The winter months often mean lots of indoor activities for preschoolers, but outdoor activities allow the kids to get fresh air and learn about the season. Outdoor activities offer a break from being stuck indoors when the temperatures drop. Dressing preschoolers in warm layers with gloves, hats and other protection keeps them warm and safe during outdoor winter activities.
Snow Sculptures
Instead of the traditional snowman, let your preschooler create a snow sculpture of her own design. Shovels, buckets and other tools from the summer sandbox are useful in creating the winter sculptures. Help your child pile up and compress the snow to create the desired shape. She might make a snow castle, an animal or another design out of the snow. The goal is to encourage creativity with the snow sculptures.
Winter Nature Walk
A winter nature walk allows preschoolers to see the differences in the environment during the winter months. Walk around the neighborhood, park or natural area to see how the trees and landscape have changed. A digital camera allows you to easily document the differences in the environment. Gather natural items that you find to represent winter, such as a bare twig, seeds and bare weed stems. The Family Education website recommends gluing these items to a piece of paper or poster board to create a natural winter collage. The photos taken with the digital camera also work well on a mural or in a homemade book about winter.
Snow Maze
If you have a large amount of snow in your area, a snow maze is an entertaining activity to take advantage of it. Shovel out a maze in the backyard. A snow blower makes creating the maze a lot faster if you have access to one. Leave some dead ends to make the maze more of a challenge for the children. The preschoolers walk around the snow maze to find their way out. For more of a challenge, have the kids crawl through the maze so they cannot see the exit as easily.
Arctic Explorers
A snowy landscape also works well for stimulating the imagination of a preschooler. Dress up in your warm winter clothes and pretend to be Arctic explorers with your child. A pair of binoculars, either real or made from toilet paper tubes, adds to the idea of exploring a snowy land. A walking stick to help trudge through the snow is another prop idea for the imaginative play activity.
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