If you’re looking for some fun and Wintry BOREDOM BUSTERS for your preschooler – today is the day to visit!
We’ve got “chilly” science, art, and sensory activities that can all be done in the comfort of a warm, cozy kitchen (bonus for those days when it’s too cold to head outdoors – like today in Ontario -18°C/-1°F with a windchill of -30°!).
Artistic Wintry Boredom Busters
Open-Ended Wintry Painting
You Will Need:
- Acrylic paint: white and a few different blues
- Silver sparkles
- A large paintbrush and a canvas or sturdy white paper
- A couple of pom poms and clothespegs to paint with
- (optional) Any other winter-themed small decorative objects and glue gun
To begin, I squirted some blue paint onto my son’s canvas and gave him the large brush. I suggested to him that he paint a wintry wonderland and this is what he created.
Next, I gave him the silver sparkles to shake on as “snowflakes.”
Last, I stuck a pom pom onto the end of a clothespeg and let my son dab white paint where he wanted onto the canvas. I’m thinking this would be a great way to make snowy looking trees, fields, snowmen, snowflakes, etc, but instead of making snowy-looking things, he created a white car (figures!).
That’s the great thing about leaving art open-ended – kids get to create what THEY want.
After our painting was dry, we returned to it with a glue gun and my son added on some white and sparkly pom poms with my help. This painting is now a favourite on our mantelpiece!
Try some other wintry art ideas:
Sensory Snowman Art from Mini Monets and Mommies.
Waffle Snowman Art at Juggling Act Mama.
Scientific Wintry Boredom Busters
Snowy Investigations
Bring some snow inside and have fun measuring its temperature with a thermometer as it melts, then comparing the temperatures to water from the tap, and then warm bath water.
You can also examine the snow with a magnifying glass and light (it looks very sparkly!)
You can even let it melt through a coffee filter and see how clean it is, then measure its pH with homemade Litmus paper.
Even more wintry science ideas:
Build Elsa’s Ice Palace from Left Brain Craft Brain.
Icy Hand Sensory Activity from Learning 2 Walk.
Sensory Wintry Boredom Busters
Put some snow into a large bin for your child to play with. Add some scoops, cups, a magnifying glass, and maybe even playdough tools and see what happens!
Onetime, my 3 yr old, played with this bin for an entire hour while I got to make some homemade soup for dinner! Just remember to give your child gloves if they want.
Other wintry sensory ideas:
Wintry Learning Sensory Bins from One Time Through.
Melting Bathtime Snow Globes from One Time Through.
Snow Playdough from One Time Through.
No Mess “Frozen” Sensory Play from A Little Pinch of Perfect.
Frozen Winter Sensory Bin from Learning 2 Walk.
One last idea:
Frozen Printable Learning Pack from Totschooling.
That’s it for this week! Hope you found some fun and “chilly” activities for the kids today. Thanks to all the bloggers who participated in our linky!
If you’re looking for other kids’ fun and educational Winter activities, be sure to follow our Pinterest board: Follow One Time Through’s board Winter Kids Crafts & Activities on Pinterest.
To a cold and fun Winter!
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Please visit my fabulous linky co-hosts to see other features this week:
A Little Pinch of Perfect – Frozen Inspired Play Activities for Kids
Left Brain Craft Brain – Paint Doctor
Totschooling – Snowman Learning Activities
I'm a behaviour therapist, turned elementary school teacher, turned mom of one amazing son, referred to as "Onetime" in this blog. I'm so happy to have you join me in this adventure of creating, observing, and celebrating life and parenthood! 
Anne at Left Brain Craft Brain says
January 10, 2015 at 12:14 amWhat a great list Sue! Winter boredom has set in (even in California!). We’ll have to mix up the routine with some of these. Thanks for including our Elsa Ice Palace building activity too.
Sue Lively says
January 10, 2015 at 7:02 pmThanks Anne. I hear you about the boredom – there’s something so depressing about January after all the fun holidays are done – it seems to take a few weeks to key down a bit and get back to a normal routine.
Katie Pinch says
January 10, 2015 at 1:00 amI love the snowy ideas. We have got to do the coffee filter snow thing once it snows again. Actually I should do it now with the old dirty snow. My daughter and son both eat any snow they can find and it freaks me out, especially when its old snow. The verbal talks aren’t working so maybe the visual lesson will. Thanks for the great ideas!
Sue Lively says
January 10, 2015 at 7:03 pmDefinitely try the filter activity then Katie – when we did it, the snow looked perfectly white, but there was all kinds of dusty grey particles on the filter after. Very interesting…hope it helps with your kids! Thanks for dropping by!
Heather says
January 11, 2015 at 10:45 amLove all these wintry boredom busters! Thank you for including our waffle snowman while we were at Juggling Act Mama.
Tricia says
January 16, 2015 at 1:20 pmI was just talking with some friends about coming up with things to do during the winter months! Thanks for the great ideas!
Sue Lively says
January 16, 2015 at 1:57 pmThanks for dropping by Tricia! Glad you found some fun things to try. I just checked out your blog and am following now. Going to have to try that radish black bean salad for sure! Best, Sue