Each season brings new traditions and activities but this winter bucket list for you and your toddler will ensure that you and your family make the most of the season and celebrate every little second. These activities can be done at any age but are especially great for one-year-olds.
Reading Bucket List
When you search “Winter bucket list” on Pinterest, there are a ton of options but I noticed that almost all of them focus on movie watching. While I enjoy watching movies, it’s also extremely important to focus on books while reading with your toddler! You can make reading books just as fun as watching a movie – devote some time and focus to it, and, most importantly, enjoy it yourself.
Make reading enjoyable
Host a reading day and pull together some themed books stacks. Some stacks could be holiday-themed, body-themed, animal-themed, weather-themed, etc! You can tell your child the theme or see if they can guess it! By forming these stacks, it’ll help them explore different books around your home. Place the stacks around the house, grab a blanket, some pillows, and your comfiest clothes, and sit together and read them aloud or independently (depending on your child’s age). Read more about how to read to children.
Have a “Snowball Fight”
Included on this winter bucket list is “have a paper snowball fight.” The easiest way to do it is to just crumple up some sheets of paper and pretend they’re ice-cold snowballs. But you can also add some learning to this activity!
My winter themed toddler activities have a great Arctic Animal “snowball” fight for toddlers to enjoy – while teaching them something important. You can pick up a “snowball,” open it up and show your child the animal inside. Say the animal’s name and make the animal noise. For example, you can say “This is a Polar Bear.” or “The polar bear says ‘roar.’” or “The polar bear is white.” Then crumple it back up and throw it across the room. Continue throwing and opening these snowballs as long as your child is interested! This game taught our son to “roarrrr” and it’s the sweetest thing!
Get some writing involved
While writing is definitely not geared towards toddlers, it’s important to model for them. One of the bucket list items is “look through a recipe book together, choose a dinner, make a grocery list, go shopping, and make dinner together.” If you have older kiddos, get them involved! I can’t emphasize this enough. Let your kids write lists. Let them see writing as fun AND functional. They can write down drink orders, put tallies next to pictures of drinks, list their favorite snacks, gift list for Santa, etc! One-year-olds can “write” with large/easy to hold crayons on a piece of paper. They love to watch you and try to do whatever you’re doing, so this is a great “teaching” moment.
What are you waiting for?
Go snag your copy of the Winter Bucket List. Print it out, hang it up, and be sure to share how you cross off each item!
Want *daily* winter themed toddler activities?
If you’ve made your way here, it’s probably because you’re ready for a little more support and guidance during playtime.
How would it feel if you could spend a few minutes teaching your child and playing with them, then step away and let them continue playing (and learning!!) on their own?
With the right tools you can:
- Have a simple, age-appropriate, activity available for your child every.single.day.
- Know what to say and exactly how much support to give your child with each activity.
- Learn when it’s the right time to walk away, so your child continues learning, playing by themselves, and doesn’t beg you to come back and play with them.
- Ensure your child’s playtime is helping them meet all of their developmental milestones!
The good news? If you’re ready to see your child love learning, then my Winter Themed Toddler Activities were MADE for you.
