Play in the Snow – Your Senses Will Thank You!
Looking for some ideas for your children to play in the snow? For some areas, the snow is an amazing sensory motor experience right outside your door. Yesterday, we got 30″ of snow overnight! Trust me, it is a lot of snow!
Why not take advantage and get outdoors for some great sensory motor experiences and play in the snow.
10 Fun Activities to Play in the Snow
Make snow angels – a wonderful proprioceptive, body awareness and motor planning activity.
Go sledding – it does not get any better than this in terms of a overall sensory motor activity. You get vestibular input, proprioceptive input, muscle strengthening and motor planning.
Create snow sculptures – combines the the heavy work of packing snow, working on the hands and knees and creativity. Get out your sand toys to add to the fun.
Make a snowman – here is some serious pushing work along with heavy lifting. Add in some activities of daily living by dressing the snowman with a hat, scarf and mittens.
Snow targets – spray the snow with colored water and aim snowballs at the targets.
Climb snow hills – Children LOVE to climb big snow hills made by a snow plow. They love to work their way all the way to the top only to tumble back down to the bottom. Simple activity but a work out.
Letter Writing – practice writing letters in the snow with a gloved finger or large stick. Try stomping out letters in the snow with your feet. If you know a child who presses too hard when he/she writes, try writing letters on paper on top of the snow. You have to press very lightly or the paper will sink into the snow.
Build a snow hill – Children love to play in the snow by shoveling and scooping snow. Work together to create a snow hill. Try creating different sizes: small, medium and large.
Scavenger Hunt – create a list of a few items that you could possibly find outdoors where you are i.e. leaf, small stick and rock. The children have to dig in the snow to find the items. Do not hide them yourself. Just let the kids explore the snow.
Snowball challenges – Who can make the biggest snowball that will hold together which you can still hold in your hands? Who can throw a snow ball the longest distance? Who can create the tiniest snowball with just their fingers? Who can walk the longest distance with a snowball balancing on their head? Who can make the most snowballs in 30 seconds? Want more challenges like this? Check out Set the Record.
READ MORE SUGGESTIONS FOR WINTER ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS HERE.
Winter Activities for Kids Ebook
Other Ideas to Play in the Snow Indoors
If you can not get out into the snow, play in the snow indoors.
Get a large plastic bucket and fill it with snow. Use kitchen utensils to dig in the snow.
Put some on a cookie sheet and drive cars through a “snow storm”.
Build mini snowmen in the bucket and use toothpicks for arms.
Put mittens on and transfer the snow to another bucket.
Take measurements of how long it takes for the snow to melt.
There are so many other possibilities, too! Children will most likely create many of their own unique creations with the snow!
More Snow Themed Activities
Snowman Multisensory Handwriting Activity
More Multisensory Winter Activities
Winter Sensory Motor Packet: download includes 25 activities that encourage fine motor, gross motor and visual perceptual skills.
Winter Skill Builders: download includes activities to practice fine motor, literacy, math, and executive function skills.
Winter Fine Motor Activities – Flip and Fill – digital download includes 15 different winter-themed game boards to practice fine motor skills and encourage hand strengthening.
Winter Multisensory Handwriting Activities: download includes multisensory handwriting worksheets that include movement, scissor skills, gluing, “rainbow” writing and handwriting practice. Also includes a scoring rubric to track progress.
Winter Activity Book: includes super FUN puzzles, coloring pages, and mazes to entertain the kids this Winter season.
