Creative Ways to Keep Kids Active During the Winter: 21 Outside Activity Ideas
Get Kids Moving Outside With These 21 Fun Winter Activities
It’s undeniably harder to stay active in the winter, especially in colder climates. Instead of donning winter snow gear, we’d much prefer to stay inside where it’s cozy. Yet, getting outside everyday has a wealth of health benefits, plus children should get at least 60 minutes of exercise per day.
To help kids keep moving this winter, we’ve compiled a list of winter activities to keep your kids active outdoors. One complaint of children in the winter is that they get cold quickly outside, so outfitting your children with proper snow gear and clothing to face the elements is crucial. To help you out, here is an Essential Snow Gear List for Kids with recommended winter boots, coats, socks, sleds and more.
Through the years, we’ve gotten quite creative when winter weather hits in Michigan. If it’s just not feasible to get outside and the kids are going stir crazy, here is a list of indoor winter activities to move your bodies even when confined indoors.
Sometimes the hardest part for adults is modeling exercise and leading by example. These cold weather activities are designed to encourage the whole family to connect, have fun and improve everyone’s overall health and well being.
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OUTDOOR WINTER ACTIVITIES
1. Set a Winter Challenge
Sometimes we all need a little added motivation to get us moving. Setting a winter challenge goal can catapult us into action. Some sample goals could be: visiting a new park each week, joining the 1000 Hours Outside Challenge or the 52 Hike Challenge, visiting every snow hill in the county, or completing a bingo winter activity sheet for prizes and hot chocolate. Here is a full list of Ways to Connect as a Family through a Challenge this year.
2. Glow in the Dark Toys
The other daunting challenge in the winter is the time change and fewer hours of daylight. In Michigan it gets dark close to 5:30pm. This is when creativity and a little magic glow comes in handy. My tip is to stock up on all things glow-in-the-dark!
Try out these kid favorite glow in the dark stomp rockets. Shooting these glowing rockets off and racing to catch them in the dark is thrilling for everyone. Another option is to light up the night as you participate in a invigorating game with a glow-in-the -dark soccer ball or add lights to your bike tires and go on an evening glow bike ride. Seriously, everything is so much more fun when you glow!
3. Frozen Ice Bowling
Create your own bowling alley in your backyard with this fun activity. Thankfully, Ice Bowling can be done with or without snow by just using your home freezer. Grab some balloons, food dye, plastic cups and cardboard and you’ll be bowling all night long.
Create your own bowling alley with these detailed steps for How to Make Ice Bowling Balls and a Bowling Lane. Guaranteed your kid’s will love snow bowling this winter.
4. Winter Scavenger Hunts
Make your winter walks more exciting by participating in a scavenger hunt. Kids love the challenge and thrill of being the first to spot an item and check it off the list. Make a list of items or animals they can search for in nature and let the entertainment begin.
5. Winter Lantern Lit Night Hikes
In recent years, many state parks and nature centers have been hosting winter lantern-lit night hikes. Some even offer snowshoe rentals. If you live in Michigan, here is an extensive list of Winter Lantern Lit Night Hikes.
6. Visit a Local Park or Nature Center
Many parks and playgrounds see much less traffic in the winter months, which makes it the perfect time to enjoy them. As long as kids are bundled up with the appropriate winter clothing they will have a blast at the playground. Here is a list of Essential Winter Snow Gear for Kids.
7. Winter Treasure Hunt with Frozen Colored Ice Cubes
Freeze colored water in ice cube trays and let kids search for colorful “ice jewels” in the backyard or at a local park. Another alternative to this activity is a winter treasure hunt where you create clues or a map that eventually lead kids to a special cold-weather treat like hot chocolate, powdered ”snow” donuts or smores.
8. Try a New Winter Sport
If you’re lucky enough to live in a location where you receive consistent snow, maximize the perks and take advantage of the winter weather by learning a winter sport. Cold-weather activities and sports provide invigorating exercise and rousing fun. Skiing, snowboarding, snow shoeing, ice skating, and snow tubing are ideal winter activities for exercise.
Additionally, many nature center have snowshoe rentals. Outdoor skating rinks begin to open in the winter, even in areas where the country doesn’t get freezing temperatures naturally. If it’s within your means, skiing is one of the best exercises for children. This exciting sport can be taught to children as young as age three, although around 5 is one of the best ages in my opinion. Another bonus is that adults and children alike can enjoy skiing or snowboarding together.
9. Create a Snow Maze
When the snow starts piling up, it’s the perfect time to make a snow maze. After a fresh snow, making snow mazes is a great workout as you shovel paths and race through the maze to find the end. Then play tag or a game of cat and mouse within the maze for additional cardio. Here is a full tutorial on how to make snow mazes.
10. Backyard Winter Olympics
During large amounts of snow, create your own backyard Winter Olympics. Children can compete in activities like snowball throwing, a sled pull, balancing on a log or racing through a snow maze. Here are additional ideas for winter snow activities.
11. Jumping in Ice or Mud Puddles
Whether you have rain or snow, winter’s fluctuating weather is bound to create puddles to jump in. Whether these puddles are filled with water or have a thin frozen layer of ice, kids will be thrilled to stomp on them. Make sure to wear waterproof clothes and waterproof boots. Living on a farm in the Midwest, we’re tough on winter boots and our two favorites our Bogs Winter Boots and Muck Slushmaster Boots. Fair warning it will be a huge mess, but your kids will love it, gets tons of exercise and make lasting memories. Honesty there is just something so satisfying jumping in a mud puddle.
12. Holiday Light Shows
Every year towns host holiday light displays in December and into the beginning of January. Grab some hot chocolate and take a night stroll as you admire all the festive lights. Also check if your town has a holiday parade or Christmas festivities occurring and get it on your calendar so you don’t miss out.
13. Explore Local Spots
Make a day trip to explore a nearby town or big city and see all the sights and holiday decorations. Check out unique landmarks, museums or parks. Be a tourist and take lots of fun pictures as you explore.
14. Go Sledding
My children look forward to lots of fun winter activities each year, yet sledding definitely tops the list. Infuse more exploration this winter by trying out different local sledding hills throughout the winter season. If you’re local to West Michigan, we’ve rounded up the best sledding hills near Kalamazoo, MI.
15. Build a Snow Fort, Igloo or Teepee
Even if you don’t have snow, it’s fun to collect sticks around your yard and throughout the woods to build a wooden fort or teepee. The fun multiples when it snows and you can cover your fort with a tarp to create a snow fort. If you’re fortunate enough to have the right packing snow piling up, your children can attempt to build an igloo or snow shelter for an epic snowball fight.
16. Neighborhood Walks
Bundle up in warm layers and walk around your neighborhood. Perhaps, start a routine each day after dinner to get some fresh air as a family by taking a 30 minute walk or hike. If you live close to trails, use this as an opportunity to explore.
17. Go Icicle Hunting
Depending on what area of the country you live, icicles are part of the winter perks. Walk around your neighborhood or yard and try to find the largest icicles. Eavestroughs, downspouts and fences are some of the best places to search. If you find enough you can even try to make your own icicle lantern.
Icicle Lantern
18. Put in a Backyard Ice Rink
Ice skating and hockey are quintessential winter activities. When I was a child, my dad constructed a backyard ice rink. Hours of ice skating and hockey ensued far into the evening hours. Some of my favorite childhood memories were engrained in my mind in the winter. Even if you don’t have skates, you can play broomball and just wear boots. Slip and sliding across the ice is a blast. When playing hockey, these sturdy hockey nets and Franklin Hockey Sticks are the best we’ve found. Year round we utilize them for both roller hockey in the summer and ice hockey in the winter.
19. Play Freeze Tag
What game could be more fitting than freeze tag in the winter time. Round up some friends and let the games begin. One twist on the classic game is when they become frozen, they can either be unfrozen by another player or do 10 jumping jacks to get back into the game. This helps keep kids moving and avoid the problem of getting cold when they are “frozen”.
20. Animal Tracking
Curious about what made those tracks in your backyard or scattered through the woods. Learning about animal tracks and following them is a great learning activity that combines winter exercise. An ideal time to search for them is during a fresh snow or a muddy season. Check out this Beginner’s Guide to Animal Tracking with Kids to learn more.
21. Race Around Your House
Some days it is glaringly obvious my children, especially my three boys, haven’t partaken in enough physical exercise. Roughhousing, physical aggression and fighting are a clear signal to me that they need to get their energy out. To combat this, I often have them run 5 laps around the house just to encourage movement. Make it a race and or do it yourself to diffuse tension so everyone reaps the benefits, even you. If your kids are competitive, make sure everyone has boots and coats on before you start to race around the house. Alternatively skip the cold weather gear and get the exhilarating benefits of cold immersion.
Closing Thoughts
Yes, winter ushers in extra challenges due to cold weather and fewer hours of daylight in the evenings, but you don’t have to let that hinder you and your children’s health. We hope these ideas will help your kids burn off energy and make the most of winter days by getting outside.
One of the most essential parts of enjoying the winter is having the proper clothing. As a Michigan mom of four children, we’ve gone through our fair share of gloves, boots and coats and found what truly keeps our kids warm and dry in snowy weather. Check out this post, where we’ve highlighted all our favorite Winter Essential Clothing and Gear for Kids.
