Winter can be a strange month for childcare centers. You might be busy with the excitement of holiday opportunities to provide care, or business might be slow when families start to go on winter vacation with no need for childcare services. Regardless, you still have to keep your kids engaged and well-cared for during the winter season.
Here are 10 fun winter activities for toddlers in childcare so you and your team can support kids’ development and keep them entertained during the cold, stormy season. Read to the end for tips on activity and lesson planning as you head into the new year!
Indoor Childcare Activities for Winter
Winter means you’ll be spending a lot more time indoors. Need to get creative and avoid repetitive activities? Here are some winter-themed ideas to try.
1. Obstacle Course With Imaginative Play
When the weather is too brisk or wet to follow your usual outside play schedule, set up an indoor obstacle course to get kids active and re-energized. Use cushions, pillows, chairs, soft toys, and tunnels made from blankets to set up the kid-friendly obstacle course.
It’s also a good idea to lay out clearly defined rules for the students participating in the obstacle course. Go over the safety rules (for example, only one person at a time) and cut out bright-colored arrows indicating one part of the course to the next. This activity promotes gross motor skills, physical fitness, spatial direction, and social development.
2. Indoor “Snowball” Toss
Initiate a safe, fun, mock “snowball fight” using white pom poms or crumpled white paper. Divide the class into two sides of the room and have them create “snowballs.” Explain the rules and encourage safety, ensuring your staff supports the activity.
You can customize this activity in several ways:
- Allow the kids to toss snowballs at each other like a snowball fight.
- Set up a target, such as a bucket or a large toy, for kids to try to throw the snowballs at.
- Have kids try to place their snowballs in a paper snow globe taped to the wall while blindfolded—similar to Pin the Tail on the Donkey.
These snowball toss activities promote gross motor skills, hand-eye coordination, respect, and social interaction.
3. Winter-Themed Sensory Bins
Set up some fun sensory bins filled with winter-themed items such as fake snow, candy canes, pine cones, small plastic polar animals, and sparkly pom-poms. This hands-on activity stimulates sensory exploration and imaginative play while introducing concepts related to winter and arctic habitats to your students.
4. Hibernation Station for Dramatic Play
Turn one corner of your classroom into a cozy, wintery hibernation state where kids can relax and play. Fill the space with holiday-themed blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, and children’s books so that kids can learn about hibernating animals and seasonal changes.
Since winter months can naturally make some people feel extra tired and sleepy, you can also give children the option to sit and relax or nap as needed.
5. Hot Cocoa Science Experiment
‘Tis the season to enjoy hot cocoa—and make it educational at the same time. This experiment teaches little ones about the concept of dissolution, measuring, and buoyancy (how things float).
To play this activity, you’ll need:
- Packets of instant hot cocoa mix
- Warm water (not too hot)
- Small marshmallows
- A large glass bowl or spigot jar
- Paper cups for serving
Gather your students around a table and explain that you’re going to learn how things melt, dissolve, and float, all from making hot cocoa.
Prepare the hot cocoa step-by-step in the glass bowl or jar so kids can watch. As you make the cocoa in front of the class, engage the kids with questions like, “How does the coca powder dissolve?” and “What makes the marshmallows float?” Make it fun and imaginative, then explain the real concept in simple terms.
Outdoor Winter Activities for Childcare Centers
Whether it begins to snow or the weather is dry enough to play outside, here are some outdoor winter activities to try at your childcare center!
6. Snow Spray Painting
Enjoy arts and crafts outdoors in the snow with this colorful snow painting activity.
- Gather six plastic spray bottles and some food coloring.
- Fill each plastic spray bottle with clean water and a few drops of food coloring of your choice. Create all six colors of the rainbow. You might have to mix colors, which you can demonstrate to your class for added educational fun—for example, red and blue make purple.
- Turn the spray nozzle setting to “stream” so the colorful liquid squirts out straight.
- Let your class take turns using the spray bottles outside to create colorful shapes and images in the snow.
This activity combines creativity with gross motor skills and color recognition. For added fun, share some photos of the kids’ snow paintings with their parents! You can use a childcare communication app like Daily Connect to send instant photo updates, giving parents a glimpse of the outdoor fun their little ones are having.
7. Winter Outdoor Scavenger Hunt
An outdoor scavenger hunt is a unique experience in winter! Organize a scavenger hunt in your outdoor area with a list of items for children to find, such as pine cones, animal tracks, leaves, icicles, rocks, playground toys, and more. Explore the outdoor area and see how many items your class can find. You can also do themed scavenger hunts that involve animals, sounds, colors, and winter sights.
8. Build a Snow Fort
If you have enough snow, guide your class and build a small snow fort together. This collaborative activity promotes teamwork, problem-solving, and gross motor skills. It’s also a great opportunity to introduce basic engineering concepts such as weight and shape.
9. Build a Bird Feeder
Help your students create their own bird feeders using pine cones coated in peanut butter (or glue if you have kids with nut allergies) and then rolled in birdseed. Explain how birds are attracted to the feeder and introduce a few types of local winter birds kids might see in the area. Hang the bird feeders outside to attract birds or have the kids bring them home. This fun activity teaches kids to be aware of the wildlife around them and basic animal care concepts.
10. Winter Olympics Games
If your childcare center is in a location where it snows, organize a mini Winter Olympics with age-appropriate activities like snowball throwing contests, sled pulls, or “ice skating” on paper plates. This multifaceted activity promotes physical development, sportsmanship, and cultural awareness.
Simplify Your Childcare Activity Planning for Winter
No matter what activities you implement for winter at your childcare center, having a plan can save you, your staff, and your students from disorder and boredom. Because winter months tend to slow things down a bit, it’s smart to figure out all the lesson plans and play activities early, while still leaving room for flexibility when the winter comes.
One foolproof way to plan out your childcare activities in winter (and year-round!) is through the Daily Connect childcare management app.
- Use the lesson planning feature to structure your curriculum
- Track daily activities to monitor students’ participation and progress
- Share photos of kids to their parents through the secure messaging feature
- Enable contactless sign-in and sign-out to prevent seasonal illness
- Remind staff of upcoming activities with staff management features
Additionally, Daily Connect’s administrative tools make it easy to stay organized with shared calendars, learning assessments, reporting, and other classroom management features.
Want to simplify and organize your activity planning this winter? Get started with the Daily Connect app today for a free trial of all its features and benefits for your business.
