folding over the puzzle pieces rather than scrunching. Place all the pieces in the basket and let the unwrapping begin! Trust me they will want to do this more than once so tear off a bunch and hand them over as they need them.

Fun Activities using LEGO

4. lego animal trace.

One a large sheet of butcher paper draw the outline of a few animals like a turtle, lion or peacock and invite your child to fill in the rest of the animal with LEGO DUPLO.

5. LEGO Body Trace

Similar to LEGO animal trace but instead you trace their bodies and have them fill them in with LEGO DUPLO or magnetic tiles!

10 Low Prep Activities For 4 Year Olds

6. super steam activity book.

Learning all about science, technology, engineering, art, and math sets kids up for scholastic success―and it can be so much fun! Watch kids enjoy building STEAM skills as they color friendly fish, help water find its way to tree roots, solve math problems with mazes, and more. 

Find out more and grab your copy here .

7. Make a Bubble Snake

8. Super Easy Ice Sensory Bin

9. Ready Made Playdough Kits

10. Dot Sticker Match

11. Sponge Letter Wash Sensory Bin

12. Pom Pom Water Sensory Bin

13. Mega Blok Names

14. Paint the Toys

Paint plastic outdoor toys with washable paints. Then have your kids rinse off the toys with soap and water and sponges before it actually dries!

• Pom Pom Mega Blok Sort

Fun Sensory Bins and Sensory Play Ideas for 4 Year Olds

• Dinosaur Dig Sensory Bin for Kids

• Outer Space Sensory Bin

• Awesome Fizzy Ice Cream Shop Sensory Bin

• Easy Dandelion Water Table Activity

• LEGO Car Wash Sensory Bin

21. The BEST (Super Easy & Soft) Playdough Recipe

22. Mud Kitchen Set Up For Kids

• Bubble Foam Sensory Bin

• Rainbow Pouring Station Sensory Bin for Kids

• Frozen Pom Poms

• Moon Rock Letters

Crafts for 4 Year Olds

• Easy Glue Resist Rainbow Painting

• Easy Coffee Filter Butterfly Craft for Kids

• Easy Nature Butterfly Sticky Wall Craft

• Dandelion Snail Threading Board: Outdoor Spring Fine Motor Activity

• Melted Crayon Picture Frame: A Colorful STEAM Craft

• Easy Foil Printing

• Fizzy Painting

• Salad Spinner Lion Craft

• Puffy Paint Cupcake Craft

• Cardboard Laptop Craft

• Farm Animal Finger Puppets Craft

• Cotton Pad Turtle Craft

Easy Learning Activities for 4 Year Olds

• TP Name Sort Activity for Preschoolers

• Cupcake Liner Math Activity

• Caterpillar Pom Pom Counting: Easy Toddler Math

• Washi Tape Pattern Matching

• Dot Sticker Cupcake Math: Easy Toddler Activity

• Pom Pom Sweep

• Letter Sticky Wall Crafts

• Pom Pom Caterpillar Counting

• Caterpillar Number Match for Preschoolers

• Cactus Letter Matching & Fine Motor Activity

• Fingerprint Letters

50. Easy Paint the Shapes Activity for Preschoolers

51. Alphabet Matching

Easy STEAM Activities for 4 Year Olds

52. easy baking soda and vinegar experiment for kids.

53. Fizzy Lemon Volcanoes

54. Dot Sticker Coding: Easy STEAM Activity

55. How to Make Oobleck for Kids

56. Dancing Water Beads

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mandisa | Easy Toddler & Kids Activities (@happytoddlerplaytime)

Process Art Activities for 4 year Olds

57. salt painting for toddlers & preschoolers.

58. How to Easily Do Blow Painting with Straws

59. Sock Hands Painting

60. Painting Ice: Super Easy Art Activity for Kids

61. Shower Curtain Painting

Age Suitability

This activity is good for kids 4 years and up. My kids are 4, 4, and 8 year old.

This is a mess level varies.

Difficulty to Create

Easy to Medium.

Skills Developed

Sensory play, letter recognition, gross motor skills, language development, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, imaginative play, creativity.

Check out My Books, TV Show & Play Kits!

Book: exciting sensory bins for curious kids.

Did you know I wrote a book of sensory bins? Click here for more information  Exciting Sensory Bin for Curious Kids . Or grab your copy at  Amazon . 

Boring afternoons are made exciting with awesome animal-based bins, like Salty Shark Bay or Yarn Farm. Pretend play bins like Birthday Cake Sensory Play or Bubble Tea Party encourage creativity and imagination. And your kids will have so much fun they won’t even know they’re getting smarter with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities like Sink or Float Soup, Magnetic Letter Hunt or Ice Cream Scoop and Count.

Book: Big Book of Riddles for Kids

Riddle me this: What’s an exciting way to practice critical thinking while having a blast? The Big Riddle Book for Kids , of course! From hilarious puns to tough brain teasers, kids can build problem-solving skills with hundreds of riddles that show them how to think outside the box.

• 350 riddles for kids —Have hours of fun with riddles, puns and jokes, and math and logic puzzles that’ll get their wheels turning!
• Level up their skills —Riddles get trickier as kids progress through the book, challenging them as they get better at solving puzzles!
• Double-check their work —Kids can check their answers in the back of the book with a handy answer key.

Help children expand their minds while having fun with this puzzle book for kids!

Designed for kids ages 6 years old and up.

TV Show: Curious Crafting

I’m so excited to finally share my new crafting TV show Curious Crafting which launched July 1 at on TVOkids and TVOkids YouTube !

This show is all about fun and easy crafts for toddlers and preschoolers. 

Set in the ultimate crafting space, Curious Crafting is a short form pre-school age series about the joy of making crafts. I lead a rotating cast of adorable little preschoolers (including my own) making magic out of common household objects.

In each episode we transform recycled items into magical crafts like a milk carton school bus, paper bag puppet or cotton pad turtle. The crafters learn and laugh their way through each activity while demonstrating what their young imaginations can create. 

Curious Crafting shares the adventure and joy of making art with takeaway lessons for creating crafts at home.

The Best Sensory Play Kits for Kids

Play is at the core of learning during the early years and it can take many forms. One of the most important of these is sensory play because it engages all of a child’s senses (taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing) and has a enoumous positive impact on brain development.

Our Sensory Play Kits are some fun and easy ways to keep your child engaged while at the same time using sensory play to nurture their mind!

Shop our ready made play kits here .

Will you try any of these activities with your 4 year old pin it for later.

Filed Under:

• Fine Motor Skills
• Four Year Olds
• Gross Motor Skills
• Sensory Bins, Bottles and Bags

Other Posts You May Like...

Mother's Day Crafts for Kids

100 Ultimate Summer Craft Bucket List Ideas (with free printable!)

Top 10 No-Cook Playdough Recipes for Summer

43 Easy Summer Crafts to Keep Kids Busy All Season Long

Review and rate this post cancel reply.

I love hearing from you! Submit your question or review here. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked*.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Views From a Step Stool

Open Minds & Messy Hands

65+ Fun Activities for 4 Year Olds

February 8, 2017 By Katie Chiavarone Leave a Comment

Sharing is caring!

• Pinterest 10.4K

These activities for 4 year olds provide for tons of learning and self-expression through play . 4 year olds are inquisitive and independent, and are learning at a rapid pace. From grasping numbers and letters to developing deep relationships with peers, learning is fun at this age, and experiencing all of this through play is ideal.

Below are plenty of ideas for learning activities for 4 year olds to do at home or in school! 

What are 4 Year Olds Learning?

Four year olds are learning so much! Learning activities for 4 year olds include counting, pre-reading, emotional development and more. This age group is learning:

• how to count objects
• counting by memory
• understanding size and spatial relationships
• expanding vocabulary by using new words
• coordinating movement to jump, spin, skip and more
• learning letter sounds 
• making inferences and predictions about what will happen
• beginning to form letters in writing

How to Play with a 4 Year Old

There are so many really fun ways to play with this age group. As an older preschooler, 4 year olds are able to engage in dramatic and fantasy play, and love exploring creative thinking. Some really fun ways to play are by:

• acting out favorite stories
• playing ‘house’
• opening a pretend restaurant
• have races outside
• play board or card games
• have a dance party
• play Red Light, Green Light or Simon Says
• dig for worms
• plant vegetables

Fun Activities for 4 Year Olds 

Below are categories for 4 year old activities, including: learning activities, arts and crafts, sensory play, and games. 

These are fun activities to do at home to learn through play and bond together, or to do in the classroom. 

Learning Activities for 4 Year Olds

Pre-reading.

Pre-reading activities help children learn that which is essential to have in their toolbox before any formal reading education. These activities help children identify letters and make their sounds through play and hands-on activities.

Story Stones for Kids

Snowball Sight Words on a Sticky Table (pictured)

See and Spell with Toy Train Cars (pictured)

Beginning Sounds Match // You’ve Got this Math (pictured)

Free Dinosaur Printables // Living Montessori Now (pictured)

We’re Going on a Word Hunt // Walking by the Way (pictured)

DIY Tile Letter Magnets // Artsy Momma

Sight Word Splat // Views From a Step Stool

Valentines Day Literacy Activity // Sparkling Buds

Pre-Handwriting

Pre-handwriting activities engage the fine motor skills necessary to hold a pencil. Pincer grasp can be developed without holding a pen or pencil at all! These activities might include threading or stringing, pinching playdough, sorting with tweezers, and more! 

Button Practice Felt Flowers // Twitchetts (pictured)

Teddy Bear Bread // Messy Little Monster (pictured)

Felt Rocket Name Puzzle // Teach Me Mommy (pictured)

Color Matching for Kids with Pom Pom Flowers // The Moments at Home (pictured)

Kids Fun Fine Motor Weaving  // J Daniel 4’s Mom (pictured)

Sandbox Writing // Walking by the Way (pictured)

Fine Motor Skills: Rainbow Rice in a Jar // KC Edventures (pictured)

DIY Twig Art // Twitchetts (pictured)

Simple Sewing Busy Bag // The Chaos and The Clutter

Google Eye Envelope Alien Busy Bag // Crafty Kids at Home

Coin Sorting // Rhythms of Play

STEM Activities for 4 Year Olds

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math. These STEM activities for 4 year olds will encourage children to make inferences and think critically, and to sort, count and organize materials while having fun! 

DIY Worm Farm (pictured)

Fizzing Fireworks Painting (pictured)

Basic Math with Fall Leaves (pictured)

Acorn Fine Motor Counting (pictured)

Monster Truck Counting Printables // Artsy Momma (pictured)

Making Friendship Ice Cream // Mama Smiles

Popsicle Stick Shape Building Magnets // Planning Playtime

Counting Raindrops: 1-10 Math Printable // Schooltime Snippets

Love Heart Number Line // Adventures and Play

STEM Activity for Kids: Valentine Tower // Preschool Powol Packets

Build Magnetic Robots // Adventure in a Box (pictured)

Pete the Cat Math Game // Buggy and Buddy (pictured)

Counting with Marbles and Bath Mats // Creative Playhouse (pictured)

Pipes and Water Play // Moms and Crafters (pictured)

Montessori Nature Tray // Living Montessori Now (pictured)

Math Busy Bag // The Chaos and The Clutter (pictured)

Penguin Dice Addition Game  // Adventures and Play

Exploring Colors with Baking Soda and Vinegar // Buggy and Buddy

Counting With Playdough // Creative Playhouse

How to Put Together a Portable Tinker Box // Little Worlds Big Adventures

Counting Caterpillar Busy Bag // Powerful Mothering

Sensory Activities for 4 Year Olds

Sensory play is essential to early learning. Sensory activities develop the vocabulary as children describe their experiences. It develops fine motor skills that are essential to early handwriting. Is is calming and can help regulate emotions. Sensory play is wonderful for busy 4 year olds eager to explore their environment! 

Ultimate Collection of Sensory Bins for Kids

Arctic Small World Play (pictured)

Shark Week Sensory Play (pictured)

Dinosaur Swamp Sensory Bin // Mommy’s Bundle (pictured)

Jump and Wash! Dinosaur Sensory Play // Little Worlds Big Adventures (pictured)

Soft Sheep Sensory and Science Discovery // Simple at Home

Letter Sensory Bin // Views From a Step Stool

Flower Arranging Montessori Practical Life Kids Activity  // Rhythms of Play

Arts & Craft Activities for 4 Year Olds

Arts and craft activities for 4 year olds help encourage self-expression. Children are able to express their creativity and their individualism while developing scissor skills, color mixing, cause and effect and more!

Clothespin and Cottonball Cloud Painting (pictured)

Coffee Filter Butterfly Magnets (pictured)

Superhero Puppet Craft // Messy Little Monster (pictured)

Exploring Symmetry with Art // Crafty Kids at Home (pictured)

Easy Bubble Art Activity // Mommy’s Bundle

Draw the Missing Half // Adventure in a Box

Cut it Out! Art Inspired by Ohara // Homebound But Hopeful

Busy Bee Headband Craft // Simple at Home

Painting with Hexbugs

4 year olds love to play games ! At this age, teamwork is attainable and gross motor activities are important for engaging in daily activities. This list includes indoor activities for 4 year olds as well as outdoor fun with this age group. 

Fun and Free Printable Board Games for Kids

Butterfly File Folder Games Printable (pictured)

Pretend Play Busy Bags // Lalymom (pictured)

Cup Twisting Fine Motor Games // Lalymom (pictured)

DIY Car Magnets Craft // Moms and Crafters (pictured)

Spiderweb Obstacle Course // Mama Smiles (pictured)

Hit the Cardboard Road // Non Toy Gifts (pictured)

DIY Cardboard Car Wash // Non Toy Gifts (pictured)

DIY Cardboard Car Track // Planning Playtime

Playground Scavenger Hunt // KC Edventures

I Spy in Ice  // Sparkling Buds

A Pox on Your House // Homebound But Hopeful

Shapes, Counting and Colors Busy Bag // Powerful Mothering

Have so much fun playing and learning with your 4 year old! These activities will be sure to help kids learn through play, and fun!

More Activity Lists for 4 Year Olds

• Fun Games for 4 Year Olds
• 10 Fun Play Ideas for 4 Year Olds

Want ideas for other ages?

a.eg-henryharrison-element-1,a.eg-henryharrison-element-2{-webkit-transition:all .4s linear;-moz-transition:all .4s linear;-o-transition:all .4s linear;-ms-transition:all .4s linear;transition:all .4s linear}.eg-jimmy-carter-element-11 i:before{margin-left:0px;margin-right:0px}.eg-harding-element-17{letter-spacing:1px}.eg-harding-wrapper .esg-entry-media{overflow:hidden;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-box-sizing:border-box;-moz-box-sizing:border-box;padding:30px 30px 0px 30px}.eg-harding-wrapper .esg-media-poster{overflow:hidden;border-radius:50%;-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%}.eg-ulysses-s-grant-wrapper .esg-entry-media{overflow:hidden;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-box-sizing:border-box;-moz-box-sizing:border-box;padding:30px 30px 0px 30px}.eg-ulysses-s-grant-wrapper .esg-media-poster{overflow:hidden;border-radius:50%;-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%}.eg-richard-nixon-wrapper .esg-entry-media{overflow:hidden;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-box-sizing:border-box;-moz-box-sizing:border-box;padding:30px 30px 0px 30px}.eg-richard-nixon-wrapper .esg-media-poster{overflow:hidden;border-radius:50%;-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%}.eg-herbert-hoover-wrapper .esg-media-poster{filter:url("data:image/svg+xml;utf8, #grayscale");filter:gray;-webkit-filter:grayscale(100%)}.eg-herbert-hoover-wrapper:hover .esg-media-poster{filter:url("data:image/svg+xml;utf8, #grayscale");-webkit-filter:grayscale(0%)}.eg-lyndon-johnson-wrapper .esg-media-poster{filter:url("data:image/svg+xml;utf8, #grayscale");filter:gray;-webkit-filter:grayscale(100%)}.eg-lyndon-johnson-wrapper:hover .esg-media-poster{filter:url("data:image/svg+xml;utf8, #grayscale");-webkit-filter:grayscale(0%)}.esg-overlay.eg-ronald-reagan-container{background:-moz-linear-gradient(top,rgba(0,0,0,0) 50%,rgba(0,0,0,0.83) 99%,rgba(0,0,0,0.85) 100%);background:-webkit-gradient(linear,left top,left bottom,color-stop(50%,rgba(0,0,0,0)),color-stop(99%,rgba(0,0,0,0.83)),color-stop(100%,rgba(0,0,0,0.85)));background:-webkit-linear-gradient(top,rgba(0,0,0,0) 50%,rgba(0,0,0,0.83) 99%,rgba(0,0,0,0.85) 100%);background:-o-linear-gradient(top,rgba(0,0,0,0) 50%,rgba(0,0,0,0.83) 99%,rgba(0,0,0,0.85) 100%);background:-ms-linear-gradient(top,rgba(0,0,0,0) 50%,rgba(0,0,0,0.83) 99%,rgba(0,0,0,0.85) 100%);background:linear-gradient(to bottom,rgba(0,0,0,0) 50%,rgba(0,0,0,0.83) 99%,rgba(0,0,0,0.85) 100%);filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient( startColorstr='#00000000',endColorstr='#d9000000',GradientType=0 )}.eg-georgebush-wrapper .esg-entry-cover{background:-moz-linear-gradient(top,rgba(0,0,0,0) 50%,rgba(0,0,0,0.83) 99%,rgba(0,0,0,0.85) 100%);background:-webkit-gradient(linear,left top,left bottom,color-stop(50%,rgba(0,0,0,0)),color-stop(99%,rgba(0,0,0,0.83)),color-stop(100%,rgba(0,0,0,0.85)));background:-webkit-linear-gradient(top,rgba(0,0,0,0) 50%,rgba(0,0,0,0.83) 99%,rgba(0,0,0,0.85) 100%);background:-o-linear-gradient(top,rgba(0,0,0,0) 50%,rgba(0,0,0,0.83) 99%,rgba(0,0,0,0.85) 100%);background:-ms-linear-gradient(top,rgba(0,0,0,0) 50%,rgba(0,0,0,0.83) 99%,rgba(0,0,0,0.85) 100%);background:linear-gradient(to bottom,rgba(0,0,0,0) 50%,rgba(0,0,0,0.83) 99%,rgba(0,0,0,0.85) 100%);filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient( startColorstr='#00000000',endColorstr='#d9000000',GradientType=0 )}.eg-jefferson-wrapper{-webkit-border-radius:5px !important;-moz-border-radius:5px !important;border-radius:5px !important;-webkit-mask-image:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAIAAACQd1PeAAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAA5JREFUeNpiYGBgAAgwAAAEAAGbA+oJAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) !important}.eg-monroe-element-1{text-shadow:0px 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,0.1)}.eg-lyndon-johnson-wrapper .esg-entry-cover{background:-moz-radial-gradient(center,ellipse cover,rgba(0,0,0,0.35) 0%,rgba(18,18,18,0) 96%,rgba(19,19,19,0) 100%);background:-webkit-gradient(radial,center center,0px,center center,100%,color-stop(0%,rgba(0,0,0,0.35)),color-stop(96%,rgba(18,18,18,0)),color-stop(100%,rgba(19,19,19,0)));background:-webkit-radial-gradient(center,ellipse cover,rgba(0,0,0,0.35) 0%,rgba(18,18,18,0) 96%,rgba(19,19,19,0) 100%);background:-o-radial-gradient(center,ellipse cover,rgba(0,0,0,0.35) 0%,rgba(18,18,18,0) 96%,rgba(19,19,19,0) 100%);background:-ms-radial-gradient(center,ellipse cover,rgba(0,0,0,0.35) 0%,rgba(18,18,18,0) 96%,rgba(19,19,19,0) 100%);background:radial-gradient(ellipse at center,rgba(0,0,0,0.35) 0%,rgba(18,18,18,0) 96%,rgba(19,19,19,0) 100%);filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient( startColorstr='#59000000',endColorstr='#00131313',GradientType=1 )}.eg-wilbert-wrapper .esg-entry-cover{background:-moz-radial-gradient(center,ellipse cover,rgba(0,0,0,0.35) 0%,rgba(18,18,18,0) 96%,rgba(19,19,19,0) 100%);background:-webkit-gradient(radial,center center,0px,center center,100%,color-stop(0%,rgba(0,0,0,0.35)),color-stop(96%,rgba(18,18,18,0)),color-stop(100%,rgba(19,19,19,0)));background:-webkit-radial-gradient(center,ellipse cover,rgba(0,0,0,0.35) 0%,rgba(18,18,18,0) 96%,rgba(19,19,19,0) 100%);background:-o-radial-gradient(center,ellipse cover,rgba(0,0,0,0.35) 0%,rgba(18,18,18,0) 96%,rgba(19,19,19,0) 100%);background:-ms-radial-gradient(center,ellipse cover,rgba(0,0,0,0.35) 0%,rgba(18,18,18,0) 96%,rgba(19,19,19,0) 100%);background:radial-gradient(ellipse at center,rgba(0,0,0,0.35) 0%,rgba(18,18,18,0) 96%,rgba(19,19,19,0) 100%);filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient( startColorstr='#59000000',endColorstr='#00131313',GradientType=1 )}.eg-wilbert-wrapper .esg-media-poster{-webkit-transition:0.4s ease-in-out;-moz-transition:0.4s ease-in-out;-o-transition:0.4s ease-in-out;transition:0.4s ease-in-out;filter:url("data:image/svg+xml;utf8, #grayscale");filter:gray;-webkit-filter:grayscale(100%)}.eg-wilbert-wrapper:hover .esg-media-poster{filter:url("data:image/svg+xml;utf8, #grayscale");-webkit-filter:grayscale(0%)}.eg-phillie-element-3:after{content:" ";width:0px;height:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:5px 5px 0 5px;border-color:#000 transparent transparent transparent;left:50%;margin-left:-5px;bottom:-5px;position:absolute}.eg-howardtaft-wrapper .esg-media-poster,.eg-howardtaft-wrapper .esg-media-poster{filter:url("data:image/svg+xml;utf8, #grayscale");-webkit-filter:grayscale(0%)}.eg-howardtaft-wrapper:hover .esg-media-poster,.eg-howardtaft-wrapper:hover .esg-media-poster{filter:url("data:image/svg+xml;utf8, #grayscale");filter:gray;-webkit-filter:grayscale(100%)}.myportfolio-container .added_to_cart.wc-forward{font-family:"Open Sans";font-size:13px;color:#fff;margin-top:10px}.esgbox-title.esgbox-title-outside-wrap{font-size:15px;font-weight:700;text-align:center}.esgbox-title.esgbox-title-inside-wrap{padding-bottom:10px;font-size:15px;font-weight:700;text-align:center}.esg-content.eg-twitterstream-element-33-a{display:inline-block}.eg-twitterstream-element-35{word-break:break-all}.esg-overlay.eg-twitterstream-container{background:-moz-linear-gradient(top,rgba(0,0,0,0) 50%,rgba(0,0,0,0.83) 99%,rgba(0,0,0,0.85) 100%);background:-webkit-gradient(linear,left top,left bottom,color-stop(50%,rgba(0,0,0,0)),color-stop(99%,rgba(0,0,0,0.83)),color-stop(100%,rgba(0,0,0,0.85)));background:-webkit-linear-gradient(top,rgba(0,0,0,0) 50%,rgba(0,0,0,0.83) 99%,rgba(0,0,0,0.85) 100%);background:-o-linear-gradient(top,rgba(0,0,0,0) 50%,rgba(0,0,0,0.83) 99%,rgba(0,0,0,0.85) 100%);background:-ms-linear-gradient(top,rgba(0,0,0,0) 50%,rgba(0,0,0,0.83) 99%,rgba(0,0,0,0.85) 100%);background:linear-gradient(to bottom,rgba(0,0,0,0) 50%,rgba(0,0,0,0.83) 99%,rgba(0,0,0,0.85) 100%);filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient( startColorstr='#00000000',endColorstr='#d9000000',GradientType=0 )}.esg-content.eg-facebookstream-element-33-a{display:inline-block}.eg-facebookstream-element-0{word-break:break-all}.esg-overlay.eg-flickrstream-container{background:-moz-linear-gradient(top,rgba(0,0,0,0) 50%,rgba(0,0,0,0.83) 99%,rgba(0,0,0,0.85) 100%);background:-webkit-gradient(linear,left top,left bottom,color-stop(50%,rgba(0,0,0,0)),color-stop(99%,rgba(0,0,0,0.83)),color-stop(100%,rgba(0,0,0,0.85)));background:-webkit-linear-gradient(top,rgba(0,0,0,0) 50%,rgba(0,0,0,0.83) 99%,rgba(0,0,0,0.85) 100%);background:-o-linear-gradient(top,rgba(0,0,0,0) 50%,rgba(0,0,0,0.83) 99%,rgba(0,0,0,0.85) 100%);background:-ms-linear-gradient(top,rgba(0,0,0,0) 50%,rgba(0,0,0,0.83) 99%,rgba(0,0,0,0.85) 100%);background:linear-gradient(to bottom,rgba(0,0,0,0) 50%,rgba(0,0,0,0.83) 99%,rgba(0,0,0,0.85) 100%);filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient( startColorstr='#00000000',endColorstr='#d9000000',GradientType=0 )} .minimal-light .navigationbuttons,.minimal-light .esg-pagination,.minimal-light .esg-filters{text-align:center}.minimal-light .esg-filter-wrapper.dropdownstyle >.esg-selected-filterbutton,.minimal-light input.eg-search-input,.minimal-light .esg-filterbutton,.minimal-light .esg-navigationbutton,.minimal-light .esg-sortbutton,.minimal-light .esg-cartbutton a,.minimal-light .esg-filter-wrapper.eg-search-wrapper .eg-search-clean,.minimal-light .esg-filter-wrapper.eg-search-wrapper .eg-search-submit{color:#999;margin-right:5px;cursor:pointer;padding:0px 16px;border:1px solid #e5e5e5;line-height:38px;border-radius:5px;font-size:12px;font-weight:700;font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif;display:inline-block;background:#fff;margin-bottom:5px;white-space:nowrap;min-height:38px;vertical-align:middle}.minimal-light input.eg-search-input::placeholder{line-height:38px;vertical-align:middle}.minimal-light .esg-navigationbutton *{color:#999}.minimal-light .esg-navigationbutton{padding:0px 16px}.minimal-light .esg-pagination-button:last-child{margin-right:0}.minimal-light .esg-left,.minimal-light .esg-right{padding:0px 11px}.minimal-light .esg-sortbutton-wrapper,.minimal-light .esg-cartbutton-wrapper{display:inline-block}.minimal-light .esg-sortbutton-order,.minimal-light .esg-cartbutton-order{display:inline-block;vertical-align:top;border:1px solid #e5e5e5;width:40px;line-height:38px;border-radius:0px 5px 5px 0px;font-size:12px;font-weight:700;color:#999;cursor:pointer;background:#fff}.minimal-light .esg-cartbutton{color:#333;cursor:default !important}.minimal-light .esg-cartbutton .esgicon-basket{color:#333;font-size:15px;line-height:15px;margin-right:10px}.minimal-light .esg-cartbutton-wrapper{cursor:default !important}.minimal-light .esg-sortbutton,.minimal-light .esg-cartbutton{display:inline-block;position:relative;cursor:pointer;margin-right:0px;border-right:none;border-radius:5px 0px 0px 5px}.minimal-light input.eg-search-input.hovered,.minimal-light input.eg-search-input:focus,.minimal-light .esg-navigationbutton.hovered,.minimal-light .esg-filterbutton.hovered,.minimal-light .esg-sortbutton.hovered,.minimal-light .esg-sortbutton-order.hovered,.minimal-light .esg-cartbutton.hovered a,.minimal-light .esg-filter-wrapper.dropdownstyle >.esg-selected-filterbutton.hovered,.minimal-light .esg-filterbutton.selected,.minimal-light .esg-filter-wrapper.eg-search-wrapper .eg-search-clean.hovered,.minimal-light .esg-filter-wrapper.eg-search-wrapper .eg-search-submit.hovered{background-color:#fff;border-color:#bbb;color:#333;box-shadow:0px 3px 5px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0.13)}.minimal-light .esg-navigationbutton.hovered *{color:#333}.minimal-light .esg-sortbutton-order.hovered .tp-desc{border-color:#bbb;color:#333;box-shadow:0px -3px 5px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0.13) !important}.minimal-light .esg-filter-checked{color:#cbcbcb;background:#cbcbcb;margin-left:10px;font-size:9px;font-weight:300;line-height:9px;vertical-align:middle}.minimal-light .esg-filter-wrapper.dropdownstyle .esg-filter-checked{margin-left:-22px;margin-right:10px}.minimal-light .esg-filterbutton.selected .esg-filter-checked,.minimal-light .esg-filterbutton.hovered .esg-filter-checked{color:#fff;background:#000}.minimal-light .esg-filter-wrapper.eg-search-wrapper{white-space:nowrap}.minimal-light .esg-filter-wrapper.eg-search-wrapper .eg-search-clean,.minimal-light .esg-filter-wrapper.eg-search-wrapper .eg-search-submit{width:40px;padding:0px;margin-left:5px;margin-right:0px}.minimal-light .esg-filter-wrapper.eg-search-wrapper .eg-search-input{width:auto}.minimal-light .esg-dropdown-wrapper{transform:translateZ(10px) translateX(-50%);left:50%;background:rgba(255,255,255,0.95);border-radius:5px;border:1px solid #e5e5e5}.minimal-light .esg-dropdown-wrapper .esg-filterbutton{position:relative;border:none;box-shadow:none;text-align:left;color:#999;background:transparent;line-height:25px;min-height:25px}.minimal-light .esg-dropdown-wrapper .esg-filterbutton.hovered,.minimal-light .esg-dropdown-wrapper .esg-filterbutton.selected{color:#333}.minimal-light .esg-selected-filterbutton .eg-icon-down-open{margin-right:-10px;font-size:12px}.minimal-light .esg-selected-filterbutton.hovered .eg-icon-down-open{color:#333} .eg-woodrowwilson-element-15{font-size:29px;line-height:30px;color:#fff;font-weight:800;padding:3px 15px 2px 15px;border-radius:3px 3px 3px 3px;background:#f711a3;z-index:2 !important;display:block;font-family:"Raleway";border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:3px;border-left-width:0px;border-color:#f4029b;border-style:solid} .eg-woodrowwilson-element-15-a{display:inline-block;float:none;clear:both;margin:0px 0px 30px 0px;position:relative} .eg-woodrowwilson-container{background:rgba(255,255,255,0)} .eg-woodrowwilson-content{background:#fff;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;border-width:0px 0px 0px 0px;border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:transparent;border-style:none;text-align:center} .esg-grid .mainul li.eg-woodrowwilson-wrapper{background:#fff;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;border-width:0px 0px 0px 0px;border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:transparent;border-style:none} .esg-grid .mainul li.eg-woodrowwilson-wrapper .esg-media-poster{background-size:contain;background-position:center center;background-repeat:no-repeat} var essapi_21_1; function esginit_21_1() { jQuery(document).ready(function() { essapi_21_1 = jQuery("#esg-grid-21-1").tpessential({ gridID:21, layout:"even", forceFullWidth:"off", lazyLoad:"off", row:25, apiName: "essapi_21_1", loadMoreAjaxToken:"a7a6186688", loadMoreAjaxUrl:"https://viewsfromastepstool.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php", loadMoreAjaxAction:"Essential_Grid_Front_request_ajax", ajaxContentTarget:"ess-grid-ajax-container-", ajaxScrollToOffset:"0", ajaxCloseButton:"off", ajaxContentSliding:"on", ajaxScrollToOnLoad:"on", ajaxCallbackArgument:"off", ajaxNavButton:"off", ajaxCloseType:"type1", ajaxCloseInner:"false", ajaxCloseStyle:"light", ajaxClosePosition:"tr", space:30, pageAnimation:"fade", videoPlaybackInGrid: "on", videoPlaybackOnHover: "off", videoInlineMute: "on", videoInlineControls: "off", keepLayersInline: "off", startAnimation: "none", startAnimationSpeed: 1000, startAnimationDelay: 100, startAnimationType: "item", animationType: "item", paginationScrollToTop:"off", paginationAutoplay:"off", spinner:"spinner0", minVisibleItems:3, evenGridMasonrySkinPusher:"off", lightBoxMode:"single", lightboxHash:"group", lightboxPostMinWid:"75%", lightboxPostMaxWid:"75%", lightboxSpinner:"off", lightBoxFeaturedImg:"off", lightBoxPostTitle:"off", lightBoxPostTitleTag:"h2", lightboxMargin : "0|0|0|0", lbContentPadding : "0|0|0|0", lbContentOverflow : "auto", animSpeed:1000, delayBasic:1, mainhoverdelay:1, filterType:"single", showDropFilter:"hover", filterGroupClass:"esg-fgc-21", filterNoMatch:"No Items for the Selected Filter", filterDeepLink:"off", hideMarkups: "on", inViewport: true, viewportBuffer: 20, youtubeNoCookie:"false", convertFilterMobile:false, paginationSwipe: "off", paginationDragVer: "on", pageSwipeThrottle: 30, googleFonts:['Open+Sans:300,400,600,700,800','Raleway:100,200,300,400,500,600,700,800,900','Droid+Serif:400,700'], aspectratio:"2:3", hideBlankItemsAt: "1", responsiveEntries: [ { width:1400,amount:3,mmheight:0}, { width:1170,amount:3,mmheight:0}, { width:1024,amount:2,mmheight:0}, { width:960,amount:3,mmheight:0}, { width:778,amount:2,mmheight:0}, { width:640,amount:2,mmheight:0}, { width:480,amount:1,mmheight:0} ] }); var arrows = true, lightboxOptions = { margin : [0,0,0,0], buttons : ["share","thumbs","close"], infobar : true, loop : true, slideShow : {"autoStart": false, "speed": 3000}, videoAutoPlay : true, animationEffect : "fade", animationDuration : 500, beforeShow: function(a, c) { if(!arrows) { jQuery("body").addClass("esgbox-hidearrows"); } var i = 0, multiple = false; a = a.slides; for(var b in a) { i++; if(i > 1) { multiple = true; break; } } if(!multiple) jQuery("body").addClass("esgbox-single"); if(c.type === "image") jQuery(".esgbox-button--zoom").show(); }, beforeLoad: function(a, b) { jQuery("body").removeClass("esg-four-by-three"); if(b.opts.$orig.data("ratio") === "4:3") jQuery("body").addClass("esg-four-by-three"); }, afterLoad: function() {jQuery(window).trigger("resize.esglb");}, afterClose : function() {jQuery("body").removeClass("esgbox-hidearrows esgbox-single");}, transitionEffect : "fade", transitionDuration : 500, hash : "group", arrows : true, wheel : false, }; jQuery("#esg-grid-21-1").data("lightboxsettings", lightboxOptions); }); } // End of EsgInitScript var once_21_1 = false; if (document.readyState === "loading") document.addEventListener('readystatechange',function() { if((document.readyState === "interactive" || document.readyState === "complete") && !once_21_1 ) { once_21_1 = true; esginit_21_1();}}); else {once_21_1 = true; esginit_21_1();}

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

What’s New:

• Educational Sensory Bin Ideas
• 12 Animal Sensory Bin Ideas for Kids
• 10 Insect Themed Sensory Bins
• 12 Bee Crafts for Kids
• 15 Easter Chick Crafts for Kids
• 15+ Earth Day Crafts for Kids
• St. Patrick’s Day Emotion Cut and Paste Printable Activity
• Valentine’s Day Charades Words
• Printable Color by Number Valentine’s Day Cards for Kids
• Valentine’s Day Kindness Countdown Calendar: Free Printable
• Valentine’s Day Pixel Art Color by Number: Free Printables
• Fake Snow Sensory Activities for Kids
• ‘The Mitten’ Color by Number Printable for Kids
• 10 Fun Ways to Play with Conversation Hearts
• 10 Groundhog Day Activities for Kids
• 10 January Books for Toddlers + Activity Ideas
• 6 Egg Carton Christmas Crafts to Make with Kids
• 10+ Non-Tech Gifts for Tweens
• Santa Egg Carton Craft for Kids
• Reindeer Egg Carton Craft for Kids

Activities for a 4-year-old: Fostering your child’s development

A t age 4, your little one’s best method of learning is through play, which is why no matter if you’re focused on teaching them letters and numbers, social-emotional skills, a love of nature or just trying to keep them busy, having a few go-to learning and sensory activities for 4-year-olds can be especially useful. Your energetic kiddo loves learning new things, and we’ve got 10 hands-on activities to keep them engaged. 

Related: 25 simple activities to help prepare your child for preschool

Sensory activities for 4-year-olds

1. alphabet moon rocks.

Using aluminum foil, wrap up a set of magnetic or foam alphabet letters individually as “moon rocks” for your child to uncover. Set them all in a large plastic tub you can transform into a space-themed sensory bin complete with dried black beans, any space vehicles or astronaut play figures you might have on hand. Can they travel through the galaxy to find all 26 moon rocks? 

2. Wash ‘n’ dry

If your kiddo loves helping you clean, scrubbing down their toys is a great way for them to get their hands wet while feeling like they’re contributing. Set up a couple plastic bins or large soup pots and fill one with soapy water and the second with plain water for rinsing. It’s fun to do this activity each week with a different category of toys: this week, farm animals, next week, toy cars. 

3. Collage creation

Gather a variety of textured materials like fabric scraps, yarn, tissue paper, and buttons. Encourage your child to create a collage by gluing the materials onto a large piece of paper, allowing them to explore different textures and patterns.

Related: 10 art activities for preschoolers & toddlers that don’t require a PhD in Pinterest

Developmental activities for 4-year-olds

1. Puppet play

Whether it’s behind the couch or the shower curtain, create a mock stage for your budding Shakespeare to put on their own play. Ask them to act out a story with their stuffed animals or puppets, and be a very enthusiastic audience member. This activity promotes storytelling abilities, creativity, and social-emotional development.

2. Hopscotch

Hopscotch, the classic sidewalk game, is a surprising winner when it comes to developmental activities for 4-year-olds. It promotes gross motor skills as children hop, jump, and balance on one foot while moving through the hopscotch grid, and it encourages cognitive skills such as number recognition and counting. Kids learn to identify and call out the numbers as they progress through the numbered squares. This activity also introduces basic concepts of sequencing and order as they navigate the correct path. If played with a friend or sibling, it also promotes turn-taking. 

3. Cardboard laptop

Is your kiddo always angling to type on your laptop keyboard? Help them craft their own cardboard version. Fold a piece of cardboard in half like a book. Using a piece of printer paper or construction paper, help them draw their ideal laptop screen, followed by a second piece of paper for the keyboard (ask them to help fill in the letters!). Glue each piece to the respective sides of the cardboard laptop, and then let them happily type away—without the risk of them accidentally sending an email to your boss. 

Related: 7 activities that teach preschoolers + toddlers social skills

Things to do with a 4-year-old

Week 1: play a board game.

Unearth the board games from your youth (Chutes & Ladders, anyone)? And invite your preschooler to play. Introducing board games at an early age can help develop critical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making skills. Board games are also a good way to invite a little friendly competition and support family bonding. 

Week 2: Paint party

Washable kids’ paint is a great way to liven up some plastic outdoor furniture and while away a warm spring or summer afternoon. Offer your kids a few paint colors and a brush, and then let them paint their plastic outdoor toys like chairs, slides and mini cars. It washes right off with the hose or a good rain shower! 

Related: How to make homemade sustainable finger paint for kids

Week 3: Craft a nature collection

Set out on a nature walk (no matter the weather) to see what treasures you and your 4-year-old can find. Then, display your souvenirs in a prominent place on a window sill or mantle to encourage not only a love of the natural world but also that you cherish their treasures right along with them.

Week 4: Sprinkle letter tracing

Create a sensory bag that’s perfect for letter writing with fingers by filling a large gallon-size resealable bag with sprinkles. With the bag closed, tape the bag flat onto a table and spread the sprinkles evenly throughout. Then, model using your finger to draw the letters of the alphabet, your child’s name or numbers. Then, ask them to do the same. 

Our favorite products for 4-year-olds

Search & find 64-piece puzzle.

The 64-piece Search & Find puzzles from Mudpuppy offer preschoolers two challenges. First they have to flex their problem solving skills to put it together. When they’re done, they can use their eagle eyes to find 40+ animals, insects and plants that surround the puzzle edge. Choose from variety of animal themes.

Creativity For Kids

Construction zone playset.

This ready-made sensory bin comes with everything your construction-loving kiddo needs to entertain themselves for hours. When they’re done, just snap the lid back on and store for next time. Honestly, we’d pay double. (And if diggers and dump trucks aren’t thing, they offer a bunch of different themes that are sure to please.)

Marble Rush Ultimate Set Marble Run Building Set

With 145 pieces that can connect together in endless combinations, this colorful marble run is bound to get their wheels turning. A spinning Ferris wheel, a swirling cone that plays a musical light show, thrilling ramps, fast tracks, extreme launchers and bases can be used as they follow instructions for exciting builds or they can flex their creative muscles to design something all their own.

Micro Kickboard

Mini deluxe scooter.

Whether you’re zipping through city streets or riding up and down your suburban driveway, a good scooter is a must-have for outdoor fun. Our top pick is the genius three-wheeled designs from Micro Kickboard. Not only are they super easy for even the smallest daredevils to master, but they’re made to last and hand down. It’s a great way for little ones to improve their balance and coordination while also having a blast!