Winter is a magical season filled with snowflakes, cozy moments by the fire, and plenty of opportunities for creativity.
Engaging preschoolers in art activities during the winter months can be both fun and educational.
From exploring textures to creating winter-themed masterpieces, these easy winter art activities will keep your little ones entertained and help develop their fine motor skills.
Whether you’re a parent, teacher, or caregiver, here are simple and enjoyable winter art activities for preschoolers will love.
Winter Nature Collage:
Take your preschoolers on a winter nature walk and gather materials such as pinecones, twigs, and dried leaves. Back indoors, provide them with a large sheet of paper and some glue. Encourage them to create a winter-themed collage using the natural materials they collected. They can arrange the pinecones to resemble snow-covered trees, use twigs to form snowflake shapes, and add colorful leaves for a touch of seasonal beauty. This activity not only allows them to explore textures and shapes but also fosters an appreciation for the natural world during the winter season.
Snowy Salt Dough Creations:
Combine equal parts flour, salt, and water to create a simple salt dough. Give each preschooler a small portion and invite them to shape it into winter-themed objects like snowmen, snowflakes, or mittens. Once they’ve molded their creations, let them air dry or bake them according to the dough instructions. Afterward, provide paints and brushes, and encourage the children to decorate their salt dough creations with vibrant colors. This activity promotes sensory exploration, fine motor skills, and creativity while embracing the winter theme.
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Winter Puffy Paint:
Engage your preschoolers in a sensory art experience with winter-themed puffy paint. In a bowl, mix equal parts shaving cream and white glue until well combined. Divide the mixture into smaller containers and add a few drops of different-colored food coloring to each container. Provide the children with brushes or cotton swabs and let them explore the texture and create their own winter masterpieces on dark-colored paper. As the puffy paint dries, it will create a three-dimensional effect, resembling fluffy snow. This activity encourages sensory development and allows children to experiment with texture and color.
Melting Snowman Science Experiment:
Combine art and science by conducting a melting snowman experiment with your preschoolers. Give each child a small plastic cup or jar and instruct them to build a snowman inside using cotton balls. Once their snowmen are complete, provide them with pipettes or droppers and fill a separate cup with warm water. Encourage the children to “melt” their snowmen by adding warm water drop by drop. As they observe the snowmen dissolving, they can create a winter-themed watercolor painting using the colors from the melting snowman. This activity promotes scientific observation and understanding while fostering creativity.
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Winter Shadow Tracing:
On a sunny winter day, take your preschoolers outside and find an open area where the sunlight casts clear shadows. Provide large sheets of paper, and pencils, and encourage the children to trace the shadows of trees, buildings, or any other winter objects they find interesting. Afterward, invite them to embellish their shadow tracings with crayons, markers, or paints to create a winter landscape filled with their own imaginative touches. This activity not only encourages artistic expression but also helps children develop observational skills as they study and recreate the shapes and forms they see in the winter sunlight.
Winter Salt Painting:
Invite your preschoolers to explore the magic of salt painting. Provide them with a sheet of dark-colored construction paper, liquid watercolors, and a container of salt. Instruct them to create winter-themed designs on paper using liquid watercolors, then sprinkle salt over the wet paint. As the paint dries, the salt will create a crystallized texture, resembling sparkling snowflakes. This activity combines art, science, and sensory play, as children observe the reaction between the salt and paint while creating beautiful winter artwork.
Snowy Sensory Bag:
Create a sensory experience for your preschoolers with a snowy sensory bag. Fill a large resealable plastic bag with hair gel or clear hand sanitizer. Add small winter-themed objects such as plastic snowflakes, miniatures, and glitter. Seal the bag tightly and tape the edges to secure it. Encourage the children to press and move their fingers on the bag, creating a tactile and visual representation of a winter scene. This activity promotes sensory exploration, fine motor skills, and imaginative play as children manipulate the objects within the bag.
Winter Ice Sculptures:
Take advantage of freezing temperatures by engaging your preschoolers in ice sculpture art. Fill different-sized containers with water and add drops of liquid watercolor or food coloring to each one for vibrant hues. Place a string with a looped end into each container, leaving the loop sticking out. Place the containers outside or in a freezer to let the water freeze. Once the ice blocks are solid, remove them from the containers and encourage the children to arrange and stack them to create their own unique ice sculptures. This activity combines art, science, and imaginative play as children explore the properties of water and experiment with different forms and structures.
Winter-themed Sensory Bottles:
Create mesmerizing sensory bottles with a winter theme. Fill clear plastic bottles with water, glitter, small plastic snowflakes, and beads. Optionally, add a few drops of blue food coloring to enhance the wintery effect. Seal the bottles tightly, ensuring they are securely closed. Invite the preschoolers to shake, tilt, and turn the bottles, observing the swirling glitter and objects within. This activity promotes visual stimulation, fine motor skills, and sensory exploration as children engage with the captivating sensory bottles.
Snowflake Resist Art:
Introduce your preschoolers to the concept of resist art using a winter snowflake theme. Provide each child with a sheet of white paper, a white crayon, and watercolors. Instruct them to use the white crayon to draw snowflake shapes, lines, and patterns on the paper. Once they have finished, give them watercolors to paint over the paper. As they paint, the crayon marks will resist the watercolor, revealing the hidden snowflake designs. This activity encourages creativity, and fine motor skills, and introduces the concept of resist techniques in art.
Winter Ice Cube Sculptures:
Enhance your preschoolers’ sensory and fine motor skills with ice cube sculptures. Fill ice cube trays with water and add a few drops of liquid watercolors or food coloring to each section for vibrant hues. Place small plastic toys or objects (such as miniature animals or winter-themed figurines) into the trays, making sure they are partially submerged in the water. Freeze the trays overnight. The next day, pop out the colorful ice cubes and provide your preschoolers with a tray or large container. Encourage them to build and create sculptures using the ice cubes, stacking them and arranging them in various ways. As the ice cubes melt, the colors will mix and create a beautiful sensory experience.
Snowy Glitter Jars:
Spark your preschoolers’ imagination with snowy glitter jars. Fill clear plastic jars or bottles with water, leaving some empty space at the top. Add glitter, sequins, and tiny plastic snowflakes to the water. Secure the lids tightly, ensuring they are sealed. The children can shake the jars and watch as the glitter and snowflakes swirl and settle, creating a mesmerizing snowy effect. This activity promotes visual stimulation, and sensory exploration, and provides a calming sensory experience for the little ones.
Winter Salt Dough Ornaments:
Engage your preschoolers in the process of making winter-themed salt dough ornaments. In a bowl, mix 1 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of salt, and 1/2 cup of water to create the dough. Provide winter-themed cookie cutters (such as snowflakes or mittens) and let the children cut out shapes from the dough. Use a straw or toothpick to create a small hole near the top of each shape for hanging. Bake the ornaments according to the dough instructions and allow them to cool. Provide paints and brushes for the preschoolers to decorate their ornaments with vibrant colors and add glitter or sequins for extra sparkle. Once dry, thread a string or ribbon through the hole and hang the ornaments as winter decorations.
Winter Snowy Collage:
Encourage your preschoolers to create a winter-themed collage using various materials. Provide blue construction paper as the base and offer materials such as cotton balls, white tissue paper, silver foil, and glitter. Let the children tear the tissue paper into small pieces and crumple them to create snow-like textures. They can glue the cotton balls, tissue paper, foil, and glitter onto the blue paper to form a snowy landscape. This open-ended activity allows children to explore textures, develop fine motor skills, and create their own winter scenes.
Frozen Painted Snowflakes:
Combine the magic of freezing temperatures and art by creating frozen painted snowflakes. Give each child a snowflake-shaped cookie cutter or mold and place it on a tray or baking sheet. Fill the cookie cutter with liquid watercolors in different colors, allowing the colors to mix and blend within the shape. Place the tray or sheet in the freezer until the watercolors are completely frozen. Once frozen, remove the cookie cutters to reveal colorful frozen snowflakes. Provide the children with a large sheet of paper and let them place the frozen snowflakes on the paper. As the snowflakes melt, they will create beautiful watercolor patterns on the paper, resulting in a unique winter artwork.
Winter Texture Rubbings:
Encourage your preschoolers to explore textures with winter-themed rubbings. Provide various textured materials such as bumpy paper, corrugated cardboard, and textured fabric. Place a winter-themed stencil or cutout on a sheet of white paper and instruct the children to place it on a textured surface. Using crayons or colored pencils, they can gently rub over the stencil, revealing the texture underneath. They can experiment with different textures and colors to create a collection of winter-inspired rubbings.
Snowy Winter Mural:
Create a collaborative snowy winter mural with your preschoolers. Tape a large sheet of butcher paper or mural paper to a wall or table. Provide an array of art materials such as tempera paints, markers, colored pencils, and crayons. Encourage the children to use their imagination and creativity to paint or draw a winter scene on the mural. They can add snow-covered trees, snowflakes, winter animals, and anything else that represents the winter season. This activity promotes collaboration, and artistic expression, and allows children to contribute to a collective artwork.
Winter Sensory Playdough:
Engage your preschoolers in sensory play with homemade winter-themed playdough. Prepare a batch of playdough by mixing 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt, 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, and 1.5 cups of boiling water. Divide the dough into smaller portions and add different shades of blue and white food coloring to each portion. Provide the children with playdough and winter-themed cookie cutters, plastic snowflakes, or winter animal figurines. They can mold, shape, and create their own winter scenes using sensory playdough.
Winter Shadow Puppet Theater:
Encourage imaginative storytelling with a winter shadow puppet theater. Create a simple puppet theater by attaching a white sheet or large piece of white fabric to a doorway or window frame. Use a table or small box to elevate a light source behind the sheet, such as a lamp or flashlight. Provide your preschoolers with winter-themed shadow puppet templates or help them create their own using black construction paper. After they have cut out the shapes, attach the puppets to craft sticks or straws. Encourage the children to use their puppets to tell winter-themed stories or act out scenes in the shadow theater. This activity promotes creativity, storytelling, and dramatic play.
Winter Watercolor Resist:
Introduce your preschoolers to the concept of resist art with a winter watercolor resist activity. Provide each child with a white sheet of paper, a white crayon, and watercolor paints. Instruct them to use the white crayon to draw winter-themed designs such as snowflakes, icicles, or a winter landscape on paper. Once they have finished, provide them with watercolor paints to apply over the paper. As they paint, the wax from the crayon will resist the watercolors, creating a beautiful contrast between the colored background and the white crayon designs. This activity promotes fine motor skills, and creativity, and introduces the concept of resist techniques in art.
