English for 3-year-olds: everyday games for little talkers

Three is a chatty, bouncy age. Your little one asks “why?” all day, runs to every puddle and wants to help with everything, especially the jobs you’d rather do alone. When it comes to English for 3-year-olds, all that energy is a gift. You don’t need a desk or worksheets. You need a few games you can play on the way to the park, at snack time or in the bath.

Below are seven simple English activities for preschoolers who love to talk and move. For each game you’ll find what to say, how long to play and how to make it easier or harder. Pick one, try it today and see what makes your child giggle.

What English for 3-year-olds can look like

At three, many children talk in short sentences, move with their whole body and love being the big helper. Understanding often runs ahead of speaking, so your child may follow “Get your hat” long before they say “hat” on their own. Every point and every fetched hat counts.

The best English games for kids this age are short, active and repeated a lot. Three to five minutes is plenty. Play the same game several days in a row, because hearing a word again and again is what helps it stick. And if your child would rather jump than sit, follow the jumping.

Outdoor games for little movers

I spy colors in the park

This is an easy way to learn colors in English, and summer is full of them: green grass, a yellow sun, a red slide, a blue ice pop.

• What to say: “I spy something… red!” Let your child look around, point or run to it. “Yes! The slide is red.” Then swap: “Your turn. What do you spy?”
• How long: three or four rounds on your walk, then move on.
• Easier: stick to one color a day and give a hint: “Red, like your shirt.”
• Harder: add a second word, like “big red ball” or “small yellow flower,” or let your child be the spy and give you the clue.

Animal sounds and moves

Most three-year-olds are happy to be a frog for as long as you let them. Animal games bring names, sounds and action words all at once.

• What to say: “The frog says ribbit. Can you hop like a frog? Hop, hop, hop!” Then stomp like an elephant, flap like a bird and swim like a fish.
• How long: four or five animals, then whisper, “All the animals are sleeping,” and lie down for a rest.
• Easier: do every move together and keep it to two words: “Frog! Hop!”
• Harder: let your child call out an animal for you to act out, or add “fast” and “slow”: “Walk like a slow turtle.”

Simon says, the friendly way

“Simon says” is wonderful for action words, and many are words teachers use at preschool. With three-year-olds, skip the tricky rounds without “Simon says.” Being “out” is no fun at this age, so every action is a win.

• What to say: “Simon says jump! Simon says touch your nose! Simon says sit down.”
• How long: six to eight actions. End with “Simon says lie on the grass and rest.”
• Easier: show each action while you say it.
• Harder: say it without showing, or try two steps: “Jump and clap!” Later, your child can be Simon.

For more classroom words, see our post on getting ready for preschool in English.

Toddler English games at home

Kitchen helper words

Your little one wants to help anyway, so let the helping happen in English. Summer snacks are perfect: washing berries, mixing fruit salad, pouring cold water.

• What to say: “Can you give me the spoon? Thank you!” “Wash the apple. Wash, wash, wash.” “Stir, stir, stir.”
• How long: while you make one snack, about five minutes.
• Easier: put just two things on the table, a cup and a spoon, and ask for one of them.
• Harder: bring the colors back with “the red cup” or “the big bowl,” or give a little order: “First wash, then eat!”

Bath-time body parts

The bath, or the sprinkler on a hot afternoon, is a natural place for body words, because every part gets washed anyway.

• What to say: “Wash your toes! Where are your knees? Splash with your hands!”
• How long: three or four body parts per bath.
• Easier: touch and name together: “Nose. This is your nose.”
• Harder: make silly mistakes on purpose. Point to a knee and ask, “Is this your nose?” Little ones love telling a grown-up they got it wrong.

Songs, rhymes and picture games

A silly song you make up

You don’t need to know any English songs. Take a tune your child already loves and put new words on it. Short and silly works best: “Shoes on, shoes on, now we go outside!”

• What to say: sing the same short song at the same moment each day, like putting on shoes or climbing into the car seat.
• How long: about a minute. Sing it twice.
• Easier: repeat one word and clap along: “Red, red, red!”
• Harder: stop before the last word and wait. Your child fills it in: “Shoes on, shoes on, now we go…” “Outside!”

Picture naming

Pictures let you talk about things that aren’t in the room. Use a picture book, photos from your day at the beach or chalk drawings on the sidewalk.

• What to say: “What’s this? It’s a dog! Where’s the sun?”
• How long: five or six pictures, then close the book.
• Easier: give two choices: “Is it a cat or a dog?”
• Harder: wait quietly and let your child name it first, or ask what’s happening: “What’s the dog doing?” “Running!”

Keep it light, sunny and short

Your child may answer in Spanish: “Rojo!” That’s a good answer. Just echo it back with the English word, “Yes, rojo! Red.” Both languages can grow side by side. If you speak Spanish at home, our post on teaching English when you speak Spanish at home has more ideas.

One game a day is enough. Mix them over the week, stop while it’s still fun and don’t correct every word. A happy “You said red!” goes much further than “No, say it again.”

Every child talks at their own pace, in any language. If you ever have a worry about how your child’s speech is developing, talk to your child’s pediatrician.

English for 3-year-olds can be as simple as a red slide, a stomping elephant and a song about shoes. If you’d like a calm daily routine to go with your games, Tatako lessons take about five minutes: your child hears each word, touches the right picture and then names it first. There’s nothing to read, just listening, touching and talking.