Just because it is cold outside does not mean your child’s play time (both outdoors and/or indoors) should decrease! Even in the winter months there are plenty of activities that can meet the sensory needs of our children within the constraints of the weather and environment.
Bilateral Coordination
-Snow Angels on the carpet or outside in the snow
Vestibular System
-Ice skating: Christopher Morley Park and Eisenhower Park have outdoor skating sessions
-Sledding: find a hill or create your own
-Skiing: might be more suitable for the older kids
-Snowboarding
Strengthening & Proprioceptive Activities
-Shoveling
-Building snowman- roll throw large balls of snow, lift to place on top of each other, then decorate!
-Pulling a sled- take turns pulling sibling, friend around sidewalk
-Crashing into snow piles
-Building an igloo/snow fort
Fine Motor
-Cutting out winter snowflakes- create template for your child and have them copy
-Coloring winter themed pictures- use of coloring books or printables online
Motor Planning
-Making gingerbread houses- instead of buying a pre-packaged kit, get creative! Graham crackers, marshmallows, licorice will do the trick
-Helping to make cookie recipes- Allow child to roll dough, stir mix, uses cookie cutters to create different shapes (with parent supervision or help as needed)
-Indoor obstacle course: Can be set up in an open area such as the basement or living room. Create with safe household items like pillows, blankets, stuffed animals
-Create an indoor fort: use pillows and blankets, chairs (with assistance from adult) to build a cozy fort indoors.
Visual Motor
-Snow ball toss at target- set up target outside on horizontal or vertical surface and see how many times you can hit target with snow ball.
-Board games- some of our favorite include Battle Ship, Spot It, Kerplunk, Mancala, Hi-Ho Cheerio
Tactile Play
-Snow Slime- find the recipe here!
-Winter Sensory Bucket – put winter themed items in bucket or beans or rice.
-Colored snow: bring snow inside , put on a tray and add color. You can use food coloring in a spray bottle with water or drip it right in.
*You can also find some great sensory smart winter tips at Sensory Smarts and Friendship Circle