This post contains affiliate links. Some activities require direct supervision due to small pieces.
This week is Emma’s first week of Tot School! I’m so excited to start this journey with her. I shared about it earlier this week in my Back to Tot School post but, if you missed it, Tot School is just basically the idea of intentionally exposing young children to early learning skills through fun play at home. I’ll be putting together themed lesson plans every week (sometimes every other week) for her and sharing them here on the blog. The first theme we are doing is snow because here in Chicago we’ve had a snowy few days and I can’t wait to get her playing in it (just look at her excitement “playing” in it for the first time last year!)
Below is a list of snow themed activities. I’m going to stick with this theme for a couple of weeks so that’s why I didn’t arrange the activities into daily plans like I typically would. We probably will not get to all of the activities on the list and that’s ok. Having a theme as well as a number of activities to choose from (and that I have materials for) helps me plan my days so they are filled with learning. I will aim to do a few activities a day with her. Some activities/books that are toddler friendly will be setup for play at her table in our tv room (aka her playroom since we live in a small home) and some will only come out when mom/dad/tween brothers are sitting with her to provide direct supervision with the small pieces.
SNOW THEMED ACTIVITIES & CRAFTS
-Play in the snow outdoors and go sledding
-Make a snowman sensory bottle
–Playdough build a snowman kit (I bought this snowman pieces set and will set it out with white cloud dough and build snowmen with her as we practice rolling the dough into balls.)
-Make a cotton ball snowman
-Put together a child-sized felt snowman
-Wrap some small wooden blocks or toilet paper rolls (cut in half) in white paper and put them in a small bin with people, buildings, animals, vehicles, and cotton balls to encourage snowy town play
-Paint snowballs (white paint on the end of a toilet paper tube “stamped” on or white paint on fingertips dotted on) blue or black paper
-Winter sensory bin for toddlers (I’m doing cotton balls, wooden snowflakes, and mini snowman buttons)
–Feed the snowman fine motor activity of filling the snowman with cotton balls
-Throw “snowballs” (rolled clean, white socks) into a container or at a target
–Play with snow in the kitchen sink or bathtub with sand toys (or I love Happy Hooligans’ idea of adding Little People to the snow sensory bin)
-Color this ‘God made me unique like a snowflake’ coloring sheet
-Sensory bin with fake “snow” (saw on TikTok- just mix cornstarch and conditioner)
-Paint the snow with watercolors
–Footprints in Snow movement exploration (we won’t do all of these just the simple snow related ones)
SNOW THEMED BOOKS:
–Friendly Little Snowman Finger puppet book
–Baby Loves Winter Lift-the-flaps book
–Winter Touch & Feel board book
–Babies in the Snow Lift-the-flaps book
SNOW THEMED SONGS:
–Fun in the Snow (Emma’s favorite- CoComelon!)
-Frosty the Snowman
-Do You Want to Build a Snowman? from Frozen
–5 Little Snowmen (there are printable puppets, too!)
–Winter songs from Teaching Mama puts snow themed songs to familiar tunes
OTHER:
-Wear snowmen clothing. Put your child in pajamas or other clothing that has snowmen on them if you have some and be sure to point out the snowmen on their clothes
-For breakfast, make snowman pancakes.
-For snack, eat vanilla yogurt and talk about how it looks like snow. You could even use fruit to make “snowmen” in the “snow”.
-Focus on the letter “S”. S for Snow. Anytime you see an “S” in a book put an emphasis on the sound and trace the squiggly letter. You can also draw an “S” in your sensory bin fillers or the snow.
-Focus on the circle shape this week. Point out circles you find and help your child trace circles they see or make their own circles on paper, in dough, in sensory bins, or in the snow.
Have more snowy fun ideas for toddlers? I’d love to hear them! Chat with me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram :)
Find more tot school lesson plans here.
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