With the winter weather clearly upon us we can begin to dread the long months of January and February. We know there are probably many days that we will all be cooped up inside. The kids’ activity level seems to grow exponentially with the number of days kept inside. Hopefully a few of these activities will fill some of the time and expend some of that energy.
Scavenger Hunts There are lots of different ways to go on a scavenger hunt. You could try…
- Hunting for bumpy things (brushes, scrubbers, meat tenderizer, fork…) – Once you find them check out what kind of prints they make in your playdough
- Puzzle pieces – Someone hide all the pieces to a puzzle and then the others try to find them and put the puzzle back together. For those that like a little more excitement you could set a timer to see if you could beat the buzzer.
- Socks – Gather different pairs of socks and again, someone hides one of each pair and then the other people try to find the matches.
Bubble wrap – Often times you have some bubble wrap left from deliveries, etc. Make a road of bubble wrap to walk on or drive cars on.
Shaving cream – This is fun just on it’s own but add some wood blocks or cars and it really changes the play.
Nature Scenes – In a large shallow plastic bin gather items that would create a nature scene. Rocks, blue socks as a pond, brocolli trees?, or forks as winter trees … If you want to take a quick trip to Hobby Lobby you could pick up a package of the wood slices, gravel, etc. Add some small animals and let the imagination begin (well, hopefully it has already begun as you were trying to find items for the scene.) Here is a photo of one from The Imagination Tree blog. For more ideas just type in nature scene play into the search field on Pinterest.
Do the kids want a snowy scene? Try adding some snow with this recipe from the blog, Frugal Fun 4 Boys.
Cleaning – Believe it or not, kids still love to clean, especially if they get to use a spray bottle. If you would like you can fill one with water but I have never had a problem with the kids actually spraying some of my cleaners. Windows, table tops, floors, toys …. Imagine the possibilities
Take a bath – Seriously, gather some extra (or different) toys to play with in the tub. Animals, those wood slices you bought at Hobby Lobby, sticks you collect from outside, and even the shaving cream would make a playtime in the bathtub extra fun. (I remember my nephew taking multiple “baths” a day. He loved to play with toys in the water. He was the third and last child so his mama fully embraced the idea of letting him do what he was interested in rather than worrying about what was “supposed” to be.)
Sled Pull – Well not outside right now (It’s toooo cold!) But, can you find items in the house to represent a sled (perhaps the laundry basket) and then find ways for it to be pulled (maybe a belt looped through the holes?) Our Red class had a child on a scooter with another child standing in a hoop. The “reindeer” pulled the sleigh around. The sled could hold real people or possibly stuffed animals.
Obstacle course – Our Blue class had different stations today in large motor: (egg carrying, launch boards, and bean bags through hoops.) How could you make stations or a course that children could repeat over and over. Couch cushions make a great swamp to walk through. Tables draped with a sheet make a great tunnel to crawl through. Wadded up paper and large bowls make a great throwing option.
Sticky webs – The wadded up paper reminded me of this wonderful activity found on Hands On As We Grow blog. Check it out by clicking on the photo below.
Travel the room – What? Figure out how many ways can you find to travel across the room. Here’s another fun idea from Frugal Fun 4 Boys
Still looking for ideas? Our Aldersgate Preschool site on Pinterest has a board specifically for inside play ideas. You may want to see the ideas there. Check back in at times to see if I’ve added some new ideas.
Aldersgate Preschool 