Top 25 Fun and Engaging Transition and Stabilizing Games for Preschoolers

How to Play:

• A small nest for the little chick (bring your fingers together)
• A large round nest for the bee (cup your hands together to form a bee's nest)
• A tiny hole is the rabbit's burrow (form a circle with your thumb and index finger)
• This house belongs to the well-behaved child (bring your fingertips together to form a house roof)

How to Play: The children form a circle.

• The leader shouts: "Everyone, laugh out loud!"
• The players must do the opposite: "Cry softly."
• The leader shouts: "Jump up!"
• The players must do the opposite: "Sit down on the ground."

How to Play:

• The group sings: "The stork has a long neck, and curved legs."
• The leader shouts: "Where's the stork? Where's the stork?"
• The children respond: "Here! Here!"
• The leader shouts: "Where's the neck?"
• The children respond: "Here!" (extend their neck and head out)
• The leader asks: "Where's the leg?"
• The children respond: "Here!" (extend their left leg)

How to Play: The children sing along with the song's movements while saying, "The cow dips in vinegar, dips in vinegar, the cow shakes, shakes, the cow wiggles, wiggles." The children stand in a line or circle and perform the following actions:

• Dip according to the lyrics: "The cow dips in vinegar, dips in vinegar."
• Shake the hips to the rhythm of: "The cow shakes, shakes."
• Use both hands to mimic slicing the hips: "The cow slices, slices."

How to Play: The children stand on the floor and follow the teacher's actions. Stand tall (stand up and stretch your arms high). Sit down low (squat down). Clap your hands. How joyful it is! (Sit and clap your hands loudly).

The group sings along to a free rhythm: "Te te te – the duck lays eggs, te te te – the duck incubates, te te te – the duck hatches, te te te – the duck flies." While singing, the children perform the following actions:

• Duck laying eggs: Place both hands behind the back
• Duck incubating: Place both hands in front of the stomach
• Duck hatching: Place both hands in front of the face
• Duck flying: Spread both arms out to the sides

Preparation: Have the whole class form a large circle.

Rules: The children must focus and listen carefully to the teacher's instructions. Anyone who doesn’t follow the instructions correctly must hop on one foot as a punishment.

How to Play:

• If the teacher says "spring," the children say "flowers bloom" and perform the butterfly movement.
• If the teacher says "autumn," the children perform the leaf-falling action.
• If the teacher says "winter," the children make the cold gesture.
• If the teacher says "summer," the children make the hot and sweaty gesture.

Rules:

• Each child must quickly and correctly find a partner: boys must find a girl, and girls must find a boy.
• No pushing or shoving while playing.

How to Play:

• The number of boys and girls must be equal.
• The teacher will have the children walk and sing the song “Find a Friend.” When the song ends or the teacher gives the cue “Find a friend,” each child must find a partner. The children hold hands while walking and singing. When the teacher says “Switch partners,” the children must separate and find a new partner according to the rules.
• The game continues for 3-4 rounds.
• Each time, the teacher encourages the children to find a partner quickly and correctly.

How to Play: Four children play together: two children jump, while the other two sit facing each other with legs stretched out. One of child B’s feet is placed on child A’s toe (with the foot standing upright). The children jump over and back. Then, child A places a fist on child B’s toe to create a 'bud,' and the children jump over and back again. After that, child B places their hand on the fist to create a 'flower.' The children jump; if they touch the 'bud' or 'flower,' they lose their turn and must sit in place for the child who is sitting. If they jump without touching the 'bud' or 'flower,' the sitting child must piggyback the jumper once around. Then, the game continues with the roles switched.

Rules: When the signal “Nighttime” is heard, everyone must close their eyes and sit down (simulating sleep).

How to Play: Children roam freely around the room pretending to be little chicks searching for food, raising their arms high, waving their hands, and chirping “Chirp, chirp.” When the signal “Nighttime” is given, all children must quickly return to their seats (if practicing seat recognition) or crouch down, tilt their heads, press both hands to their cheeks, and close their eyes to pretend to sleep. After about 30 seconds, the teacher says: “Daytime,” and the children raise their hands to their mouths and imitate a rooster's crowing, “Cock-a-doodle-doo.” The game continues for 3–4 rounds.

Preparation: Cut out a large butterfly from cardboard, tie it to a 50cm long string, and attach the other end to an 80cm long stick.

Rules: Simply touch the butterfly to catch it.

How to Play:

• Children should stand around the teacher. The teacher holds the stick with the butterfly and says, “Look here, there’s a butterfly flying (the teacher raises and lowers it), now jump high to catch the butterfly.” The teacher raises and lowers the butterfly at different spots so that the children can jump both high and far. Anyone who touches the butterfly has caught it.
• The game lasts for 1–2 minutes.

Preparation: A large ball.

Rules: Children must provide either a general or specific term as instructed by the game.

How to Play: Children form a circle while the teacher stands in the middle holding the ball. The teacher tosses the ball to each child and names a flower, fruit, animal, or object. The children must respond with either a general term or specific term related to the object named.

Examples:

• The teacher tosses the ball to child A and says: “Carrot”. Child A replies: “Carrot root”.
• Or the teacher says: “Dahlia”. The child responds: “Dahlia flower”.
• Or the teacher says: “Chicken”. The child responds: “Poultry”.
• Or the teacher says: “Lion”. The child responds: “Wild animal”.
Afterward, the teacher may reverse the game. The teacher says a flower or fruit, and the children must list some types of flowers or fruits.

Preparation: Available toys and materials in the classroom.

Rules: The children must quickly and accurately name the classroom items or toys that have been added or removed while the teacher manipulates them.

How to Play: The teacher shows each toy or item to the children and asks them to name it. Then, all items are placed in a bag. To begin the game, the teacher instructs the children to close their eyes (using a signal) and rearranges the toys or items by adding or removing them. When the teacher signals for the children to open their eyes, they must notice which items were added or removed. If a child correctly identifies all the changes, the group applauds them.

How to Play: One person opens their hand, and the others place a single finger on their palm. The person whose hand is open reads quickly:

“Chi chi chành chành”

“The bell blows fire”

“The dead horse swells”

“Three kings and five emperors”

“Crickets go to find”

“Uh uh uh!”

At the word “uh,” the person closes their hand, and everyone tries to pull their hand away as fast as possible. Those who fail to escape in time get caught, and they must open their hands and recite the rhyme for the others to play again.

How to Play: While counting, say: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. The 5 little ducks I know of, one is chubby (wiggle both thumbs), one is skinny (wiggle both pinky fingers), and one is average-sized (wiggle both middle fingers). One little duck has a tail behind (place hands behind the back) and leads the group with a quack, quack sound (encourage children to say it).

How to Play:

The little chicken goes cluck-cluck (Move both hands horizontally at shoulder level, grasping and opening them as desired).

It sometimes struts or wanders around (Place hands on shoulders and make circular motions in front of the stomach).

The chicken’s cheeks are rosy pink (Point both hands to the cheeks, tilting the head from side to side).

The beak is sharp, the comb is fresh (Bring hands together in front of the mouth, then raise them to the head).

The legs stomp and scratch (Stamp both feet, hands on hips).

The wings flap in the wind (Clap hands at both sides of the waist).

How to Play:

The child holds the bowl (extend one hand forward as if holding a bowl).

The teacher slices the gourd (Both hands spread out and make cutting motions, going up and down).

The child grabs the bowl (Clasp both hands together).

Then both laugh joyously (The child reads and laughs).

How to Play:

• The chicken clucks loudly (Both hands extended horizontally at shoulder height, with hands opening and closing in rhythm).
• It often flaps its wings or runs around (Place both hands on shoulders, then make a circular motion in front of the chest).
• The hen's cheeks are red (Point to both cheeks, tilting the head from side to side).
• The beak is sharp, and the comb is bright (Cup hands in front of the mouth, then move them upward to form a comb shape on the head).
• The legs stomp or scratch (Children stomp both feet while placing hands on hips).
• The wings flap in the wind (Clap hands on both sides of the hips).

How to Play:

The man has a buffalo (Place both hands on shoulders and sway from side to side)

The horns are curved (Lift both hands high above the head to form horns)

When in the field (Stomp feet in place)

Help the man plow the field (One hand raised high, the other low, mimicking rowing a boat)

How to Play:

My family has four members (Show four fingers)

My father is tall and big (Stretch upward to appear tall)

My mother is gentle (Clap both hands in front of the chest)

My sister claps her hands (Clap hands)

Whenever I get a perfect score of 10 (Raise all ten fingers and sway them from side to side)

How to Play:

The pan and the pot (Use both hands to form large and small circles)

Frying and cooking (Use both hands to mimic stirring with a spatula)

Big and small (Stretch arms wide in front of the chest for big, then bring hands together for small)

Help the child cook rice (One hand mimics holding a bowl, the other a spoon scooping rice)

How to Play:

The five baby rabbits I know (Hold up five fingers, moving them forward and shaking them)

The rabbit jumps to the right (Raise both hands to mimic rabbit ears and jump to the right)

The rabbit jumps to the left (Raise both hands to mimic rabbit ears and jump to the left)

The rabbit picks fruit from the ground (Place one hand on the hip to form a basket, use the other hand to mimic placing fruit into the basket)

The rabbit shakes the tree for falling fruit (Repeat this action twice)

(Raise both hands high to mimic shaking a tree)

So many fruits, the rabbit loves them (Repeat twice) (Children clap their hands)

Game Rules: When the command 'It's raining' is given, each child must find a shelter from the rain. If a child cannot find a shelter, they must step out of the game for one round.

How to Play: The teacher prepares by drawing circles on the ground, with each circle spaced 30-40 cm apart to serve as a shelter from the rain. There should be 3-4 fewer circles than the number of children playing.

The children act as school students walking to school, singing to the rhythm of the guide. When they hear the teacher say 'It's raining,' each child must quickly find a shelter (by running in a circle). Anyone who is too slow and cannot find shelter will get wet and must sit out for one round. The game continues with the teacher calling out 'It's sunny' to signal the children to step away from the circles. Then, the 'It's raining' command is given again for the children to find shelter.

Preparation:

• Ball.
• Ball basket.
• A stick or chalk to mark a narrow path.
• Gym ring (or chalk to draw squares on the floor).

How to Play:

• Divide the children into groups (maximum 5 children per group).
• Line the children up behind the starting line. When they hear the teacher’s signal, the children must crawl along the narrow path, then stand up at the end and hop on one leg through the gym rings (or chalk squares). Afterward, they run to pick a ball from the basket, place it on the ground between their legs, and run while pushing the ball to the finish line. Once they reach the finish, they must pick up the ball and put it back in the basket before returning to the end of the line.

Game Rules:

• The child ahead begins hopping on one leg through the gym rings as the next child starts without waiting for the teacher's signal.
• The game runs continuously for 15 minutes, with no limit to how many times a child can play.

Game Rule: When hearing the signal 'dark', everyone must close their eyes and sit down (mimicking sleep).

How to Play: Let the children roam freely around the room, pretending to be chicks searching for food. They raise both hands, waving them while chirping 'cheep, cheep'. When the signal 'Dark' is given, everyone must return to their seat (if practicing sitting at their assigned spots) or squat down, tilting their head and placing their hands on their cheeks, pretending to sleep. After 30 seconds of pretending to sleep, the teacher says 'Light', and the children raise both hands to their mouths, imitating the crowing of a rooster 'cock-a-doodle-doo'. The game continues for 3-4 rounds.