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.

• Make some slippery Glow in the Dark Slime from Left Brain Craft Brain.
• Or make some sparkling Glowing Play Dough from Tinkerlab.
• Make kids want to take a bath with Glow Water for Baths from Fun at Home with Kids.
• Tried water beads yet?  Make them even more fun with these Glow Water and Water Beads from Learn Play Imagine.
• Kids can feel their way through the dark with this Glowing Nighttime Sensory Bin from Mom Inspired Life.
• Design and decorate with this super simple Glowing Skin Art from Pink Stripey Socks.

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.

• Upcycle some trash and make a Glow in the Dark Moon Rocket from Left Brain Craft Brain for The Pleasantest Thing.
• Collect some imaginary fireflies with this Glow in the Dark Firefly Jar from Come Together Kids.
• Make these gorgeous Glow in the Dark Jellyfish from Craftiments.
• Glowing Pendulum Painting is another amazing glowing craft from the queen of glow in the dark activities, Growing a Jeweled Rose.
• Make and hide these Light up Fireflies from Apartment Therapy in the yard for some crafty play.
• Set the paper aglow with this Glow in the Dark Fireworks Painting activity from Craftulate.

Learning in the Dark

Kids can up their science knowledge, work on reading and even improve their fine motor skills in the dark.

• Learn how light behaves with Prism Play and Chalk Art from Left Brain Craft Brain.
• Lock in some letter know-how with this Nighttime Alphabet Treasure Hunt from Growing Book by Book.
• Glowing flowers in your own house?  Try this Glow in the Dark Flower Experiment from Fun at Home with Kids.
• There are so many wonderful Nighttime Books for Preschoolers.  Mom Inspired Life has gathered a few for you.
• Study your stars with these Constellation Flashlight Discs from Handmade Charlotte.
• Have you seen a transparent geoboard before?  Check out this Geoboard Light Table Play from Where Imagination Grows.

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.

• Learn how to play Flashlight Tag with this tutorial from Wiki-How.
• Do some Glow in the Dark Bowling.  This one from My Kids’ Adventures is perfect for either inside or outside.
• Because I love Baggo.  And didn’t realize I could get a board and bags that light up.  Light-up Baggo / Cornhole {affiliate}.

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!

Tips to Support Kids Experiencing Anxiety from One Time Through

Candy Corn Roll & Cover Math Game from Totschooling

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

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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 (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.

 

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.

 

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 (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:

• Posts should be about educating our kids in any way – science, art, cooking, crafts, behavior, parenting, etc.  Please keep them family friendly and please no Etsy shops or giveaways unless they are relevant to the topic.
• Upload your direct post link to the InLinkz widget.  Link up to 3 posts.
• Like the hosts on Facebook:  Totschooling, A Little Pinch of Perfect, One Time Through, Left Brain Craft Brain.
• Or follow the hosts on Pinterest:  A Little Pinch of Perfect, One Time Through, Left Brain Craft Brain, Totschooling.
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 Love to Learn Linky

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