Quiet Time Activities for Preschoolers

Do you have young children outgrowing daily naps? My children are at the point where they don't nap most days. I've found that having "Quiet Time" is a good option for us. The kids can play with quiet activities in their bedroom or they can choose to sleep. Whether or not the children sleep, a little downtime during the day is very good for everyone.

When I was teaching preschool outside the home, we had a full day program, offering extended care after preschool hours. Some of the children still needed that daily rest while others had outgrown it. I had everyone rest quietly for about 30 minutes while I played quiet music or books on tape. After the 30 minutes, the children who were not asleep were given quiet activities to do for the remainder of the time.

I think it's helpful to begin quiet time or nap time by winding down to set the mood. You could do this by playing soft music and dimming the lights, by letting the children "read" books or even by reading to your children. I've found nap time to be a wonderful time to start introducing chapter books to preschoolers. It's an ideal time where you have their attention for a long stretch of time and they are happy to listen even if they can't see pictures. Reading chapter books really helps build imaginations.

Some other quiet activities that my kids enjoy:
~Listening to books on tape/CD
~Listening to music
~Using View Masters
~Coloring
~Lacing Cards (Don't leave toddlers unsupervised because of the strings)
~Puzzles
~Playing with Matching cards. I made a variety of homemade "memory type games".
~Flash Cards
~Reading books
~Colorforms
~Magnet story sets (Don't allow toddlers to play with magnets unsupervised)
~Flannel board story sets