Thank You, Fisher-Price! Keeping Your Child Occupied in the Cold Winter Months

I won't lie. When it's really cold out, I don't feel like leaving our cozy, toasty warm house.  Because we live in the countryside, it's quite a trek to get to Early Learning Play Groups sometimes. While I'm on a break from teaching for a few months (for family reasons), I need to keep my 3-year old occupied.

Little One's friends come over twice a week to play and socialize.

In the warmer months, playing outside is great on the farm!  With a few hundred acres of land, it's a great way to tire out engage/entertain 3-year old kids! They either just run around, play with the barn cats, look for fairies in the nooks and crannies of our apple trees, go for walks, climb the rock cuts, supervised by me, of course. In the winter months, playing outside is just as fun. We can build snow forts, snowmen, make snow angels, etc. Sadly, we don't have any snow right now! 

Even though Little One loves the outdoors, sometimes the winter days can be too cold for her to venture out. Even she insists on staying in! This means I need to have lots of indoor activities to keep her occupied, having fun, and learning.

Most of the activities are ones I've stock-piled since I started teaching ESL in 1998. I've taught a few kindergarten classes AGES ago and have since added new activities to my repertoire.

Some activities we've done so far:

1. HOMEMADE SLIME!

 

 

Homemade slime is oodles and oodles of slimy fun (for kids and parents)!  It also teaches kids about what happens when  you mix certain substances together! My little one was going around telling people, "I know how to make polymer!"

2. TACTILE RAINBOW MACARONI
I dyed different types of noodles with food colouring and set them aside to dry. The kids played with them, put them into containers, bottles, etc. Then they had fun emptying them into bins. I saved the macaroni and the kids used them for crafts later on. They made pencil holders by decorating used/washed tin cans and glued the rainbow macaroni on them. They also made necklaces and bracelets with them.

3. HOMEMADE PLAYDOUGH
It's not so much playing with the play dough itself that was fun. It was the process of making the play dough that was part of the excitement!

**If you want the recipes for any of the above or below, let me know :)

4. BAKING TIME
Always a favourite indoor activity for Little One and her friends.

Whole wheat pastry flour & organic raw cane sugar cookies with fruit instead of icing. A friend of mine told me about this recipe she found online. It was great fun for the kids and I didn't feel so badly about Little One eating the cookies because they were healthier than regular sugar laden cookies.

 

 Your not-so-sugar-free cookies below. Colourful, fun to make and decorate.

5. DRESS UP PARTIES
My 3 year old has a closet full of costumes. I'm not joking when I say this either! She has ballerina, fairy, princess costumes, as well as a chicken, lion, and strawberry costume. She loves play dress-up with her friends.

When Little One's friends aren't over, this is what her play time looks like. Yes, tea parties with her Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn™ Say Please™ Tea Set and her stuffed friends.

 

 

I have got to say "Thank goodness for Fisher-Price and their Play and Learn Family Activities!" Parents can go on there and click on their children's age groups to find activities that are age appropriate for them! How did I not know this before?!

I checked out the 3-4 Year Activities and was impressed and excited to see all the activities they have listed for children Little One's age.

I am totally saving some of these ideas to use with Little One. Recycle Art, Storybook Theater, and Sand and Water are on my list of activities to do with Little One this month! I know she will love them! I'm making a point to try out all the other ideas listed there too!

Fisher-Price not only has fabulous products for kids of varying stages of development and growth, but they're also a great resource for parents to go to when in need of fun activities that will pique your children's interest!  If you are looking for fun indoor activities to do with your children in the cold winter months, check out the Fisher-Price Play and Learn Family Activities link!

“Disclosure: I am a Fisher-Price Mom and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.”