Carpet Square Ice Skating: You will need at least four carpet squares (about 12 inch x 6 inch) so two children can go at once. Have your children practice first by just sliding their feet along the floor. Then one at a time, they can take turns using the carpet squares, make sure the square is carpet side down. When standing on the carpet squares, they have to apply pressure and slide at the same time. Make an obstacle course or throw snowballs (cotton balls) on the floor for them to pick up. If you don’t have carpet squares this will also work with felt squares. Once your children have mastered singles skating switch to skating in pairs, have one of them make up a routine for the other to copy as they skate around. Don’t want to skate? Give each child a pair of dowels or strips of cardboard and pretend they are ski poles. They can cross country ski around the gym.
Shaving Cream Ice Skating: When you are ready to make a mess! Cover a large gym mat with plastic spread shaving cream in the center of the mat. After your children have taken off their socks and shoes and rolled up their pan legs- Go Ice Skating!!! Start with one child at a time until they get used to it. This can get really messy make sure you have towels to wipe their feet off when finished.
Mitten Match: This is great for preschool groups, especially now that it is cold outside. Collect a few pairs of gloves and mittens. First have the children identify the different colors or patterns. Taking turns have them ride a scooter board or crawl through a tunnel to find the match you ask them for. Once they find them, they can practice putting them on then folding them together. You can also do this with socks.
It’s Cold Outside Relay: Practice those dressing skills. Set up a short obstacle course, where your children have to stop and put on an article of outerwear at each station. For example, start with scooterboarding six feet to a hat, where they stop and put it on, then walk across a balance beam to their jacket, they have to put it on and zip it up, then hop over to their mittens, put them on and jump into the snow pile (crash mat) or you can scooter back and pretend they are on a sleigh.
