Winter Activity Fun!!!

Being stuck inside during the cold winter months can get really boring! Here are some fun Winter ideas that might help pass the time a little bit!!

Dramatic Play Ideas

• Put white contact paper on the floor for an Ice Skating Rink. Put on socks and “skate” on the ice. Add cotton batting to the edges for snow. Add hats, gloves, mittens, scarves and other winter clothing. Add a sled or an artificial tree with snow attached. Make snowflakes with paper or use doilies, cotton balls or tissue paper.

• Use Styrofoam packing pieces for snowflakes and have a snow fight.

• Use white socks rolled in a ball to make snowballs and have a snowball fight.

• Spread cotton balls around and have a snow ball fight or use buckets and shovels to scoop up and dump out the snow.

• Make a snowman inside- One large and one small white plastic trash bag with Styrofoam pieces of newspaper. In the large bag, insert half of a dowel before tying it shut. Invert the dowel in the small trash bag and tie that one shut. Dress us the snowman with some fun winter accessories.

• Set up a hot chocolate stand nearby- a small table, a pot filled with brown pompoms, a ladle, cups, spoons, white pompoms (marshmallows), an empty can of cocoa mix.
  

• Have a warm pot of soup waiting nearby made from play food (Stone Soup) with empty soup cans, bowls and spoons.

• Use Styrofoam & packing pieces with toy construction vehicles for load, pushing, moving and dumping through the winter blizzard.
  

Art Ideas

• Fantastic Flakes- Doilies, pompoms, sequins, buttons and beads in colors of blues, whites and silver. Let the child decorate the snow flakes how ever they chose. For an added touch, after it is decorated and dried, spray it with a thin coat of adhesive and sprinkle with iridescent glitter. Let it dry and hang it on windows or doors around the house or suspend with fishing line so they look like they are floating.

• Nose so bright- Use black construction paper and an empty two litter bottle dipped in white paint to create a blizzard. Dip the bottom of the two litter bottle in white paint and make prints all over the black paper to create a blizzard. Glue on red pompom on the picture whenever the child is done to make Rudolph’s red nose shine. You could also marble paint for the same effect or use cotton balls clipped to clothespins.

• Add sparkling glitter to white paint for a crystal effect when painting.

• White crayons are best used in winter- Draw winter pictures on dark blue or black paper.

• Snowflake charmer- Paint three craft sticks white, sprinkle with iridescent glitter and let dry. When the paint is dry, stack the sticks on top of one another to form a snowflake. Glue them together and let them dry. Attach a string to the end of one of the sticks to make a necklace.

• Winter wreath- Cut the center out of the paper plate. Paint a paper plate light blue and splatter white over the edges. When the paint is dry, decorate the wreath with glitter, cotton, artificial snow, beads and a white ribbon.

• Whiteout- Tape a large piece of white paper to a table. Gather a variety of white craft supplies such as cotton, batting, ribbon, tissue paper, stuffing, paper shredded, etc. Let the child crinkle, fluff, cut and tear the objects as they glue them to the white paper to create an all white collage.

• Sparkling icicles- Lean a clean piece of cardboard against a chair. Cover the chair with a towel. Slide a cookie sheet with edges or a jelly roll pan under the cardboard to catch paint drips. Using water, make white tempera paint very thin and runny. Using eye droppers, let the child drop several drops of paint at the top of the paper and watch as they roll down the paper. After the icicles are done, sprinkle them with iridescent glitter. Let them dry and watch them sparkle like real icicles.

• Pine branch & Pine cone paintings- Remove several needles from the bottom of a pine branch and wrap it with masking tape. Dip the pine branch in green paint and make prints on white paper. Dip pine cones into brown paper and make prints as well.
  

Other fun ideas

• Make Marshmallow snowmen (for complete directions, see previous post of Nora with her Meme).
  

• Shaving cream/ whipped cream (shaving cream works the best and smells good)Cover an area with shaving cream and drive cars and trucks around in the snow storm.

• Use sponges cut into winter shapes to “paint” a winter picture.

• Use shovels and buckets to collect the “snow” and practice skills such as picking up, pouring and dumping.

• Write letters or winter words in shaving cream.

• Mix together equal parts shaving cream (non menthol) and white glue. Spoon several dollops of the mix on a 12x 18 sheet of blue construction paper. Using the back of a plastic spoon spread the mix into shapes or make a snow scene. Cut out paper details or use scraps of fabric to create details. Gently add them to the snow and let it dry for 48 hours.

• Make 5 snowmen cutouts with the numbers 1-5 written on them. Have child put the correct number of cotton balls on the snowman. (Do more if you want!)
  

• Make white play dough and add iridescent or silver glitter to it for a sparkling effect. Let child create with the dough or prove winter cookie cutters, plastic knives and forks, cookie sheets and other baker’s materials.
  

• Colored ice- Make ice cubes of different colors by adding food coloring to the water. Once they have frozen, show your child how to create new colors by letting the cubes melt together in bowls such as a yellow cube and a blue cube to make green!
  

• Make a chart for the family showing how many members like marshmallows or whipped cream for the topping of their hot chocolate. (math)

• Faux Cocoa Mix- In a clear container, mix together 3 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt and 1 cup cocoa. Add measuring cups, plastic mugs, spoons, foam shaped marshmallow cutouts and an empty milk jug or pitcher. Help child explore measuring, spooning, filling dumping, pouring and stirring their “hot cocoa” mix. (math and fine motor)

• Cocoa Chemistry- Make a thermos of hot chocolate with your child. Talk about how it is hot and look at the steam. Let them taste a little of the hot chocolate. When the hot chocolate is cool (no more steam is rising from the top) repeat the discussion pointing out what has changed. With the child’s help, pour the cooled hot chocolate into ice cube trays. Let the child predict what will happen to the mix now. Put it into the freezer. A little while later, add a craft stick to each compartment. The next day take out the trays and talk about how different the hot chocolate is today verses yesterday. Let the child taste the treat and see how different it is. Write down what changes the child remembers- use a chart or have the child draw the differences. (science)

• Marshmallow Count- Take 10 Styrofoam or paper cups and label each one with a number from 1 -10. Tear up pieces of brown paper or use brown pompoms and fill each one with hot chocolate. Help the child add the correct number of marshmallows to each one. You can use real marshmallows of white pompoms. (math)

• That’s My Mug- Add some hot cocoa mix and dish washing liquid to brown finger paint. Let child finger paint on a white piece of paper (9 x 12). On a colored piece of construction paper, draw a mug shape and have/ help the child write their name on it. Staple the mug on top of the dry painting and glue cotton balls to the top for marshmallows. (art and writing)

• M-m-m Good- Take a piece of brown construction paper, cut it in half and draw a large letter M on it. Let the child cover the M with marshmallows to make a marshmallow M. Talk with the child about the sounds that M makes and other words that start with M. Write them down on a separate sheet of paper and put them up next to the M (language and writing)

• Made to Match Mittens- Fold a 12 x18 sheet of white construction paper in half. Place several drops of colorful paint on one side of the paper. Fold the paper in half again and gently rub the top so that the paint mixes together. Unfold the paper and let it dry. Once the paint dries, fold the paper half and trace a mitten shape. Cut the mitten shape out and you have two matching mittens. Glue cotton on the end of each mitten with a string and you have a matching set of colorful mittens.

• Mitten matching- Cut out several mittens in a variety of colors. Make matching games with them by colors or write letters, numbers, shapes or winter words on the mittens.

• Read the book Snowballs by Lois Ehlert and recreate the snow family or a member of the family from the book. Most everything you need is around your house or use the book as inspiration for new family members.
  

Get creative! Read lots of winter books and see what you can come up with!! Have fun and get your kids involved!! Hopefully this will help pass those cold days a little faster for you and for you kiddos!!