Given their tender age, preschoolers remain oblivious to the importance of education. But it goes without saying that they connect to games and similar activities more easily. Having said that, games could be an apt medium to impart kids with basic education before they get introduced to the next big phase in their learning curve. Starting from identifying colors and objects your kids can play games based on creativity, observation, reasoning and so on. Place Me! This game comprises objects of different shapes and sizes. Draw an outline of each object on a paper. Then ask your kids to place an object whose shape is similar to the outline you have drawn. For example, if you have an object which looks like a star, then draw its outline and then observe if your kids are placing the object in its right place. Objective of the game » Helps kids recognize objects according to their shapes and sizes As You Like! This is a sketching game. Cartoon characters are always a favorite with preschoolers. Kids can choose a picture of any character of their choice and sketch the same on a paper. Later they can color them using crayons or sketch pens. Objective of the game » Improves observation skills Letters and Numbers Connection An incomplete picture can be drawn on a piece of paper. The incomplete part would contain some dots, which if connected in the right way, completes the whole picture. To help the kids connect the dots in the correct order, write an alphabet or number against each dot, in the conventional order. Objective of the game » Helps kids memorize English alphabets and numbers Roses are Red... Arrange for some colored papers; preferably all seven colors. Now place each colored paper before your kids and ask them to name each of the colors. You can use pictures of plants, fruits and vegetables to describe each of the seven colors. You can also teach your kids the difference between primary and secondary colors. Objective of the game » Improves color recognition Fill the Gap! You can cut out pictures of various items and tag them with incomplete spellings of their names. To win the game, kids have to write down the missing letters. The words you choose for this game can be names of animals, places, and other miscellaneous words. In the initial phase, go for simple and short spellings. Objective of the game » Improves spelling Lend Me your Ears First, let your kids play with some objects such as a bunch of keys, a squeaky rubber duck, spoons, and a whistle. Then blindfold their eyes and ask them to guess the sounds you make using the same objects. Objective of the game » Improves listening skills Make Up A Story Get about 20 blank index cards. In each card, draw an object; it could be an animal, a non-living thing, names of places or animals, etc. Once all the cards have a character on each of them, shuffle them and choose 10 cards for yourself. Now with the characters in the cards, make up a story and ensure that your kids are listening. Thereafter, shuffle the cards again, and distribute 10 of them to your kids, and let them make up a story on their own. Objective of the game » Enhances creativity Drive in the City Draw a city on a paperboard with many roads, small alleys, and highways. Set up some colorful buildings, shops, lampposts, etc. Keep in mind that you have to draw some roads that go nowhere, and some that lead to the other end of the city but not in a straight direction. Thereafter, place some toy cars in the city, and ask your preschoolers to drive till the city limits. Give them the option to change their cars if they want to. And if they reach a dead end, then they would have to start from the beginning. Objective of the game » Improves logic and reasoning Talk to Me How would you feel if suddenly one morning your alarm clock starts talking to you, and then your toothbrush, and even your breakfast? Ask your preschooler what would their toys say or do if they happen to come to life someday. Objective of the game » Enhances creativity Mind the Pattern All you have to do here is challenge your kids to match patterns. For the sake of simplicity I have used English alphabets in this example. You can replace these letters with objects like fruits, animals, cartoons, etc.. A B B A B A Now which of the following patterns matches the one above? Objective of the game » Enhances observation skills Early education for kids should be such that they can have fun while learning. The learning should not become work, because this is when kids begin to lose their interest in it. The best education is the one where the learning can be understood and applied, and not just memorized! Note: Ensure that the articles you are going to use for these games are baby-safe.