Sharing can be surprisingly complicated when you’re three or four years old. A preschooler may happily hand over crayons one moment and tightly hold onto a favorite truck the next. Rather than expecting children to automatically understand sharing, adults can give them playful opportunities to practice taking turns, waiting, cooperating, and using materials together.

The best sharing activities for preschoolers don’t force children to surrender everything they value. Instead, they help young children understand when something is shared, when they need to wait for a turn, and how to communicate with another child.

Sharing is only one part of learning to interact with others. Activities that develop communication and cooperation, such as these social emotional activities for preschoolers, can support the broader skills children use during play.

Here are 20 simple sharing activities for preschool classrooms, daycare settings, playgroups, and home.

What Does Sharing Mean for Preschoolers?

Adults often use the word “share” to describe several different behaviors.

For young children, it might mean:

• Taking turns with one toy.
• Dividing a snack fairly.
• Using art materials together.
• Playing with the same set of blocks.
• Giving another person some of something.
• Waiting while someone finishes a turn.
• Cooperating on one activity.

These situations require different skills.

A child can understand how to divide crackers between two people but still find it difficult to wait for a favorite swing.

That’s why practical experience is useful.

1. Roll a Ball Back and Forth

Begin with one of the simplest turn-taking games.

Sit opposite each other and roll a soft ball between players.

Use short phrases:

“My turn.”

“Now your turn.”

As children become familiar with the pattern, reduce the verbal reminders and let the game flow naturally.

2. Build One Tower Together

Place a pile of blocks in the middle.

Each child adds one block to the same tower.

There’s no need to determine who builds the highest section.

Everyone contributes to one structure.

If the tower falls, rebuilding becomes another opportunity to cooperate.

3. Share One Box of Art Supplies

Put crayons or washable markers in a shared container.

Give each child their own paper while everyone uses materials from the same box.

Children naturally encounter situations such as:

“She’s using the blue crayon right now. Which color would you like while you wait?”

This teaches that waiting doesn’t have to mean doing nothing.

4. Play With a Turn-Taking Timer

Some preschoolers understand waiting more easily when a turn has a visible or audible ending.

Use a simple timer for a highly requested classroom toy.

One child plays while another chooses something else.

When the agreed time ends, switch turns.

Keep turns short enough to be manageable for the children’s ages.

A timer should support predictable transitions rather than become a threat.

5. Make a Shared Collage

Place one large sheet of paper on the table.

Provide safe, age-appropriate craft materials.

Children work together to fill the page with:

• Paper shapes
• Drawings
• Stickers
• Pictures
• Colors

Everyone contributes to the same final creation.

For more collaborative art possibilities, adapt some of these crafts for kids.

6. Have a Pretend Picnic

Set up a pretend picnic using toy food.

Ask children to distribute the items among dolls, stuffed animals, or friends.

Try questions such as:

“We have four pretend strawberries and two bears. How could we divide them?”

The activity combines imaginative play with simple ideas about fairness.

7. Pass the Puppet

Sit in a small circle with one puppet.

The child holding it gets a brief turn to make the puppet wave, dance, or perform an action.

Then the puppet passes to the next person.

Avoid making children wait through a very large group at first.

Shorter circles make turns arrive more quickly.

8. Complete a Puzzle Together

Choose an age-appropriate puzzle.

Divide the pieces between two or three children.

Everyone contributes pieces to the same puzzle.

Children can help one another find where pieces belong without racing to finish first.

Cooperative puzzles shift the goal from “I won” to “We finished it.”

9. Share Playdough Tools

Give each child their own portion of playdough but provide a shared collection of tools.

There might be:

• One rolling pin
• Several cutters
• One texture tool
• A few molds

Children can practice asking:

“Can I use that when you’re finished?”

Adults can model the language when needed.

10. Create a Snack-Sharing Game

Use pretend food for the easiest version.

Give a child six toy crackers and place three toy animals nearby.

Ask:

“How could everyone get some?”

Older preschoolers may begin experimenting with equal distribution.

If real food is used for classroom activities, adults need to account for allergies, choking risks, hygiene requirements, and individual dietary needs.

11. Make a Train Together

Provide blocks, magnetic tiles, cardboard pieces, or another suitable building material.

Each child contributes something to a long pretend train.

One may build the engine.

Another creates passenger cars.

Someone else adds a station.

Children share materials while still having room for individual ideas.

12. Play “Can You Pass It?”

Place several safe objects on a table.

Ask children to pass a requested object to another player.

For example:

“Could you pass Maya the red block?”

Later, let children make appropriate requests themselves.

The activity combines listening, names, colors, communication, and passing materials.

13. Water a Plant Together

Shared responsibilities can provide practice outside traditional games.

One child might hold a small watering container.

Another checks where the water should go.

On the following day, switch roles.

Similar responsibilities could include organizing books or putting shared toys back into their containers.

14. Make a Group Picture

Choose a theme such as:

Our Garden

Under the Sea

Our Neighborhood

One child draws flowers while another adds animals.

Someone else may create the sky.

Talk about making space for everybody’s contribution rather than controlling the entire picture.

15. Play a Cooperative Matching Game

Place picture cards face down.

Instead of each child trying to collect the most pairs, make the entire group one team.

Players take turns revealing cards.

Every successful match belongs to the group.

The activity ends when everyone has uncovered all the pairs.

16. Share a Story Basket

Fill a basket with a few puppets, toy animals, or safe storytelling objects.

One child chooses an object and begins a simple story.

The next player selects another item and adds something.

Children share both the materials and control over where the story goes.

Expect silly results.

That’s part of the fun.

17. Try a Shared Building Challenge

Give two children one pile of materials and a goal.

For example:

“Can you build a garage big enough for these three cars?”

Avoid assigning every role yourself.

Give children an opportunity to decide how they’ll use the materials.

Adults can support communication if disagreement becomes difficult.

18. Play With One Set of Pretend Food

Create a restaurant, grocery store, or kitchen.

Rather than providing identical sets for every child, offer enough shared materials to encourage interaction without creating unnecessary scarcity.

Children can practice:

• Asking for an item.
• Passing objects.
• Waiting briefly.
• Trading roles.
• Planning pretend meals together.

Pretend play makes social practice feel more natural.

19. Make a Friendship Soup

Use toy ingredients, felt food, or paper pictures.

Place an imaginary pot in the center.

Each child adds one ingredient.

Ask what else a good “friendship soup” might need.

Children may suggest:

Kindness

Listening

Fun

Helping

Taking turns

The result can lead naturally into a short conversation about friendship.

Your friendship activities for kids can extend this idea with additional cooperative games.

20. Let Children Solve a Simple Sharing Problem

Use puppets to create a manageable scenario:

“Bear and Fox both want the same truck. What could they try?”

Children might suggest:

• Take turns.
• Play with it together.
• Choose another truck.
• Use a timer.
• Find a different game.

Accept multiple reasonable answers.

The goal is problem-solving rather than memorizing one rule.

Sharing Activities for Preschoolers at Home

Children don’t need a classroom to practice sharing.

Everyday family routines provide natural opportunities.

At home, try:

• Dividing fruit between family members.
• Taking turns choosing a story.
• Sharing art supplies.
• Building with blocks together.
• Passing food at the table.
• Completing a puzzle as a team.
• Taking turns during a simple game.
• Caring for a pet together with adult supervision.

Keep expectations realistic, especially between siblings.

A child may share some household materials while still having personal possessions that aren’t automatically available to everyone.

Sharing Activities for Preschool Classroom Use

Preschool classrooms contain many naturally shared resources.

Teachers can use:

• Collaborative art
• Group building
• Shared sensory materials
• Turn-taking games
• Cooperative puzzles
• Pretend-play stations
• Classroom responsibilities
• Partner activities

Clearly distinguish between materials intended for everyone and items currently being used by one child.

This can reduce confusion.

Teach Sharing and Turn-Taking Separately

Sharing and turn-taking overlap, but they’re not identical.

Imagine two children with one bicycle.

They can’t realistically use it simultaneously.

The solution is usually turn-taking.

Now imagine a box containing 20 blocks.

Both children may be able to use the blocks at the same time.

That’s closer to sharing a resource.

Teaching these differences gives children more useful strategies than repeatedly saying, “You need to share.”

Don’t Force Immediate Sharing

A preschooler is playing with a truck when another child wants it.

Taking the truck away and handing it to the second child may appear to teach sharing, but the first child experiences something different: possession of a toy can end immediately whenever someone asks.

Instead, an adult might say:

“Leo is using the truck right now. You can have a turn when he’s finished.”

When waiting indefinitely isn’t practical, a predictable turn-taking system can help.

Teach Children How to Ask for a Turn

“Share!” doesn’t tell a child what to say.

Practice useful phrases during calm moments:

“Can I have a turn when you’re done?”

“Can we play with it together?”

“May I use the blue crayon next?”

Young children may still need adult reminders during real conflicts.

Knowing the words and being able to use them while frustrated are different skills.

Teach Children How to Respond

The child holding the toy also needs communication skills.

Possible responses include:

“I’m still using it.”

“You can have it after me.”

“We can play together.”

This helps children understand that social communication works in both directions.

Use Visual Turn-Taking Supports

Some children benefit from seeing what’s going to happen.

Useful supports might include:

• A simple timer
• First/next picture cards
• A short turn-taking chart
• Visual cues showing whose turn it is

Keep the system straightforward.

A complicated reward chart isn’t necessary for every shared toy.

Don’t Expect Preschoolers to Share Everything

Teaching generosity doesn’t require children to give other people unrestricted access to personal belongings.

A special comfort object, birthday present, or treasured toy can reasonably have different rules from classroom blocks.

Before a playdate, parents might put particularly special belongings away and make other toys available for shared play.

This reduces avoidable conflict while still providing plenty of practice.

Model Sharing in Everyday Life

Children learn from watching adults.

Use natural language when opportunities arise:

“I have plenty of strawberries. Would you like some?”

Another example might be:

“We’re both using these pencils, so I’ll put them in the middle.”

There’s no need to narrate every act of generosity.

Occasional modeling is enough to make the concept visible.

Praise the Specific Behavior

Instead of only saying:

“Good sharing!”

describe what happened:

“You gave Noah some blocks so you could both build.”

Or:

“You waited until her turn was finished.”

Specific feedback helps children understand which behavior you’re noticing.

Avoid excessive rewards for every shared object. Ideally, cooperation gradually becomes part of ordinary social interaction rather than something children perform only for prizes.

What If a Preschooler Refuses to Share?

One refusal doesn’t mean a child is selfish.

Consider what is happening.

Is the object special?

Has the child only just started playing with it?

Are they tired, hungry, overwhelmed, or already dealing with several children taking materials?

Does the situation actually require sharing, or would turn-taking make more sense?

Respond to the specific situation rather than attaching a negative label to the child.

Sharing and Social-Emotional Development

Learning to share involves several developing abilities, including communication, waiting, perspective-taking, emotional regulation, and problem-solving.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children emphasizes developmentally appropriate teaching that considers children’s individual development, social contexts, play, and relationships.

Preschoolers are still developing these abilities, so repeated support is more realistic than expecting perfect sharing.

Use Books and Pretend Play

Stories allow children to explore sharing problems without being in the middle of an actual argument.

Pause after a relevant situation and ask:

“What could these characters try?”

Puppets can recreate similar scenarios later.

Keep the discussion brief enough that reading remains enjoyable.

For additional ways to make stories interactive, explore these interactive reading activities.

Avoid Comparing Children

Statements such as:

“Look how nicely your sister shares.”

may create competition rather than cooperation.

Focus on the individual child’s behavior.

Notice progress without comparing it with another preschooler.

Some children need more practice with waiting, while others may find communicating their boundaries more difficult.

Final Thoughts

Effective sharing activities for preschoolers don’t require forcing children to hand over every toy. Cooperative building, shared art, pretend picnics, puzzles, turn-taking games, group stories, and simple problem-solving scenarios can help children practice using materials with others.

Teach children the difference between sharing a resource and waiting for a turn. At the same time, respect reasonable boundaries around personal belongings and remember that preschoolers are still developing self-control and communication skills.

Keep practice playful, specific, and realistic. As children become more comfortable interacting with peers, these friendship activities for kids can provide additional opportunities to practice cooperation, listening, and social problem-solving.

FAQs

What are good sharing activities for preschoolers?

Shared art projects, cooperative puzzles, building challenges, pretend picnics, turn-taking games, group storytelling, and playdough activities are useful choices.

How do you teach a preschooler to share?

Model sharing, practice with low-pressure games, teach useful phrases, distinguish sharing from turn-taking, and give children repeated opportunities to cooperate.

Should preschoolers be forced to share?

Children can be expected to follow reasonable rules for shared materials, but forcing them to immediately surrender every item isn’t necessary. Turn-taking may be more appropriate when only one child can use an object at a time.

How can I teach my child to take turns?

Start with short, predictable turns. Roll a ball back and forth, play a simple game, or use a timer when waiting for a popular toy is difficult.

Why does my preschooler refuse to share?

Young children are still developing communication, impulse control, perspective-taking, and emotional regulation. The situation also matters; a child may be actively using or strongly attached to a particular object.

What’s the difference between sharing and taking turns?

Sharing can involve using or dividing a resource together. Turn-taking means one person uses something and another waits until their turn.

What phrases can preschoolers use when sharing?

Useful phrases include “Can I have a turn when you’re done?”, “Can we play together?”, and “May I use that next?”

How can teachers encourage sharing in preschool?

Teachers can provide cooperative activities, model appropriate language, establish clear rules for shared materials, use predictable turn-taking systems, and help children solve manageable conflicts.