25 Fun Activities You Can Do Inside, When It’s COLD Outside!

When the temperature drops, and it gets toooo cold to play outside for long, here are some fun things you can do inside!
Below, you will find drawing activities, brain games, dice games, science experiments, paper folding projects, and other fun things that can be found on FranW.com. 


1. Learn about Fractals –  There’s a good chance that you’ll find frost on a window or a snowflake or two to look at for this activity! After you observe them, draw/make a few of your own.

2. Make your own Geometrical Designs – Draw a variety of shapes, add some lines, and grab your coloring supplies for this fun activity!

3. Try Zentangles! – If you enjoy drawing while you’re chilling out, you may find this activity de-stressing.

4. Observe Spirals – Spirals are fun to draw and there are a few different types. Find out more by visiting this page…but before you do, make a list of something of the things you can think of that are naturally shaped as a spiral…fruits, animals, plants….

5. Ten Fun Projects You Can Do With Symmetry – Make one half of a picture and give it to someone to finish off in the same way! Draw it, use building toys, Tangram pieces, or something else.

6. Play with Circles – Grab your craft supplies and find out how many cool things you can make from a simple circle.

7. Tangrams – Can you believe that over 5900 puzzles can be made with the 7 shapes offered in this puzzle-game! How many can you make? Find out with the resources on this page. Turn those puzzle pieces into a work of art too.

8. Make Folded Hand Puppet – Create a few puppets, decorate them, and make a puppet show with them.

9. Paper Airplanes – Learn how to fold some simple planes and cool stunt planes, check out the plane that won a world record, and get helpful flying tips.

10. Rainbow Code – Grab a friend and play a game where colors reveal the code.

11. Yatch – Dice Game – There are so many cool dice games out there and this is definitely one of them. Play with a friend, on your own, or on line.

12.  Make your own: Bottle Cap Stamps – Take a minute to raid the recycling bin and take all the bottle caps you can find, big and small, then put on foam sticker on it and get ready to have some fun. Stamp a story or play the brain game offered in this post.

13. Holiday and Winter Origami – Fold a sled, snowman, pine tree, penguin, or a snowflake and make a wintery scene with them.

14. Magic Square Puzzles – In the mood for a brain teaser? Try the Magic Square puzzles in this post, then make some of your own to share.


15. Roman Numerals – Spend some time learning how to add, subtract, and multiply in a fun new way.

16. Hangman/House – Use a whiteboard and colored whiteboard markers to play this old favorite…with a fun twist of course.

17. Solitaire Challenge #1 Peg Solitaire – Whether you decide make your own game board or print one out, have fun trying to finish this puzzling game with one last piece in the middle.

18. Make Your Own What’s Missing Picture – You can use stamps, stickers, or draw something out to play this tricky observation game.

19. Petals Around The Rose – Play this brain game on line or with a set of dice. If you figure out the pattern, don’t tell anyone, give them a set of dice and let them figure it out for themselves.

20. Snowflake Activities & Resources Learn about snowflakes in fun new ways, make some of your own, and look at some cool photographs of these elusive little wonders!

21. Mini Marble Run This mini marble run is great for older kids who want to do something different. How long can you keep your BB from getting to the end of the run?

22. Make Your Own Tic-Tac-Toe Game Board Did you know that Tic-Tac-Toe is a strategy game? Grab your craft supplies and make your own board to play on with a friend over and over again.

23. Inspiring People Cardstacker – Make sure you have a few decks of cards ready to use after watching what this man can do! Amazing!

24. Bubblegum Find out who invented bubblegum then how big of a bubble can you make with the activity offered in this post. There’s an experiment you can do with chewing gum as well.

25. Shadow Puppets – Create your shadow puppets during the day and tell your story while you show them off at night. Perhaps a story about cold wintery night!

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A World To Discover January Vol 1


Ben Franklin – Historical information about Ben Franklin. Read or listen to his
autobiography as well.

Nikola Tesla – Information about Tesla’s life and accomplishments. Links and videos.

Geometric Designs – Geometric Designs made from simple shapes. Tutorials, videos, and free downloads.

Fractals – Fractals in nature and design. Links and videos.

Ancient Greece – Contributions, Mythology, History and more. Links and videos.

Seasonal Foods
 
Apples Research Project – Facts, leading questions, information, videos, recipes, and links to other resources.

Oranges – General and nutritional information, diseases, educational resources, ideas for orange peels and videos.

January Related Posts
 
 
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Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix


One of our favorite winter treats is a steamy hot cup of cocoa and to meet the needs and tastes of everyone in the house, we make our own hot cocoa base and add the items we like the most. 

1/2 c Powdered cocoa
3/4 c Natural sugar
1/2 c Real semi-sweet chocolate chips
Bowl
Spoon
Jars or air-tight container

What to do…

Mix cocoa, sugar and chips in a bowl, then put it into an air-tight container, and add a label. Use 2 tablespoons per 1 cup of boiling water or hot milk. 

Note: Double or triple the recipe if needed.

Tip: Alternative milks go really well with this cocoa.

Turn an ordinary cup of cocoa into a special treat…

We think the best part of hot cocoa is turning each cup into our own special treat! Here are some of the fun combinations we enjoy…

 

Marshmallow Cream: Mini-marshmallows or marshmallow cream topped with whipped cream.

Candy Cane Swirl: Mini-marshmallows and whipped cream, stir and enjoy with a peppermint candy cane.

Cocoa Caramel: Caramel chips, candy or Nips and mini-marshmallows, topped with fresh whipped cream and sprinkled with a little fresh cocoa.

Mocha Cocoa: Add a little instant or fresh coffee to a cup of hot cocoa, top with fresh whipped cream and sprinkle with finely ground coffee.

Super Chocolaty Cocoa: Add a piece or two of your favorite chocolate bar or a tablespoon or two of chocolate morsels to a cup of hot cocoa, top with whipped cream and sprinkle with mini chocolate chips.

Coconut Cocoa: 1 tsp of extra virgin coconut oil or coconut creme added to a cup of hot cocoa, topped with fresh whipped cream and toasted coconut.

Toffee Cocoa: Toffee or Heath bits mixed in a cup of hot cocoa and topped with whipped cream.

Other suggestions: Peppermint or other hard candies, vanilla, almond or peppermint extract, candy bits, your favorite chocolate candy, non-dairy creamer, non-dairy whipped topping, coconut milk, almond milk, cinnamon, eggnog, etc..

I invite you to experiment with various items until you find the cocoa combo you like the most, then write down your recipe. Share it with us in comments too!

Gift giving…

After making the base, put your mix in an air-tight container, add a label and directions and give it as a gift.

Label making items: Paper, markers/crayons, double-stick tape and yarn.

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