6 Toddler Indoor Activities for when You're Snowed In!

Stuck indoors? Kids going stir crazy?

If you're in the United States, you likely have or will see snow soon. As I am writing this, we are roughly 6-ish inches in to a 3 day snowstorm. We've been "snowed in" for almost a week already! As a teacher, I enjoyed the first several snow days. They came as a welcome break from the day in and day out. This week, we will be diving in to virtual learning during our snow days (thanks a lot, Covid). If you're anything like me, you're starting to go a little stir crazy - and the kiddos are, too! I've had to get pretty creative with activities for my toddler lately so that he isn't bored to tears. If you're anything like me, you hate the idea of sitting your kids in front of a screen for entertainment. Looking for indoor activities to do during a snow storm? These are tried and true methods to beat the snowed-in blues. Some of the indoor activities for kids listed below are classics, because who says you have to reinvent the wheel, right? 

1) SNOW CREAM

When it's too cold to venture out but there's plenty of snow to go around, grab a bowl and some boots and collect some snow! Just make sure to collect snow from a deep area, safe from animals and other critters....no one likes yellow or brown snow. BLEGH. Snow cream is a tried and true classic. If you like ice cream, you'll enjoy this easy-peasy indoor snow activity that brings the snow to you! This recipe is super simple and only uses ingredients you likely already have in your pantry! The best part? This recipe is so versatile, you can adjust each ingredient based on how sweet you want your snow cream to taste!

Snow Cream:

2-4 cups of snow

2-4 tablespoons of sugar

1-2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1/4 cup of milk

Mix together and enjoy!

2) SNOW Sensory Play

Another stupid simple snow day activity is snow sensory play. I am a huge advocate of sensory play for the littles. Give them random things and let. them. explore. The best way for a child to learn is to be left to their own devices (with adult supervision of course!). For snow sensory play, all you need is a bowl and snow. You can add in cups, scoops, spoons, play kitchen tools, shapes for molding, ect. The possibilities are endless! I plop my son down in his highchair, give him a bowl of snow and some "tool" and let him have at it! It's tons of fun and minimal mess...until the snow melts of course!

3) Snow Painting

This is another ridiculously easy (but slightly messy) activity for your littles to do. Simply go outside and get a bowl of snow. Flatten the snow on a plate or inside a tub. Then, fill a few small cups with water and add 1-2 drops of liquid food coloring. Give your little a paintbrush and let them go! Pro-Tip: Cover whatever surface you're going to put the snow in with aluminum foil or clear wrap because you know, food coloring stains...Don't learn the hard way!

4) Obstacle Course

Do you have tape, paper plates, and blankets? Then you have everything you need to create an obstacle course for your kiddos to burn off energy in! This indoor snow activity requires some prep on your part, but ends in hours of fun! Use tape to create a "laser run" or make shapes on the floor that they have to jump to. Use paper plates as stopping points. Hang up blankets for them to climb under. With this indoor snow activity, the possibilities are endless! 

5) Ice Globes

This is more of a craftivity than just a snow day activity, but it is still fun none the less. All you need is balloons, water, and food coloring for this creative and pretty activity. All you have to do is fill the balloon with water and add a few drops of food coloring. Then, if it's cold enough outside, just stick the balloon outside! These make fun, easy decorations to break up the plain white sheets of ice outside.

6) Make Homemade Play-Dough

This is an activity almost any age group can do (with adult supervision and help of course!) Playdough is so versatile - you can use it for all different types of imaginative play. Making playdough on a cold, snow day is a great indoor activity. Why buy store bought playdough when you can kill extra time at home with your kiddos by making it yourself? The best part is that it's made with ingredients you likely already have in your home - or if you're like me, you're neighbor has them and you can borrow. Heh. I am completely okay with my toddler playing with this homemade playdough because if he puts it in his mouth 1) he's going to be sorely mistaken when he tastes all that salt and 2) I don't have to worry about him getting sick from it. Although I obviously do not recommend you let your child eat this playdough due to the sodium content and as always you should supervise your child while playing with the playdough. Here's a super simple (and non-toxic) recipe:

Homemade Playdough Recipe

2 1/2 cups of flour

3 tablespoons of vegetable oil (or olive or coconut) 

3 tablespoons cream of tartar

3/4 cup of salt

1-1 1/2 cups of warm water

gel food coloring (optional)

Homemade DIY Liquid Laundry Detergent

Have you ever tried homemade laundry soap? 

I have tried several different formulas for making my own laundry soap. When I got pregnant with my son, I started doing a lot of research on different chemicals and found that conventional laundry detergents that you can purchase at most major retailers are actually TERRIBLE for your body - and hard on our environment.

So I sought out to find a more natural, cost-effective, and chemically safe option for my family. After lots of trial-and-error, I finally switched to a liquid version of laundry soap that I've come to L-O-V-E. If you've never used a homemade, natural laundry soap before, after several uses you'll start to notice how strong other people's clothing smells. It may even burn your nose! There are so many strong, harsh, artificial fragrances in big name, box store brand laundry detergents. This homemade laundry soap simply cleans clothes, leaving a fresh, light scent depending on what essential oils you choose to use and how much. 

Tips for Making Natural Laundry Soap Work for You:

Use hot water and don't use your eco setting. There's a bit of a tradeoff with homemade laundry soaps. The oils and castile soaps that you put in your homemade laundry soap require a good amount of water to really wash out of clothing. Hot water dissolves solutions better than cold water, so that's why warm or hot water is best to use with homemade laundry soaps. A good amount of baking soda and washing soda not only deodorizes and cleans clothing, but softens the water you use. So while you're not necessarily helping energy efficiency in your home, you still have a great tradeoff: you're no longer putting harsh, unsafe, ailment-causing chemicals on your body through your clothing! 

Think about this: you are in clothing ALL. THE. TIME. You're going to want to make sure that what you wash that clothing in is actually safe for your skin - because your skin is your largest (and most absorbent) organ. It takes in and filters most of what you put on your body. Don't you want to be sure that what you are putting on (and ultimately in) your body is safe - and not known for toxicity?  Did I also mention cost? This laundry soap recipe will (overtime, not in one mixing session) make AT LEAST 6 two-gallon jars of laundry soap before you run out of supplies if you buy a bulk bag of baking soda. If you total up the cost of all ingredients, combined with the amount of laundry soap it makes, it is way cheaper than anything you'll buy in a store - and it lasts so much longer.

No Grating Soap, No Borax!

This liquid homemade soap is made with natural castile soap, baking soda, super washing soda, and essential oils. I opted not to use borax - an ingredient common in homemade laundry soaps and a well-known cleaner due to its controversy in the natural world. Borax is actually a known toxin - and especially dangerous for littles. It has known health effects: irritation to skin and potential hormone disruption, according to the EWG (more info on them below).

Every ingredient in this homemade natural laundry soap receives an A rating with the Environmental Working Group. EWG.com is an amazing website to help you dive deep into the toxic chemical offenders in products you use daily. You know, those crazy long unpronounceable names on ingredient labels? Not all "chemicals" are bad. H2O is the *chemical* compound for water. CO2 is the chemical compound carbon dioxide - also known as the air that we breathe. So like I said, the term "chemical" is not automatically a dirty word! 

So whether this is your first time making a homemade laundry soap, or your 100th time and you're simply looking for an easy, effective solution, this DIY homemade laundry soap will fit your needs!

Homemade Laundry Soap 

1 5 gallon bucket

1 large wooden spoon (to stir)

Measuring Cup

Funnel

Glass Jar for storage

2 Gallons HOT water 

2/3 cup Super Washing Soda (or 1 cup if you have crazy hard water, like me!)

2/3 cup Baking Soda (or 1 cup if you have crazy hard water, like me!)

2/3 cup of liquid Castile Soap

15-25 drops of Essential Oils (I use Tumble and Tidy from Revive Oils!)

How to make it:

There are TWO ways to make this recipe. If you prefer a thicker consistency similar to that of store-bought laundry detergent, boil your water first then add dry ingredients to 1 1/2 of the gallons of water one at a time, stirring before adding the next ingredient. Add the castile soap and essential oils next. Finish off with the last half gallon of boiled water. Wait until cooled to place into storage jar. If you prefer the thicker formula, make sure to put it directly into the drum and not into the tray of your washing machine. 

The other way, the simple way, to make this recipe is to add all of your dry ingredients to the bucket first. Then, add the castile soap. Add your 2 gallons of water next and finish off with your essential oils. Stir all together well. 

With either of these methods, your laundry soap will settle over time. Just give the jar a good shake before using and you're good to go! 

Let me know if you enjoy this laundry soap as much as I do. The simple knowledge that I'm not putting toxic chemicals on my family's skin is reason enough for me to continue in this natural journey. Even if it means more work! 

Happy Natural DIY-ing!

XO, Megan