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Learning and Exploring Through Play 2016

Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Winter. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Winter. Sort by date Show all posts
Snowflake Soup Winter Sensory Play

Snowflake Soup Winter Sensory Play

Snowflake Soup. Winter Themed Sensory Play for Kids.

Winter is in full force right now. Lots of people have had snow! We've had a few flurries here in the UK but nothing to get too excited about (there's still time - fingers crossed). Frozen is still very much a firm favourite with the youngsters of today and so these two factors have been inspiring the way we play.

Today we have been very busy making snowflake soup. This activity delighted my preschooler for such a long time! I even popped on the Frozen songs in the background just to add to the activity for her!

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Polar Bear Finger Print Keepsake

Polar Bear Finger Print Keepsake

Winter Keepsakes - Polar Bear Finger Print Keepsake


Winter is in full force. Many of us have seen snowy down pours and experienced that icy chill. After all the crafting over the last couple of months, it's quite refreshing to turn to a new topic now - Winter. 
We have been enjoying some Sensory Winter Painting and have a fabulous Penguin Small World to share with you very soon too! Talking of Penguins - Did you see the super cute Penguin Footprints we shared recently?

If you follow us over on Instagram you will know we are always out and about, doing something together as a family. If we're not out and about we are crafting and getting messy.

Today I want to share with you a lovely Winter Craft - Polar Bear Finger Prints.
We are loving the wood slice keepsakes and decorations at the moment! We have shared recently - Father Christmas Slice, Snowman Face Slices, The Grinch Slice and last but not least (we do have some more coming) Snowman Finger Print Slices. 

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The Gruffalos Child Tuff Tray

The Gruffalos Child Tuff Tray

The Gruffalos Child Winter Tuff Tray


Well Winter has well and truly arrived for us here in the UK. It is absolutely freezing!! I did the school run today. It was like getting to school via Ice Rink! The snow and rain has frozen and made it rather lethal out there! 

Have you been sharing any Winter themed crafts and activities with the children yet? If you follow me over on Instagram you will have seen me share the fabulous book case I purchased from IKEA last week. I have sorted through all of our stories and put the Winter/Christmas books together in this bookcase. It's a great way to make sure you are enjoying books when they are most appropriate. I have found this has been much more valuable than I could have hoped. Neve has been asking lots of questions and because we are at this time of year, we are able to give her real life experiences to help with her answers. You can see us on instagram here - Learning Through Play.

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Winter Shaving Cream Marbling Painting

Winter Shaving Cream Marbling Painting

Winter Shaving Cream Marbling Sensory Painting


Well it sure is super cold out there! Christmas seemed to come and go in the blink of an eye. We loved all our Christmas Crafting but now our attention has turned to Winter. 
I couldn't let the season pass without some Winter themed Shaving Cream sensory play. We love this activity and we do it on a regular basis. Here are some of our other alternatives to this activity - 


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Snowman Face Wood Slice

Snowman Face Wood Slice

Snowman Winter Crafts for Preschoolers


I am usually the person, envious of everyone else having snow! However we've had a good few coverings already this Winter meaning we've already had the pleasure of school closures! I adore these unexpected days at home. Having fun outside with the children, coming in freezing cold and warming up together, watching a film and enjoying the view of white fluffy snow outside! It really is magic! I will keep my snow dance up and hope that we have lots more snow over the coming weeks before our warmer weather. 

Today I want to share a really easy but effective Snowman Wood Slice craft that you can set up for your children to create. It's a great way to explore emotions, delve more into Winter and why we get snow/ice and what it looks like once it melts. 

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Autumn and Winter Walks

Autumn and Winter Walks

Autumn and Winter Walks


I want to take you back to November 2012. It was a life changer for me as I gave birth to my first child. I thought I knew all I had to come. But I didn't. I had no clue in fact looking back. The midwife visits started just after birth. Checks on Mother and Baby. The first visit I can't remember - the second I can. She was expecting also. We got talking. There was just something about her approach that had me engaged and I instantly took on board and respected what she said. 

"If I have one piece of advice it would be to get up, get dressed and go for a walk each day. It does wonders for your inner self and mental health." 

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Jack Frost Winter Tuff Tray

Jack Frost Winter Tuff Tray

Jack Frost Winter Tuff Tray


I came across the story Here Comes Jack Frost written by Kazuno Kohara a couple of years ago. I was buying a collection of Winter themed stories from the book people and luckily it was in there. I loved the story because although the tale is simple - it really does ignite the imagination and show how enchanting Winter can be. 

The little boy in the story is feeling lonely. All of his animal friends are hibernating. Out of the blue (see what I did there?!) he stumbles across Jack Frost. A fabulous book to start exploring Winter, Hibernation and even feelings. I guarantee children will wake up excited to find a ground frost after reading this story! If you're feeling brave you could even pop on the dressing gowns and head on outside for a little science experiment! Grab the bubbles and head out in the freezing temperatures and observe the bubbles turning into delicate balls of ice before your eyes!

Anyhow lets get back to today. I am sharing a fabulous Tuff Tray that has been inspired by this wonderful tale. We are very very excited to have the lovely Sue Baxter joining us today for lots of fabulous Wintery Jack Frost Snowflake fun......

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Snowman Stamping

Snowman Stamping

Snowman Crafts for Preschoolers. Snowman Stamping. Winter Crafts for Kids.


Today I am sharing with you a very simple but effective craft! You will need some toilet roll holders! If you're anything like me you will have already have a couple tucked away (just in case an opportunity to use them arises).
We had our first down pour of snow here in the UK, West Midlands last week! 
Sadly it wasn't quite deep enough to make a big Daddy Snowman that my 4 year old requested, but we managed to scoop enough snow up to have a little snowball fight! It was so much fun!

It's given us the taste and we want more!! I want the School Closures... the hot chocolate drinking under warm blankets after we've been outside playing in it! We haven't had a decent amount of snow in a good few years now. There is still time.... but until then we have been doing some fun Snowman Crafts. 

We created a Melted Snowman Family, A Snowman Handprint Keepsake and a cute Snowman card and today we are sharing with a you a snowman collage made using empty toilet rolls!!
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20 Fun Winter Activities for Preschool

20 Fun Winter Activities for Preschool





Winter is in full swing in the country from the end of November.
The cold winds bite and the trees are now bare.
Thick coats are needed along with woolly hats, scarves and gloves.
Nights sitting in, in front of the fire all snug under warm blankets.

What better way to look into enjoying Winter with your Preschoolers than to do some Wintery activities together?

Here is a list of 25 Preschool activities guaranteed to be lots of fun!!

1) Read a Winter themed story together. Stories really do set a great foundation to anything. Our favourite winter themed story is Snowflakes by Cerrie Burnell. The pictures are beautiful and the story is charming and magical. It has such a touching message - "Every snowflake is different, every snowflake is perfect." Snowflakes by Cerrie Burnell (Amazon Affiliate)

























2) Create a Sensory Box - Sensory Boxes provide hands on learning that stimulate the senses. You can even consider any learning outcomes you wish to work on with your preschooler. From learning to recognise their numbers, spelling, storytelling and hunt and finds this post from One Time Through is full of ideas.

























3) Create a busy bag - Busy bags are activities in a bag that can be transported easily, if you are visiting relatives or going out for a family meal busy bags are great at keeping children amused. They are also great for little activities when you are all at home. It gives the children something to occupy them whilst you busy cooking the tea for example. Sunny Day family have a lovely idea to build a snowman.

























4) Play dough Snowmen - Playdough is great for developing fine motor skills, creating, exploring and imagining. This looks like so much fun and I love how there is lots of materials to add to the dough creating different textures. Multicrafting Mummy share this beautiful post.

























5) Create Textured Art - Make some 3D textured art with your preschooler. Set out an array of different crafty bits and see what they create. Sand in my Toes

























6) Beaded Snowflakes - These look so beautiful and effective! A very simple craft idea that would make pretty decorations for afterwards. The Inspired Tree House




















7) Snowflake Soup - from here at Learning and Exploring Through Play. Does your pre-schooler enjoy playing with water? This is a great activity to set up for them if they do! Will keep them entertained for ages as their imagination flies away with them. Read more.

























8) Sparkly Gel Dough - Wow! This looks so attractive - I would love to explore this one myself! This is created using some simple ingredients. This is definitely on my to do list! In The Playroom




















9) Paint Snow - This is a new one for me but looks like so much fun! What a beautiful, large, white canvas the snow has to offer. Wrap up warm and get out there to express yourself.  Lemon Lime Adventures share a fantastic post on all you need to know for creating snow paint outside.



















Why now have a go at 'painting snow' indoors too? - Kitchen Floor Crafts show us how.

























10) Peppermint Slime - Mama OT share with us a how to make peppermind slime. What a wonderful sensory activity!


















11) Frosted Snowflake Craft - These snowflakes look so effective! A lovely craft using salt crystals, head on over to  My Little 3 and Me to find out more.

























12) Wooden Spool Snowmen - These are just adorable! Cindy O'Brien shares in a guest post on our blog exactly how you can set about making these at home. Read more




















13) Venture outside on a woodland walk. See what signs of winter nature you can find. Can you find any robins flying about? Take some photographs of frosty, iced over pathways, branches and grass.

























14) Create a Winter Wonderland with Snow dough - Gather up your favourite characters for some small world play. Love Play and Learn

























15) Popsickle Sticks Snowflakes - Endless design opportunities. Pint Sized Treasures

























16) Ice in a Balloon - One all the ice is set in the balloon, remove the balloon and explore the melting ice. This post gives you lots of ideas for talking points with your preschooler.  Science Sparks
























17) Paint Robins with your feet - Robins can be spotted all around this time of year. Be sure to be pointing them out where you can. This is a lovely idea from Messy Little Monster.


























18) Create Bird Feeders from here at Learning and Exploring Through Play -
This post will suprize you at just how easy these are to make! Teach your preschooler all about looking after local wildlife. Hang them outside and see how many birds you can spot enjoying your creations. Read more




















19) Make a snowman sensory bag - Adventures of Adam
Very simple activity with shaving foam in a bag. Stimulating touch and with no mess! 


















20) Create Ice Art, this beautiful ice art is great to make for any season! - What do we do all day
There we have it - a round up of 20 fun winter activities for your preschooler.




















21) Create a Winter Nature Basket. - Learning and Exploring Through Play.
Enjoy a Walk together and get out collecting Nature for a Basket to explore at home.




















22) Enjoy Winter Soup - Learning and Exploring Through Play
A wonderful sensory opportunity for some water play, creating some delicious Winter Soup.




















23) Snowflake Playdough - Learning and Exploring Through Play
Snowflake crafts and activities are so appealing to me and this one was enjoyed by my toddler so much!

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Milk Bottle Igloo

Milk Bottle Igloo

Milk Bottle Igloo - Role Play Area Ideas - Winter Theme


Recycling is high on many peoples agendas these days. Lots of people look for ways they can reuse items to help the planet and also to save money. 

We have been recycling while we've been crafting over the last few months. We have enjoyed making drip painted luminaries, plastic lid suncatchers, toilet roll dragons and we loved our recycling in our Jackson Pollock inspired painting activity. Lots of fun to be had and there is a little degree of satisfaction that instead of throwing something away - you have used it to create something.
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Toddlers Winter Bucket List

Toddlers Winter Bucket List


Toddlers Winter Bucket List is here!
Winter officially lands in the UK on the 21st of December, and if you are anything like me you too will be looking ahead at activities and fun that you can plan for the coming Season.

Here is a list of must do things this Winter with your Toddler!

What exciting things do you have planned this Winter?
Is there anything you would add?
- Get in touch!!


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Sensory Play for Kids

Sensory Play for Kids

Here is our collection of our sensory play activities here at Learning and Exploring Through Play. If you are looking for sensory play under a particular category - select an option below. If not continue scrolling down to view all of the fun in one place...

Sensory Categories 

Playdough            Water Play            Sensory Bags            Tuff Trays            Sensory Soups

Shaving Foam       Ice                        Shaving Foam           Bubbles                Exploring Texture

Painting                 Light Table           Edible Play               Nature                    

Shaving Foam Painting & Mark Making


A delightful, messy sensory experience and a fun painting technique perfect for focusing on the process....

Continue Reading - Shaving Foam Painting and Mark Making















Cornflour Sensory Play

Add an interesting spin to cornflour sensory play by adding a fun element of experimenting and creating......

 Continue Reading - Cornflour Sensory Play















27 Innovative and Fun Ideas for Water Play 

Water Play can be done indoors and outdoors and is more often than not a great hit for children. 

They learn new language and experiment with different ways of doing things. They explore different concepts and while they are busy learning, water play also provides calming tendencies.
Just think when you......

 Continue Reading - 27 Innovative and Fun Ideas for Water Play 









Frozen Rainbow

We love water beads for sensory play!  They are tiny little balls that expand when hydrated in water. It takes around.......

 Continue Reading - Frozen Rainbow
















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Nature Walks with a Toddler

Nature Walks with a Toddler

GUESS the time I was woken up this morning? 7am? 9am? Nope all wrong - 5am on a Sunday!! 

Ohhh the pain!! I am full of cold right now too which dont help the mood and I had the joys of nightmares last night that I wont go into - (must be the overdose on hot chocolate, trying to ease the croaky throat!)
Anyway, up early all dressed and ready to leave the house at 8.30am sharp!! Aren't we good? The sun was out so it quickly changed my mood!! 
I put Michael Bolton on full blast in the car which pleased the other half - NOT..... and off we went.
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Winter Poem

Winter Poem



The cold winds are blowing now,
Winter is truly here,
Remembering the fun we've had,
Over the past year.

The Christmas tree is decorated,
The gifts are almost brought,
Reading to our little ones,
The Christmas story has been taught.

We all anticipate the snow falls,
The sledge is on standby as we speak,
The weatherman has told us,
We may have a snowy down pour this week,

The season we must all wrap up,
Woolly hats, scarves and gloves,
Especially needed on clear nights,
As the stars twinkle up high above,

The talk of Santa visiting soon,
The joy and excitement with little ones near,
The kitchens full of delicious food,
The fridge filled with lots of beer!

Christmas cards are posted,
Gifts look pretty under the tree,
Looking forward to the special day,
And who'll be spending it with me!

The crazy frantic gift buying,
Spoiling the people we love most,
Wont be long till we're sitting round,
Enjoying the Christmas roast.

Each family has their traditions,
Thing's they all like to do,
In years they'll look back and smile,
At traditions they had with you,

Today we spoil our loved ones,
We make memories to last the year,
Taking lots of photographs,
The memories are oh so dear,

Sadly not everyone can be there,
We remember the ones who are no longer here,
Amongst all the fun of it,
We may shed a little tear,

All that build up, all that fun,
The day is over pretty quick,
356 days to wait again,
Till we get a visit from Saint Nick.

The house is full of boxes,
The recycle bins are overflowing
What to do with all the toys,
The collections keep on growing!

Time for all the sorting out,
New homes for gifts you must find,
Reflecting back and deep in though,
At friends and family who have been so kind,

New Years Eve arrives,
Resolutions we must set,
Thinking back to last year,
and the one we have and have not met,

The snow wont be long now,
The cold air it really bites,
Jack Frost visits most days,
Leaving behind beautiful sights.

Get out with your cameras,
Go on some lovely nature walks,
Wrap up nice and warm
Listen as wildlife talk,

Winter is such a wonderful time,
It has been such a ball,
I have such lovely memories,
Of spending it with you all.

Written by: Amy Louise
Completed 28.12.14

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Winter Nature Basket

Winter Nature Basket


Today I am sharing with you how to create a wonderful winter nature basket with your toddler. I recently shared our Wintery Walk in the Wyre Forest which was such great quality time. 

While we were out on our Frosty morning walk Little N carried around her wicker basket. We walked around talking about the changes we could see. The things we could hear. We felt how cold the frosty leaves were and watched on as the warmth from our hands melted the frosty spikes.

During our 4 mile walk Little N was busy Nature collecting off the forest floor.

In our Winter Nature Basket we have:
- Pine Cones
- Twigs
- Oak leaves
- Holly Leaves
- Juicy Red Berries
- 2 Varieties of Spruce branches

We brought the basket home filled with the joys of Nature and together we sat and has a closer look at what we had collected. Little N used her magnifying glass to take a closer look. She took great care when looking at the berries. I had explained they were for the birds to eat and she insisted that we added them to our bird table outside, which we did.

I showed Little N how spiky the Holly leaves were and after reaching down slowly to feel she quickly decided she didn't want to pick them up.

Little N enjoys nature walks and bringing Nature home is something she really enjoys.

We used the Nature we had collected around our Painting easel. Little N used the whiteboard to draw some lovely juicy berries and green holly leaves. We also used the spruce branches during some painting. They made some interesting marks.

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