When the seasons change and holiday chaos starts to creep in, it's always tempting for parents and caregivers to hunker down indoors with the kids until winter passes. To curb the urge to be reclusive and inactive, here's a checklist of children's winter activities from babysitting expert Genevieve Thiers, founder and CEO of Sittercity.com. Give this list to the sitter or nanny in your Momtourage so she can keep the kids moving, both indoors and out, during the winder months.
ACTIVITY #1: Paper Plate Snowmen
Materials:
• Paper plates (2 per child)
• Colored construction paper
• Yarn or ribbon
• Scissors
• Crayons, markers, paint, etc.
• Glue
• Hole punch
• Glitter (optional)
What to Do:
Cut one paper plate where the ridges begin so you have one smaller plate and one large, intact one. Punch a hole at the bottom of the small plate and at the top of the large one. Use yarn or ribbon to tie the plates together so they form a snowman shape. Use the construction paper to create hats, shoes, gloves, buttons and and any other clothing you'd like, and glue them to the snowman. You can use glitter as a finishing touch. Don't be afraid to get creative!
ACTIVITY #2: Indoor Ice Fishing
Materials:
• 2 bed sheets, preferably blue
• Clothespins
• String or yarn
• 1 twig per child
• Paper, crayons, markers and/or paint to create the fish
What to Do:
Have the children cut, color and create their own sea creatures out of paper (fish, starfish, jellyfish). Attach a clothespin to one end of a piece of string. Tie or glue the other end to a twig to complete the fishing pole. Hang the two bed sheets from the ceiling. Stand on one side while the children remain on the other, sticking their poles between the sheets. Clip the paper fish to the children's poles and tug on the string so they know when they've got a catch! Winter Twist: To go ice fishing outdoors, hang the bed sheets from a playground jungle gym or hide behind bushes or large boxes.
ACTIVITY #3: Indoor Snowball Throw
Materials:
• Crumpled up tissues
• A strip of colored tape or a string
• Music player with speakers
What to Do:
Lay down a strip of masking or other colored tape, or tape a length of string to the floor. Have the children stand on different sides of the string/tape, armed with their crumpled tissues. Yell "Go," and start the music. When the music starts playing (a festive song, preferably!), the children throw their "snowballs" across the line. When the song ends, the team with the fewest snowballs on their side wins.
ACTIVITY #4: Winter Clothes Scavenger Hunt
Materials:
• Socks
• Winter boots
• Hats
• Gloves or mittens
• Sweaters
• Winter coats
• Scarves
• Scraps of paper with scavenger hunt clues
What to Do:
Hide all of the children's winter outerwear in various places around the house (put all of their gloves in one place, all of their scarves in another, etc.). Write down clues to help the children find these items. As the children work together to find their clothes, they can put them on. By the time they're finished, they'll be ready to play outside!
ACTIVITY #5: Winter Waltz
Materials:
• Pieces of wax paper slightly larger than children's feet
• CD player with waltzing music
What to Do:
Transform the room into a frozen pond or skating rink by having the children stand on pieces of wax paper to help them glide around as waltz music plays in the background. This works best on low-pile carpets and tile floors. To add a fun twist, have the children freeze in place when you stop the music.
ACTIVITY #6: Ice Block Designs
Materials:
• Empty one-gallon cardboard milk containers
• Coarse salt
• Food coloring
• Eye dropper
• Large trays or baking pans with sides
• Several newspapers
What to Do:
Fill the empty milk containers with water and freeze until solid. Remove from the freezer and tear away the cardboard container so that you're left with a block of ice. Line the trays with newspaper and place the ice blocks inside them. Have the children sprinkle the salt on the block and drip food coloring on top of it. You'll see tunnels of color created as the salt melts through the ice!
