7 Top Building Activities for Preschoolers (Parent & Teacher Guide)
Building activities offer a great way to help preschoolers explore their creativity, develop STEM skills, and push the bounds of their imagination. With hands-on construction projects, you can give kids a break from their iPads and a chance to bring their own 3D formations to life.
Parents and teachers can also customize preschool building activities to fit each kid’s interests and help them build confidence in their creations. Have a little one who loves to sing “Old MacDonald”? Give them the tools to build their own barnyard. Set up mind-bending puzzles for little problem-solvers in class. Or turn your living room into a fantastical fort of pillows and blankets.
Whether you’re nurturing budding builders at home or in school, the possibilities for creative discovery are endless.
In this guide, we’ll share tips for planning preschool building projects and unpack the top activities for kids who love to tinker, design, and explore new ideas.
What makes a great preschool building activity?
The best preschool building activities are easy to set up, safe, and user-friendly for 3-5-year-olds. (No mess is good, too!) They can be made from everyday household materials like cardboard boxes and popsicle sticks or store-bought crafts and activity kits.
When choosing or designing your preschool projects, look for ones that are:
- Designed for open-ended play: Put aside the instruction books and empower kids to make their own rules—or set no rules at all! See where their imaginations take them with the power of open-ended play.
- Engaging for different senses: Sensory objects, like toys of vibrant colors and smooth textures, can help kids regulate their emotions and reduce stress. Plus, they can just be fun to fidget, fit together, and form into different structures—encouraging hands-on play without the need for screens.
- Age-appropriate: Choose materials that are safe and easy for little hands to grasp and manipulate, whether they’re building 3D structures or designing their own games.
What are the benefits of construction activities for preschoolers?
Construction activities support early childhood development by strengthening motor skills, cognitive growth, creativity, and social-emotional learning through hands-on, open-ended play. As preschoolers build, stack, and connect pieces, they actively explore foundational STEM concepts while developing confidence and communication skills.
When children are given time and space to build freely—at home or in the classroom—construction play helps:
- Develop fine and gross motor skills: Manipulating small pieces strengthens hand muscles needed for writing and drawing, while reaching, lifting, and arranging larger builds improves coordination and body control.
- Build early STEM understanding: Construction play introduces core concepts such as balance, symmetry, geometry, spatial awareness, and cause-and-effect in ways preschoolers can see and feel.
- Strengthen problem-solving and critical thinking: Figuring out how to make structures stand, connect, or grow encourages logical thinking, experimentation, and persistence.
- Encourage creativity and imagination: Open-ended building materials allow children to design anything they can imagine—supporting creative expression without a “right” or “wrong” outcome.
- Support social-emotional and language development: Building together teaches sharing, turn-taking, and collaboration, while talking about their creations helps expand vocabulary and communication skills.
- Build confidence and independence: Completing a structure and seeing a physical result of their effort helps preschoolers develop pride, resilience, and self-confidence.
- Support early learning benchmarks: Construction play reinforces core preschool learning areas such as motor development, problem-solving, and early math concepts.
What items do you need for preschool building projects?
You can create preschool construction projects using the simplest tools and toys—like interlocking building blocks and household materials you find in your home closet.
Looking for inspiration? Start here:
- Everyday objects: Cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, egg cartons, tape, rubber bands, and string can all be used to make innovative structures and games.
- Natural materials: Head outdoors and gather sticks, rocks, pinecones, and leaves to create little fairy gardens, forts, and handmade gifts.
- Building toys: Plus-Plus BIG pieces are designed to help little hands bring big ideas to life. Kids can mix and match these colorful pieces to build anything they can dream up—from pet friends to magical castles. Choose from BIG boxes to spark the imagination or Learn to Build sets with fun themes and step-by-step instructions.
7 building activities preschool kids will love
Ready to put construction play into action? These building activities are designed to spark imagination while supporting key developmental skills like problem-solving, coordination, and early STEM learning.
From simple DIY games to more open-ended builds, here are building activities preschoolers love returning to again and again.
1. Build your favorite foods
Little kids may not be ready to whip up their own meals in the kitchen, but they can build 3D models of their favorite treats with the BIG Food Activity Set. Use our ready-made idea guide to prepare burgers, breakfast dishes, veggies, ice cream cones, and more—inviting kids to explore shapes, colors, and imaginative play inspired by everyday foods.
2. Create mini characters and worlds
Invite kids to mastermind their own mini figures—like little versions of themselves, gardens of trees and flowers, or characters from their favorite movies and books. All it takes is a few Plus-Plus BIG pieces to engineer exciting creations and see new ideas spring to life.
Ready to get started? Follow our helpful guides to build your own giraffe, penguin, and flamingo.
3. Stack, sort, and build color patterns
There are endless learning possibilities with Plus-Plus in hand. One simple shape can be stacked to help with counting, formed into geometric shapes, sorted into different colors, and assembled into unique patterns. Try using our BIG Baseplates to start a 3D pattern and challenge kids to follow and complete the pattern on their own.
4. Build and play a 3D tic-tac-toe game
You don’t just have to play tic-tac-toe on paper or a screen. Bring your game pieces into 3D with Plus-Plus BIG! Kids can pick their favorite colors, build their own game boards, and practice strategic thinking skills while they play.
Looking for more games? Use our handy Learn to Build activity cards of more than 15 Plus-Plus building ideas, including bowling, shoot-and-score, and color-matching.
5. Build farm animals and garden scenes
Sow the seeds of creativity with the Plus-Plus BIG Farm Activity Set. Guide kids through farm-themed activities and 3D builds of cows, pigs, ducks, and more barnyard buddies. Preschoolers can even discover their green thumbs and “plant” their own vibrant vegetable gardens of crops for the cows to graze.
Get inspired with these 3D animal puzzle builds →
6. Design and topple domino runs
For curious kids, one of the most fun and fascinating parts of building something is, well, watching it fall down. So carefully design your own colorful, snaking line of standing Plus-Plus pieces and then see them topple—one piece at a time.
Embed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys0Yj0r5ZWg
7. Solve surprise mystery builds
Can’t decide which project to choose? Unlock a surprise assortment of hands-on activities with our Plus-Plus Mystery Box! You might be greeted with glittery pieces, mini packs, guided sets, or colorful open-play mixes. All you have to do is open your mystery bundle to get those creative wheels turning.
Build, play, and discover new possibilities with Plus-Plus
Preschool building activities pull kids away from overstimulating screens—so they can follow their imaginations and create hands-on projects to be proud of. At home or in the classroom, parents and teachers can set up building projects that boost early learning, encourage STEM exploration, and support open-ended play.
That’s where Plus-Plus comes in.
Designed with little hands in mind, Plus-Plus BIG opens up a world of creative exploration and skill development. It’s perfect for unlocking hours of independent discovery and collaborative play—whether kids are designing colorful games or never-before-seen structures.
With Plus-Plus, there are no limits. Just a lifelong journey of imaginative learning.
Explore more preschool activity sets to boost early development →
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