Fun winter activities: Recreations that children can enjoy
We’ve gathered winter activities that kids can enjoy!
In addition to classic seasonal pastimes perfect for winter—like kite flying and spinning tops—we also introduce a variety of outdoor games and recreational activities that will warm them up.
Some children aren’t fond of playing outside because it’s so cold in winter.
On the other hand, some kids want to play outside a lot even when it’s chilly.
This article features both indoor and outdoor activities, so find the ones your kids want to try!
These are great for elementary school recreation, and we’ve also included fingerplay songs and traditional children’s songs, so feel free to incorporate them into early childhood care as well!
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Fun winter activities: Recreational ideas for kids (11–20)
Paper balloon play
@yuioishi Paper Balloon (Nostalgic Old-Time Play)Elementary school entrance examMs. Arihime
♬ Lips Are Movin – Meghan Trainor
An old-fashioned pastime, paper balloons are light, soft, and safe to enjoy—highly recommended.
When you blow into one, it inflates into a round shape, and a gentle push with your palm sends it drifting slowly through the air, making it easy even for small children to handle.
Because it falls slowly, batting it up to keep it from dropping or passing it back and forth with friends naturally helps develop balance and coordination.
Choosing colors and patterns adds to the fun, and they can also be used as decorations.
They’re quiet, easy to replace if they break, and safe for indoor play—perfect for quality time with parents and friends.
Udon making
A lot of kids love udon, don’t they? And it makes sense! Slippery, easy-to-eat udon is made with simple ingredients, so most children have been eating it since they were on baby food.
How about trying to make udon from scratch? Kids actually tend to like cooking more than you’d expect, and they often jump in with great curiosity.
Making udon is fun because kneading the dough feels like playing with clay, and covering it with plastic and stepping on it might even make them jump for joy! Once it’s done, let’s all eat together and keep warm through the cold winter.
Fluffy Art
Let me introduce a fluffy, adorable “fluffy art” craft.
First, draw any picture you like on construction paper.
Next, tear some tissue paper into pieces, put them in a paper cup, and soak them with water.
Squeeze the tissue paper tightly and pour off any excess water.
Add glue to the cup and mix well.
Finally, use chopsticks to pick up the glue-coated tissue paper and place it onto the picture you drew.
Let it dry thoroughly and you’re done.
It’s also perfect for practicing with chopsticks.
Try using tissue paper in different colors to create a wonderful piece of art!
6 Recommended Finger-Play Activities for Winter
Let’s have them enjoy moving their fingers with fingerplay activities set to winter-themed songs.
Moving their hands while singing not only makes it fun, but also helps warm up the body.
Try a variety of winter songs—ones featuring animals, Christmas-themed songs, and more—and carefully figure out which songs they enjoy the most.
Paying attention to how they move—whether small movements just with the hands or larger movements using the arms—will help warm up the whole body, so it’s highly recommended.
long rope jumping
It takes a fair number of people, but long-rope jumping is a classic game you can enjoy in winter.
Like tag, it’s an active game, so you can warm up while playing even in the cold.
Unlike regular jump rope, height differences aren’t an issue, so both adults and children can enjoy it together—that’s a nice advantage.
Homemade miso making
How about making miso, a traditional Japanese fermented seasoning, together with your children? Rather than just explaining what miso is made from and how it’s produced, actually making it together creates a hands-on experience that will stick in their memories.
Miso-making mainly involves using your hands to mix and knead, so kids can enjoy taking on the challenge.
The aroma of the miso and the tactile feel in their hands will stimulate their senses.
It’s said that making it during the colder months—called “kanjikomi,” or winter preparation—results in better flavor, so try making it together in the cold winter season.
Fun winter activities: Recreations kids can enjoy (21–30)
Hot Spring Exercises IRyuzo Fukuda
When you soak in a hot spring during the cold winter, the warm water wraps around you, warming both body and soul and making you feel wonderfully relaxed.
Let me introduce a song perfect for winter baths: “Onsen Taiso No.
1.” It portrays the whole sequence from before entering the hot spring to after getting out, and its unique lyrics and movements naturally lift your spirits.
If everyone does the exercises on a cold day, you might just feel like you’re at a hot spring! It’s a fun and quirky routine that’s sure to bring smiles to children’s faces—give it a try!