Preschool attention activities

Preschool attention activities for home and class: spot the difference, matching, mazes and picture sudoku. Suggested durations by age and a free PDF.

Attention span by age

As a rule of thumb, preschoolers can focus on one task for a few minutes per year of age: about 8–10 minutes at 4, 12–15 at 6. Keeping activities shorter than that protects the feeling of success.

5 attention activities for home and class

1. Which one is different? Find the picture that breaks the rule among four. Twin Tracks is the screen version of this.
2. Picture sudoku: a 4×4 grid with apple, star and fish. Picture Sudoku pack needs no reading.
3. Maze: finger first, pencil second. Preschool maze guide.
4. Memory cards: Start with 6 cards and work up to 12: Memory Cards.
5. Pattern train: continuing a colour–shape sequence: Pattern Train.

Practical tips

• Pick a quiet corner: Keep only the worksheet and a pencil on the table.
• Keep it short: At ages 4–5, 5–8 minutes is enough; finish before your child gets bored.
• Show it first: Take the first step yourself, then hand the pencil to your child.
• Praise the process: Say "You paid great attention"; praise the effort, not the right answer.

For families who want to limit screen time, every activity has a paper version; for a new page every week, see Puzzle of the Week.

Start for free

• Free activity PDFs — download and print right away.
• Puzzle of the Week — three new puzzles every Monday.
• Puzzle of the Day — one a day on screen.
• For more printable puzzle packs (A4 PDF with solutions, prices incl. VAT).