What is a simple preschool activity that uses a ruler?
For today’s activity, Little Bear got to measure with a ruler again! He loved getting to do this with our measure and record game, so I figured we needed another activity with a ruler. To prepare for this preschool activity, I cut several ribbons into three different sizes. I cut some ribbons 3 inches long, some 8 inches long, and some 11 inches long. I also got three pieces of construction paper and labeled them small, medium, and large.
Little Bear was very excited when he saw the ribbons and ruler out. He wanted to get to work on the preschool activity right away. Of course I happily obliged. I explained to him that the ribbons were cut into three different sizes: small, medium, and large. He needed to first figure out how many inches the small, medium, and large ribbons were, then he needed to sort all of the ribbons onto the correct paper.
He started with the longest ribbon that he could find. He measured it and found that it was 11 inches. I told him that was a large ribbon, so he wrote 11 in the box on the paper that was labeled large. (In retrospect, I should have labeled this paper “long” rather than “large,” but it still worked just fine.)
Little Bear measured some more ribbons and they were all 11 inches, so he put them on the Large paper. He finally found a ribbon that was 8 inches. I told him that was medium, so he wrote an 8 in the box on the medium paper. He then measured a small ribbon and found that it was 3 inches. He wrote a 3 in the small box.
He finished the preschool activity by measuring and sorting the rest of the ribbons. He really enjoyed guessing how long the ribbon was before he measured it. He was right lots of times, but he was also wrong lots of times. He loved using the ruler again, so I promised him that we would get him a brand new one.
*Want to see more themed activities like this for toddlers or preschoolers? Check out our store page where our toddler and preschool series are compiled into Activity Packs for only $1.99! The Activity Packs are full of lesson plans, printables, and a curriculum guide.