Poke holes in the bottoms of plastic margarine tubs. Have the children fill them with water and watch it dribble out. Let the children play with sand in buckets. Give them scoops, muffin tins, funnels, rolling pins, and salt shakers to use. Almost any containers and utensils are fun to play with in the sand.
Preschoolers like to pretend.
They learn how to share, and it helps their imaginations grow. Set up a corner of your room like an ice cream store. You will need a table, clean ice cream containers, ice cream scoops, and cones made from paper. To make a pretend beach, you will need bathing suits, towels, sunglasses, a radio, and beach toys. To make a supermarket, gather empty food boxes and containers, play money, and shopping carts.