Fun 'When I Grow Up' Flashcards and Activities

Explore various careers and community helpers during a 'What I Want to be When I Grow Up' preschool theme with fun printable flashcards and 3 ways to play with them!

Enjoy these fun activities with preschoolers and Kindergarten kiddos!

Our latest Creative Preschool theme was When I Grow Up I Want to Be... and while my preschooler has no clue what she would like to do when she grows up, it was a fun way to talk about various careers and community helpers.

After reading a few books, I set up several activities to use with our set of Occupations Printable Flashcards.

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When I Grow Up Preschool Flashcards and Activities

Although talking about the the future is pretty abstract for little ones, preschoolers love talking about what they will do when the grow up. First talk about people they know and the types of jobs they do; talk about what daddy or mommy, Aunt Sue, or next door neighbor, Jimmy Bob does all day. Read books about different occupations and expose your preschooler to the possibility of becoming an astronaut, teacher, fire fighter, hair stylist, athlete, etc!

When I Grow Up Preschool Theme

Have fun talking about different occupations with our printable When I Grow Up Flashcards Set (Clipart found at Art4Apps).

The set includes 24 different occupations-- while not all inclusive, definitely a good introduction!} Occupations include:

firefighter
mechanic
teacher
artist
doctor
... and more!

After reading books about various things your child can be when they get older, play one of these games... or all three, with our occupation flashcard set!

Also, you may wish to laminate your flashcards to keep them durable with so many ways to learn and play with them!

When I Grow Up Object Match Activity

Match an object with the occupation that would use it!

Supplies:

Occupation Flashcards

Tray

Various manipulatives for each occupation

Choose 5-10 cards to begin with and fill up a tray with different objects for each occupation. Lay out the cards and have your child match the object to the correct flashcard.

For example, I put ballet slippers on the tray to be matched with the ballerina.
A paintbrush for the artist
A sheep for the farmer.
A dog for the Veterinarian.
A toy car for the Mechanic.
Etc!

When I Grow Up Taboo Game

My kids love to learn and play with games! Play a fun game of Occupations-inspired Taboo!

How to Play:

Draw a card and either act out the occupation to the other player or give him/her word clues without saying the word and have the other player guess the correct occupation.

This is a great way to expand language and vocabulary... and act a little bit silly!

When I Grow Up Taboo Game for Preschoolers

If you child draws the librarian for example, you could 'act out' or give verbal cues as to what a librarian might do by reading books, pretending to put books on a shelf, sitting at a computer, etc but make sure NOT to say the occupation on the flashcard!

When I Grow Up Memory

Print out two sets of our When I Grow Up Flashcards and play an old fashioned game of memory.

After exploring this fun preschool theme, don't forget to ask your child what he/she would like to be when they grow up! Make sure to record it as kids can say the funniest things!

Does your child know what he/ she wants to be when they grow up?

Can you think of some other ways to use these When I Grow Up Flashcards? I'd love to hear how you used these flashcards with your preschooler or in your homeschool!

GRAB YOUR FREE WHEN I GROW UP FLASHCARDS