5 Quiet Time Activities for Preschoolers

As I write this, both my kids are upstairs in their rooms for quiet time. They’re playing quietly. They know this is the time I use to write and get some work done while they have fun with some activities I personally put together for them.

Are they always in their room? Heck no, especially the two year old. Even so, they often look forward to the “down time” of the day, and my oldest – newly turned 5 – will often ask for her quiet time box, a set of activities she only gets during quiet time.

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Quiet Time Supplies

I buy most of my supplies and things from either Amazon, Oriental Trading, Target, and – let’s be honest – the Dollar Store. The key to most quiet-time activities: they need no supervision and require little clean up! She also gets to pick what she does during her down time so that I know it’s something that’s going to hold her interest more than a few minutes.

Here are some of the more successful afternoon quiet-time activities for preschoolers that she’s personally loved (for more activity ideas for toddlers and busy 2-year-olds, stay tuned):

Activity Books/Magazines

Highlights for Kids, Disney magazines, wipe clean books… and the list goes on! Most of our activity books/magazines have loads of things for preschoolers to do. Sometimes it’s learning to write her favorite princess’s name, other time it’s a matching game or “spot the difference.” With many of them having 50+ pages, the books/magazines can last quite awhile, making them perfect for quiet time. (Bonus: she loves when magazines are addressed to her!)

Quiet time Boxes

Creating these boxes was a game changer for quiet time. While the other things on this list aren’t toys we limit to our down time, these quiet time boxes are. We only take them out during the hours between 1-2:30(ish), which makes them extra special. What goes in the box depends on the kid, but some favorite items for my preschooler include Dollar Store notebooks with colored pencils, as well as sticker scenes (like these and these) from Oriental Trading. Afterwards, she’ll often tell me a story based on her creations when she’s done!

Jewelry Making

Putting beads onto a string and (sometimes) making patterns is something she never seems to tire of. It’s an activity that takes time and concentration too. One of our favorite jewelry sets – we’ve tried a lot of them! – is this princess jewelry set. Since there isn’t a clasp that you tie to the end, you can make them again and again and again! Plus, any jewelry set is great for practicing hand-eye coordination.

Puzzles (and Lite Brite)

The key to making puzzles a quiet-time activity is to make sure they’re age appropriate. There are some puzzles we do together, such as a complicated barnyard scene. Then there are puzzles – like this buy-one, get-three Moana puzzle sets – that she’s done so often she could probably do it in her sleep, but she still loves anyway.

Another way to practice hand-eye coordination, and similar to a puzzle, is a Lite-Brite toy. Marketed for 4-years-old and up, Little Miss got this as a birthday present and she can’t get enough of it. It’s great for creative thinking as well as practicing matching colors with the sheets that show pre-made designs as well.

Coloring and Crafts

We adore doing crafts around here. Coloring books are something fun we do together; she’ll often color in her Minnie and Mickey coloring book, while I use one of my adult coloring books. In terms of crafts, depending on the season I’ll put together something seasonally appropriate. Keep in mind: I’m no Pinterest mom. For Easter, for example, I literally drew an egg on a piece of paper and told the kids to decorate it. So simple and yet they had a blast!

Are these quiet-time activities fool proof? Not every day. And I’ll admit it: she’ll sometimes have some tablet time too with her Kindle fire. But the above activities are some of her favorites, and she’ll often run up to her room for quiet time, so I consider them a win in my parenting book.

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