This article written by Contributing Writer Tom Bowns.

Little kids can get majorly bored. My four-year-old son Michael, when he gets bored (and that’s every night), hops around like a jackrabbit with its tail on fire, bouncing off of this bit of furniture and that, twirling and spinning, knocking over whatever might be in his path. It’s not a pretty sight.

Rather than just getting angry at him when he misbehaves, I’ve found that it’s far more productive to engage him in doing something. So I’ve constructed a list of things to do with him during these fits of boredom.

15 Fun Activities for Dads with Preschoolers

Building with blocks or Legos. I usually let my son be the architect here, and I follow his lead. He responds by telling me what he’s building, and by asking me to put some parts together to add to the construct. What he likes about this time most is that he knows he has my undivided attention, and that he has the freedom to let his ideas reign.

Drawing pictures. When we’re drawing, I like to divide the time up evenly between guided drawing and free form. At first, I keep Michael focused on drawing something specific like simple shapes or forms; squares, triangles, circles and faces or other very simple line drawings. Sometimes he’ll tell me he can’t, so I’ll gently guide his hand with mine to trace out the shape we’re after. This can help train his hands and arms to feel the movement associated with making that shape. After a few minutes I’ll ask him what he wants to draw, and give him a fresh sheet of paper. He always surprises me with what he comes up with.

Spelling. We have a bag of bananagrams which are small tiles with letters on them. With them in a pile on the table, I’ll pull a few out and spell words that I know he knows, and ask him to tell me what they spell. So far his review list consists of words like Off, Exit, Fire, Stop and Fox. Then I’ll spell out a new word and ask him to sound it out. Then we take the words he knows and change the first letters to see how the word changes. Then I ask him to spell something of his own. He’ll spell out words that don’t mean anything and I’ll pronounce them for him. He loves coming up with bizarre words that are nearly impossible to pronounce.

Toss a ball around. Little kids love playing catch, and feel great when they can make a catch or toss the ball so that you can catch it. And they invariably laugh hysterically when they toss the ball and you miss and react in a comical way.

Riding the Bicycle or Tricycle. My son is not quite to two-wheeler stage yet, being somewhat short, so he still rides a tricycle. But when the whether permits, he loves to go riding around the sidewalks and driveways of the neighborhood, and wants to be sure I’m right there watching. In years to come he’ll ride behind me on nearby trails and we’ll go on riding adventures.

Pipes. Michael has always had a fascination with drains and what might go “down the hole” so this was obvious for him. We’d had a set of 1½ inch plastic balls that belonged to another set of toys, so I bought a few sections of 2 inch pipe and fittings such as elbows and other couplers. Michael and I can spend hours connecting the pipes into different shapes and configurations so he can put the balls down the hole at the upper end and hear them clank all the way down to the bottom.

Reading. While he has a hard time sitting still, Michael does love to listen to someone reading to him. I think this is important as it helps develop a strong vocabulary, imagination and a love of language.

Boxing. Seriously. We have a set of gloves for both kids and grownups. Going a couple of rounds really helps us both get out some aggressions. We don’t usually last more than two. His favorite move is to distract me and then run around so he can strike from behind. So far he’s learned how to guard with his left and jab with his right.

Taking a Bath. This doesn’t involve a lot of interaction all the time, but while playing he loves to wrap up his toys in a washcloth and then offer it to me as a “present” which I’ll carefully unwrap and give the requisite surprised and delighted reaction.

Disassembling something. It costs five bucks tops to buy some old electronic or mechanical doodad at Goodwill, but it provides an entire afternoon of joy taking it apart, screw by screw, wire by wire. Of course, you’ll want to be on the lookout for sharp things, poisonous things or things that might hold a charge like old television sets.

Making music. Could use anything, from a cheap set of kids’ musical instruments to pieces of scrap lumber or pots and pans. Anything that will make sounds can be used to make music.

Blowing bubbles. Another great sunny-day outdoor activity. I make my own bubble solution out of glycerin, dishwashing liquid and distilled water. Cheaper than the pre-made stuff and lasts longer.

Car games. “I spy” is a classic. I tell Michael that I spy something yellow, and he has to tell me what it is. Another one we like to play is “Cash Cab”, in which I have to ask Michael a question about a favorite show or story and he has to provide the right answer to win “cash” along the way. This is best on short little trips, otherwise you’ll be scratching your head for more questions and he’ll get bored.

Chasing, playing hide & seek. Kids love to be chased, and they love to hide. They get better at hiding as they get older, but it’s fun at first to pretend not to know where they are.

“Warmer and Colder” Show him an object, and then have him close his eyes or leave the room while you hide it. Then call him back into the room and tell him to find it by giving clues as to where it is. Say “warmer” when he gets closer, and “colder” as he gets farther away.

A bored kid can be a real terror, and coupled with an aggravated parent, you have a recipe for disaster. But add a dose of imagination and an hour or so of undivided attention and you have a happy child, a grateful parent and memories to last a lifetime.

What kinds of fun activities do you like to do with your preschooler?

Tom Bowns is a Contributing Writer for Discovering Dad. His personal site is Being Michael’s Daddy. You can also follow Tom on Twitter @michaelsdaddy.

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