Winter can be a challenging time for moms of toddlers. When you’re stuck indoors all the time, keeping little ones entertained can become a daunting task. Today’s activity is easy to put together and uses items from around your house. This activity will let your little one work on their fine motor skills while giving you a moment of peace to sip your coffee. (Please remember to supervise all activities!!)

Fill a Snowman

Materials

• Clear bottle
• Cotton balls or white pom poms
• Sharpie

Basics

1. Draw a face and buttons on your bottle.
2. Have your child fill the bottle with cotton balls to create a snowman.
3. Empty the container and play again.

Babies (0-1)

Fill the container with cotton balls and let them explore the bottle from the outside. Keep the lid on the bottle for this activity.

This would be great to include in a winter discovery basket.

Talk to your child as they explore and introduce vocabulary words such as white, snow, buttons, etc.

Toddlers (1-3)

Have your child put the pom poms in the bottle one at a time.

Use tongs to make this put in activity a little more challenging.

Place the pom poms in a basket. Place the bottle on the other side of the room. Have your toddler move the pom poms across the room to put in the bottle.

Count the pom poms as they put them into the container.

Introduce vocabulary including colors, snow, and winter words.

Preschoolers (3-5)

Use tongs or a spoon to put the pom poms in the container.

Make groups of two, five, ten, etc before putting them in the container. Practice skip counting with the piles.

Have your child draw the snowman on the bottle. Use a dry erase marker if you want them to be able to change him.

Count the pom poms as you put them in.

And of course…don’t forget the option of free play! Give your little one the materials and let them come up with their own activity. They might surprise you with their creativity.

Happy learning through play!