Winter is coming.
Planning winter activities for daycare requires extra imagination and enthusiasm on your part. Spending extra time indoors might make some toddlers restless and cranky. As a daycare provider, you must create activities that keep them busy and active.
Ensure that your lesson plan and indoor play ideas stimulate their mind, enhance motor skills, and get those tots moving.
Here are some tips to take winter fun indoors:
Get Creative: Build a Snowman Indoors
Is it too cold to build a snowman outside?
No worries. You can take that winter fun indoors with playdough. Children will enjoy making different colored snow people with playdough and small objects. You can turn the crafts table into a snowman factory as toddlers try their hand at the challenge.
They can even use playdough to dress up their dolls and toys.
Alternatively, you can teach them how to make a snowman with paper plates.
Pro Tip: We have tons of downloadable winter-themed activity sheets and bundle packs to keep toddlers busy.
Keep Kids Moving
When you’re planning winter activities for daycare, don’t forget to add some exercise-based activities. It’s important for toddlers to burn that extra energy off through physical activities. Otherwise, they might become restless and disrupt lessons.
There are several ways to bring winter fun indoors. You can create an obstacle course to challenge their refined motor skills, balance, and flexibility. Put on some music to have a dance party each day. If you want something calmer, you can teach the children yoga.
Preschoolers may also enjoy weekly scavenger hunt challenges. You can hide clues around your facility to get them moving. Divide them into teams. They can work together to solve riddles to find a treasure chest full of sweet treats and surprises.
Aside from this, you can invest in an indoor play gym. That way, the kids won’t miss the playground too much.
Take Them on Adventures During Story Time
Make story time all about winter and adventures by selecting relevant age-appropriate titles.
Children can use their imagination to travel around the world when they listen to descriptive stories. You can even organize a puppet show based on the books. Or better yet, ask preschoolers to reenact their favorite scenes.
You can have props and costumes ready for these sessions.
Pro Tip: Attract parents to your daycare by hosting an end-of-year play for preschoolers.
Make Sure the Learning Never Stops
Winter activities for daycare are incomplete with lessons about outerwear, seasonal changes and weather-centric themes. You can use our curriculum development guide to create personalized plans and templates to design lessons that are educational and entertaining.
Here are some popular themes to try:
In addition to this, you can introduce the children to word games and nursery rhymes focusing on winter related themes.
Pro Tip: Download busy book binders for preschoolers to keep them occupied during snow season. We even have lesson bundles for ages 3 and up.
Let It Snow!
In the end, winter can turn into a challenging time if the weather requires you to stay cooped up inside the center. Creative winter activities for daycare that incorporate arts and crafts, indoor play, and educational experiences allows toddlers to enjoy the extra time indoors.
If you run out of ideas, you can count on us to lend a hand.
Standout Daycare helps professionals and facilities make every day fun, educational, and joyful for children. Our members receive online resources, tools and training material required to stay on top of things all year around.
Contact us today to join the community.
Comments