Winter Activities for Infants and Toddlers

Snow Scoop
Provide small shovels and buckets for children to scoop and pour snow.
Learning supported: dexterity, coordination, measuring, sharing
Snow Tracks
Walk, crawl, jump, scoot, roll, and move in different ways through the snow. Invite the children to notice the tracks they leave as they move through the snow. Describe the tracks’ characteristics - long, short, wide, thin...
Learning supported: language, curiosity, visual discrimination, comparing
Winter Watch 
Look for signs of winter. On a walk or while playing, point to signs of winter and describe what you see: bare trees, snow, ice, frost, breath. Ask the children what things they see.
Learning supported: language, observing, shared attention, curiosity
Sound Search
Have the children sit on the ground and encourage them to listen for nature sounds. Talk about the sounds you hear, and ask the children to listen for them. Invite them to clap or move their bodies when they hear the sound.
Learning supported: sound discrimination, following directions, focusing
Snow Painting
Give the children colored water* to spray or brush on the snow. Invite their observations about the process. What do they notice?
Learning supported: language, imagination, creativity, motor control
*Consider using non-toxic water color paints or natural food dyes