Winter

Winter Sensory Bins and Fine Motor Skills Activities

December 13, 2019April 1, 2022

Winter is here! If you’re in the South like us, you might be finally getting some *cold* weather and need some fun indoor activities. OR you might just want to pretend you get real Winter weather. ha! Either way, these Winter sensory bins are sure to keep your kiddos entertained all Winter long!

We have been simplifying our school time and supplies by only using 1 large sensory bin instead of lots of little ones. It’s worked out so well for us! So below I’ll detail our sensory bin and all of the activities we’re using with it! I’ll also share lots of other fun fine motor skills activities for your little learners!

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Frozen Themed Sensory Bin

This bin is so. much. fun. LG has been obsessed with it since I first put it together! We’re calling it our “Frozen” bin! It includes white beans, Winter (white, blue, purple) pompoms, Winter mini erasers from the Target Dollar Spot, puffy snowflake stickers from Hobby Lobby, clear snowflakes from Hobby Lobby, and Frozen 2 characters! We will also be using this sensory bin and its manipulatives to complete lots of our Winter Preschool Skills Sensory Bins activities!

CLICK HERE to learn more about these Frozen 2 characters.

Winter Puzzles and Matching Mats

One of the very first sensory bin resources I created for LG were these handy little puzzles and matching mats. It was a great way for us to transition our free sensory bin play to academic practice! Using these mats LG practiced her fine motor skills while also working on matching, visual discrimination, and problem solving!

CLICK HERE to learn more about these Winter Matching Mats & Puzzles.

Winter Preschool Skills Sensory Bins

Sensory bins have proven to be a great way to introduce LG to academic skills. While she thinks we’re “just playing”, she’s actually practicing common Preschool Math and Literacy skills using her favorite manipulatives!

With this set of Preschool sensory bins, your little ones will practice a variety of skills! These skills include beginning sounds, upper/lowercase matching, ABC order, rhyming, CVC words, letter and number formation, shapes, colors, counting, and number order!

CLICK HERE to learn more about these Winter Preschool Sensory Bins!

Puffy Sticker Sort

Every season, I stock up on seasonally-themed puffy stickers when they go on sale at Hobby Lobby. We use these stickers for SO many activities! They make such fun manipulatives and add so much seasonal spark to our sensory bins.

Some of the ways we use our puffy stickers include color sorting, image sorting, pattern making, counting, and more!

Winter Preschool Skills Matching Mats

These Preschool skills matching mats were created once LG grew out of her sensory bin puzzles and matching mats! She was ready to move on to other skills, but really loved the style of matching mats. These are still some of our favorite activities to work on!

This set includes 5 matching mats! Practice identifying letters, beginning sounds, counting, shapes and colors!

CLICK HERE to learn more about these Preschool Matching Mats!

Color Sort

Color sorts are THE easiest way to turn your sensory bin into an academic activity for your littlest learners! Use sheets of construction paper, bowls, or even colorful circles drawn on a sheet of printer paper and help your kiddos sort their manipulatives by color!

Winter Preschool Skills Clip Cards

If you’re looking for a way to practice fine motor skills without sensory bins, clip cards are the perfect choice! Pinching the clothespins gives kiddos such a great fine motor workout, while still practicing common Preschool skills! I also love using these with LG as an informal assessment to see how she’s doing on each skill without causing much pressure. While I’m assessing her, she thinks she’s just playing!

This set includes clip cards for upper/lowercase letters, letter identification, beginning sounds, number identification, counting, colors, and shapes.

CLICK HERE to learn more about these Preschool Clip Cards!

BINGO Dabber Snowflake Craft

Don’t forget to include crafts in your school time! Crafts are often undervalued when it comes to fine motor skills practice. They are the ultimate way to practice while playing!

This BINGO dabber snowflake craft is one of our favorite activities every year! I tape down strips of paper in the image of a snowflake. Then LG uses different colored BINGO dabbers to dab all over the paper. Once the strips of paper are removed, a white snowflake is revealed and ready for decorating!

Winter Play Dough Tray

Last but certainly not least is one of our favorite activities – a Winter play dough tray! Play dough is pure magic when it comes to practicing fine motor skills, and the possibilities for play come endless!

To make this Winter-themed play dough tray, I grabbed a party tray from Dollar Tree. Then I filled it up with some of our favorite Winter colored manipulatives and whipped up some beautiful blue dough using the recipe from Mother Could. BOOM! A super simple way to keep your kiddos engaged for hours while they practice strengthening their finger muscles!

I hope these sensory bins and fine motor activities keep your little ones engaged and entertained this Winter! Looking for some other Winter-themed Preschool activities? CLICK HERE to browse tons of resources!