This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy. Adult supervision is required for all activities found on HappyToddlerPlaytime.com.
UPDATED 2022: The 32 best toys for 3 year olds or preschoolers that will challenge them and keep them entertained as well as spark their imaginations as they move from preschoolers to kindergartners.
Toys for your Preschoolers
Your toddler is now a little bigger and their language and imagination are growing! Help feed this fantastic stage of their development with toys that wet their curiosity and open up their world.
Pretend play toys at this stage are lots of fun because their imaginations are simply limitless. Since the already have lots of toys from their younger years that they can still need, toys at this stage should challenge as well as excite them.
Toys to Keep them Engaged
In this list your find tradition as well as non-tradition building toys, fun pretend play toy ideas. Remember is your child isn’t into the pretend play items suggested here you can easily search for toys that will appeal to them.
This list also has a great selection of gross motor toy for lots of indoor fun!
The Best Toys for 3 Year Old Preschoolers
(This post and list contains affiliate links for your convenience. If you make a purchase using one of these links, I may earn a commission. Please visit my disclosure policy for more information.)
Surprise Powerz STEM Dolls
Prepare your little girl for tomorrow today with these adorable. STEM role models. STEM role models matter for early learners and particularly for girls in preschool and kindergarten. These kids are not too young to learn STEM! Surprise Powerz dolls are made with FunScience, Tech, Engineering and MathEarly Learning Frameworks!Made withreal girls’ voicesto reflect a true representation of their culture.And made toinspiregirls to break barriers.
A toddler’s tape measure
I was so excited when I saw this one. My kids are ALWAYS playing with measuring tapes. Now they can have one fo their own! Kids can explore the physical properties of the world around them with this working tape measure, which measures 3 feet long! As they explore, your kids will build observation, critical thinking, and other essential STEM skills!
Super STEAM Activity Book for Kids
Learning all about science, technology, engineering, art, and math sets kids up for scholastic success―and it can be so much fun! Watch kids enjoy building STEAM skills as they color friendly fish, help water find its way to tree roots, solve math problems with mazes, and more.
Little Ones Printables
Thediscounted BACK TO PRESCHOOL Bundle includes 4 brand new activity packs for the back to school season! Play with numbers, letters, 2D shapes, art and fine motor skills! Buy 3, and get a Dot Activity Pack FREE with this deal.
This bundle of playful printables includes these four activity packs:
Animal Alphabet
Let’s Play wth Shapes
Preschool Math
Back to Preschool Dots
Melissa & Doug Pattern Blocks and Boards
The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game
Your forest friends are hungry and they need your help. Spin the spinner, squeeze the matching colored acorn with your squirrel squeezer, and place it into your log. Be the first to fill your log with delicious acorns and you win. For grades Pre-K+/Ages 3+. Develops matching, sorting, strategic thinking, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and pre-handwriting skills.
Crayola Building Blocks
This Crayola Building Blocks set comes in an easy to carry tote – great for storage once your child has finished building their own creations. Tote makes it easy to take on trips, or bring to a friends house for play. This set includes tons of blocks for building whatever the imagination dreams up!
Go Go Gears!
Pick one of the five double-sided puzzle cards and slide it into the slot of the wooden frame. Each one features a vibrant picture with outlines of gears arranged throughout. It’s up to your little puzzler to fit the right-sized gears into the slots of the puzzle board so they connect just right over the picture. Motor skills, matching skills, and cause-and-effect exploration combine in a way that really gets the mind spinning.
Connetix Magnetic Tiles
I first bought these amazing magnetic tiles when my kids were toddlers and now I am just adding to their sets. Their imaginations are bigger and more tiles lets them keep creating.
Wooden Blocks
You probably have a ton of wooden blocks for your little, which are a great toy for kids. These uniquely shaped blocks are a great addition to that collection.
Dress Up Costumes
Pretend play at this age the best. Feed their imagination with these fun superhero costumes for boys and girls.
Tea Set
Tea party play set are an awesome way for kids to develop strong creative thinking and imaginative playing skills. They also promote memory development and color recognition.
Small Animals
There little under the sea animals make a great bath toy, sensory bin filler or even a beach toy!
Baking Set
This adorable cake set will quickly become your preschooler’s favourite kitchen toy. Great for pretend baking or bakery play!
Baby Doll
Dolls are perfect for all children, independent of their gender and key to developing key social skills. Getting a doll that is outside your race (especially if you are white) is a great way to combat subtle anti-racist messaging about other races your child may be getting from other sources, such as cartoons and school.
Cash Register
This realistic cash register is great addition to any pretend play scenario for your preschooler. With a real calculator and realistic money and coins its a great way to introduce money to your child.
Hands-On Learning Games
Playful practice for pre-readers that is compatible with an iPad or Fire Tablet. Build letters with squishy, colorful Sticks & Rings inABCs. Or create anything you want and watch your creations come alive.
Play Dough Sensory Kits
Play is at the core of learning during the early years and it can take many forms. One of the most important of these is sensory play because it engages all of a child’s senses (taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing) and has a enoumous positive impact on brain development.
My Sensory Play Kits are a fun and easy way to keep your child engaged while at the same time capitalizing on the benefits of sensory play to nurture their mind!
Shop my ready made sensory play kits here.
Grocery Stand
Grocery stands are just fun to play with they are great way to develop new vocabulary, problems solve and strengthen their interpersonal skills while learning about entrepreneurship.
PlanToys The Green Dollhouse
Pet Care Play Set
Play vet set are amazing for your preschooler to cultivate their love, patience and sense of responsibility for animals and enhance their imagination.
Puzzles
Puzzles are a great way encourage independent play, which is a great boost for self-esteem. But they are also a wonderful way to develop social skills and collaborative skills.
Prextex Pack of 2 Radio Control Cars
Quintessential for young children and toddlers beginning to play with remote control toys for the first time. Vehicles have different frequencies, so two players can play together. The cars are easily maneuvered and the buttons are made simple to press, rendering them perfect for small children. The remote has been crafted with big simple buttons allowing to speed left, right, forward, and reverse.
The Original PlasmaCar
The PlasmaCar is easy to operate, and helps your child develop coordination, balance, and motor skills while harnessing the natural forces of inertia, centrifugal force, gravity, and friction. PlasmaCar is adult-friendly too: it doesn’t require an expensive power source that needs constant replacement, it provides kids with plenty of exercise, and it is quiet, the only sound you’ll hear is the sound of the wheels.
Peg Perego John Deere Ground Force Tractor with Trailer
Pretend Play Sets
Board Games
Trampoline
Teeter Popper
Fine Motor Lacing
Unique Building Toys
Reusable Stickers
Construction STEM Toys
Doodle Mats
More Toy Guides for Every Age
- Supplies for Toddler Activities
- Anti-Racism Toys for All Ages
- Backyard Toys for Kids
- The Best Travel Toys for Toddlers + Kids
- Best Toys for Babies 0-12 Months
- Toys for 1 Year Olds
- Toys for 2 Year Olds
- Best Toys for 4-5 Year Olds
- Best Toys for 6-7 Year Olds
- Montessori Toys for Toddlers and Preschoolers
FOUND THIS GUIDE FOR TOYS FOR 3 YEAR OLDS OR PRESCHOOLERS HELPFUL? PIN IT FOR LATER!
