The winter season provides countless opportunities for families to engage in new and exciting activities with their children. Sensory, gross and fine motor, creative and bonding winter activities are abound, yet sometimes as parents and caregivers, we could use a little inspiration to get started! Read on for old and new ideas to keep you active and engaged this winter!

One of the most classic winter activities to do with children is to build a snowman. This winter activity provides some great gross motor activity for families, as well as some fun and educational bonding time for parents/caregivers and children. Creating a stable snowman with graduated snowballs takes some logical thinking, and encouraging children to take part in this process adds to the educational element of this activity. To make this winter activity a creative one, decorate the snowman with winter clothing, or even get out your paints to paint facial features and clothing! Squirt bottles can be filled with watered down food colouring for easy decorating of your snowman. Children enjoy creating a unique snowman that they can be proud of!

Building a snow castle or igloo is another fun and educational winter activity to do with children. This winter activity takes a little more planning than a snowman! To build a home made of snow, fill buckets or bread pans with snow, packing firmly, and stack like brickwork to make walls. Snow structures can be decorated with sticks, food colouring, flags and any other found objects.

Families can take advantage of the colder weather by introducing their children to the great winter activities such as skiing, snowshoeing, tobogganing, and skating. Be sure to bundle your little ones up in plenty of warm dry clothing, and if going out for more than a short while, to pack snacks and drinks.

Taking a close look at individual snowflakes can be a nice quiet winter activity. To do this, place black construction paper or fabric in the freezer to chill before starting. Once it is cold enough, use it to catch snowflakes as they fall. Immediately use a magnifying glass to examine the individual snowflakes before they melt! Note the differences in shape of each snowflake. Noting that each snowflake is unique is a nice way to start a conversation about the uniqueness of each other.

To make crystal balls, make a bubble solution of one part dish soap to ten parts water, glycerin and sugar. Use bubble blowers, or wire bent into a circle shape to create the bubbles. On a crisp day with little to no wind, use the solution and bubble blower or wire to create a bubble. Watch as the bubble freezes and ice crystals form. If the bubble lasts long enough without popping, a "crystal ball" will form.

On days that are too cold for outdoor play, try making crystal snowflakes. To do this, start by making a frame from three pipe cleaners and string. Twist the pipe cleaners together in the centre to make a six-sided frame. Make sure your frame fits inside a wide-mouth jar. Next, tie string around the pipe cleaners to make a snowflake shape. Trim the excess string. Then tie a few inches of string to one of the pipe cleaners and the other end of the sting to a pencil or dowel so that the snowflake will hang from the pencil or dowel into the wide-mouthed jar. Before dangling the snowflake into the jar, pour boiling water into the jar. Add 20 Mule Team Borax Laundry Booster to the hot water in the jar. Keep adding the Borax until the solution is supersaturated. This means that there will be undisolved Borax at the bottom of the jar. (This should be about three tablespoons of Borax per each cup of hot water). For a bluish snowflake, add a few drops of blue food colouring.

Hang the snowflake in the jar, and let it sit overnight. In the morning, the snowflake will be covered with crystals! This can be hung in a sunny window as a beautiful hand made sun catcher.

To make edible rock candy, make a super-saturated solution out of sugar and water (instead of Borax and water). Use a string instead of pipe cleaners. These crystals take longer to form than borax crystals.

Winter is a fabulous time of year that offers many fun and educational activities for parents and caregivers to do with their children, both outdoors and indoors! Enjoy!