Discover & Be at home: ice, ice baby

With the temperatures dropping several degrees these last couple of weeks, chances are you're keeping warm indoors!

In which case, here’s some wintery activity ideas to try…

This fun bit of hand-printing gets great results plus it has a sensory aspect with the feeling of the paint on your hands:

In the Playroom give some instructions as to how you can get some lovely pictures like theirs. You could always add some extra elements.

Here’s another art activity featuring pretty snowflakes, this time from Kids Craft Room:

Trying to keep the snowflakes symmetrical and looking like snowflakes (!) is great for developing little ones’ coordination.

If that’s a little too sophisticated for you, this winter textures collage idea may suit you better, and it’s great sensory activity for younger children.

Chances are you’ve got some foil and kitchen roll around, so you’ll be off to a good start! You could add in bubblewrap, tissue paper or anything else that takes your fancy. See what In the Playroom suggest.

This is also a fab sensory activity and either a good activity for older children, or one a parent can make for a younger child to enjoy:

No Time for Flashcards' idea is lovely to look at and has quite a festive feel too!

Last up we have some sparkly, squidgy play dough that, according to The Imagination Tree, is edible and gluten free! There are probably tastier snacks but if it does get nibbled, at least you know what’s in it!

You could add elements to make snowmen or use biscuit cutters as in the photo.

Talking of snowmen, one of our book recommendations this week is the all-time classic by Raymond Briggs: The Snowman. No doubt you caught the film when it was on over Christmas; it’s always watchable and readable.

The illustrations are beautiful and it’s a great (if a little sad) story. It’s definitely a favourite in this family!

Another oldie-but-goodie is The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats.
 

You may recognise this book from your childhood. Its simple descriptive text combined with the striking graphics make this a classic that all children will enjoy.

If you’ve got a younger reader, why not try one of the ‘That’s not my’ series, in this case a penguin.
 

The different textures on each page are great for touching, and the descriptive words will add to vocabularies. Of course, there’s a whole load of other titles to choose from including That’s Not My Snowman and That’s Not My Polar Bear.