Focus activities for kids: 9 Concentration Tips & Activities for Kids

27 Focus Activities for the Preschool Environment

Without proper focus and concentration skills, it can be hard to keep attention maintained and follow through with tasks. Daily activities that help students learn to focus and build their skills are essential through early childhood education.

If you’re looking for more ways to enhance your class activities and your student’s focus skills, then you’ve come to the right place! Here is a list of 27 activities that are perfect for preschool-aged children.

1. Fine Motor Letters

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This letter activity is great for school and at home! Watch the focus grow within your student as they work to match up all the letters. Simple and engaging, a perfect activity for a rainy day.

Learn more: Playtime Apollo Beach FL

2. Sensory Bins

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Sensory bins are a go-to when it comes to preschool-aged children. Undoubtedly, these bins have been designed to bring out the senses. Providing children with a space to be mindful and connect with themselves will help to provoke a deeper focus on other activities.

Learn more: Small Bright Lights

3. Playdough Letters

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Letter activities HAVE to be engaging. There’s no way around it. Using materials that students know, love, and can connect with is #1 to keeping them engaged. Playdough is a favorite among teachers and students everywhere.

Learn more: Nikki’s Child Care

4. LEGO Building

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Child activities involving LEGOs will no doubt provoke attention and focus. Giving students the space to build and interact with each other will help them to hone their attention skills. Keeping their buildings structurally strong or the tallest possible requires great attention, focus, and, hopefully, teamwork.

Learn more: Nikki’s Child Care

5. Spidey Senses 

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This game is so much fun! It not only requires attention but also focuses on how the challenge should be approached. It seems like @marissa.ann.marino used this as a Halloween activity, but the truth is it can be used as an activity in preschools or at home all year round!

Learn more: Marissa Ann Marino

6. Magna tile Construction

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If you’ve ever seen children seriously engaged with Magna tiles, then you fully understand the concentration level it takes. I’ve attempted to build some of the creations that my preschool-aged children have created and can’t even compete against the focus they’ve obtained from constantly building.

Learn more: Magblox Au

7. Over & Under

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Finding ways to use materials you already have somewhere in your preschool environment is a win-win for everyone. With low prep and affordable materials, teachers can focus more on each student! Simply weaving ribbons through the bars in a storage rack will keep them engaged, ESPECIALLY if you have various colors of ribbon!

Learn more: Edscription

8. Matching Insects

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Matching games are mainly aimed at developing a student’s critical thinking skills. But, with critical thinking comes a great deal of focus. Try playing focus music and providing the students with the space they need to finish the activity.

Learn more: Mahtisa Learning Activities

9. Cup Stacking

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Cup stacking may seem difficult for preschool-aged children, but you’d be surprised at their determination to build the best or biggest castles. This is the perfect activity to complete with older students acting as role models to help the preschoolers with their focus and attention!

Learn more: Decji Klub Prijateljstva

10. Color Weaving

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Weaving is a great way to intertwine the proper development of fine motor skills and concentration. Being a physical activity using the hands will play a key role in how well your student engages with the activity and continues to be focused throughout.

Learn more: Kopu Kavy

11. Gluing Paper

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Students love the idea of using glue and love the idea of painting it even better! Simply gluing paper to one of the following with being the best way to keep your kiddos engaged and working on building a strong attention span.

• A Paper Plate
• A Sheet of Paper
• A Large Bulletin Board Size Paper

Learn more: Oak Tree Learning

12. Focus Ball

@kidsfunlearning #asktiktok Can you do it?! Tag us in your videos! Not easy at all! 😅 #kidsactivities #kidsfun #learningisfun #tiktokmoms ♬ The Addams Family — Instrumental Party Music — Kid’s Halloween Hits

This is not an easy activity for anyone, but you’d be surprised at how quickly your preschooler picks up on the tricks. With proper parental involvement, this is the perfect activity to be done at home! Or it’s a great additional activity during free time or a break between classes.

Learn more: Kids Fun Learning

13. Follow the Line

@kidsfunlearning What should we do next?! 🥰 #brainbooster #learnontiktok #funlearning #kidsactivities #prek #toddlermom #momtips ♬ She Share Story (for Vlog) — 山口夕依

Using ping-pong balls and a sheet of paper, this project can quickly be done anywhere. The key role of following the line is focused on your student’s cognitive and motor skill development, but it also takes a great deal of focus.

Learn more: Kids Fun Learning

14. Soap Search

@emerald_outlaw Warmer weather means water play 😎💦 #learnwithme #waterplay #easykidsactivities #preschoolactivities #kidsummeractivities ♬ Bongo cha-cha-cha — Remastered — Caterina Valente

Talk about keeping your kiddos busy on a hot summer day! This simple soap activity is the perfect way to keep them focused while providing some sensory play. They will love the feeling of the soapy bubbles and will be working hard to find all of the colors and match them up

Pro tip: The best bubbles can be made by shaving dial soap (with a cheese grater) and then adding water

Learn more: Emerald Outlaw

15. Concentration Spoons

@kidsfunlearning Are you up for the challenge?! 😅 #kidsdiy #brainbooster #funlearning #kidsactivities #prek #kinder #sensoryplay ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys — Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey

TikTok brings us another amazing activity that’s perfect for preschoolers! This activity will activate the entire brain and keep your kiddos focused! It’s the perfect activity for students to work independently. With little materials and prep, teachers will equally love this activity.

Learn more: Kids Fun Learning

16. Color Matching

@beyondtheplayroom Apple Color Match Sensory Bag Activity for Kids. #preschoolactivities #sensorybag #preschoolteacher #backtoschoolactivity #appletheme #sensoryactivity ♬ The Git Up — Blanco Brown

This one is super cute and one of my favs. I always include this in my gifts at birthday parties for preschool-aged kiddos. It’s great because kids will love the sensory of it while also promoting color-matching skills.

Learn more: Beyond the Playroom

17. Brain Break Breathing

My preschoolers LOVE rainbow breaths and never forget to remind me about them when I’m slightly frustrated.

This means they’re very in tune with how breathing affects their feelings. Teaching them how it also can affect their focus and attention will play a key role in their development.

Learn more: MDR Bros. Education Channel

18. Shake Your Sillies Out

Focusing at any age can be difficult, especially when you just have so much more energy than you’re able to give out! This is why giving your students time to focus on their bodies rather than completing physical activities is important. Shake your sillies out is a great song for kids up and moving.

Learn more: The Learning Station — Kids Songs and Nursery Rhymes

19. Yoga 

Yoga helps to grab the attention of our racing minds and channel it into something helpful and mindful. It’s no different for even our youngest learners. So take the time to include yoga in your daily activities, and you won’t be disappointed.

Learn more: Appu Series

20. Build a Story

Okay, there’s no doubt that our little preschoolers can be quite the storytellers! Acting as role models, we can quickly help our students to create some amazing, funny, serious, or just crazy stories. This video will help gather your student’s attention to create your own story together.

Learn more: The Evelyn Winters Adventure

21. Cup Flip 

Cup flip is a simple, fast-paced game that does actually require a lot of attention. It may seem simple to us, but to our preschoolers, it’s a great way to work on their concentration skills with lots of yelling and excitement all around them.

Learn more: aNIM

22. What do You Hear? 

I love this game. Sometimes when my kiddos are just a little overwhelmed or overstimulated, we need to take a break. This game not only forces children to focus and listen, but it’s also simple enough that they can guess most of the sounds.

Learn more: Kreative Leadership

23. I Spy

Have you ever searched for Waldo as an adult? My teacher friend and I often look through old Where’s Waldo books, trying to find him. We both agreed that we’re never more focused than in those moments! The same goes for our kiddos, who absolutely LOVE diving into these «I spy with my little eye» videos.

Pro tip: Pull them up on the smart board and allow students to circle the items! 

Learn more: Detormentis

24. What Color, is It? 

We all have those days when we just don’t seem to have any time or energy to prep for a lesson. This is a great systematic review of the colors, and it will also provide students with a completely different view of objects they are extremely familiar with.

Learn more: Games 4 ESL

25. Quick Grab

Tathra Preschool has a big science and numeracy focus, but of course kids just find it a whole lot of great fun, alongside creative play with ordinary materials — they’ve gone plastic free- art, games and the resident possum! Interesting Atlas of Life science partnership too pic.twitter.com/Tn5sq4K7jk

— Leslie Loble (@L2Leslie) March 6, 2020

This definitely will involve various teachers or parents! If you don’t have anyone to help, it’s a great way to have your students practice waiting their turn. With high focus and a busy environment of cheering others on, this is one of the best activities to create strong focus and attention skills within your preschoolers.

Learn more: Little Wings Holistic Childhood Center

Types of Attention and Activities for Each Type

Do you feel like you are constantly nagging your child to pay attention?  Or do you find yourself saying “Sweetie, let’s focus!” every afternoon over homework?  Are the students in your classroom distracted, lacking concentration, or tuned out? Using attention activities to help kids pay attention may be just the thing to help with kids who have a lot on their mind in the classroom or at home as critical thinking skills develop. These are activities to improve attention and concentration and can be a big help at home or at school. 

Distractions can come in many forms. The child who is overly sensitive to sensory input may over respond to the slightest sounds, textures, sights, scents, tastes, or motions.  Children who are excessively distracted by their sensory needs will struggle to attend to simple commands. Other children are able to “keep it together” in a classroom or home setting yet their concentration is challenged.  Inattention can present as indifference, disregard, forgetfulness, carelessness, disinterest, neglect, or thoughtlessness. Kids might make mistakes or seem like they simply can’t pay attention. When a child is struggling to complete tasks, there can be many reasons or many signs of attention issues.

This resource is part of our new Executive Functioning Skills series.  You will find information, executive functioning skill areas, strategies, and tools added to the drop down menu above.

Recognizing a connection between sensory processing and attention can be a key focus point. Our free attention and sensory workbook can help.

Improve Focus and Concentration

Limitations in cognitive abilities can impact all aspects of occupations in school, home, the community. Learning and daily activities provide opportunities for cognitive development, including attention, memory, problem solving. Additionally, concepts that children need for math and reading require attention and focus, including the ability to concentrate and attend to reading, counting and patterns in play are necessary for math concepts and early literacy skills.

In fact, there are a few key early literacy skills that are important building blocks:

• Alphabet Knowledge: Knowing letter forms along with their names and sounds
• Phonological Awareness: Discriminating and manipulating the sounds associated with spoken language
• Rapid Automatic Naming: Rapidly naming sequences of letters, numbers, colors, or objects
• Writing: Writing letters on request & name writing
• Phonological Memory: Remembering orally presented information for a short length of time

Occupational therapists have the skills to work with the educational team to address specific needs in the classroom related to literacy skill development. They can do this through multi-sensory approaches, while addressing any accommodations, and in meaningful and motivating means, all while supporting specific goals. A quick search found evidence-based interventions that can be used to promote pre-literacy skills in early childhood.

Some of these strategies include: facilitating the development of motor skills, sensory processing, postural control, and social interactions, as well as facilitating the development of alphabetic principle (specific letters correspond to specific letter sounds), phonological awareness (ability to discriminate and manipulate the sound structure), and phonemic awareness (understanding of a sound, like the initial sound of a word) into interventions. This can be included by incorporating multi-sensory approaches to formation of alphabet letters, use of finger plays, songs, and pre-writing tasks during interventions to promote the development of literacy skills (Frolek Clark, et al., 2011).

Inattentive Behaviors in kids

Understanding that attention and executive functioning skills are connected can be a helpful starting point in addressing the areas that play into a child’s inattentiveness. In fact what adds to a child’s inattentive behavior can be a variety of needs, from sensory processing components to executive functioning issues.

Addressing areas such as impulse control, problem solving, distractibility, self-regulation, and delayed gratification can be tools to address habits and mindset behind inattentive types of behaviors.

Types of Attention

There are various types of attention that kids can struggle with, each impacting function and independence in occupations of daily life for children in different ways. Mastering these types of attention are necessary for learning, safety, social skills, and function.

Under each description of the different types of attention, you’ll find activities to improve attention and concentration for that specific area.

Amazon affiliate links are included in this post.

Sustained Attention

Holding attention over a period of time is necessary for the focus and concentration needed in learning, listening during lectures, paying attention during conversations or instructions. Reading a book requires the ability to pay attention over a period of time without becoming distracted. As reading requirements become more advanced in the older grades, sustained attention is challenged by chapter books and reading comprehension.

Activities to Improve Sustained Attention-

ord search- cross out all letter a’s, etc.

• Write out a list of words that start with a certain letter. Identify a certain number of words.
• Ordering information into alphabetical or numerical order
• Set a timer and complete a task or reading passage for a certain number of minutes

Selective Attention

By nature, we are able to select the input we pay attention to. Consciously, and unconsciously, we are able to select the input which is most important. This is visible by the student who listens to their teacher during a lesson while a lawn mower is running outside the classroom window. Anyone familiar with a classroom can imagine all of the stimuli which is thrown at a child at any given time: a fly on the window, the first snowflakes of the season falling outside, a flickering fluorescent light, a fellow classmate with a bad cough, a janitor cart passing by in the hallway, a student’s pencil that drops, a tapping of a shoe, a rumbling belly waiting for lunch…there is a lot going on which challenges selective attention! Having the ability to select from the many points of visual, auditory, interoceptive, tactile, stimuli in order to focus and attend to just one, is the brain’s ability to select and respond to just one factors that matter most.

Activities to Improve Selective Attention-

• Use visual cues
• Work on auditory skills
• Limit visual distractions
• Reduce background noise
• Position kids away from windows or hallways in the classroom
• The Focus Game

Alternating Attention

This type of attention refers to the ability to switch or immediately transfer focus from one activity to another. Switching points of concentration is needed to make sudden switches in alternating attention in tasks which require different cognitive skills. One example of this is cooking a meal and performing various tasks at once (boiling water, chopping carrots, and helping kids with homework is just one example. As a side note, it seems like teachers and parents excel in alternating attention. Alternating attention requires the ability to use the other attention types in tasks.

Activities to Improve Alternating Attention-

• Cooking with kids activities
• Musical chairs
• Eye Found It Game
• Flip cards in a deck and perform actions based on the suit, color, or number
• Sort coins or colored items
• Practice performing a task that can easily become distractible such as going online to send an email…or shopping in Target.
• The Sneaky, Snacky, Squirrel game

Divided Attention

Divided attention refers to one’s ability to focus on two or more things at the same time. Simultaneously concentrating on various factors is evidenced by driving and holding a conversation simultaneously. This ability to multi-task isn’t always an easy thing to manage. The ability to hold attention to various simultaneous point of concentration can require practice. A teen who is learning to drive will need the radio turned off and the only conversation in the car being verbal instructions from a parent or driving instructor. Only through practice does that new driver learn to concentrate on the road while the radio is playing.

Activities to improve divided attention- 

• Practice games such as Connect Four with background distractions or verbal instructions
• Increasingly complex verbal memory games
• Simon with music playing in background

Attention Activities

Use the activities and strategies below to build attention skills or accommodate for struggles with attention so that children can become safe and active learners in all environments.  

For classroom strategies, try adding a few attention-boosting classroom breaks, depending on the needs of the students you serve.

 Attention Activities for kids

• Attention, Behavior, and Mealtimes
• Toys and Tools to Build Attention
• Organization and Attention Related to Sensory Processing
• Sensory Movement Activities for Attention  

When it comes to boosting attention in kids, there is a lot going on. Attention is aligned with executive functioning, sensory processing, self-reflection, and so much more!   Below, we are chatting about a few attention activities for kids. These are the ones that develop attention through games, activities, and fun. Being that a child’s primary occupation is play, why not develop the skills they need (like attention!) through active participation in an interest-based activity?  

Some of these quiet fidget tools for the classroom may help.    

Attention Deficits

Addressing attention can be addressed through focus exercises and tools to improve self-reflection in children. Understanding how a sit   Helping children with self-reflection can be a valuable tool. Understanding a situation and reflecting on what worked and what didn’t work, along with strategic use of coping strategies is one way to address attention deficits in kids. These are the areas where a child struggles in the classroom, home, homework, extracurricular activities, or the community. Each child will be different and each child’s situation will differ. It makes sense that each child’s tools and strategies will differ, too.  

• Attention During Meals
• Toys and Tools to Improve Visual Attention
• Attention and Behavior Issues in the Community
• Potty Training with Attention or Behavior Problems
• What is Executive Functioning in Child Development?
• Teach Kids with Attention Issues to Safely Cross the Street
• Improve Attention with Auditory Processing Strategies
• Adults with Executive Function Disorder
• Free Executive Function Email Course

More strategies to improve attention

The Impulse Control Journal is your ticket to helping kids manage their impulses, strategize ways to “shift gears”, and learn valuable lessons in self-regulation. This printable journal is a hands-on approach to improve attention and concentration.

The Impulse Control Journal is a self-regulation tool that will help:

• Children who have boundary issues
• Kids learning about self-control or who struggle with carryover of skills learned during one-on-one therapy sessions
• Kids with impulse control challenges that lead to safety concerns or learning issues

This printable journal has tools to address attention at all levels:

• Drawing Journal Pages to reflect and pinpoint individual strategies
• Journal Lists so kids can write quick checklists regarding strengths, qualities, supports, areas of need, and insights
• Journaling worksheets to pinpoint coping skills, feelings, emotions, and strategies that work for the individual
• Daily and Weekly tracking sheets for keeping track of tasks and goals
• Mindset, Vision, and Habit pages for helping kids make an impact
• Self-evaluation sheets to self-reflect and identify when inhibition is hard and what choices look like
• Daily tracker pages so your child can keep track of their day
• Task lists to monitor chores and daily tasks so it gets done everyday
• Journal pages to help improve new habits
• Charts and guides for monitoring impulse control so your child can improve their self-confidence
• Strategy journal pages to help kids use self-reflection and self-regulation so they can succeed at home and in the classroom
• Goal sheets for setting goals and working to meet those goals while improving persistence
• Tools for improving mindset to help kids create a set of coping strategies that work for their needs

Get your copy of the Impulse Control Journal to address attention and other underlying areas.

“Thinking and Doing” Attention

As we’ve covered above, there is a complex nature to attention as we use this executive functioning skill in every day activities. That is further broken down into the areas of thinking and doing.

Thinking Attention- This refers to sustained attention previous to a task and the process of mental skills to imagine a task. Thinking attention also refers to the cognitive skills of working memory, task completion, time management, flexible thinking, attention and other cognitive skills that require sustained thoughts.

Doing Attention- This refers to sustained attention during a task as it is carried out. Doing attention refers to what we see, or the behaviors at hand. In the classroom, this looks like the fidgety kid or the student that jumps up from their seat. These behaviors are connected to emotional response, inhibition, response flexibility during a task, and other actions.

Related to both “thinking and doing” components of attention is mental flexibility.

Mental Flexibility in mental tasks is sometimes referred to as cognitive shift or mental shift. This cognitive flexibility is your brain’s ability to adapt to new, changing, or unplanned events. Cognitive flexibility is also the ability to switch from one way of thinking to another. This is also known as task switching.

We can see really see challenges in distraction and multitasking when attentional flexibility is tricky.

occupational therapy activities to improve attention

As occupational therapy professionals, we can support the individual in a variety of settings. Depending on which environment results in functional skill deficits, that is the environment to consider. It might be that in the school, attention lacks as a result of a distracting classroom full of visual noise. Or perhaps auditory sensitivities impact attention. Despite these visual or auditory distractions, it is not necessarily a “sensory issue”, but an impulse control, sustained attention, working memory, etc. issue. These are areas that an OT can support through suggestions, tips, and consultation.

Likewise, attention at home can impact transition from school to home. The environment can play a role in organizing and completing homework and chore completion. There can be considerations that impact functional performance of self-care, social interactions, or participation in family events.

You can see how attention struggles can be vastly different depending on the individual!

Some ways OT can support individuals with attention challenges that impact functional performance:

• Teach how to do one task at a time before moving on
• Educate on the use of simplified instructions
• Instruct on how to use visual schedules
• Reduce distraction in the environment
• Trial attention apps and technology
• Instruct on time management
• Educate on time and supply preparation needed for a task
• Instruct how to use graphic organizers
• Show how to use visual or auditory prompts
• Slowly fade prompts and reinforcement
• Self-regulation teaching
• Educate on identifying goals and setting goals
• Education on metacognition, or critical thinking skills
• Brain breaks
• Social stories
• Mnemonics (memory tricks)
• Mindfulness strategies
• Body awareness training
• Yoga
• Sensory lifestyle/ sensory diet

Concentrating then on one task at a time before moving on is important. We need to make sure that everyone has received the instruction, one thing at a time. This is where visuals on the student’s desk can come into play. If the task is opening their language arts book to page 101, then maybe those instructions should be taped to the desk so the student knows exactly what is expected. And, if they are distracted, the teacher can walk by and point. This also does not bring attention to the student. The student could then check it off when they are finished. We need to make sure they are successful before moving on.

We need to keep these instructions simple and short. Again, we need to limit distractions. This includes homework and desk areas where they are working. We do not want clutter. We want to build a successful environment for them. You can also talk with parents or teachers about this.

Reference:

Frolek Clark, G. G., Schlabach, T. L., Barnett, M. E., Carr, M. A., Hinkle, B. L., Kluever, J. L., … Kluever, A. L. (2011, August). American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. Retrieved from www.aota.org

Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to [email protected].

To help parents. Card file of tricks for children held at home with their parents. | Card file (senior group) on the topic:

To help parents.

Purpose: To systematize the work on the development of experimental activities of parents together with their children at home.

Any child, watching the miracles performed by a magician, dreams of being in his place. And, if complex illusions are beyond the power of young wizards, then they can easily master simple but spectacular tricks, especially if mom and dad help them with this.

For the success of many tricks, parents must not only know the secret of the trick, but also master it to perfection, subsequently teaching the child. However, many little tricks children can, once they learn, use on their own. After all, little wizards learn very quickly, and, as a rule, once a trick is shown, it is easy to remember and use it with pleasure.

Children’s easy tricks usually do not require any special manual dexterity or special devices. Most often they are based on the child’s knowledge of one small trick that the audience does not know about.

Knowing a few simple tricks is especially important for children who have difficulty communicating or are not very popular with their peers. The glory of the «wizard» will provide them with universal attention and respect. Simple tricks for children are a great opportunity to cope with the fear of the public and learn attentiveness, perseverance, and patience.

Focus with ball and needle.

Even the smallest children know that an inflated balloon will burst if pricked. The more respect your child will win if he manages to pierce the ball through with a long knitting needle. The sight is really amazing — the spoke goes through, but the stretched colored rubber does not even think of bursting. After a few minutes, you can invite one of the guests to poke the ball with a needle: a loud bang and bright scraps will prove to everyone better than any words that the ball was real, and only the will of the little wizard made it so strong.

The secret of this trick is very simple: you need to stick a piece of transparent tape on both sides of the balloon. After that, you need to carefully insert the knitting needle into the ball, so that it, coming out from the opposite side, also gets into the area reinforced with adhesive tape.

This trick is very easy to perform, but it may not work the first time. It is necessary to immediately explain to the child how important it is to get the needle in the right place. The kid will have to practice before this trick starts to work out for him the first time.

This is important! The needle should be very sharp so that it is easy to pierce the rubber the first time.

This trick will decorate not only a birthday, but also a matinee in kindergarten, and a school holiday. In this video you can see exactly how this trick can be done:

Enchanted thread.

Pour sparkling water into a clear vase or glass and dip a button into it. A piece of plastic will immediately fall down, but — lo and behold! Your child will be able to order the button. «Swim up!» — and the button obediently rises to the surface. «Swim down» — and she slowly sinks to the bottom. Of course, guests can also try to do this — but their button will not obey.

The solution to this miracle is very simple. Like many other simple children’s tricks, the performance with an enchanted button is associated with knowledge of the laws of nature. Gas bubbles quickly stick around any object lowered into the drink, it becomes lighter and rises to the surface. However, there the bubbles begin to burst due to the changed pressure, and the button sinks again. At the bottom, it will again “overgrow” with bubbles and begin to float again.

Small children especially like this trick and with a little practice your little one will be able to entertain his friends for a long time with the spectacle of a button obedient to his will. The main thing is to remember how long it takes before the bubbles that form begin to push it up again.

Endless thread.

At a children’s party, not only interesting and spectacular tricks are needed, but also funny practical jokes. For such a case, the trick with a never-ending thread is perfect. The little magician notices a white thread on his clothes and asks the guests to take it off. The viewer takes the thread, pulls it. But the thread, instead of separating from the fabric, suddenly begins to grow in the hands, and no matter how much you pull on it, it only becomes longer.

This simple trick can quickly cheer everyone up, and its secret, meanwhile, is very simple: in the child’s pocket there is a spool with a wound thread, the end of which is released with a needle.

Important! Instead of a coil, you can use a regular pencil. If unwitting participants in the focus suspect something, it will be enough for you to simply pull the thread to the end. After that, you can offer to search the pockets of the young magician — the pencil will not arouse suspicion in anyone. For the same reason, it is better to take a thread no longer than a few meters.

Self-inflating balloon.

This trick requires a sealed bottle of sparkling water and a balloon. The guys are invited to inflate the balloon without rising from the table and without bringing it to their mouths. While the children think about how this can be done, the demonstrator needs to take a bottle of sparkling water. After that, you need to convince the children that this is a magical device. Next, you need to carefully open the bottle and put the ball on its neck, shake the bottle and put it on the table. The result will appear instantly: the balloon will gradually inflate.

Freeze!

Probably, such really New Year tricks from Santa Claus for children, like this one, are the most relevant for the holiday.

For this performance, you will need Epsom salts (bitter salts), a clear vial or vial, and a jar with a tight lid. Pour ¾ cup of water into a clean saucepan. The liquid boils, and it is necessary to stir it constantly. Next, Epsom salts are poured into the pan until it begins to settle to the bottom. The vial or vial is then filled with this hot solution. When demonstrating the trick, it is necessary to show a vial of liquid and report that now this water will turn into snow. One wave of the magic wand and the liquid turns white, like a mass of snow.

The secret of this trick is very simple. The whole mystery is enclosed in a magic wand. Before showing the trick, you need to put a couple of salt crystals on this stick, so that at the right time you just shake them off into the bottle.

Festive confetti.

This New Year’s trick requires a chicken egg and confetti. It is necessary in advance to make a small hole in the egg and eliminate all the contents. When demonstrating this trick, it would be ideal to dim the lights in the room, creating a mysterious semi-dark environment. The egg must be shown to all participants in order to prove that it is real. Further, after any magic words, Santa Claus hides the egg in his palms and carefully rubs it. Then multi-colored confetti pours from the palms of the grandfather magician.

The secret of this New Year’s trick is that eggshells are easy to crush, so the trick is very easy to perform.

Magic water.

This trick requires three jars with tight-fitting lids. A small spot, the size of a coin, is pre-applied with gouache on the inside of the lid. The paint dries and water is poured into the jars, the lids are twisted.

Next, Santa Claus arranges the jars on the table and asks the children what color to color the water. After the color is chosen, the jar is covered with a handkerchief or piece of cloth and shaken several times. Under the influence of water, gouache dissolves and paints over the water. The scarf is removed and a jar of colored water is shown.

Santa Claus tricks in kindergarten ic force. Let the children really believe that he can work miracles. And then it will be quite difficult for them to convince their parents after the holiday, as they are absolutely sure that Santa Claus was not real.

New Year tricks for children in kindergarten, school or at home can be very different, because the main thing is to surprise the little spectators, capture their attention, so the demonstrator can choose tricks in accordance with their desires and abilities. In addition to simple tricks, Santa Claus can show tricks based on some chemical or physical experiments. The main thing is that children should have fun and be interested

Who doesn’t love magic tricks? Everyone loves tricks — both adults and children. Because focus is a little magic that, if desired and skillful, you can do yourself. Of course, this business is not as simple as it seems at first glance, so for starters, the tricks should be as simple as possible. But that doesn’t make them less effective! We’ve put together magic tricks that you can show your little ones or help your child learn on their own — especially for little magicians! The most important thing in this matter is to learn the magic spell: “hocus pocus alle op!” All! Now everything will definitely work!

Candy made from… confetti?

For this sweet trick, you will need a wide bowl filled to the middle with confetti and a couple of paper cups, but not ordinary ones, but a secret one.

Here it is, this secret: one of the cups should have a lid, we glue confetti thickly on it. Next is the matter of technology. Put the candies in a glass with a lid and bury it in a bowl with confetti. The child shows the bowl to the audience. So that everyone can see that there is no deception here, he scoops up confetti with another glass and pours them back into the bowl from a sufficiently high height. Then he scoops up the confetti again (but in fact he takes another cup, and hides the first one in the bowl), covers it with a scarf, reads a spell, takes off the scarf — in front of us is a glass filled with delicious sweets! The main thing is to carefully remove the lid along with the handkerchief — this is the second secret of our trick.

Trick for kids: «Water cycle in a bag»

This trick for kids is no longer a trick, but a scientific experiment. A child of any age who has already begun to understand what nature is can make it with his parents. We will need:

• Zip bag.
• Water.
• Blue food coloring.

Take a marker and draw clouds and sun on the bag. Then add a little dye to the water, make it blue. Fill the bag and zip it up. Tape the package to the window with tape, leave it for a while. As a result, the children will watch how droplets drip directly into the blue water.

The essence of the trick for children: the water cycle in nature will take place right at your window. Water will remain in the bag, rise to its top in the form of evaporation — steam. Then from above it will freeze a little, and will again be in a liquid state, will begin to drip back into droplets into the blue liquid. Such tricks for children will allow your kid to become interested in science, and a little bit of magic.

Trick for children: “A tornado in a jar”

This trick will also allow the child to become interested in various forces of nature, will allow you to talk about such a phenomenon as a hurricane or tornado, well, it will keep you and your baby busy for a while. We will need:

• Tall jar and lid.
• Water.
• Colorant.
• Sequins.
• Dishwashing liquid.

Fill the jar with water (¾ of the total volume) and foaming dishwashing liquid. Next, add food coloring and glitter. We put these additives so that the reaction itself is better visible to us, if we do not add a dye, then a hurricane will occur in the jar, but we may not see it clearly. Before starting this children’s trick, it is better to wear gloves so as not to get dirty. Now close the jar with a lid, unwind it clockwise.

The secret of this trick for children: the jar, swirling in a circle, will create a swirl inside of the liquid. Centrifugal force contributes to everything, it is thanks to it that the water revolves around, a tornado appears.

Magic trick for kids: «Candy rainbow»

A variety of magic tricks for children will help to interest the child and give him the opportunity to do something wonderful with his own hands. And which of the kids does not like to become a wizard, and even get a pack of sweets to boot. We will need:

• Skittles. Violet — 10, red — 2, green — 8, orange — 4, yellow — 6.
• Hot water — 200 milliliters.
• Small glasses — 5 pieces.
• Syringe.
• Table spoon.
• Bank.

We distribute candy of a certain color into each of the cups. In the same glasses for sweets, pour 2 tablespoons of hot water. For better solubility of sweets, water can be heated a little more, or put together with a glass in the microwave.

And so, now, with the help of a syringe, we collect colored water and pour it into a common jar. It is necessary to pour so that the colors form a rainbow and do not mix. Start with purple, then green, yellow orange and red. From dense to the most liquid color.

The secret of this trick for children: this whole children’s trick is based on the fact that the thickness of the syrup will depend on the amount of candies and the paint that was used to cover them. The denser the syrup, the heavier it is, so it will be more likely to settle.

I wish you success!

Summary of the lesson «Learning to show tricks» | Experiments and experiments around the world around (preparatory group):

Summary of the lesson

on cognitive research activities on the topic «Learning to show tricks»

in a group preparatory to school for students with mental retardation

Purpose: to promote the development of cognitive activity in children , curiosity, through experimental activities.

Tasks:

Educational:

1. Expansion of children’s ideas about the world around them through acquaintance with some properties of objects: paper, air, magnet.
2. Clarification of children’s ideas about the profession of a magician.

Corrective:

1. Development in children of the ability to establish cause-and-effect relationships on the basis of elementary experimentation, draw conclusions based on previously received ideas and own assumptions.
2. To continue the formation of ways of knowing in children.
3. Improvement in children of general and fine motor skills, visual-motor coordination, development of visual perception.
4. Exercise for children to follow simple instructions.
5. Development of dialogic speech, the ability to answer a question with a sentence, coordinating words in gender and case.
6. To enrich children’s vocabulary: magician, video, artist, water lily, revealing, demonstration of focus, performance, invisible, assistant, horizontally.

Educational:

1. To help maintain children’s interest in cognitive research activities, curiosity, and the need for information.
2. Education in children the habit of observing the rules of behavior in the classroom,

Equipment:

• Bell.
• Notebook (video clip), images — magician.
• Algorithm — rules of conduct in class, pointer.
• Music center (audio recordings — mysterious music).
• Cloak and magic wand, emblems according to the number of children.
• Filled containers — 6 pieces (paper flower, plastic transparent bags, counting plastic stick, coin, paper napkin, rubber ball, paper clip, wooden cube, paper butterfly, iron nut).
• A basin of water, a paper flower, a colorful handkerchief and a smiley face.
• Cardboard sheet with glued magnet, iron key, marker.
• Easel with painted picture, butterfly.
• 6 magnets, 6 sheets of cardboard with painted flowers.

Preliminary work:

• Consideration of illustrations on the topic.
• Watching videos of «Magician Performance».
• Carrying out simple experiments.
• Speech with movement.
• Discussion of the rules of the lesson.
• Making paper flowers.
• Educational games aimed at developing cognitive activity and establishing cause-and-effect relationships.

Activities with children:

Part I

The teacher stands and rings the bell.

— The bell rings, fills up and the guys gather around.

Children come up and stand near the teacher.

— Guys, we have guests at the lesson today. They came to see how you can do. Let’s turn to the guests, say hello, look at them, and we won’t be distracted anymore. (Children greet)

— Sit on the chairs near the laptop.

Children sit on chairs near the laptop.

— Let’s remember the rules of conduct in class.

Visual support — rules of conduct in class.

(The teacher alternately points to the pictures on the card with a pointer, addressing the children, supplementing the children’s answers)

— Okay, now guys, I’ll show you a short video.

Children watch a short video clip.

— Guys, who is this video about? (This video is about a magician)

— What is a magician? (A magician is a person, an artist who performs tricks)

— Where can I see a magician performing? (Performance of a magician can be seen in a circus, at a concert, at a holiday)

— The magician carefully prepares for the performance: he rehearses every movement many times, selects clothes, music. For the viewer to believe, the magician must be a good artist. It is not easy to become a magician, you have to learn it.

— Who knows what a trick is? (Focus is the artist’s deft actions that deceive our eyesight. Tricks are based on knowledge, cunning and speed of movement)

— Do you think the magician reveals the secrets of tricks to the audience? (No, the magician does not reveal the secrets of tricks)

— But sometimes you really want to know how he does it and repeat it yourself! Do you agree with me? (Children’s answers)

— Would you like me to teach you some simple tricks that you can show to your parents or your friends? (Children’s answers)

— Then we need to turn into magicians, stand in a circle and repeat after me.

Children stand in a circle. Dynamic pause.

1,2,3 — magic come soon.

We closed our eyes together.

We circled, everything is in place.

And now they have stopped,

They have turned into conjurers.

Mysterious music sounds. The teacher puts on a coat.

Part II

— Guys, sit down at the tables.

Children sit at tables with equipment, pay attention to posture.

— You have containers on your tables that contain various items. Consider them, but you don’t need to get them yet, they will be needed later for experiments, they will help to reveal the secrets of tricks, and learn a lot of new and interesting things.

Children look at objects.

— Now we will learn how to work miracles. But there are certain rules that must be followed.

— Listen carefully and remember them: do not touch anything without permission, listen carefully, do exactly what I say.

— Do you remember? (Children’s answers)

— Let’s start then.

In order to find out all the secrets, solve all the riddles,

One must be attentive and very observant.

Watch me, find out the secret of the trick!

— Focus one.

The teacher shows the children a flower made of paper.

— Guys, look, I have a paper flower in my hands. Do you know the name of this flower? (This is a water lily)

— Well done.

— Guys, raise your hand, who knows where water lilies grow? (Water lilies grow on the lake, on the pond)

The teacher puts a bowl of water on the table.

— This will be our lake. See if there’s anything in it besides water? (No)

The teacher covers the basin with water with a cloak and imperceptibly puts a flower in it.

— And now? (A flower has appeared)

— Guys, take a water lily in a container, come up and carefully place it on the surface of the water.

The teacher waves a magic wand.

One, two, three, the magic begins.

Flowers, wake up! Petals, open up!

Children watch the petals open.

— See what’s going on? (Water lilies open)

— Why do you think the petals began to open? (Children express their assumptions, the teacher leads the children to the correct answer)

— The paper absorbs water, gets wet, gradually becomes heavier and the paper petals lie on the surface of the water — open.

— And now we’ll play a little. Whoever I touch with my wand turns into a flower and squats down.

The teacher touches each child with a magic wand.

Fizkultminutka «Flower»

Our wonderful flowers open their petals

The breeze breathes a little, the petals sway

Our wonderful flowers close the petals

Quietly fall asleep, close their eyes .

— Whomever I touch with my wand turns back into a child and sits down in his seat.

The teacher touches each child with a magic wand. Children sit at tables. The teacher removes the basin of water.

— Guys, why do you think I covered the basin with water with a raincoat? (Children express their guesses)

— I covered the basin with a cloak so that I could quietly place the flower on the water.

— Guys, why did I wave my magic wand? (Children express their guesses)

— I waved the magic wand to get your attention and add mystery to my actions.

— Guys, try to come up with some kind of «magic movement» too. Who will be ready to show, raise your hand.

Children, sitting at tables, alternately show hand movements.

— Real magicians also have their secrets. What do you think they are for? (Children express their guesses)

— They help the magicians in demonstrating the trick.

— Who can explain what a trick demonstration is? (Showing a trick to the public, spectators)

— Any magician uses secrets in his performance, for example, distractions in order to discreetly hide an object, or, conversely, to attract the attention of spectators.

The caregiver manipulates the handkerchief.

— How did I get your attention? (Children’s answers)

— And now let’s get acquainted with the next trick. But first solve the riddle.

Always surrounds us,

We breathe it without difficulty.

— What is it? (Air)

— That’s right, it’s air.

— Guys, look around you. Anyone see the air? (No)

— Air, what is it? (The air is invisible, transparent)

— Now try to catch it. (Children catch air with their hands)

— Did you manage to catch air? (Children’s answers)

— Do you want me to teach you how to catch air? (Children’s answers)

— Take these bags on your tables and come to me.

The teacher goes to the middle of the group, the children with bags in their hands come up to the teacher and stand around him in a free order.

— We’ll need some space, so keep a distance from each other so you don’t collide. Watch what I do and repeat after me.

The teacher demonstrates the movements, the children repeat — they catch air and hold the bag.

— Did everyone catch air? (Children’s answers)

— Here’s a simple trick — «How can you catch the air?» You can show your friends.

— Now let the air out of your bags, put them in the basket and sit down.

— Not all tricks can be performed by a magician alone. So I need an assistant to demonstrate the next number.

— Do you know what an assistant is? (An assistant is an assistant)

The teacher calls one assistant, shows the children an empty sheet of cardboard.

— Here’s a key for you, try attaching it to a piece of cardboard in the place where I point with a magic wand.

The child puts the key in the indicated places, the key falls on the table.

— What a naughty key. Probably need to draw a hook and say a magic spell.

The teacher draws a hook with a marker, then waves the magic wand and says the words.

— Key, key, don’t be lazy and attach yourself to the hook!

— Try attaching the key to the hook.

The child attaches the key to the drawn hook.

— Well done, you did it, the key does not fall. Take a seat.

The child sits down in his seat.

— Raise your hand, who guessed what the secret of this trick is? (Children make assumptions, it is necessary to lead the children to the correct answer)

— A magnet is attached to the back of the sheet, which attracts the iron key to itself. Are all objects attracted by a magnet? (Not all, the magnet only attracts iron objects)

— Now I will distribute magnets, and you will try to see for yourself. There are various objects in the container, put them on the table and determine which objects are attracted by the magnet.

Test assumptions in practice — the interaction of a magnet with various objects.

— Leave only those objects on the table that are attracted by the magnet, and put the rest in a container.

— What objects does a magnet attract? (A magnet attracts iron objects)

— Who can say what a magnet is? (This is an object that can attract iron objects to itself)

— Guys, please put all the items in the container. You’ve done a good job and it’s time to take some rest.

— Physical education minute.

Are you tired?

Well, then everyone stood up together.

They stomped their feet,

They patted their hands.

Turn around, turn around

And everyone sat down at their desks.

We close our eyes together,

Together we count to five:

One, two, three, four, five.

We open our eyes together

And we continue to work.

— I will show you another trick — «Flying Butterfly».

The teacher moves a butterfly with a paper clip across the easel.

— Who guessed why my butterfly flies? (An iron clip is attached to the butterfly, it is attracted to a magnet, and with its help it moves).

Children look at the construction.

— Guys, take a butterfly in your container and attach a paper clip to it.

Children attach a paper clip to a butterfly.

— Take a sheet of cardboard in your left hand and hold it horizontally above the table surface. Put the butterfly on the flower. Take a magnet with your right hand, place it at the bottom of the sheet, under the butterfly and move it, try to make your butterfly fly from flower to flower.

Children do a trick with a butterfly, put the equipment in a container.

— Now, guys, put everything back in the container.

Part III

— Our lesson is coming to an end and it’s time for you to turn from magicians into boys and girls again.