Wintertime Indoor Activities for Preschoolers

Winter can be particularly challenging for parents of preschoolers. Freezing rain, snow that's too deep for little legs to walk in and sub-zero temperatures can keep you housebound. Once boredom kicks in, preschool tempers can flair. Here are some activities to keep your preschooler busy when it's too cold to go outside.

Wintertime Indoor Activities: Home Gyms for the Preschooler

Any parent of a preschooler knows that young children have a lot of energy to burn. If they don't get a chance to exercise and move daily, they will get cranky and fussy and may even have trouble sleeping. It's important to set up some activities indoors to work those little muscles.

Construct a balance beam out of extra 2x4's. Set the boards directly on a carpeted floor. If you have more than one board, set them up in an "L" shape or a zig-zag pattern.

Add to the balance beam and make it part of an obstacle course. Set up pillows to jump over, blanket tunnels (made from two chairs and a blanket) to crawl through and obstacles to run around.

Wintertime Indoor Activities for Preschoolers: Make a Mess

Think outside of the box when looking for wintertime indoor preschool activities. Dump a bag of rice on the kitchen table and give your preschooler some measuring cups, spoons and toy cars to play with. He can make roads for the cars and scoop and pour the rice. For the parent's benefit, rice is extremely easy to clean up. It can be brushed into a Rubbermaid container and saved for another day.

Preschoolers also love to cut and paste. Bring out the safety scissors, some glue sticks, old material and buttons and a large sheet of paper. Help your preschooler cut out different shapes with the material, then use the glue to make a collage. Add anything to the collage that looks interesting. Macaroni, string, and glitter all make fun additions to a preschool art project.

Preschool Wintertime Indoor Activities: Science Experiments

Science can get messy, but it will interest a preschool-aged child for some time. Basic kitchen science is exciting for young children. Baking soda and vinegar can be combined to make a small volcano. Children especially love the effect when they get to pour the vinegar over a mound of baking soda themselves. Most children will want to repeat this experiment several times.

A see-through plastic container or glass filled with water can be used to discover what sinks and what floats. Provide your preschooler with several different items, such as raisins, paper clips, cotton balls and any other small thing you can think of.

Preschoolers also like to make potions. Fill several containers with different liquids, such as water, milk, lemon juice, cooking oil and vinegar. Let your preschooler pour and stir and use his imagination to make a special potion. Add a few drops of food coloring to create an interesting look.

For more ideas on how to entertain your preschooler read Keep Your Preschool-Aged Child Engaged by Enjoying the Outdoors Together.