If your week looks like mine has, that means you've been snowed in with the kiddos doing non-traditional instruction school days - meaning a zoom class meeting, World War 3 to get instructional sheets completed, and then approximately 16 hours of your kid(s) climbing the walls and destroying the room immediately after you just tidied it. It's easy to feel overwhelmed and stressed out, especially when the excitement from the snow day turns to cabin fever. However, with the easy snow day activities for kids I'll be sharing with you, you can be better prepared to beat the cold and craziness of wintertime! Not only are they budget friendly, but they'll turn your snow days into memorable family adventures.
1. Make an indoor fort.
Grab your blankets, sheets, cough cushions, pillows, and dining chairs to create an epic indoor fort! Fill it up with books, games, stuffed animals, and even fairy lights to make it extra cozy. Even if you don't want to strip all your beds and move furniture around, you can easily create a cozy fort by just tossing a large blanket over your dining table and tossing in a few pillows and toys!
2. Enjoy the peacefulness with snowy storytime.
Set up a cozy reading corner near a window and enjoy a good story while watching the snow fall. Add in a fuzzy blanket, a nice wintery candle or oil blend, soft or natural lighting from the window, and a warm cup of hot chocolate to make it even more relaxing. Add to the winter vibes by choosing a book about or set during winter, or use this as a good opportunity to engage in "independent time" by allowing your child to look at their books while you read your own book. This still offers that closeness and memory making even if you're engaging in independent time because you'll still be doing it together!
3. Get crafty.
If you have any empty jars - from baby food to peanut butter - you can use it to make a DIY snow globe. Use water, glitter, and small toys inside, glue the lid on, and enjoy not only the creativity and fine motor practice but also the relaxation and calming effect of watching the snow globe shimmer once completed. If that's too crafty for you or you don't have any jars to use, just find some paper - any kind will do! - and a pair of scissors to make paper snowflakes you can hang or tape in your child's room. Another fun activity that can also help boost mental health for children is making paper chains with positive things written on each chain link before gluing or taping them together!
4. Make art with the snow.
I'm a big supporter of the "use what you've got" method for activities, and when you're snowed in you've definitely got a lot of SNOW! Put some food coloring and water in spray bottles and let your little ones get creative on the front lawn! Using droppers and bowls of colored water could help give different styles of art. If you or your children don't feel like bundling up to brave the outdoors, scoop some snow onto a metal pan and lay it on top of another pan filled with ice. Voila! An indoor snow canvas.
5. Make a hot chocolate buffet.
Kids love making their own food and snacks, and what's better on a cold day than a big cup of hot chocolate? Set up a hot chocolate station and let your kids explore the different flavors of whipped cream, peppermint sticks, marshmallows, and sprinkles with their lunch or snack.
6. Make an indoor obstacle course.
This can sound like a huge task to take on, but it's really very simple to turn a hallway or room into a super spy obstacle course that's tons of fun. Hallways are easiest to stretch tape across in varying patterns so your kiddos have to stretch, crawl, and squirm through without touching the tape "lasers." If you don't have a hallway that works, use furniture like dining chairs to create a passageway in a larger room. You can even expand it to taping off sections of the floor like hop scotch or using hula hoops to jump through!
7. Turn your kitchen into a science lab.
Explore the cool weather outside by doing some kitchen science inside! Study freezing points by making ice cubes with fun additions, such as food coloring or sprinkles. Use small rocks, toys, leaves, etc and freeze into ice cubes to let your little scientist chip and melt away to reach the item inside.
8. Hold a movie marathon.
Take turns picking the movies, pop some popcorn, and grab some sweets! Set up sleeping bags or layer blankets on the floor for comfy and cuddly seating, turn the lights down, and turn your living room into a home theater.
9. Teach skills by baking and cooking.
Kids love helping in the kitchen, and it's a great fun way to get them to practice reading, following directions, numbers, measuring, and fine motor skills. Mini pizza crusts and bowls of toppings are an easy make-your-own-pizza dinner. Have your ingredients pre-measured and let your little ones pour them together and stir. Grab some easy icing and sprinkles for decorating sugar cookies. The options with this are endless, so much fun, and a great way to keep kids entertained while also ensuring they get fed!
10. Hold a dance party.
Turn your living room into a disco dance floor! Put on some fun music and have at it - letting your child lead and following their dance moves. It's a great way to get out that pent up energy (and burn some calories!). Change it up by trying musical chairs, follow the leader, or freeze dance games.
Stay warm and stay entertained with all this easy indoor fun. You'll keep your kiddos entertained - so less squabbling, boredom, and trouble making - and your children will cherish the memories made for years to come. Stay safe, stay warm, and happy snow days!
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