Cozy up This Winter: Family Fun Indoors and Out
As temperatures turn chilly, family time becomes even more important as we celebrate a variety of winter holidays and enjoy the changing season. Check out these ideas to play, learn and explore with your children.
Celebrate the Season With New Traditions
Throughout the world, the holidays are a time for giving and togetherness. Many of us treasure our holiday food traditions, especially if there’s a family recipe that has been passed down through the generations. It’s never too late to start some new family holiday traditions! Check out this list of food traditions enjoyed by families around the world during the holidays and get inspired to create your delicious treat.
Snuggle up and read a good book this season! Maybe your family will find a new favorite story to read each winter. Check out this winter-themed list of children’s books from our friends at PBS KIDS to get inspired. If you’re looking to learn more about other holidays in the month of December, PBS KIDS also has book lists for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Christmas.
Get Active Indoors and Out
Whether playing outside or inside, physical activity is important for children! However, as a parent, it can be challenging to constantly come up with new activities and games to keep your kids active. We’ve got a few fresh ideas! Get moving by learning the Carrot Cake Dance from Lyla in the Loop or play a game of freeze dance, just like Daniel Tiger and his friends do. Play your favorite songs and move to the beat together!
Another way to get active is to get outside! You can even stick close to home and play some winter sports in the backyard. Build a snow fort with your children, play a game of snowball dodgeball or even snow bowling. You can also bundle up and explore a nearby state park — things might look, sound, and feel completely different in the winter! Listen for the sounds of birds in the trees or observe the changing sky at different times of the day.
Watch PBS KIDS Family Night
Gather your family each weekend for PBS KIDS Family Night, this month featuring winter themed programs and specials! What kind of snack will you make? Which blanket or stuffed animal will you select? Watch, play and learn with your favorite PBS KIDS characters every Saturday and Sunday from 6 to 8 p.m. on Iowa PBS KIDS .2.
Play Your Way Through a Snow Storm
If your child loves learning and imagining along with Daniel Tiger, the Kratt brothers, Molly Mabray, and other characters, then the PBS KIDS digital games are sure to become some of their favorite activities. These educational and fun games can keep your kids entertained all winter long. Boost your knowledge of Alaska with Molly of Denali’s digital game, Molly’s Winter Kitchen. Molly and her mom are preserving foods for winter, but they need your help to find the right ingredients. In Grover’s Winter Games, your children will compete in ice skating, snowboarding and skiing while learning along the way. Learning about shape symmetry is fun in this special game from Sid the Science Kid, Snowflake Match.
When the weather is too cold to venture outdoors, you can virtually explore our great state through Fun Investigating New Discoveries (FIND) Iowa! Check out some of these virtual field trips to explore Iowa’s 99 counties, visit a tallgrass prairie or explore Iowa’s waterways.
Off screen, the Iowa PBS Education team has created and curated dozens of activities you could check out with your children. With just a few ingredients you likely already have at home, you can make your own snow paint to create magical sceneries.
Wander & Wonder With Abby Brown
Learn about different kinds of evergreen trees and how trees "drink" water so we can safely use them to decorate our homes during the holidays in this Wander & Wonder story.
Celebrate the snow in Iowa with a snowflake party! Learn how to make these three snowflakes crafts with supplies from home.
Abby Brown and her friend use their engineering skills to build and explore amazing structures using ice. See how salt works like glue to construct ice towers by dropping the temperature of the ice.
Stay warm and stay engaged with your children this winter season!