Indoor Winter Activities That Support Development!
When cold days keep kids inside, it’s the perfect opportunity to engage in fun, interactive activities that promote growth in gross motor, fine motor, and communication skills. Whether your child is working on goals in physical therapy, occupational therapy, or speech therapy, these activities combine movement, creativity, and skill-building for a well-rounded experience!
Indoor Obstacle Course
Transform your home into a playful obstacle course that challenges strength, coordination, and problem-solving!
Use cushions, furniture, and tape to create areas for climbing, crawling, and balancing. Add fine motor challenges like picking up small objects along the way or unzipping a pouch at a “checkpoint.”
Obstacle courses encourage gross motor development, balance, and core strength while incorporating problem-solving skills.
Incorporate language tasks, such as naming colors or repeating phrases at each obstacle.
Dance Parties
Music and movement make for a lively and skill-building activity that kids love!
Turn on your child’s favorite songs and encourage movements like jumping, tiptoeing, or stretching to improve coordination and motor planning.
Use props like scarves or streamers to enhance hand-eye coordination and sensory integration. Sing along to songs or give directions like “spin three times” to practice following multi-step instructions.
Winter-Themed Crafts
Crafting is a creative way to combine fine motor practice, communication skills, and even gross motor engagement.
Make-Your-Own Snow!
This sensory activity is fun for all ages and provides opportunities to strengthen motor and sensory skills.
Mix baking soda and shaving cream in a container until it forms a snow-like consistency.
Kneading and mixing engage fine motor skills while offering tactile sensory input.Encourage your child to describe the texture and process to practice descriptive language. Most importantly, have fun!
Build a Gumdrop Tower!
Using toothpicks and gumdrops (or marshmallows), model how to build small and large shapes by connecting the pieces. Then, let kids experiment and create their own designs.
This activity strengthens fine motor skills and supports following directions and visual modeling. Have your child describe the steps they’re taking or explain their structure to practice sequencing and storytelling.
Have Fun This Winter!
With these engaging indoor activities, your child can stay active, creative, and promote development, even on the coldest winter days! Whether it’s building towers or crafting snowflakes, these moments are perfect opportunities for skill-building and family fun.
