Here in Texas, we’re holding out at 65-70 degrees right now. But I know what’s coming. In just a few short days, we’ll be shivering at 20 degrees. Quite the temperature swing for fellow Texans who go jogging or dog walking in full ski jackets and think 50 is practically the Arctic!
With a massive winter storm bearing down on much of the US, I know parents everywhere are scrambling to figure out how to keep kids entertained indoors.
Sure, the internet is bursting with winter activity ideas on other blogs – but so many of them require either a shopping trip (not happening in this weather) or buying special supplies that won’t arrive in time.
And let’s be honest, not everyone has room in the budget for that right now. I know I don’t!
I wanted to pull together something different: winter activities that are completely screen-free, use materials you already have around the house, and work for a range of ages.
No errands required. No special purchases needed. Just creative fun with what’s already in your cupboards and closets.
Here are five ideas that will keep your crew busy while the wind howls outside!
1. Magic Salt and Watercolor Snowflakes
This is one of those activities that sounds almost too simple to be impressive – until you see the results. My kids were absolutely mesmerized by how beautiful these turned out!
Here’s what you do: Use plain white glue to draw snowflake outlines on paper or cardstock. As a homeschool mom, I have an entire gallon of glue stashed somewhere from our slime-making phase (don’t we all?), but a regular bottle works perfectly fine, too.
After you’ve drawn whatever snowflake shapes strike your fancy, sprinkle salt on top and let it completely dry.
Regular table salt works just fine, but if you happen to have a salt grinder with chunkier salt, that adds some really nice dimension and texture.
Once it’s dry, break out the watercolors. The salt absorbs the paint in this magical way that creates these gorgeous, crystalline effects. It looks surprisingly sophisticated—like something you’d see in an art gallery rather than taped to your fridge.
For more detailed directions, check out the beautiful tutorial from One Little Project, complete with a video on how to do it!
2. Free Winter Poetry Collection Printable
Homeschool Compass never disappoints with their resources, and this one is no exception. We have made so many happy memories because of this site!!
This completely free printable poetry book is full-color, watercolor-laden, and absolutely gorgeous.
As an English major, I can’t resist the classics included here – poems that I feel my kids absolutely must know, or at least have read.
These are the kinds of verses that stay with you, the ones that turn winter from just cold weather into something worth noticing.
Inside this beautiful printable, you’ll find such classics as:
- Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost
- In the Bleak Midwinter by Christina Rossetti
- The Snow-Storm by Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Coasting Down the Hill by Anonymous
- Winter-Time by Robert Louis Stevenson
- The More It Snows by A. A. Milne
- Woods in Winter by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Birches by Robert Frost
- Snow by Walter de la Mare
- Spellbound by Emily Brontë
- A Winter Night by Sara Teasdale
- The First Snowfall by James Russell Lowell
- White Fields by James Stephens
- Snowflakes by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- The Shortest Month by Adeline Whitney
- Picture Books in Winter by Robert Louis Stevenson
Perfect for curling up together during an indoor afternoon, sipping something warm and cozy and letting these words paint pictures in your mind.
3. Snowflake Life Cycle and Types Printables
Sticking with the snowflake theme (because honestly, what’s more winter than snowflakes?), these free printables from Homeschool of 1 are fantastic!
She’s created activities that explore not only how snowflakes are made – framed as a “life cycle,” which is an interesting way to think about it that I hadn’t heard before – but also the different shapes and types of snowflakes. Because no two are alike, right?
What a beautiful example of the fine-tuning that God has created in our amazing universe!
These printables also work beautifully as reference pictures if you decide to tackle the salt and watercolor snowflake project I mentioned above. Having real snowflake shapes to look at makes the whole process easier and more educational.
4. What Melts Ice Faster? Science Experiment
For those of you with budding scientists in the house, this printable experiment from Little Bins for Little Hands asks the question every curious kid wonders: “What melts ice faster?”
Using only things you already have around the house, you’ll put ice cubes to the test.
Spoiler alert: salt wins! (But don’t tell the kids that before they discover it themselves.)
It’s hands-on, it’s engaging, and it sneaks in some real science learning without stress that might even come in handy for your kids someday in their adult lives!
5. DIY Fake Snow
Last but definitely not least, here’s a super fun idea from The Purposeful Nest for making fake snow at home,
This fake snow uses only two ingredients: hair conditioner and baking soda. That’s it!
The crunchy texture is unlocked! Without freezing your hands or getting chemical-laden stuff all over your kitchen or school room.
This is the perfect opportunity to use up that conditioner you bought on a whim because it sounded really luxurious and smelled like Moroccan honey-filled spa paradise, but then turned your hair into an especially static-y bale of hay.
Yet you spent money on it and can’t bear to throw it away, so it’s been sitting under your bathroom sink judging you for six months.
Or am I the only one who does that?
Either way, now it has a purpose! Your kids can mold it, shape it, play with it – all the sensory fun of real snow without the frostbite.
Staying Cozy While Staying In
Winter storms don’t have to mean cabin fever. With a little creativity and some materials you already have at home, you can create magical learning experiences and beautiful art projects that will keep your kids engaged, educated, and entertained—all without ever stepping outside or turning on a screen.
And honestly? There’s something kind of cozy about being Snowed In (or in Texas, more like Sleet-In’d) together, creating and exploring and discovering right there in your own warm home while the wind rattles the windows.
Homeschool With Joy 