Holiday Sensory-Friendly Kids Activities
With the temperatures dropping and holiday school breaks approaching, parents are likely looking for fun activities their children can enjoy indoors. In this post, we’re sharing the top 3 sensory-friendly activities that are easy for your children to enjoy during this holiday season.
Exploring their senses is what young kids do! Sensory play encourages learning through exploration, curiosity, problem solving, and creativity. These activities are a great way for kids to learn new skills, while also celebrating the holiday season!
Arts & Crafts: Winter Tree Art
This activity is a great way to work on fine motor skills. The materials for this activity are:
Small twigs/branches
Construction paper
White paint
Q-tips
Liquid Glue
To begin, it’s time to head outside to do a quick search for fallen twigs and sticks! Once enough sticks are found, the caregiver can begin by designing the layout of the wintry tree with the sticks or draw an outline on the paper for the child to follow. Remember, this activity does not have to look perfect, as the focus is for your loved one to have fun.
When you’re ready, have the child begin by gluing the sticks to the paper either by gluing the paper first, or dipping the stick into the glue. Repeat this process until it’s time to make some “snow.” Once the tree is in place, grab a clean q-tip and some white paint. Have your child dip the q-tip in the paint and blot it onto the construction paper to make some snow on the paper while also working on those fine motor skills!
View full instructions on Pinterest
Making Treats: Hot Chocolate Marshmallow Snowman
This next tasty activity is super easy to make and is a great way to teach counting. For this holiday treat, you will need to bring out the following items for your child:
Marshmallows (6)
Pretzel Sticks (8)
Candy Corn (2)
Mini Chocolate Chips (26)
Extra long 4 inch toothpicks (2)
Begin by safely attaching three marshmallows onto your extra long toothpick. You can have your child begin by sorting the materials into their own piles and counting out the number needed from a larger amount. Once you have three marshmallows on a toothpick, have your child begin assembling the snowman’s body. Attach a pretzel to the side of his middle marshmallow to create an arm and repeat on the other side. Next, stick two pretzel sticks at the very bottom of the marshmallow man to create two legs. Then, you can begin to assemble your buttons and face using the mini chocolate chips. Lastly, stick in the candy corn nose and you’ve got your very own snowman to dip in a warm hot cocoa bath!
View full instructions on Pinterest
Arts & Crafts: Snow Slime
This activity is a fun indoor winter craft for those days that are too chilly to play outside in the real snow! The materials for this activity are:
Liquid Starch
Elmer’s white glue
Artificial snow
Mixing bowl
Spoon for mixing
First, pour ½ cup of white glue into a mixing bowl. Next, stir in ½ cup of liquid starch. Stir the liquid mixture with a sturdy spoon until you notice the slime consistency. If your slime sticks to your hands, add a little more starch. If the mixture is too stringy and won’t hold together, add more glue. After mixing the slime, add the fake snow! You can add as little or much as you would like to give your slime a snowy effect.
