Winter Sensory Bins and Activities

What are you doing for a winter theme this year? Winter sensory bins and activities are all about hands-on play and learning! These activities will surely be a hit for toddlers and preschoolers on cold and snowy days. No snow outside? No worries, you can have wintery fun inside. Snowflakes, snowmen, hot chocolate, ice castles, and more are simple to set up too. Add a few of these to your sensory play this season.

EASY SENSORY ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS

WINTER SENSORY ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS

Are you looking for a way to keep your kids busy during the cold winter months? Look no further than sensory activities! A simple sensory play idea is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.

Sensory activities, generally in the form of tactile play materials, are a great way to entertain young children while still engaging their senses and encouraging development in various subjects. Sensory play improves cognitive growth, problem-solving, fine motor skills, language development, social-emotional skills, and more!

There are tons of winter-themed activities here for a cold day in. There are snowman-themed activities, sensory science experiments, winter sensory bins, and even edible hot chocolate cloud dough! These simple activities engage your kid’s senses and let their creative juices flow!

WINTER SENSORY BIN FILLERS

TIP: Make a SUPER SIMPLE snowball winter sensory bin with a bag or two of cotton balls, a plastic scoop or spoons, and a small pail! Add a themed book, and you have a fantastic learn-and-play experience to share with your kids.

What else can you use for winter-themed sensory bin fillers? Another (mostly) mess-free idea is packing peanuts!

For more winter sensory bin ideas, use our fake snow recipe or dyed white rice! You can color your rice blue and add penguins and foam paper icebergs! Alternatively, you can also use an instant snow product with polar animals. You can see our instant snow slime here.

WINTER SENSORY PLAY IDEAS

Many of our winter sensory play activities combine a bit of science with hands-on play, which is perfect for hands-on learning. You’re playing around with a chemical reaction when you explore baking soda and vinegar!

Or if you whip up a batch of homemade oobleck, you’re exploring a non-newtonian fluid! How about homemade slime? There’s tons of great science involved!

Always supervise your kiddos when playing with sensory materials, especially if you are concerned that your kids will want to taste-test the materials!

EASY FAKE SNOW RECIPE

This is our most popular recipe for pretend snow with common household ingredients!

MELTING SNOWMAN BAKING SODA SCIENCE

SNOWFLAKE OR SNOWMAN OOBLECK

SHAVING CREAM SNOW PAINT

HOT CHOCOLATE CLOUD DOUGH

MELT FROZEN CASTLES

WINTER BAKING SODA PLAY

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SNOWFLAKE SENSORY BIN

EVERGREEN OOBLECK

SNOWMAN SENSORY BOTTLES

SNOWMAN IN A BAG

Kids have so much fun with this mess-free snowman sensory play idea! Perfect for kiddos who tend to put things in their mouth. You can also tape it down to a surface!

SNOWFLAKE SLIME

MELTING SNOWMAN SLIME

SNOW DOUGH

Make homemade snow dough with just two ingredients for super soft sensory fun. You can make it any color you want. Add snowflake cookie cutters for extra fun.

REAL SNOW SENSORY PLAY IDEAS

If you live in a climate with real snow, you’re in for a treat! Of course, you can grab a bin or fill a sensory table with snow and get scooping for a fantastic sensory experience with gloves! You can explore the sense of taste with snow ice cream as well!

One of our favorite activities is a snow volcano!