Not that I have seen it recently but... back in the oldy days one of my favorite things was the pocket lady. Not a game but for a ticket you could reach into the pocket ladies many pockets and bring out a prize. It was just a very large house coat with many, many large, colorful pockets sewn on it. Best Wishes!

Jay29,
Generally, a duck "pond" involves a small kiddie pool or water table with water in it (3-5" is fine I think). You'll need some sort of floating objects (most people use ducks, hence the name). These are available at novelty stores. Usually there's a number on the bottom of each duck, this corresponds to the prize they get. (You need to mark the number & have prizes with the corresponding number.)

For this age group, I assume everyone will get a prize for each event. Especially if you've got little ones with developmental delays. It gives them such a sense of accomplishment!!

A lollipop tree is another good one. Use some sort of stand or box with holes in it to display lollipops (handle end down). Some of the ends have been colored in advance with a marker. Anyone who picks a marked one, wins a prize. Everyone keeps the lollipop. (It's totally up to you how many lollipops you mark - it can be all of them if you want.)

It works nice to have your first activity be decorating a paper bag (you can use rubber stamps with ink pads, magic markers, things to glue on, etc.. You'll probably want things that dry quickly though). Have them put their name on the bag, then take the bag with them to all the activities to collect their "loot".

Play dough activities work great for this age too. Have play dough available with plastic cups & cookie cutters & rolling pins, etc... The cups with animals or something on the bottom work best. We often made our own play dough & furnished cards with the recipe.

Some sort of obstacle course works great too! It can be very simple things - like hula hoops on the ground that they jump in, mats to roll on, things to crawl thru or under, etc... I've never set one up, but if you use your imagination (& think like a kid!) I'm sure you'll come up with lots of things.

I hope you & the kids have a great time!!


I'll check my games list later to see if I have others appropriate for this age group.

Hi-I am in charge of our preshool carnival this summer.I have never even been to one!! It will be 16 children 31/2-5yrs of age and will be in a park. We would like to do very simple games. Any ideas and please describe how you do it ( I know you would think it's self explanatory). I saw a duck tank mentioned, a ring toss and a water balloon toss in other posting but don't know how these work and how you set them up. The kids all have some developmental delays, but are lots of fun and we will have a lot of adult help. Thanks in advance-