30 Activities for Multi Age Groups

Do you need to keep kids of different ages occupied? Are you looking for an activity that will work for the toddler, the preschooler and the school kids?

These ideas and activities for multi age groups will help you keep everyone busy and happy!

6 photos of activities that work for multi aged groups of kids

Have you got a group of kids of all different ages that you need to entertain?
Maybe you are stuck at home with all your kids on a rainy day, or maybe you need to plan a group activity for kids of all ages.

Whatever the situation, if you have a bunch of kids of all different ages and you need to find something that they can all do together it can be tricky, but I’ve got some great ideas help.

Tips for Keeping Groups of Kids with Different Ages Occupied.

The trick to managing play with multiple ages is to find something that is easy enough for the youngest to join in, but interesting enough to capture the older kids too.

Choosing open ended activities is key to a successful activity for multi ages. An open-ended activity means it cam be done in a variety of different ways by children of different ages, and there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to do it. Each child can work on the project or enjoy the activity at their own level.

Learning to play together, share and get along is not always easy. It can be especially tricky if there are kids of different ages, and you can’t always expect an older child to understand and make space for the little ones. So you may need to be prepared to hang around to support younger kids, or challenge older ones so everyone stays happily engaged.

For more tips on how to manage play with different age groups check out this post I wrote for Childhood101.

collage of photos of activities for multi aged groups of kids

Ideas and Activities for Multi Aged Groups of Kids

These are some of our favourite ideas and activities for multi age groups of kids. Some of these ideas are quick and easy, and some require more set up and supervision. You’ll need to assess each activity and make sure it is appropriate for the ages and stages of kids you have in your group, and your ability to supervise.

20 Activities that work for multi age groups

Art Activities for Multi Age Groups

Process art is perfect for kids of all ages. Try one of these fun art ideas.

  • Journaling for Kids
    An open ended activity like journaling means everyone can join in at their own pace and with their own style.
  • Fabric Beads from Babble Dabble Do.
    Bigger kids can make these fun beads while smaller ones will love to thread them.
  • Collaborative Doodle Drawing
    Get everyone working together with on this fun drawing activity.
  • Making Pet Rocks and Pet Rock Houses from Buggy and Buddy.
    Little hands can add paint and googly eyes to make a pet rock, and big kids can design and create elaborate pet rocks and houses for them.
  • Contact Paper Mandalas
    Everyone in our house, from age 3 to 41 loved making these simple but beautiful suncatchers,
  • Kid-Made Bunting
    When everyone gets to do their own part of a bigger project like in this one, it’s easy for everyone to join in at their own level.
  • Sticker Drawing from Childhood 101.
    Everyone loves stickers, no matter how old they are!
  • Symmetrical Sticker Pictures from You Clever Monkey.
    Here is another fun stocker activity with learning opportunities for a variety of ages and stages.
  • Crazy Photo Collage
    Collage is a great open-ended activity that works for different ages, there are some free printables to get started with this project.
  • Absorption Painting
    This super simple art activity is super fun for kids of all ages, and adults too!

  • collage of science activities for kids

    Science for Multi Age Groups

    Simple, playful, science activities like these work well with different age groups.

  • Experimenting with Things that Smell.
    Kids of all ages love making potions and experimenting with bicarb and vinegar with this simple science set up.
  • Tie Dye with Easy pH Science Experiment from Kids Activity Blog
    Try this activity where you
  • Wrecking Apart STEM Activity.
    Grab some old electronics and give this simple STEM activity a try – little hands may need some help occasionally but this keeps my kids occupied for a long time!
  • Ice Cream In a Bag from Little Bins for Little Hands.
    Everyone can get involved with making this edible science experiment.
  • Make Fizzy Sherbet from Laughing Kids Learn.
    This is another edible science activity that is simple enough for little kids to help with and cool enough for big kids to enjoy.
  • Oobleck Recipe.
    Oobleck/Goop is part sensory play, part science, and part magic! Make individual tups one big container full for everyone to explore!

  • 3 photos of sensory activities for kids

    Sensory Play for Multi Age Groups

    Sensory play isn’t only for little kids. Big kids will also love the calming sensory input or the fun creativity of these simple sensory play ideas.

  • People Playdough Mats
    Play dough might seem a little ‘baby-ish’ but everyone will love making faces and designing clothes for these playdough people.
  • Clean Mud from Happy Hooligans.
    The kids will have as much fun making this as they will playing with it.
  • The Ultimate Guide to Slime from Fun at Home with Kids.
    If you are up a bit of mess try making slime. Bigger kids can manage this on their own, while little ones will need some help.
  • Easy Soap Slime.
    This is another messy activity but it’s lots of fun for all ages!
  • Magic Garden Potions.
    Making potions with flowers and leaves and other ingredients is so much fun, and it’s a great outdoor activity so there is no mess to clean up!

  • three photos of imaginative play set ups for kids

    Imaginative Play for Multi Age Groups

    You are never too old, or too young for imaginative play. Big kids will love being part of collecting and setting up items for imaginative play and kids of all age will love the freedom to play however they want with these ideas.

  • Frog Pond Small World.
    Big kids will love collecting all the pieces to set up this simple small world play.
  • Desert Island Imaginative Play Scene from Be a Fun Mum.
    This is another fun small world to set up and play with.
  • Printable Imaginative Play Mats
    Print some of these play mats and combine them with Lego, or figurines, or whatever you like.
  • Make Your Own Puppet Theatre from Childhood 101
    Once you have made the puppet theatre big kids will love these Star Wars Shadow Puppets and little kids will love all these printable puppets.
  • Imaginative Play Plates
    Print these play plate mats for little ones, or let big kids design their own imaginative play world on a paper plate.

  • four photos of different activities for multi aged groups of kids

    More Activities for Multi Age Groups.

    Here are a few more fun ideas and activities that don’t fit neatly into any category but are perfect for a group of kids of various ages.

  • Free Printable Building Challenge Cards
    These building challenge cards work for any construction set and are lots of fun for everyone!
  • Velcro Dot Craft Sticks from Powerful Mothering.
    These are easy enough for little hands to use but bigger kids will enjoy building complex creations.
  • “What am I?” Game
    This is a simplified version of the ’20 questions’ type game that even little kids can play with a bit of help.
  • Block Play
    Blocks are a fabulous open-ended activity that kids of all ages love. These block play ideas are perfect for adding some extra fun to a set of blocks at home or in the classroom.
  • Draw Your Own Postcard Printable
    Create your own personal postcards with this free printable and send some messages to friends and family.

  • 20 Activities that work for multi age groups

    What’s your favourite activity that works for multi aged groups of kids?

    Do you have a range of ages at your house?
    What activities work best for your multi age groups of kids?

    Get play & learning ideas,
    plus lots of free printables!

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