20+ Ways for Preschoolers to Play in the Dark

As the sun starts setting earlier and earlier these days, it gets a little more challenging to fill the hours between dinner and bedtime.  It used to be outside time, maybe a park visit or a neighborhood walk.  Now some nights, we pull out the craft supplies or the slime.  Here are 20+ Ways For Preschoolers to Play in the Dark.

This post was inspired by Mom Inspired Life who shared some activities for the dark on last week’s Love to Learn Linky. Keep reading to the end and you will find this week’s Love to Learn Linky inspiration!  This post contains affiliate links.

Glow in the Dark Science

Before we jump into the activities, I thought I’d answer a question my little preschooler had for me: Why do glow in the dark things glow? Glow sticks and other glowing products contain chemical substances called phosphors which emit visible light after being energized.  There are a lot of chemicals out there that behave like phosphors, but the major ones you see in products like glow sticks these days are zinc sulphide and strontium aluminate.  When these phosphors are exposed to light, the molecules get excited and put out light themselves.  Some phosphors are especially excitable by UV light, the light emitted by blacklights.

We love dollar store glow sticks because they are cheap.  But have you ever noticed that their glow dies out really quickly?  Each phosphor has a trait called persistence, which is the length of time it will continue to emit light after being energized.  The slower they emit the light, the longer they will keep glowing.  Dollar store glow sticks = poor persistence.

Sensory Play in the Dark

The kiddos can stimulate both their visual and tactile senses with these glowing activities.  Experiencing darkness and light always seems to inspire different parts of my brain and I bet will in our children too.

Sensory Play in the Dark for Preschoolers Left Brain Craft Brain

Crafting in the Dark

There are so many interesting glow in the dark craft supplies available these days.  Check out a few with these crafts.Crafting in the Dark with Preschoolers Left Brain Craft Brain

Learning in the Dark

Kids can up their science knowledge, work on reading and even improve their fine motor skills in the dark.
Learning in the Dark Activities Left Brain Craft Brain

Games in the Dark

We can’t forget the games!  There are so many fun games you can play in the dark, but here’s just a few.

Preschooler Games for In the Dark Left Brain Craft Brain

Here are a few more non-DIY ways to play in the dark with your preschoolers {affiliate}.

Also, check out this week’s other Love to Learn features from my co-hosts!

Ways-to-Support-Kids-With-Anxiety-One-Time-Through-Blog

Tips to Support Kids Experiencing Anxiety from One Time Through

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Candy Corn Roll & Cover Math Game from Totschooling

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Plenty of Pumpkin Fun for Kids from A Little Pinch of Perfect

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Love to Learn Linky

Love to Learn Linky

Now it’s time for some more links!  I hope you’ll join me and a few of my friends for a fun and educational linky party.

Bloggers, share your posts every Thursday and watch as we round them up and share them all over the place.  Almost anything goes, we’re just hoping your activities teach kids (or us!) something (science, art, cooking, behavior, crafting, parenting etc…).

The Love to Learn Linky is hosted by:

Left Brain Craft Brain


Left Brain Craft Brain (leftbraincraftbrain.com):
  Anne is an ex-engineer, current stay-at-home mama writing about crafty ways to encourage creativity (and brain power!) in our kids.  Each of her projects gives kids the chance to learn about a new subject and do something crafty at the same time.

 

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Totschooling (totschooling.net): Viviana is a blogging mom to a toddler and a preschooler, sharing ideas and resources for early education. She specializes in unique, hands-on printable activities that are educational, fun and inspire creativity in young minds.

 

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A Little Pinch of Perfect (alittlepinchofperfect.com):  
Katie combines creativity, play, and learning for the perfect mishmash of fun activities that keep kiddos entertained throughout the day. She wholeheartedly believes in the power of play and feels that all activities naturally provide a fun way to learn.

 

One Time Through Logo Button photo onetimethrough-button_zps6d59d16e.png
One Time Through (onetimethrough.com): Sue is an Elementary School Teacher currently on leave to be at home with her preschooler son.  She shares ideas for connecting and learning with kids through meaningful, play-based activities that nurture curiosity and creativity.

 

Love to Learn Linky Etiquette:

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 Love to Learn Linky

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10 thoughts on “20+ Ways for Preschoolers to Play in the Dark”

  1. Such a neat idea for a post! I totally agree about the difficulty of finding things to do after dinner before bedtime – we’ve had trouble with this too. Used to be a walk after dinner, but now we prefer to stay in. Love these ideas! Best, Sue

  2. Pingback: Tips to Support Kids Experiencing ANXIETY + Linky - One Time ThroughOne Time Through

  3. Pingback: STEM for Preschoolers - Left Brain Craft Brain

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