Winter Gross Motor Activities: Snow Dance

There’s nothing more fun than pairing a good book with winter gross motor activities for kids.  Introducing an activity with a book provides such great context, giving kids a sense of purpose behind what they’re doing.

One of my favorite books and winter activities for kids is Snow Dance by Lezlie Evans.  I’ve come back to it year after year because of the cute, catchy story and because it provides the perfect opportunity for little ones to create a one-of-a-kind motor activity to go along with it!

What You’ll Need:

The book –  Snow Dance by Lezlie Evans

What to Do:

Start by reading the book to your child or group of children.  Then, go back through the story and help the kids pick out the action words and demonstrate each one: skipping, twirling, stomping, packing, gliding, etc.

Write down the words and/or draw pictures to represent each one.  Tell the kids that it’s their turn to create their own snow dance!

Help each child create their own snow dance by piecing together the movements from the book.  Have each child take turns leading the group (or siblings or mom and dad!) in their unique snow dance by performing the actions in the order they have chosen.

If you have pictures of each movement, kids can cut them out and glue them on a piece of paper in the correct sequence for their Snow Dance.  Then, they can use the visual prompt to help lead their friends in their dance!

How to Change it Up:

-Be sure to try your snow dance with music – can the kids do their dances fast?  In slow motion?
-Is it a snowy day where you are?  Dancing is even more fun outside!

 Skill Areas Addressed:

Fine motor skills, prewriting skills, coordination, gross motor skills, motor control, cognitive skills

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Claire Heffron

Claire Heffron is co-author at The Inspired Treehouse and a pediatric occupational therapist in a preschool/primary school setting. She began her career with a bachelor's degree in magazine journalism but quickly changed course to pursue graduate studies in occupational therapy. She has been practicing therapy for 10 years in public and specialized preschool/primary school settings. She is a mom to three funny, noisy boys and relies on yoga, good food, and time outside to bring her back to center.

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