Ice Skating Patterns 

Can you make ice skating tracks in the snowy pond? ❄ This activity is a super fun and easy way to build fine motor skills and practice pre-writing patterns and skills!

In a tuff tray place a mirror insert (or don't) and pour a loose dusting of flour over the tray to resemble ice! Then add small world pieces to resemble the edges of a pond (trees, evergreens, rocks, branches, ice rocks to resemble ice, etc). Add your people to act as your figure skaters, place them around the pond!

Invite children to make skating patterns in the snow!

Blizzard Process Art 

This is a fun and easy activity to explore colour, texture, and art!

In a tuff tray roll out aluminum foil and secure it to the bottom of the tray! Then pour out white and blue paint to simulate snow. Add different textures painting tools like paint scrapers, paint rollers, and stampers. Encourage children to paint and explore!

Once they have created their blizzard simply pour glitter on it to add texture!

Igloo Block Stamping 

Can you add all the snow bricks to form an igloo? This is a super easy and fun painting activity for children to create a wintery igloo they can use in their small world play! 

 
Simply draw a half circle on a piece of blue construction paper, pour white washable tempera paint on a paper plate and offer blue construction bricks. Invite children to stamp and create their igloo! Leave to dry then cut out.

 
Ways to extend the play:
-Counting how many snow blocks you needed to form your igloo!
-How many squares vs rectangles are there?
-How many blocks are in each row?

Snowflake Soup 

This is a fun and easy sensory activity for children to explore that inspires creativity and learning!

Find different snow and snowflake related craft materials (pompoms, foam snowflakes, etc) sort them in the PlayTray compartments! In the large deep tray, pour water so it is half full and then dye the water blue with food colouring or liquid watercolour paint! Add glitter in and stir then pour in your craft materials! Add scoops, bowls, measurement tools, and ladles!

Invite your child to begin exploring creating soup! Mix and measure different ingredients. Pour, scoop, ladle into bowls to serve or colour sort!

Melted Snowman Oobleck 

Frosty has melted! Can you help put what he needs in the bowl so the magic can bring him back?! 

This activity is fun way to explore the idea of frosty the snowman and the magic of making a character! Children can add all the ingredients for making their verion of a frosty or an entirely new snowman character. 

To extend the play:
-Make snowman recipe cards and encourage children to add them to the soup!
-Pair the activity with a snowman book!
-Talk about what you need to make a snowman.
-Can you make a snowman with playdough or outside?

Frosty has melted all the way!

Evergreen Painting 

This activity is a fun nature inspired way to make a unique art piece. It allows children to explore paint mixing, textures and sensory art!

Go on a nature walk and explore you local community! Notice the evergreen trees in your area have any branches fallen? If so pick them up! What do they smell like? What is their texture? Let’s explore!

Take a canvas or thick piece of paper and place it on a tray, add washable tempera paint to a paper plate and place your evergreen branches in the paint and begin stamping and painting with them!

This is a great way to explore sensory & process art.

Ice Fishing

Can you catch all the fish swimming beneath the ice? This fun and easy ice fishing activity is a great way to explore

Fill a large container halfway with water and dye the water with blue food colouring or liquid watercolour paint.  Then add ice blocks in the water to make it cold and to resemble a polar ocean! Pour in all your colourful fish (if your fish are not magnetic tape magnetic chips to them). Take plastic wrap and cover the container with it to act as your ice sheet then cut holes of varying sizes in the wrap. Then sprinkle flour on it to resemble snow. Add nets, magnetic fishing rods and start fishing!

Ways to extend the play:
-Count how many fish you fished out of the ocean?
-Order the fish from smallest to largest
-Make a fish colour pattern
-Count how many fish of each colour you collected

Snowflake Mark Making 

Can you create a snowflake in the snow? This fun and easy mark making activity is a fun way to explore snowflakes as children build fine motor skills! 

To create this activity, cut a piece of blue bulletin board paper to the size of the tuff tray and secure it to the bottom. Once ready pour a light layer of flour over your paper to act as snow! As the children begin to create they will be able to clearly see their snowflakes. Add fine motor tools or simply invite them to use their fingers!

Talk about what do we think snowflakes look like? Have we seen photos? What do you notice about them? Print photos or read a book for children to be inspired then invite them to create their interpretation of a snowflake.

Polar Playdough Tracks Investigation 

Can you investigate the polar animal tracks on the tundra? Who made those tracks? This is such a fun invitation for children to explore different footprints. Little ones will love to see the close-up imprints of the footprints and trying to guess which animal leaves tracks!

On your playtray lid roll out some blue and white playdough and sprinkle snow around the dough, acrylic ice rocks, polar scenery stones, ice scene blocks and more to create your polar icy tundra! Then add your polar footprint stones for your little learners to imprint.

Ways to extend the play:
-Read the book and compare the tracks!
-What do you notice about each animals tracks? Are any of them similar?
-Can you match animals to the tracks?
-Can you try drawing the different tracks?

Winter Small World Counting Tray 

Can you count and sort all the winter treasures? This activity is a fun invitation to explore numeracy and different opportunities to represent numbers with different loose parts and natural items! 

Did you know an environment rich in loose parts naturally encourages math skill development? Children love to explore and group items as they are interested and incorporating math into an open ended activity will naturally lead them to inquiry!  Through loose parts in this tray children can explore counting, number recognition, sorting, patterning grouping, beginner math equations, and more!

Ways to extend the play:
-Create winter patterns
-Write equations on the acrylic mirror and add that amount to the answer!
-Represent numbers smallest to largest
-How many ways can you make and represent a number?
-Read the book and point out the numbers as you see them!

Evergreen Trimming Tray 

This activity is a fun and easy wintery way to build fine motor skills as your explore all the wintery branches from your local evergreen trees!

Take your evergreen branches and place them in your PlayTray! Add other wintery nature finds to compare scents, textures and observations of. Offer scissors snipping the needles and branches to make evergreen confetti to fill your tray.

Ways to extend the play:
-Use your evergreen confetti as a sensory base in small worlds!
-Measure your evergreen needles in vessels!
-Use it in a winter soups!
-What do the needles smell like? Feel like?

Can You Clear the Snow? 

This activity is a fun and easy activity your child will love and takes less than five minutes to create! Simply pour flour in a PlayTray and add construction vehicles and invite children to clear the snow!

-How many piles can you create?
-Does one vehicle collect more snow than others?
-What roadways can you make!

Polar Small World Water Play 

Let’s explore the polar ocean with all our animal friends who live there! This is such a fun and easy water play invitation your little learners will love exploring.

Fill a deep tuff tray with water and then dye it with blue food colouring or liquid watercolor to get an icy polar colour! Then add your floating icebergs, polar loose parts and polar animals.

Then invite children to explore the ocean!

Ways to extend the play:
-Read a book about the polar region and talk about the habitat and animals that live there!

Snowy Prints Playdough and Outdoor Exploration 

Let's explore animal tracks! This is such a fun and easy bookish play inspired inquiry that can be explored both indoors and outdoors.

Children are fascinated with the world around them and the animals that live in habitats in their communities! This book is the perfect addition to extend play and enrich our curiosity. Read the story and observe the types of animal tracks mentioned, have you seen tracks like this locally? What animals do you recognize? Then take the woodland footprint stones outside to compare, observe and create your own tracks in the snow.

Follow tracks in the woods, create tracks for children to follow or just have fun creating your own prints!

To extend the play indoors offer white air dry playdough to create track imprints and fossils to included in activities and match them to the animals.

Melted Snow Painting 

This process art activity is a great way to bring snow inside and use it for creative painting and exploration!

All you need:
-Liquid Watercolour Paint
-A tray
-Watercolour or Cardstock paper
-Pipettes
-A Scoop

On your piece of paper begin randomly dropping liquid watercolor paint with the pipettes! Place them all over the paper. Go outside and get a sizeable scoop of snow and place it all over your paper. Break it up all over the paper so it is covering it. Sit back and watch as the snow melts and the paint begins to spread!

Light Panel Snowflake Shapes 

Can you create a snowflake using shapes? This is a fun and easy light panel activity that allows children to be inspired by winter and learn more about shapes. 

Each snowflake that falls from the sky is unique and when we look closely at them we can see they are made up of shapes that we know! To create this invitation offer translucent pattern blocks in a basket and place photos of snowflakes around the light panel or create pattern and shape snowflake printables for children to match and create their snowflakes.

Ways to extend the play:
-Ask children to count how many of each shape they used
-Encourage them to draw their individual snowflakes
-Talk about what patterns they notice

Shape Snowmen 

Do you want to build a snowmaaaan?  Sorry, couldn't resist lol! This shape snowman activity is a fun way to work on shape recognition and be creative!

Simply cut a shape out of white bristol board and cut three sizes of each shape. On the smallest draw a snowman face and on the medium and large draw buttons! Then take a piece of black construction paper and cut out of the shape of a hat and write the name of the shape on it and draw a picture beside it (you can also only write the world or draw the picture). Then encourage children to build their snowman!

Ways to extend the play:
-Mix and match the shape snowman to create you own unique snowman!
-Count how many buttons are on each snowman
-Identify each shape and compare the sizes

So Much Snow Bookish Play Tray 

This fun and easy sensory activity allows children to be creative as they explore the snow and connect with stories about winter! In your playtray play different dough cutters, art materials, and loose parts inspired by snow. Then read the books with children and begin to explore. 

Ways to extend the play:
-Create snowflakes with the pipe cleaners and beads
-Make imprints in the snow with your dough cutters
-Decorate a snowy gingerbread man with the buttons and dough cutters
-Touch the snow with and without your mittens! What difference do you feel?

Hibernating Forest Friends Small World

Who is hibernating in the forest this winter? This small world activity is a fun and easy to explore the concept of hibernation through play.

When you think of an animal hibernating you probably think about a bear, but did you know that other animals hibernate too?

An animal will hibernate when the food supply runs low and the temperatures drop, causing it to be too cold to wander about. Some might go into a deep sleep for extended periods of time, while others will just slow down but remain active.

Simply pour flour in the bottom of a container and add different forest small world pieces (trees, caves, rocks, branch blocks, etc) and add forest animal friends that hibernate; squirrels, bears, rabbits, hedgehogs etc. Then invite children to play!

Geoboard Snowflakes 

This activity is a fun way to explore shapes and creative design as we explore snowflakes!

Simply offer pictures or read a book about winter / snowflakes and encourage children to create their own snowflakes on the geoboard!

Ways to extend the play
-Create a list of shapes you want to see them incorporate in their design
-Count how many shapes you can incorporate in your design

Evergreen Letter Formation Tray 

This activity is a fun and easy way to explore letter formation with a wintery twist.

Go on a nature walk and collect all evergreen branches and sticks!  Then grab a baking tray and magnetic alphabet letters and place the letters in a bowl. Then take flour and pour it in your baking tray and all your evergreen branch and different mark making tools! Invite children to use the tools to recreate the letters in the flour and explore formation.

To extend the play you can explore spelling and forming high frequency words!

Light Panel Polar Small World 

Can you explore the Arctic tundra and all its creatures in their natural habitat?

The light panel is a fun way to change up the play and explore.

Although it may seem like a lot to put this activity together in actual real time it only took me about 10 minutes to set up! So here is exactly how to make this small world:

Step One: Select your sensory bases and prep them! I chose Miracle Snow and Water Beads to act as my tundra and ocean. Once they are ready spread them across the light panel cover.

Step Two: Add your small world pieces! In this case for the tundra I added a Play Igloo, Nature Silicone Rainbow in cool tones to act as a cave or ice, lucent cubes to be ice, and placed ice blocks behind the tray to reflect light or act as a glacier.

Step Three: Add your arctic animals! Place them all over the tray and then take the polar footprint stones and imprint them in your snow to make tracks. You can leave them animal or track side up for children to investiage with additional animals. 

Step Four: Turn off the lights and turn on the light panel and you are ready to play! 

Ways to extend the play:
-Make imprints of all the footprints and encourage children to match the animals 
-Read a book about the Arctic and talk about their habitat.
-Can you build an igloo with the ice bricks?
-What animals are land vs sea animals? Are some both?
-Identify the animals!
-Create a story with the small world!
-Describe the textures of the sensory materials!

Watch the video for how we smade this small world here

The Mitten Inspired Small World 

Can all the animals of the forest investigate and fit inside the mitten? This is a fun winter world inspired by the story of the Mitten - One by one, woodland animals find the mitten and crawl in; first, a curious mole, then a rabbit, a badger and others, each one larger than the last. Finally, a big brown bear is followed in by a tiny brown mouse and what happens next makes for a wonderfully funny climax. 

This small world is a great way to explore the story through play as children learn and comprehend different parts of the story! Children can retell the story, identify characters, explore placing animals in the mitten and more!
Ways to extend the play:
-Can you identify all the animals?
-Can you line the animals from largest to smallest and in reverse?
-Talk about curiosity!

Snowy Construction Small World 

Can you clear the snow and transport all the rocks and ice in the snow around the construction site?

This is a super fun and easy small world that you can make in under 5 minutes! Simply pour flour in the bottom of your play tray to create your snow, then add small world materials like trees and rocks! Add white Pom Poms and light blue acrylic ice rocks to act as your snow and ice! Then place your construction vehicles in and invite children to explore.

Will they clear all the ice in a pile?
Is there more rocks than ice?
How many of each fit in the dump truck?

Polar Habitat Small World 

Can you explore the polar tundra and all its creatures in their natural habitat? This is such a fun and easy way to explore the polar region and the animals that live there. 

In a deep tuff tray lay down white and blue play scarves to be your polar ocean, snow pour in a snow inspired sensory base to act as your polar snow. Then offer rocks, shells, water, and other natural materials. Then offer small world habitat pieces like a mountain, igloo and more. Then allow children to create their arctic tundra. 

Ways to extend the play:
-Make imprints of all the footprints and encourage children to match the animals to the snow
-Read a book about the Arctic and talk about the animals habitat. -Can you match the animals with the footprint stones?
-What animals are land vs sea animals? Are some both?
-Identify the animals!
-Create a story with the small world!
-Describe the textures of the sensory materials!

Snowman Button Counting 

Can you count all the right amount of buttons for each snowman? This is a super fun and easy counting activity that allows children to work on early numeracy skills!

Take white construction paper and cut it out in the shape of a snowman! Lay them all out around your tuff tray and on the hat write a number with chalk marker! Then pour transparent counters in a container and place them in the middle of the tray and invite children to count and match the correct number of buttons.

Ways to extend the play:
‑Instead of just numbers add number sentences for children to solve and use that amount of buttons
‑Make colour button patterns.

Snowflake Play Dough Tray 

This invitation to create allows children to create and decorate their own snowflake! Play dough is a great opportunity to help children build fine motor skills and inspire their imagination as they create. 

In tray offer play dough, dough cutters & tools, and loose craft pieces and let your child's creativity lead! 

Snowflake Process Art Tape Peel

This is an exciting and fun way to allow your children to explore art, colour, creativity and is a simple twist winter twist on classic painting.

All you need is:

-Washable Paint 

-Paint Brushes

-Mavalus Tape

-A blank canvas or thick paper

Step One: Take Mavalus tape and begin to create your design on the canvas!

Step Two: Once complete pour the paint in paint pots and offer your child paint brushes and encourage them to paint all over the canvas.

Once your paint is semi dry peel back the paint to discover your snowflakes!

Shape Button Snowmen 

Do you want to build a snowmaaaan?  This shape button snowman activity is a fun way to work on shape recognition, colour recognition, patterning, fine motor skills and more! Bonus is that it is super easy.

On a piece of bristol board draw snowmen of every size! On the bottom two snowballs trace different buttons with coloured markers. Once you have your snowmen encourage children to find and match the buttons.

Ways to extend the play:
-Identify the shape buttons and talk about what colour they are!
-Count how many buttons are on each snowman
-Talk about how the shapes are orientated! Are they upside down? Sideways?
-Do you see any shape or colour patterns?

Process Art Nature Snowflakes

This activity is a fun way to combine opened ended creativity with nature and paint. Children can be inspired by the unique textures of the sticks and the winter season!

All you need:

-Washable Tempera Paint

-Sticks -Glitter

-Paint Brushes

-Hot Glue Gun

Step One: Go on a nature walk and collect all kinds of different sticks! You will want ones with different lengths, thickness and texture.

Step Two: Pour washable tempera paint the colours of winter or the holidays in paint pots! Using brushes or sponges paint your sticks! While the paint is wet, sprinkle some glitter on your sticks to give a sparkling snow effect.

Step Three: Allow the paint to dry! Once the paint is dry, arrange the sticks in a snowflake design and hot glue them together. To use as an ornament, bend a pipe cleaner to act as a loop and glue it to your snowflake!

Melted Snowman Sensory Soup 

Frosty has melted! Can you help put what he needs in the bowl so the magic can bring him back?! 

This activity is fun way to explore the idea of frosty the snowman and the magic of making a character! Children can add all the ingredients for making their verion of a frosty or an entirely new snowman character. 

To extend the play:
-Make snowman recipe cards and encourage children to add them to the soup!
-Pair the activity with a snowman book!
-Talk about what you need to make a snowman.
-Can you make a snowman with playdough or outside?

Make sure to tag us on social media if you try any of our ideas and follow us for more play based learning activites, process art and craft ideas on social media @ScholarsChoice on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest