Guest Post: Winter Crafts for Little Ones

Winter Crafts for Little Ones

Winter is the perfect season for making crafts. Crafting with children is a wonderful reason to enjoy indoor warmth and spend time together. These winter crafts help children learn about the beauty of winter along with some basic science concepts, like how water freezes into ice.

Paper Snowflakes – This winter craft helps little ones develop their dexterity and scissor skills. You can either use patterns found online or in a book, or you can let your children come up with their own designs.

The key to making them look like snowflakes is to fold them into sixes –a number of tutorials can be found online. You can even get more creative by making snowflakes in different colors or decorating them with glitter. They can be decorations on a wall or window or strung into a mobile to hang from the ceiling.

Ice Lanterns – This idea comes from Willowday. It’s the perfect craft for teaching children about how water freezes and for bringing a little light into the dark of winter! All you do is fill a balloon with water, attach it to the end of a watering can, let the water freeze, then take off the balloon. It creates a beautiful sphere of ice that looks like crystal and you can place a candle inside.

Pinecone Birdfeeders – This craft provides children with a way to observe birds in their natural habitat all through winter. Have them cover a pinecone in peanut butter, then roll it in birdseed and tie a ribbon to the top. This craft is easy and messy, which makes it perfect for little ones – though they might end up licking lots of peanut butter off their fingers!This idea comes from Willowday. It’s the perfect craft for teaching children about how water freezes and for bringing a little light into the dark of winter! All you do is fill a balloon with water, attach it to the end of a watering can, let the water freeze, then take off the balloon. It creates a beautiful sphere of ice that looks like crystal and you can place a candle inside.

Snowman Snacks – This craft allows children to be creative and make a healthy snack. You need round crackers, cream cheese, carrot shavings, raisins, pretzel sticks, and anything else that might work as decorations. Kids can have fun making a snowman (or several) out of these materials and then eating it up! Who says kids can’t play with their food?

Watercolor Birch Trees – This idea comes from Wee Folk Art. It helps children discover the beauty of winter landscapes and practice watercolor. Tape sheets of watercolor paper to the table (perhaps with newspaper underneath) and then have children tape tree shapes and branches onto the paper. This allows them to freely paint in blue watercolors all around the trees. You can also sprinkle salt on the paper to create snowflakes. Once the paint dries, peel away the tape and paint little lines on the birches for a natural look.

Jan Pierce is a 4th grade teacher who has over 20 years of experience in the classroom. She also owns the site Elementary Education Degree for students interested in earning a degree in elementary education.