When the temperatures drop, families often find themselves looking for fun, functional indoor activities that keep kids engaged, moving, and developing important skills. As a pediatric therapy company, we know winter is the perfect time to blend play with developmental benefits—supporting motor skills, emotional regulation, sensory needs, and creativity right from the comfort of home. Below are our favorite therapist-approved winter indoor activities for kids, ideal for snow days, weekends, breaks, or after school.
1. Indoor Obstacle Course
A simple obstacle course can support gross motor skills, problem solving, and coordination. Use couch cushions, painter’s tape, laundry baskets, and pillows to create a path.
Try this:
- Jump over pillows
- Bear walk from one room to another
- Crawl under a chair “tunnel”
- Toss beanbags into a basket for a final challenge
✅ Great for: strength, balance, bilateral coordination, sensory regulation.
2. Sensory Bins With a Winter Twist
Sensory play helps with attention, tactile exploration, and calming. Create a winter-themed bin using:
- Cotton balls (“snow”)
- Blue pom-poms
- Scoops, spoons, and cups
- Mini animals or figurines
Add in scents like peppermint or vanilla for an extra sensory element.
✅ Great for: tactile input, imaginative play, fine motor skills.
3. Build-A-Fort Reading Nook
Forts aren’t just fun—they create a cozy, contained environment that can help kids self-regulate. Set up blankets, flashlights, and favorite books to encourage calm downtime.
✅ Great for: emotional regulation, joint attention, literacy skills.
4. Play-Dough Winter Creations
Kids can strengthen hand muscles and improve fine motor coordination while making snowmen, snowflakes, or winter animals.
Therapist tip: Add tools like cookie cutters, rollers, or child-safe scissors to increase hand skill practice.
✅ Great for: grasp strength, hand-eye coordination, bilateral skills.
5. Movement Dice or Movement Cubes
Roll a cube to reveal winter-themed movement prompts:
- “Slide like a penguin”
- “Roll like a snowball”
- “Reach up like falling snow”
- “Stomp like you’re in big boots”
Check out our free Roll-A-Die Winter Activity Cards here!
✅ Great for: motor planning, body awareness, sensory input.
6. Kitchen Helper Activities
Winter is the perfect season to involve kids in simple cooking or baking tasks. Let them help measure, stir, pour, or decorate.
✅ Great for: sequencing, sensory exposure, executive functioning, strengthening.
7. Indoor Scavenger Hunt
Create a list of winter-themed items or colors to search for around the house. Add clues, riddles, or movement breaks between items.
✅ Great for: visual scanning, problem solving, attention.
8. Yoga or Guided Movement Videos
Short, child-friendly yoga or stretching sessions help kids regulate energy and emotions—especially during long indoor days.
✅ Great for: self-regulation, strength, flexibility.
9. “Snowball” Toss Game
Crumple paper into pretend snowballs and toss them into buckets or knock down stacked cups. Kids love the challenge, and it’s easy to adjust for any skill level.
✅ Great for: gross motor skills, grading force, coordination.
10. Sticker or Tape Roads
Use painter’s tape to create roads, paths, or shapes on the floor or walls. Kids can push cars, walk the lines, or practice shape recognition.
✅ Great for: visual-motor integration, balance, fine motor play.