There’s a chill in the air and the kids are longingly looking out the window, wondering when spring will start. Don’t let your kiddos’ restlessness get them down. Fun outdoor winter activities are totally doable — even when the TV, tablet and video game system calls out to your kids. Before you fall prey to the “Mommy, I’m sooooooooo bored” routine, check out these awesome activities that get your little out, active and exploring in a totally adventurous way.
Who says that paint belongs on an easel or a sheet of paper? No way! Fill squeeze bottles with a scoop of powdered tempera and water. Head outside and use the fresh snow as a canvas. The kids can ‘graffiti’ their way across the yard. Oh, and don’t forget to snap a few pictures of their artwork. Your pint-sized Picasso’s masterpiece won’t stay put when the weather warms up.
As if running through a snow-covered yard wasn’t fun enough already, adding an obstacle course to it ups the excitement factor. And bonus — the kids can get in on the course creation plan too. Have your children dream up outdoor obstacles. Go outside and try to recreate what they imagined in your yard. Make one course that the kids race against the clock to beat or design two separate courses for team play.
Your child’s sled isn’t just for riding down hills. Dress it up, decorating the plastic flyer like a parade float. Encourage your child to use their imagination, transforming sleds into animals, favorite characters or anything else that they can imagine. Line the decorated sleds up in a row, enlist older kids or adults to pull and have a parade around the yard.
Take the tunes outside and get down. Turn on a completely kid-friendly playlist and dance, dance, dance — outside, that is. If there’s still snow on the ground, your child can jump through it, twirl over it or roll on top of it as they dance. Don’t worry if the snow has already melted. Your child can still twirl, whirl, skip, jump and dance their heart out.
The snow is falling. And now your kids have the perfect building material. What better to create a fort with than snow, snow and more snow? Help them to pack the fluffy stuff into igloo-like cubes or make shallow walls by piling up the snow into curb-like bumps. When the fort -building is done, head back inside. Use paper, felt or fabric to craft flags that the kids can decorate the fort with.
Again, the snow is the perfect blank canvas for your child to create on. If you don’t have paint on hand, don’t worry. Your child’s feet can act like a pencil, writing in the snow. As your child walks, they’re making lines, curves and eventually letters. Your child can ‘write’ one letter in the snow, their name or a whole sentence.
How do those Arctic animals stay warm? Well, some of them have a generous layer of blubber keeping them toasty. Explore this idea with a blubber glove. Scoop shortening into a plastic freezer bag to represent blubber. Put another baggie or a plastic cleaning glove on your child’s hand. Have your child put their covered hand into the shortening. Make sure that the ‘blubber’ is covering their whole hand. Give them snow to hold and ask them if it’s cold or not.
You’ve spent the day acting as your child’s personal paparazzi. Now that you have a zillion pics, it’s time to turn them into a book. Feature your favorite moments and all of your child’s chilly fun in an outdoor winter activities photo book.
