Core subjects

Early Years and preschool activities

Short, playful activities for children aged roughly 3 to 5, before and during their first year of school. Each one explains what the skill is, how to support it at home or in a setting, and what to expect.

  1. 1Learn it
  2. 2See it worked
  3. 3Try it online
  4. 4Print it
  5. 5Check your answer

Start here: learning journeys

All early years lessons with practice and answers

Ages 3–5 · First stepsPencil controlHow to build pencil control before handwriting: grip, straight lines, zigzags, waves and loops, with a printable tracing sheet and tips for parents and early years staff.. PrintAges 3–7 · First stepsCounting to 10How young children learn to count to 10 — one-to-one matching, saying the last number, and number recognition — with a worked example, online questions and a printable sheet.. Online + PrintAges 3–7 · First stepsShapes and coloursHelp children learn circle, square, triangle, rectangle, star and colours by counting sides and corners, with a worked example, online quiz and printable matching sheet.. Online + Print

Guidance

How to get the most from these

  • Keep sessions to five or ten minutes and stop while it is still fun.
  • Talk while you work: name shapes, count aloud and describe what the pencil is doing.
  • Chunky crayons and large print suit small hands better than fine pens.

More early years on PaperKind

Letter formation worksheetsTrace and write lower-case letters.Phonics worksheetsSounds, blending and first words.Counting worksheetsCount objects and write numbers.Dot to dotNumber order and pencil control, online or printed.Kids colouring pagesBold outlines for small hands.

Last reviewed: 25 September 2026