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Fun Indoor Activities for Preschool Children!

With more time inside during the winter, parents are always searching for activities to keep preschool children entertained while at home!

We are sharing 3 fun activities from Children’s Learning Centers of Fairfield County’s Play to Learn Book! All are easy to do together with your child at home.

Mess-Free Finger Painting

This activity is great because it combines sight, touch and painting… without leaving a mess!

MATERIALS:

  • Four quart-size resealable freezer bags
  • Acrylic paint in your child’s four favorite colors
  • Newspaper

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Open a freezer bag and pour in a lot of one paint color.
  2. Squeeze as much air out of the bag as possible and seal it.
  3. Place the bag on the table. Pat the bag to spread the paint in the bag. If it doesn’t seem like there is enough paint, squeeze more paint into the bag.
  4. Repeat steps 1-3 using the other three bags and paint colors.
  5. Place all four bags on a flat surface. Have your child use their fingers to draw on the bags. This will cause the paint inside to shift, making designs, pictures, shapes and letters.

TIP: Use gallon size freezer bags and more paint for a larger workspace. You can also tape the edges of the bags to the table to keep the bags in place!

TALK TO YOUR CHILD ABOUT WHAT THEY’RE DOING!

Ask your child what the bags feel like as they paint. Are they squishy? Soft? Gooey?
Ask your child what their favorite shape was that they made with their fingers.

Snow People Who Won’t Melt

No need to wait for real snow to make snow people! We have a how-to for snow people your children can make indoors, who will not melt!

MATERIALS:

  • Two 16-ounce boxes of cornstarch
  • One large bin
  • One can of shaving cream (foam, not gel)
  • Decorative items like buttons, beads, yarn, twigs and cloth

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Empty the boxes of cornstarch into the bin.
  2. Squirt half of the shaving cream into the bin.
  3. Mix everything together well and mix in more shaving cream if needed (a little at a time) to create a flakey paste. (When you squeeze it, the mixture should almost feel dry and stick together).
  4. Use the paste to make balls. Stack the balls to make a snow person.
  5. Add beads and other items to create a face for the snow person, clothing, etc.
  6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 to create more snow people.

TIP: Store leftover paste in a tightly closed container. You can also crumble the snow people to store in the same container. It will keep for weeks!

TALK TO YOUR CHILD ABOUT WHAT THEY’RE DOING!

Ask your child how the material feels. What do they like about it? Ask them to tell you about their snow person. What is their name? What is their favorite season? What is the story behind them?

Make Hot Spiced Cider

Hot spiced cider is the perfect treat for a chilly day! Your child will love measuring and combining the ingredients. Just be sure to have an adult help them with each step! The recipe below makes enough cider for three people. For an extra treat, add whipped cream to the top of your mug of cider.

MATERIALS:

  • Measuring cup
  • Three cups of apple cider
  • Pot for cooking
  • Measuring spoons
  • 1/4 teaspoon of whole cloves
  • 1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
  • Two cinnamon sticks
  • Strainer
  • Mugs

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Measure three cups of apple cider and pour it into the pot.
  2. Measure the cloves and nutmeg. Add to the pot.
  3. Add cinnamon sticks to the pot.
  4. An adult can put the pot on the stove and heat the mixture until it boils. Then lower the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
  5. An adult should strain the mixture to remove cloves and cinnamon sticks.
  6. An adult can pour the hot cider into mugs. When it’s cool, drink up!

TALK TO YOUR CHILD ABOUT WHAT THEY’RE DOING!

Show your child how to measure each ingredient. Talk to them about how spices create flavor in the drink.

Start a Craft Drawer or Bin

If you want to do more crafts like these, start a craft drawer or bin at home. That way, you will have supplies on hand when you and your child are ready to start a new project! Make sure to have construction paper, paint, paint brushes, crayons, markers, buttons, pom poms, ribbon, squeeze bottles, and any other items that your child likes to use when doing art projects.

For more fun activities like these, order CLC’s Play to Learn Book.

More Indoor Fun Options!

If you’re looking for more options to entertain your children at home, take a look at the links below!

Click here for ways to make music at home!
Click here for how to make sensory bottles.
Click here for winter paper crafts.
Click here for winter science experiments.

Children’s Learning Centers of Fairfield County (CLC) is committed to providing early childhood education for all families, with direct services and programs focused in health, nutrition & family support for children aged 6 weeks – 5 years of age. Find more information about enrollment, here!