Intentional Winter Activities for Toddlers

Winter is such a magical time of the year. I love setting up activities for my toddler that serve purpose and leave him feeling accomplished and proud of himself! Here’s a list of all our favorite winter activities.

Toilet paper tube bird feeders

The invitation to play

Every winter I think about how hard the native birds work to forage for food and I love watching the birds in my window so this was the perfect opportunity to help them out and see more of them. This is a great way to set the stage for conversations about the native bird species, recycling, or even the native plants that go dormant over the winter.

This activity gets messy fast

I set some organic no sodium tahini on a plate with some silicone spatulas some old toilet paper rolls and some organic bird seed out. modeled how to put the paste on the tubes and then roll it into the seed! We had a blast and playing in the bird seed was a great sensory experience.

Hanging a bird feeder on the buckeye tree

Of course when we were done we had to go hang them up which led to our next favorite winter activity

Puddle jumping!

This ones self explanatory and soo good for the soul. The perfect way to finish this activity with a hot cocoa. It just feels so hygge.

So worth the mess

Foraging

I love finding and growing my own food. It’s super satisfying anytime we can eat something straight out of the ground and not from the market. I love watching the joy on my toddlers face when he gets to pull something from the dirt.

Foraging winter chantrelles

Harvesting

Just like foraging, growing your own food is satisfying and picking it is even better. If you don’t have anything in your winter garden this year try visiting U-pick farms for the enjoyment of harvesting your own fruits!

The last of the apples this season

Cooking

With all the delicious things we grow and forage we have a lot of cooking to do! Figgy jam, apple sauce and juice, mushroom soups etc. I love cooking with my little one. Like all toddlers my son jumps at the chance to be included in the fun.

Figgy jam in the making!

Those are our favorite winter activities, do you enjoy any of them too? What are your holiday traditions? Let me know in the comments below 🙂

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