The Rose Garden: Wintering with Kids
Easy creative projects for cold and cozy days.
Welcome to The Rose Garden, your place to find small beautiful things in the Land of Oaks and Roses.
Hibernating comes very naturally to me. I love slowing down and staying in. This isn’t an age related phenomenon. When I was in college I spent many nights in while my friends were at whatever club was best that week. I remember someone telling me that if I don’t go out more I’ll regret it when I’m older. So far, no regrets. Being cozy and quiet at home is my natural state. And there’s no better time to embrace this than in the winter. Despite everything we all do for the holidays, winter is actually meant for rest. The challenge: two little kids at home.
Between sick kids and winter break, I’m in the middle of a 21-day period of having both kids home all day. The minimal routine I’ve implemented is getting ourselves outside in any capacity before nap time and some kind of creative project at our kitchen table in the afternoon. These two things create just enough structure to keep everyone’s internal clocks calm. The going outside part can be anything from a walk around the block, a trip to the grocery store or a scooter ride to the mailbox. It’s hard to force everyone out when it’s freezing but even 10 minutes outside makes a difference in how the rest of the day goes.
My goal with our afternoon creative projects is busy, quiet, happy kids that are engaged enough in what they’re doing that I’m able to sit and drink a cup of tea with my book :) Some days, I set something up myself. Other days, I open something I ordered online and happily congratulate myself for not burning out. Here’s what I’ve found:
Paper Garlands: This is my #1 recommendation, which was given to me by my daughter’s preschool teacher. It capitalizes on kid’s natural love of scissors and uses materials you probably already have at home. Both of my kids played happily with this setup for 1 whole hour! I used a ruler to make lines on construction paper for my 4.5-year-old to cut out. My almost 2-year-old was happy just to be experimenting with scissors for the first time (these are great scissors for his age). Then they used tape to attach the paper strips together. You could also use a stapler for added complexity, I just couldn’t find one. My 4.5-year-old made an incredible garland to decorate for the holidays. My almost 2-year-old played with what sticks and bending/ripping the strips. Use whatever paper you have available. Leftover wrapping paper would be great too!
Easy Playhouse: Order, open, + add (washable) markers or crayons.
Play Dough: I found this recipe online, which worked even with little hands mismeasuring here and there. The key to making this one last is to introduce little items to go along with the dough like small trucks, q-tips, forks, toddler knives, animal figurines or whatever you can find around your house.
Sticker Books: My 4.5 year old was entertained with this sticker book for such a long time. A great one for travel too!
Oranges and Cloves: Another easy one that also happens to make your house smell amazing. Use a toothpick to make little holes in the orange and then stick cloves in. For older kids they can create patterns if they want to. Put the finished products in a bowl on your kitchen table so everyone can enjoy their work.
Lanterns: Full disclosure we did this in an art class (thank you Oh Canary!) for the winter solstice. They are pictured up top. But, I wanted to include because we’ve had a lot of fun with them since. Every night at dinner we light them and talk about how the sun and light is growing bigger and bigger each day. At the end of dinner we've been blowing them out and making a wish. Simply decorate a glass jar and put a tealight candle inside. If you’re going to do glue, mod podge is the way to go because it dries clear. For something mess free, just go with stickers. My daughter loves these gem ones. In the art class we used wire and beads to create a handle but this would still be adorable without that part.
Painting Ice: Put ice in a big, low bin and let your kids paint it. This isn’t totally mess free but I used washable watercolors and put towels under the bins. It wasn’t so bad. As the ice melts, this turns into more of a pouring station like this if you add in cups etc.
Crown Craft Kit: Another great one to bring on a trip because it lays flat. This set is more intricate than the others we’ve tried aka my daughter played with it for longer.
I hope these ideas bring some fun and ease to your winter breaks. If you did something else that worked well please share in the comments too as most of us still have a week+ to go!