Winter | MamawsBag

Winter Wonders & Cozy Play

When the frost settles on the window pane, the real magic of winter begins. Discover heartwarming ways to embrace snow days with cozy sensory bins, soft indoor forts, and gentle winter crafts & activities designed for tiny hands and big smiles.

Winter Activities

Bring the magic of the season with these simple, winter activities designed for little hands and cozy memories.

Outdoor Winter I Spy Hunt

Get outdoors and explore the wonder of Winter! Simply print this free Outdoor Winter I Spy Hunt check list (laminate if you want to reuse it), grab a marker and take your kiddo(s) outside on a crisp late fall/winter day to try to spy the items on the list, including fun Christmas items. Some items could be collected for crafts (like pine cones), so take along a bag to carry them!

Indoor Snowball Activities

If you want outdoor play, but you are stuck inside, fake snowball games are the best! You can use these, or make your own by using wadded up paper, small white balloons or larger pom poms.

A good old fashioned snowball fight. Give each person the same number of snowballs to start. Then run around, hide behind furniture or set up 'fort walls' from boxes or building blocks and fire away!
Snowball toss game: Set up buckets. laundry baskets or cardboard boxes and put numbers on them from one to 6. Then each person rolls a dice and tries to throw the snowball into the correct bucket. Or just have one bucket and each person has the land the number of snowballs indicated on the dice.
For the older kiddos,learn how to juggle. Find a YouTube video and practice away!
For the younger ones, just practice throwing, catching (maybe with a bucket or small laundry basket) or kicking the balls around the house
If you have a lot of balls, you can throw them on the floor and make snow angels, or 'bury' your kiddo in a box or large laundry basket.

Mitten Day Activities

Did you know that National Red Mitten Day is November 21st? Mamaw didn't think it was fair to leave out the other colors, so here is a list of indoor mitten activities for all. Just choose your own Mitten Day to celebrate!

Challenge your child to see what activities you can and can't do while wearing mittens. Can you still throw a ball? Can you still write with a pencil? Can you use scissors or hear your hands clap? Wrap toys up with painter's tape and see if your child can 'free' them while wearing mittens.
Cozy up together and read, "The Mitten", by Jan Brett. Can you turn the pages while wearing mittens?
Mamaw also created a matching mitten printable. The first activity in it is a simple matching sheet for toddlers. Print it and laminate if you want to reuse it. Give it to your little with markers or dry erase markers and let them draw lines between the matching mittens.
The next activity has matching sets of mitten cards. Cut out the cards, laminate them if you want to reuse them, and decide whether your child should just use the one-color mittens or the multi-colored mittens. You can use the cards for a go-fish type game, or a memory matching game. If you want to add a little fine motor practice, have them use mini clothes pins to attach the matches.
The last activity has cards with numbered mittens. You can also use these for a memory matching or go-fish type game or you can make it a fine motor and counting activity by asking them to add the number of plastic chain links to the corresponding number cards. Again, laminate them after cutting them out if you want to reuse them. These are perfect for an on-the-go bag!
Don't forget to use mittens for their intended purpose if weather allows you to go outside and enjoy the crisp weather!

Winter Measuring Practice

Grab a ruler and measuring tape and head outside to get some measuring practice! How deep is the snow? How tall is the shovel? How long is the sled? How tall is a Christmas decoration? Bring along a notebook if your child likes to record the numbers. Happy measuring!

Comparing Weights with Balance Scale-Winter

My grandson loves weighing and comparing items with this balance scale. He quickly understood that the lighter items go up and the heavier item goes down. If your child likes to record data, you can use this free printable. For winter, you can compare items like jingle bells, ornaments, candy canes, snowballs, marshmallows, 'the elf', mittens, etc.

Quick Winter Printables

If you just want a quick printable to keep your kiddo busy for a few minutes, download these, grab a few other simple supplies, and you are good to go. These would also be great to have ready for the wiggly children at your holiday table!