Over the years we’ve bought so many craft kits and the pom poms in them are always the things that make my heart sink a bit – what on earth are you supposed to do with them? Thankfully as you’ll see with these pom pom activities for toddlers and preschoolers there’s quite a lot of things – they’re great for sorting, there’s loads of easy pom pom crafts you can make and there’s a few sensory play ideas too. Hopefully enough to make your heart leap next time you see a big packet of pom poms as you have a bit more inspiration for fun activities!
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As these activities are aimed at children from toddlers to preschoolers you’ll find a bit of variety in the level of skill needed – toddlers are generally considered to be age one and two (and sometimes three) while preschoolers are normally counted as three and four year olds. Obviously there’s an awful lot of difference between what a one year old and a four year old can do as things like their fine motor skills, as well as their interests, will develop a lot during this period. Take a look through the list and find the ones that you think fit your child’s interests and abilities and go with those ones, then make sure that you bookmark this page or pin an image so that you can refer to it again over time!
You’ll find all of the activities listed today in the same order that they’re shown in the collages although there are more ideas than in the collages so do take a look through the list to find some new ideas plus keep reading for more of our favourite activities for toddlers and preschoolers.
What You'll Find on This Page
Tools for Pom Pom Activities:
Of course if you fancy doing some pom pom activities the first thing you’ll need is some pom poms but there are a few more tools you can grab which can be really useful too and help make your activities more fun.
For sensory play a sensory table can be really helpful but we’ve also used a large plastic box with a lid a lot as it means you can easily pop it away when you’re done, especially if you think you might want to get the same thing out another day.
Kids tweezers or tongs are really good for helping to build strength and develop the pincer grip – I think these are the ones we have – and these scoopers look brilliant for pom poms too.
Pom Pom Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers
The Gingerbread Mum uses pom poms to create this sweet paper plate rainbow which is a great activity for sorting by colour and size too.
Pom poms are great for painting with especially for kids that aren’t into finger painting but when you both fancy a change from a normal paintbrush! This sheep craft for toddlers and preschoolers is a great introduction to the technique.
Use different sized pom poms to create this easy rain craft for kids.
This five little ducks craft from Messy Little Monster is super cute and perfect for practising the nursery rhyme.
Darcy and Brian share a cute dinosaur counting game that uses pom poms.
We’ve used pom poms quite a bit with our seasonal tree crafts both for painting with and decorating with as you can see with our autumn tree crafts and spring trees, you can also grab the free tree template if you fancy giving it a go!
This rainbow themed sensory bin from Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds looks lovely and is a great way to work on colour recognition and strengthening hands and fingers.
This watermelon paper plate craft uses pom poms and is really cheerful – perfect as a summer craft or as a fruit activity.
This bee counting activity from 123 Homeschool 4 Me that uses pom poms is great and there are also different versions of the printable available (counting by 2’s etc) if you wanted to use it with older children too.
This pom pom apple tree craft is perfect if you are learning about fruit or autumn, or if you just like apples!
I love Artsy Momma’s pom pom caterpillar to butterfly craft which is perfect for making alongside The Hungry Caterpillar too.
I adore these frozen pom pom hearts from Learning and Exploring Through Play.
I did this fine motor pom pom activity with my daughter when she was a toddler and she really enjoyed it as it was open ended so she could take the lead and not get frustrated by anything.
This pom pom painted lion is great as a Dear Zoo activity too.
Younger kids will need a hand to make these pom pom shooters but they are great fun to play with! You could try making some targets for your children to get with their pom poms too – maybe drawing some circles outside in chalk.
Grab 123 Homeschool 4 Me’s free transportation matching game that uses pom poms to help strengthen hand muscles.
Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds has a great flower sensory bin that uses pom poms (and lots of other items!) to help support letter recognition.
My Bored Toddler’s flower and pom pom themed sensory bin would be great to play with during spring or if you are looking at gardening.
This pom pom drop game is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers, it’s similar to Kerplunk but Learning and Exploring Through Play uses items you’re likely to have at home already instead.
Make a simple pom pom wreath following this tutorial from Red Ted Art.
More Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers
These scissor skills activities are lots of fun and there are no worksheets included!
We love sharing activities for toddlers and you’ll find over 200 of them here!
These farm animal crafts for preschoolers are gorgeous and perfect for spring or learning about farms.