Winter Activities for Kids: 10 Fun Ways to Explore, Discover, and Learn This Season
Winter Activities for Kids: 10 Fun Ways to Explore, Discover, and Learn This Season
Winter is a magical time for kids, with snowflakes swirling, frost on windows, and a chill in the air. But it can also be a challenging time for parents and caregivers in cold climates, as kids are often cooped up indoors. However, winter offers endless opportunities for fun, exploration, and learning—both indoors and outdoors. Here are 10 engaging winter activities that encourage inquiry, discovery, and creativity.
Outdoor Winter Activities
- Snow Painting Bring out your child’s inner artist by filling spray bottles with colored water (just a few drops of food coloring mixed with water) and letting them paint the snow. This activity is not only fun but also encourages creativity and fine motor skills.
- Frozen Nature Hunt Head outside with a basket and search for natural items like pinecones, twigs, and leaves. Bring them home and place them in a shallow tray filled with water. Leave the tray outside to freeze overnight, creating a nature-themed ice sculpture. This is a great way to spark curiosity about the changing seasons. Take out a small hammer and a spray bottle with warm water and have your child try to get the items out of the ice!
- Bird Feeder Craft Make a simple bird feeder using pinecones, peanut butter, and birdseed. Hang the feeders outside and watch as winter birds come to visit. This activity promotes an interest in wildlife and nature.
Indoor Winter Activities
- DIY Snow Globes Help your child make their own snow globe using a clear jar, water, glitter, and small figurines. This craft activity enhances creativity while also teaching basic science concepts about liquids and solids.
- Snowflake Symmetry Art Cut out paper snowflakes and use them to teach kids about symmetry. Once the snowflakes are cut, let them decorate each half with different colors or patterns to highlight their symmetrical design.
- Winter-Themed Story Time Cozy up with a blanket and read winter-themed books together. Follow up the reading session with a creative storytelling activity where kids make up their own winter adventure. Storytelling helps develop language skills and imagination.
Sensory Winter Play
- Indoor Snow Play Bring the snow indoors by filling a large bin with clean snow. Add small toys, scoops, and containers for sensory play. If you don’t have snow, you can create fake snow using baking soda and water and freeze it until it is the consistency of snow.
- Frozen Treasure Hunt Freeze small toys or objects in a block of ice, then let your child “excavate” them using warm water, droppers, and small tools. This is a fun way to build fine motor skills and introduce basic science concepts like melting and temperature.
- Winter Sensory Bin Create a sensory bin with cotton balls, white pom-poms, and small winter-themed toys. Add scoops, tongs, and containers for kids to explore textures and practice their fine motor skills.
Winter STEM Challenges
- Marshmallow Igloo Building Provide mini marshmallows and toothpicks for kids to construct their own igloos. This hands-on activity encourages engineering skills and spatial thinking.
Winter is a season full of possibilities for learning through play. By encouraging kids to explore the world around them—even when it’s cold outside—you nurture their natural curiosity and creativity. Whether it’s experimenting with snow, exploring nature or crafting unique snowflakes, these activities create lasting memories while supporting your child’s development.
So bundle up, gather some supplies, and let the winter fun begin!
For more winter activities, subscribe to Susie Beghin’s YouTube channel or follow on Instagram or Facebook.
Spring Adventures for Kids: Exploring Nature
Spring Adventures for Kids: Exploring Nature
by Susie Beghin, RECE, Founder of Alpha’s Discovery Kids
As spring blooms and nature comes to life, it’s the perfect time to engage children in outdoor activities that foster their curiosity and creativity. At Alpha’s Discovery Kids, we’re passionate about providing children with enriching experiences that ignite their love for learning and exploration. From nature walks to mud kitchens, there are endless opportunities for kids to connect with the natural world and unleash their imagination.
Nature walks are a favourite among children and educators alike and are an excellent way to connect children with the natural world while encouraging physical activity and curiosity. During these walks, children have the chance to explore various environments, from wooded trails to open fields, collecting treasures along the way.
Encouraging children to collect items such as pine cones, stones, leaves, and twigs not only sparks their curiosity but also provides materials for creative projects. These collected treasures can be used in art projects, where children can create nature-inspired collages, paintings, or sculptures, fostering their artistic expression and appreciation for the beauty of the natural world. Picking up sticks, in particular, seems to captivate children’s attention as they experiment with different sizes and shapes, imagining them as wands, swords, or tools for building.
Parents can also join in on the fun by taking their children on nature walks in local parks or trails. Equipped with a bag to gather their findings, children delight in the opportunity to explore the great outdoors and discover the beauty of nature firsthand. Nature walks also offer opportunities for hands-on learning experiences. Children can observe different plant and animal species, learning about their habitats, behaviours, and life cycles. Parents can also engage children in discussions about the importance of conservation and caring for the environment, instilling in them a sense of responsibility towards the planet.
Another highlight of outdoor play is the mud kitchen, a beloved feature that encourages imaginative play, sensory exploration and hands-on learning. With simple setups consisting of tables or flat surfaces, pots, pans, and utensils, mud kitchens provide children with endless opportunities to cook, bake, and create. As children mix, pour, and stir ingredients in their mud kitchens to concoct “delicious” meals and potions, children engage in open-ended play that fosters language development, motor skills, and social interaction.
Mud kitchens have benefits beyond imaginative play. As children engage in sensory activities, they explore different textures, smells, and consistencies, enhancing their sensory processing skills. Mixing and stirring promotes hand-eye coordination and strengthens hand muscles, laying the foundation for writing and other fine motor tasks. The sensory experience of squishing mud between their fingers and the freedom to experiment with different textures and consistencies stimulates their senses and ignites their creativity. And, the outdoor setting provides children with the opportunity to engage in physical activity, promoting gross motor skills and overall well-being.
Additionally, mud kitchens offer rich learning experiences that integrate various academic disciplines including our 4 Pillars of Learning. Children naturally engage in scientific inquiry as they observe changes in materials and explore cause-and-effect relationships. Children can integrate elements of mathematics by counting, sorting, and categorizing natural materials or measuring quantities for their concoctions. They also exercise their creativity and artistic skills as they experiment with different combinations and designs, transforming mud and natural materials into works of art.
Whether exploring the wonders of nature on a walk or whipping up culinary delights in the mud kitchen, springtime offers abundant opportunities for children to learn, grow, and connect with the world around them. By embracing outdoor play and nature-based activities, we cultivate a sense of wonder and curiosity that will inspire children to explore and discover throughout their lives.
For more information, visit our YouTube channel for inspiration and ideas.