Best Instagram Accounts for Preschool Play and Learning
Written by Cindy Hovington, Ph.D. Founder of Curious Neuron and Host of the Curious Neuron Podcast
Montreal, Canada
With social distancing and self-quarantine being in full force amid the covid-19 pandemic, many parents are searching for activities they can do with their kids between the ages of 0 and 5 years.
As I mentioned in my 5 tips for creating play routines article (read it HERE), planning is a must when you are home with your kids. Luckily, there are tons of awesome Instagram accounts and websites that provide a plethora of ideas. By scrolling through these at night, you can save a few ideas and prepare for the next day.
Here are my favourite accounts along with some sample activities that might help you out!
Click the button with the IG account or website name to access it. I have curated my favourite activities from their accounts that are also simple and use items we may have around the home.
Simple DIY Play Ideas for Ages 0-5 years
Even babies get to participate in fun activities! Emma, a mom of 3 girls, is truly inspirational. She uses simple items around the home like large Ziplock bags, balls, ice cube trays, baking dishes and pots and pans to create innovative play ideas for babies. She has play ideas for preschool.
Picture courtesy of Emma from @play_at_home_mummy
Picture courtesy of Emma from @play_at_home_mummy
Picture courtesy of Emma from @play_at_home_mummy
Picture courtesy of Emma from @play_at_home_mummy
Picture courtesy of Emma from @play_at_home_mummy
Picture courtesy of Emma from @play_at_home_mummy
Hannah from @babyplayhacks reminds us how easy and inexpensive it is to play with our baby and promote brain development. using egg cartoons, silicones muffin tines, and even our laundry basket to create fun games are just a few examples. You can even download her Baby Play Hacks app that has more than 580 ideas!!! This was another account that made it difficult to select only a few pics!
Courtesy of Hannah from @babyplayhacks
Courtesy of Hannah from @babyplayhacks
Courtesy of Hannah from @babyplayhacks
Courtesy of Hannah from @babyplayhacks
Courtesy of Hannah from @babyplayhacks
Courtesy of Hannah from @babyplayhacks
Michelle, from @7daysofplay is a mom of 3 who is the MASTER of creating simple activities for children of all ages. From creating a rainbow by gluing leaves and flower petals or even creating an awesome toy car garage with toilet paper rolls…her ideas are endless!
Picture courtesy of Michelle from @7daysofplay
Picture courtesy of Michelle from @7daysofplay
Meghan from @kidsplaytricks has helped me realize how much playtime we can from the items we have in our home. Muffin tins are now an everyday play item in our home, along with baking trays (see pic below) and painters tape. If you need a preschool curriculum, have a look at her website. We have been following this program for a few months and my children love it!
Picture courtesy of Meghan from @kidsplaytricks.
Picture courtesy of Meghan from @kidsplaytricks.
Picture courtesy of Meghan from @kidsplaytricks.
Picture courtesy of Meghan from @kidsplaytricks.
Katie manages 2 Instagram accounts to help provide parents with tons of play ideas for their kids. If you are looking for toy inspiration, playroom set up inspiration or DIY play inspiration you can check out her accounts @early_childhood_fun101 and @easy_childhood_fun. I love that her account has such a wide range of activities. It makes you want to be a kid again!
Picture courtesy of Katie from @early_childhood_fun101
Picture courtesy of Katie from @early_childhood_fun101
Lucy from @findthelittlemind does such a fantastic job at using items we have at home to create fun activities such as creating a flower with paint and cutlery! Her activities cover different aspects of developmental milestones such as fine motor activities (inserting pipe cleaners into straws. See picture below) or pre-writing skills by drawing lines to connect dot stickers. She inspires us to create simple activities and to have fun playing with our children!
Picture courtesy of Lucy from @findthemind
Picture courtesy of Lucy from @findthemind
Picture courtesy of Lucy from @findthemind
Picture courtesy of Lucy from @findthemind
Picture courtesy of Lucy from @findthemind
Picture courtesy of Lucy from @findthemind
Montessori-Based Learning and Life Skills
Maike has taught me that when it comes to play, simplicity is truly the most effective. There is a beauty to offering my children an activity on a tray. I am inviting them to learn and to play. Only one goal is offered on the tray: a goal could be to color, poke holes, cut, sort, tread and so on. I noticed that when I offer these tray activities to my children, they tend to put it away more often than a large bin of toys.
Picture courtesy of Maike from @montessori_livings
Picture courtesy of Maike from @montessori_livings
Allison from @inspired_little_learners has taught me the importance of how simple everyday tasks and that these tasks are play activities. With toddlers, you can teach them to bake, pour, spray, wash, cut and more. These are all tasks that require effort and focus and her son is ALWAYS totally focused on the task. Even giving a child a small bowl of water and a sponge is an activity. When I tried it out with my kids it was a big hit!
Picture courtesy of Allison from @inspired_little_learners
Picture courtesy of Allison from @inspired_little_learners
If you think you can’t apply Montessori to your home or that it costs too much money….Emily from @madetomontessori can prove that you definitely can do it at your home and on a budget! Her activities also help children learn important life skills and keep my children engaged.
Picture courtesy of Emily from @madetomontessori
Picture courtesy of Emily from @madetomontessori
Sensory Play Ideas
Sensory play is one of the best ways to allow kids to develop their attention span since they remain very focused. Marisa is the BOSS of stunning sensory play! Every time I see her post, I feel like playing! From creating an arctic scene using ice and polar bears (see below), to an apple tree with different dried beans and rice…her ideas are infinite. Read her blog post on how to get started on sensory trays HERE.
Picture courtesy of Marisa @rattleandrollkids
Picture courtesy of Marisa @rattleandrollkids
Play-Based Learning For Preschool
Not only does Veronika provide us with stunning arts activities (see below), she also creates cute learning activities for preschool as well. They are simple to create and my kids love them because they are always so adorable!
Picture courtesy of @toddleratplay
Picture courtesy of @toddlersatplay
I save a TON of posts from Kendra’s @learning.for.littles IG account. Her posts come to mind when I think of play-based learning. Her ideas are simple and target important developmental milestones in preschool. Matching, counting, sorting etc are all important skills for children to learn.
In addition to her easy DIY activities, Michelle also provides us with fun and easy ways to learn!
Picture courtesy of Michelle from @7daysofplay
Picture courtesy of Michelle from @7daysofplay
It was so difficult for me not to include EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MOLLY’S POSTS!! Her activities from @littleoneslearn illustrate just how simple it could be to teach our children preschool material and that having certain items in your home such as dot stickers, dot markers, clothes pins, paper and pom poms can provide you with endless possibilities of play-based learning.
Courtesy of Molly from @littleoneslearn
Courtesy of Molly from @littleoneslearn
Courtesy of Molly from @littleoneslearn
Courtesy of Molly from @littleoneslearn
Courtesy of Molly from @littleoneslearn
Vicky from @howweplayandlearn has such a colourful IG account filled with simple ways to help our children learn as they play. Creating shapes they need to match using their LEGO Duplo (see below) and TONS of word or letter recognition ideas to help with pre-reading skills. I love how she uses items most of us have at home, play dough, popsicle sticks, LEGO’s, stamps and dot stickers for instance.
Reading this IG handle @coffeeandspitup makes me feel like we are friends! Sole, you understand my life! It was difficult selecting only a few ideas from this awesome account. Learning through play is what Sole focuses on. This is such a colourful account filled with easy play ideas to encourage learning in the preschool years. These activities make me want to play!
Picture courtesy of Sole from @coffeeandspitup
Picture courtesy of Sole from @coffeeandspitup
Picture courtesy of Sole from @coffeeandspitup
Picture courtesy of Sole from @coffeeandspitup
Picture courtesy of Sole from @coffeeandspitup
Picture courtesy of Sole from @coffeeandspitup
STEM and Science
By scrolling through Luisa’s @tinyn3rds account, you get the sense that she has some sort of science background…and she does! This awesome mom of… as she put is “2 tiny nerds” also has a Ph.D. in chemistry! I love how she mixes science with art such as creating the brain with its lobes, letter recognition with baking soda and vinegar and all her fantastic activities to learn about the body including making DNA with snack items. You can head on to her Etsy store to shop for some printables or her website for some free printables.
Picture courtesy of Luisa from @tinyn3rds
Picture courtesy of Luisa from @tinyn3rds
Picture courtesy of Luisa from @tinyn3rds
Picture courtesy of Luisa from @tinyn3rds
Arts and Crafts
Veronika has some of the most stunning arts activities that are always a hit with my children. At first glance you might feel that you are not “artsy” enough, but once you try it out you will feel like a superstar!
Picture courtesy of @toddleratplay
Picture courtesy of @toddleratplay
Not part of the “best” list but…I would like to introduce myself!! ;)
Brain Development and Pretend Play
For those of you who might not know me, I am Cindy, Founder of Curious Neuron and host of the Curious Neuron podcast. Hi! I have a Ph.D. in neuroscience and my @curious_neuron account provides parents with the “why” and “how” of play. How can we use the toys we have to develop our child’s attention skills or memory skills? Why is it important to teach empathy or teach our children to wait for their turn? How can we teach them this by playing pretend with them? From hiding animal figurines around the home to creating discovery baskets to help your baby learn new words, I focus on brain development and play. We play lots of pretend play in our home since you can tackle just about every developmental milestone this way.
Pretend Doctor to teach empathy @curious_neuron
Memory game. Hide animals around the home and pretend to go scuba diving. Parent calls out a type of fish and child has to find it. @curious_neuron
Playing pretend candy shop using loose parts to learn how to count items and sort colours @curious_neuron
Discovery basket for a baby. When they select an animal you name it and make its sound. @curious_neuron
Voila! I hope you enjoyed learning about my favourite Instagram accounts that are focused and play and learning as well as the activities I handpicked to help inspire learning and play in your home! Thank you to all these inspirational women behind these accounts for working so hard to create fun activities for us!