Here are some fun and science worthy winter sensory activities for preschoolers that can engage the kids while developing their overall skills as well.
Winter Sensory Activities for Preschoolers
1. Blowing Cotton Balls with Straws
A trivial yet extremely enjoyable activity, this activity is surely going to engage the kids, and even adults sometimes. You can play this anywhere and need very basic things, cotton and straws. You can use other light things as well for blowing with the straws, but cotton balls give a snowy effect. It develops motor skills as they keep the cotton balls in a line, and helps in tiring the kids too, for a nice night’s sleep.
2. Snow Sensory Sled
Another fun activity for kids, you can try to replicate the snow sled using a foaming shaving cream. Cover the sled with shaving cream and let them play with it using a shovel. You can also hide a few items in the cream for the kids to find, as a hunt.
3. Fizzing Icy Castles
Making castles by using a baking soda and water dough can be a fun activity during winters. You can make these ice castles using molds and refirgerate them later. Take it up a notch by turning this into a chemical experiment and melting the castle using some vinegar and water.
4. Mini Winter Wonderland
As a fun way of exploring things, you can engage with the kids by making a small winter land at home which can be used for playing, creating acts, and for decorations. Try making dolls, use pine cones or various other miniature items for an authentic touch. Crafting these items can be another activity for keeping the kids busy.
5. Snowflake Slime
Slime is one of the most enjoyed activities by kids, and you can give it a winter touch by making a snow-themed slime. There are a lot of recipes for making slime at home and while making slime, add a lot of silver glitter to it.
6. Ice Caves
Follow this tutorial to make small ice caves for playing or for mini decorations. They can be a fun way to enjoy and replicate ice wonderlands. You can add a few decorative items for extra visual effects.
7. Ice Melt Sensory Play
Sensory plays are a fun way to engage the kids and activate their senses. You can make various layers of ice with different items frozen inside them and let the kids find them one by one.
8. Winter Sensory Table
There are not enough sensory plays that you can make for the kids to enjoy the feeling of winter in the comfort of home. This tutorial shows a great idea, on how you can double up a light table as a winter sensory table by adding cold water beads and DIY snowflakes.
9. Hot Chocolate Cloud Dough
Hot chocolates are one of the favorite drinks during winter times, so why not use that to make a cloudy dough for kids to enjoy along with it. This tutorial shows an easy way to make sensory cloud dough for kids to play with.
10. Frozen Foam Dough
As an engaging activity for kids, frozen foam dough can engross and occupy them for hours. It a sensory play, that can also help develop skills, and the recipe requires corn-starch and shaving cream only.
11. Scented Snowflake Water Bin
To develop motor skills in your kids, you can try this scented snowflake water bin. It just needs water, some paper snowflakes, and a tool to pick them up. Add some essential oils for a pleasant smell.
12. Dr Suess Red Fish Blue Fish Bin
If your kids are a fan of this book, then you can make a themed sensory bin. Craft the fishes on your own, or engage the kids while making them. Follow the tutorial for detailed methodology for making these bins.
13. Snowflake Sensory Tub
Kids love to see snowflakes, and you can try making a dedicated tub with different sizes and designs of snowflakes for them to play with. They can throw them around, and enjoy the effects of freshly falling snow.
14. Melting Snowman Slime
Changing temperatures during winters can melt snowman you would have built, and you can mimic this experience by making melting snowman slime. A white slime with buttons can be fun to play with as you stretch and let it look like its melting. Follow the tutorial for a detailed recipe.
15. Snow Themed Bath
If your pre-schooler loves to take baths, then you can enhance this experience by making a snow themed bath for them. Use shaving foal, edible glitter and other items for making a snow themed bathing experience.
16. Snow Painting
Different colors look quite pretty when your spray them over the white snow, and you can let the kids try different shades and showcase their creativity by asking them to paint the snow. Make spray bottles of different colors and let the creativity flow.
17. Melting Snowman
Another melting snowman DIY you can try with your kids this winter but this time it’s not slime rather a baking soda experiment! Teach your kids science by way of this fun and creative winter activity.
18. Snowflake Science Experiment
For an overall learning experience, you can try making snowflakes at home, with corn-starch and water. It is a classic experiment, and can teach kids science at young ages.
19. Ice in Sensory Table
As a pre-schooler, simplest of things can feel very fascinating. They can play with ice, and their senses gets accentuated. You can Make ice of different shapes and sizes to teach them more about it. Have a look here.
20. Water Bead Cubes
Similar to water beads, you can make little water cube with orbeez. Try two different types of cubes by freezing few of them and leaving the others unfrozen. Place them in a tub to let the kids play or add a few items for creating a winter wonderland. The DIY is here.
21. Sensory Bags on Light Table
Place different colors of snow sensory bags on the light table for a nice sensory play for the kids. They can make different shapes on them and enjoy the effect of light on different colors.
22. Snow Play Dough
Play dough is another activity that kids enjoy, and you can add the wintery effect on these using white play dough. Add some glitter to it for an icy dough, and a unique winter land experience. The kids can make snowman or angels using this dough or make their own replica of a winter wonderland.
23. Winter Sensory Activities For Preschoolers
Kids love to play with water, and one of the activities that can intrigue kids, is playing with snowballs or snowflakes in water. You can use different silicone moulds to make ice with it, and let it float over water. Have a look at this one of a kind winter sensory activities for preschoolers here.
24. Salt Ice Cubes
Salt helps in lowering the freezing point of ice, and this could be a fun experiment for kids to learn and enjoy too. You can mix salt and colors together for a more simulating experience for the kids. You can also have different shapes of ice cubes and let the kids color those ice cubes with coloured salt.
25. Icicles and Snow Experiments
Science experiments using icicles can be another fun winter sensory activities for preschoolers to enjoy. They can learn different things through these little science experiments and require very easy to find supplies at home for performing. For example, you can show them how these icicles are unclean by letting it filter through a coffee filter or make water beads using snow instead of water. Click here.
26. Build a Snowman at Home
This tutorial shows a very easy way to occupy the kids while developing their motor skills. Use mirrors and other loose parts for the kids to draw snow men and use the craft supplies for its features.
27. Letter Recognition Sensory Bin
If you are at a stage when you are teaching your kids letters and digits, then you can try mixing the snow sensory play with it. Mix these letters in the snow, and let them find them one by one. Teach them about the letter as they pull the alphabets out of the snow bin. It will also help in improving their attention span on such learning activities.
28. Indoor Fizzy Snow
Intrigue your kids by making this Fizzy snow using baking soda and vinegar. It is a fun way to learn and play and help develop curiosity in kids. Have a look at the DIY here.
29. Slime With Snowflakes
Homemade slimes are popular, and this tutorial shows another way of making a winter themed slime with snowflakes and glitter. Be careful before giving slime to the kids, and make sure you are around them when they play with it.
30. Evergreen Ice Melt
For a more developed winter sensory activities for preschoolers, you can follow this tutorial. It shows how you can make ice crystals or a nature misty evergreen forest with ice and snow.
31. Snow Dough
As a fun activity for kids, you can ask them to make little snow men using snow dough. Mix together a bag of cornstarch with a can of shaving cream to make a wonderful, silky, moldable snow dough for the kids to play with. Add some buttons, googly eyes, and craft sticks for making snowmen. The idea is avaiable here.
32. Penguin Sensory Play
As a kid, some animals might look more fascinating than others, and if your pre-schooler loves penguins, then you can try making this penguin sensory play for them. It uses epsom salt for making pretend snow and you can use other animals too instead of penguins.
33. Play Dough Winter Activity
Play doughs are very useful in physical development of kids, helping in the muscle movement of fingers and arms. For this winter, use play dough with your kids to make a winter garden.
34. Snowflake Soup
If your child loves to play with water, then you can try this tutorial for a sensory play. Add some snowflakes, scoops of shaving cream, glitter etc to water and let them investigate through and create a nice snowflake soup.
35. Arctic Animal Sensory Bin
As an alternative to different types of pretend snow and items kept in winter sensory bins, you can use snow cloud dough to fill up the bin and then place a few animals over it. Kids will love to scoop it out and play with the animals in this interactive experience.
36. Edible Sensory Play Bags
Another idea for making sensory play bags for pre-schoolers but with marshmallows and tapioca pearls. This gives a unique sensory experience, with the squishy marshmallows. It is useful for engaging the kids and they can eat these marshmallows later.
37. Snow Kitchen
Pre-schoolers usually enjoy playing in mini versions of kitchen, or with dollhouse etc. This winter let them play with snow in the mini kitchen sets or collect snow in larger utensils for pretend play. Learn more about the snow kitchen here.
38. Easy Winter Sensory Bin
Take inspiration from this tutorial for different and quite unique ways for easily filling up winter sensory bins for the kids. It uses very basic supplies such as tissues, cotton, buttons etc which you can easily find at home.
39. Winter Wonderland Small World
Similar to other mini wonderlands, this tutorial shows another way of making one for the kids room. You can involve the kids in the craft work, and let them enjoy the mystical world of snowy winters.
40. Arctic World Sensory Play
To amplify the benefits and fun of sensory plays, you can try making this small replica of the arctic world using pretend snow and other mini arctic animals.
41. Color Changing Light Cubes
This tutorial shows how you can turn the basic color changing light cubes into winter themed decorations, such as snowmen for the kids room. If you do not have cubes, you can also use other types of color changing lights, and transform them into winter themed decorations.
42. Ice Wreath
This tutorial shows how you can make an ice wreath with a number of items frozen inside such as pine cones for the kids to explore and melt out. These kind of activities help them investigate, create and explore different items.
43. Winter Sensory Bin
Winter sensory bins are one of the most popular winter sensory activities for kids. You can try this tutorial to find what all items you can use to make this bin. Fill it with peaceful colors and a variety of textures and sounds for a more enhanced experience for kids.
44. Snowflake Sensory Bottles
You can add silver glitter, silver snowflakes and everything silvery and sparkly in this winter sensory bottle. Use glue to fill it up and follow this tutorial for more details.
45. Edible Pretend Snow
If you are struggling with kids putting everything in their mouth, then you might want to consider edible pretend snow for winter sensory play. It is safe for kids if they eat and make for a fun play time activity.
46. Winter Sensory Bottles
Try making these sensory bottles for kids to play with using different buttons, beads, and glitter in different shades of blue floating around in glue. Kids love to see how these move around and can be a fun way to keep them engrossed.
47. Snowman Sensory Bag
To reproduce the experience of snowman found in most of the kids winter books, you can make these small snowman bags, with craft foams and buttons. Pre schoolers will especially enjoy this activity as they read and play simultaneously.
48. Snow Gel Sensory Play
One of the most fun winter sensory acitivities for preschoolers, kids are surely going to love playing with these cold and snowy gels. All you need is a little bit of gelatin, water and some white paint for making these squishy and soft snow gels.
49. Snow Sensory Bins
If it feels too cold to play outside in the snow, you can make these snowy bins at home and play in the comfort and warmth of the house. Kids can use toy shovels, action figures and other items for playing with this snow sensory bin.
50. Winter Sensory Tray
Sensory trays are another way of developing skills in kids. These trays can simulate the senses and help in overall development of the kids. Try making a winter themed tray by taking inspiration from this tutorial.
51. Snowman Sensory Squish Bag
This tutorial shows another idea for a squish bag to keep the kids calm and engaged. You can make features with different things, or just draw over the bag.
52. Animal Home Sensory Bins
A fun activity for kids, they can use these bins for both playing and learning about the behaviour of different animals during winters. You can have small replicas of the various animals and show their habitat in this sensory bin.
53. Kinetic Snowy Sand
Another way of enjoying beach activities, is by making kinetic sand in a winter theme appearance. This pretend snow can be used for numerous activities and keep the kids busy for hours. It is quite easy to make and require few basic ingredients.
54. Sensory Bottle
You can use sensory bottles for playing and are quite useful for calming the kids down as well. One can enjoy the beads, glitter or anything else you put in it to move. Pre schoolers find such things fascinating. Making them with different colors, can also help in teaching them about colors.
55. Winter Wonderland Sensory Bag
Sensory bags are a great way to keep the kids engaged when they are bored, or even just sitting and enjoying their screen time. This tutorial shows how you can make one in a winter theme and add different items to them for the kids to identify. You can store it in the refrigerator for a few days, and enjoy later!
We hope you found the perfect way to spend time with your kids among these winter sensory activities for preschoolers. Besides being fun, these acitivities will help you in teaching different skills to your kids.
