The days are dreary and blustery. The snow has either lost its novelty or melted away. The freezing air stings your face when you step outside.
Ahhh yes...winter. As parents, don't you just love it?
The kids start bouncing off the walls (or furniture), complaining of boredom, or getting on each other's nerves, and you're out of ideas to keep them engaged inside.
To keep your little ones from going stir crazy during the rest of these winter days, try some of these winter learning and playtime tips from our Veritas Preschool teachers Meghan Lake, Caitlyn Wagner, Kayla Holod, and Laurie Schenke!
Do Gross Motor Learning Activities
You've probably noticed this, but kids need to keep moving, or else they do go stir crazy. With these activities, your child can get some energy out while learning at the same time!
- Letters & Numbers Jumping
Print out the alphabet (lower case and upper case) - one big letter per page - and spread them out on the floor (put some tape on the bottom to help them not slip around when your child is jumping on them). Have the child jump on the letters and name the letters! This is an easy way to keep reviewing their content and get their wiggles out! You could also use numbers. Practice counting by having your child jump to the numbers in numerical order. - Body Shapes
Practice shape recognition by calling out a shape and having your child try to form the shape with his or her body. This could be a team effort with siblings or playdates as well. - Go Noodle
Create a free account with gonoodle.com and have access to videos which encourage learning and movement. Children can learn through short interactive activities led by videos.
Engage the Five Senses
God has given us five fun senses, and children can learn through all of them. There are plenty of indoor activities to provide your child with these experiences.
- Science Experiments
The younger we start encouraging interest in science and technology, the better! You can find many easy, age-appropriate science experiments on Pinterest. For example, you can use those extra candy canes laying around from Christmas and place them in different liquid (i.e. water, vegetable oil, vinegar, etc) and see which liquid will dissolve the candy cane the quickest. Allow your child to predict result before beginning and compare the results at the end. This is a simple way to introduce the scientific method. - Sensory tables
The possibilities are endless for an indoor sensory table! You can make your own by simply filling a shallow storage container or large shallow pan with any number of materials that can be scooped, measured, poured, squished, and stirred! Here's a great list of ideas for things to fill your sensory bin. When it snows, bring some inside and provide water colors to paint. You can also find recipes for homemade snow to keep your child entertained for hours. Engage their sense of taste, too, by making snow ice cream! - Homemade Playdough
Practice some math skills by allowing your child to help make some homemade playdough. Pinterest will provide many different recipes with different textures, colors and scents. Your child can use the finished product to explore their creativity or practice letters and numbers. You can also print playdough mats off the internet to practice tracing, counting and other educational activities while engaging their senses.
Go On a Field Trip
It might be cold now, but there are plenty of cheap (or even free) indoor places that could be educational for students!
- Free Fun
Chocolate world is free and fun for kids! Local libraries often provide children’s programs where your child can participate in story time and a craft. Check the calendar at Lancasterlibraries.org to see what's coming up! - Indoor Fun
Frugal Lancaster (shout out to Veritas Academy mom Kathy McClure who publishes this fantastic blog!) has a great list of local indoor play areas to try (both free and paid). Some favorites indoor play options among families with preschoolers are Hands on House and Tiny Town (owned by another Veritas Academy mom Hannah Harris!). Don't forget about our many museums, too - which you can visit for free by checking out passes through the Lancaster Public Library system. - Nature Fun
Just because it's cold doesn't mean you HAVE to stay indoors! There is still plenty of fun (and learning!) to be had in the great outdoors! Lancaster County Park offers programs for all ages based on the season (check out their winter program listings here). Children can experience nature through animal workshops, hikes, experiments and much more. There is also a Tinkergarten program here in Lancaster at Buchanan Park, which is essentially a fun and scientific outdoor classroom for kids and parents!
Spring will be here before we know it, but hopefully with these ideas you will have plenty of fodder to keep winter fun and enriching for you and your kids!
Of course, we find lots of ways to keep our preschool students busy laughing and learning all season long at Veritas Preschool! If you want to learn more about us, come visit us at an upcoming Open House February 7 or March 15 from 6:00 - 7:00 pm!
