Some safe and kid-friendly outdoor activities for families

Some safe and kid-friendly outdoor activities for families

Rebecca Michelsen with Penfield Children's Center joins FOX6 WakeUp with some safe and kid-friendly outdoor activities for families. 

Between the winter weather and the pandemic -- kids may be spending a lot more time indoors. Rebecca Michelsen wiht Penfield Children's Center joins FOX6 WakeUp with some safe and kid-friendly outdoor activities for families. 

Kid-Friendly Pandemic-Safe Winter Fun with Penfield

The snow and cold can make us want to stay snuggled up in our houses during the winter months. However, there are physical and mental benefits for children to spend time outdoors, even when it is cold out. As long as everyone is wearing appropriate winter clothing, spending time outdoors this winter will be beneficial for your children even if it is for short periods of time.

Here are some fun activities that you can do outdoors that promote child development:

•    Snow paint: Mix water and food coloring together and put into spray or squirt bottles. Then let your children turn your yard into a work of art! On days that it may be too cold to play outside, bring this activity indoors by placing snow on a rimmed baking pan and allow your children to paint the snow in the pan. Holding and squeezing the paint bottles helps develop your child’s muscles in their arms and hands, which is important for learning to write.

•    Chalk art: Even though it is cold out, you can still decorate your driveway and sidewalks with chalk. With Valentine’s Day coming up, consider drawing hearts or words of kindness for others to find when out for a walk. Holding and drawing with chalk helps children work on their fine motor skills.

•    Ice dig: Freeze colored water into cubes or other shapes. Then rope off an area in your yard and hide the colored ice shapes. Give your children a shovel and have them find and dig up all the colored ice shapes. If you want to make it a bit more interesting, freeze little toys in the frozen shapes. Once they find them, bring them in the house, put them in a bowl of warm water, and watch them melt! Depending on the size of the shovel and the size of the area your child needs to search, this activity can help build both fine and gross motor skills.

•    Create your own tracks in the snow: After spending time outdoors, your children will probably notice that different animals make different tracks in the snow.  After exploring these animal tracks, consider making some tracks of your own. Using sturdy cardboard, create a pair of snowshoes in the shape of your favorite animal or possibly even a monster. Strap the snowshoes to your child’s boots and have them walk around in the snow making their own tracks! As they work to keep their balance while walking and making tracks, they will build their gross motor skills.

If it is too cold outside, here are some alternative activities to do indoors.
•    Make a birdfeeder: Winter is a great time to feed and observe the birds in your backyard. Using cardboard, cookie cutters, peanut butter/sunflower seed butter, and birdseed, you can build simple bird feeders to hang in your yard. Once they are up, spend time each day watching the birds from your window and help your little one keep a journal of all the feathered visitors. 

•    Indoor games and obstacle courses: Using items around the house like throw pillows, balled up socks, laundry baskets and more, create an indoor obstacle course for your children to burn off energy. Use these items to play fun games such as "the floor is lava" and hockey, basketball or soccer.