Top 3 Literacy Building Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers in Winter

Written by: Instructor Tiffany

With the long winter months slowly beginning, here are some activities you can do indoors that will allow your little ones to learn, have fun, and work on those fine – motor skills!

1. Snowball Name Activity: All you need is some construction paper and white hole reinforcement stickers (or any other type of small stickers). Write each child ’ s name on the construction paper, as large as it can fit. Allow the children to use the stickers to cover up their name/trace the letters. This activity allows children to practice their fine motor skills and concentrate on where to put each sticker. This also allows the child to recognize the letters in their name and you can work on letter sounds while this activity is taking place.

2. Snow Hunt: For those of you living in a snow covered area, you can have fun in the snow by going on a snow hunt. Hide magnetic letters or letter tiles in the snow where it is safe for the children to play. Allow the children to dig in the snow to find the letters. Make it challenging by having the children find letters that spell out their name, or last name if it needs to be higher level thinking.

3. Alphabet Fishing: Cut out different colors of fish on construction paper, or print them if possible. Write various letters on the fish and scatter them in a large plastic pool (might be tough to find during the winter months), or you can use a large bucket. Something the toddlers can get inside will be more fun . Have the children search for the letters of their name in the pool! Just remember that anytime you are creating an activity for children , you are helping to shape their minds in a positive way. Be sure the activity is fun, and of course educational is always a bonus! Stay warm!