How to get children outdoors this winter
Now colder weather has started, it can be difficult to encourage children to go outside. Plus, with harsh weather and more rainfall, it can be off-putting to venture outside. However, children need some time outside in the fresh air to keep them healthy and avoid getting illnesses from being cooped up indoors. Children still need to exercise and doing it outdoors whilst wrapping up warm is perfect to keep them fit.
Although this is not an easy task, we have come up with some winter outdoor activities for children that can assist you with finding ways to get them outside. Discover ways on how to get children outdoors this winter and integrate them into your lessons.
Tidy up in nature
A great way to get your class outdoors in winter is to go on a litter picking hunt together. Help to clean up the local environment and enjoy the fresh winter air. This activity is a rewarding one and makes children feel good about what they have done. Plus, you will be setting a good example and teach pupils to care for the world around them.
All you need is a bag to collect the rubbish and gloves or a picker to pick items up without catching germs. You can also offer an incentive to entice your pupils to participate in litter picking such as some sweet treats and hot chocolate.
Go on a nature walk
Wrap up warm and head out for a nature walk to get some exercise in your pupil’s day whilst exploring the outdoors. To make the walk more exciting for children, why don’t you create a worksheet to spot different types of leaves and trees? This can turn a simple nature walk into an exciting treasure hunt. Pupils can also collect different types of leaves they find to take back to the classroom and do some arts and crafts with, such as leaf painting.
Play in snow (if there is any)
If your area is lucky enough to get any snow during the winter, head outdoors and let your pupils play in the snow. Snow makes everything much more fun for kids and is a great way to get children outdoors this winter.
Make sure that every child is wrapped up warm and wearing gloves to protect their hands. Playing in the snow helps to improve physical and cognitive skills as they instantly think about how to pack snow tightly enough to create snowballs or a snowman. Children also learn to adapt in the slippery and less safe environment when playing in snow, making them more aware of their surroundings.
Challenge children to build snowmen together. To make the snow playing activity more fun for pupils, split them into small groups and see which team builds their snowman the quickest.
Play in mud
With more rainfall during winter comes a lot of mud. This is one of the most fun winter outdoor activities for children to do. Playing with mud helps children to develop tactile skills whilst having a sensory play experience.
A great way to introduce mud play to pupils is to set up a mud kitchen. Children can use imaginative play creating recipes with mud and creating different concoctions. Plus, it’s a great opportunity to play with others and socialise too.
Mud kitchens are perfect for improving fine motor skills as well as an opportunity to explore the properties of the world around us. Not only do mud kitchens allow children to enjoy exploring their imaginations, but they teach them basic life skills without them realising.
Create a winter obstacle course
Get your pupils exercising throughout the cold days by setting up a winter obstacle course outdoors. The obstacle course doesn’t have to be complex. Setting up a simple one that children can race against each other through will be enough to entice them to go outside. You can use a simple obstacle course set so that you don’t have to use or source different individual items.
Make the obstacle course into a race between pupils where you can offer rewards for winners. You could even offer hot drinks for children and a snack afterwards to warm them up.
Do small exercises outdoors
To break the school day up for your pupils, take your class outdoors to do some small exercises. Doing this allows children to get the vital fresh air they need to be revitalised and motivated to learn again. All sorts of simple exercises can be used from jogging on the spot to star jumps and even yoga can be implemented outdoors. Make sure to only spend a short period of time doing this activity. Even though children may not feel cold, the temperatures are still low which can lead to illnesses if too much time is spent outside exercising.
Have a picnic
Entice your pupils outside with a fun picnic that can be set up anywhere. Maybe you take a picnic on your nature walk or just set up a blanket in the playground. Bring a selection of food for pupils to choose from and get them involved by asking them to bring in some treats to eat. This is a perfect way to make the winter weather enjoyable for children.
Don’t forget to wrap up warm and even take extra blankets to snuggle into.
Play with toys outdoors
Arrange a bring your own toys day with your class and let them out into the playground with them. Children can play together and socialise whilst letting their imaginations run wild. Playing with toys outside allows them to get fresh air and have some fun time away from the classroom. Dedicating ten minutes of outdoor toy time will boost their mood and help them concentrate in lessons. Plus, using their own toys brings excitement encouraging them to go outside.
This is a great activity to do for children who struggle to communicate and make friends as they can find the courage to mingle with other pupils through play.
Get crafty
There are so many different crafts pupils can do outside during winter. Rather than having your art classes indoors mix it up and venture outside together. Go to a park or woods for a walk and find materials you can use for crafts. Let children collect leaves and make necklaces out of them or do bark rubbings with crayons and paper.
For the playground, hand out chalk and let pupils draw whatever they want on the floor. They can work together to create bigger drawings or independently doodle. Drawing outdoors with chalk allows kids to be as creative as they want whilst developing key skills, such as motor skills.
Bring lessons outdoors
One of the best ways to get children outdoors this winter is to bring some of your lessons outside. When planning your lessons think what could work outside to give children a different environment to work in. This could be a science experiment that will be too messy indoors or learning letters and sums with outdoor materials. Pupils will be willing to go outside during their lessons as it seems exciting to them. Plus, they will focus more on the lesson which will improve their knowledge. Teachers can feel as though pupils are still learning something whilst having the benefits of the outdoors.
Try our tips on how to get children outdoors this winter and allow them to reap the benefits of the outdoors through the harsh weather. Think about time spent indoors during the winter and slot in small chunks of time throughout the day for going outdoors. Remember to not spend too much time outside to avoid children getting sick or too cold.
Show us what you have been getting up to outside this winter on our Instagram.
Want some winter fun ideas to use indoors? Then check out our ‘winter activities to do in the classroom’ blog.
