Surviving Winter Break with Kids | Winter Break Routine Printable

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The key to surviving winter break with kids? The meltdowns, overexcitement, and boredom are more manageable with some planning and a free printable routine.

 

Listen, we’ve already been stuck at home with our kids for months.  So we need to think about surviving winter break with our kids.

The pandemic has made us all tired of being home. Plus the holidays make our children hyper and overstimulated.

Being cooped up for so long plus the sugar, the flashing lights, the music, – it’s a lot of overwhelming input for kids.

The anticipation, the disappointment, the frustration – those are some big feelings for little bodies.  Your kids are going to go bonkers sooner or later, so it’s better to have a proactive approach.

If you have a loose daily plan for surviving winter break with your kids, your children are going to cope better and you’re going to be happier.  You’re going to feel less reactive and blindsided because you’re going to know the meltdowns WILL COME at some point.  You’ll have an arsenal of activities at your disposal to keep the children occupied in something constructive.

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Parents Need A Winter Break Routine

Let’s be honest about you for a quick second.  You are exhausted from all the pandemic and the holiday preparation.

Your patience is already running short. You’ve been running on coffee and adrenal for months.

This is why you need some structure to your days.

A winter break routine will help because there is less nagging from mom and dad.  Your children will complain less when there is a predictable structure to the day. You’re going to enjoy your winter break with your children more when you’re not constantly barking orders.

Instead of asking 15,000 times when they can have screen time, your children will enjoy knowing when they will get to do their favorite activities.

Routines are powerful because they will keep you calmer. When you’re not constantly refereeing fights over toys and explaining the snack rules for the 100th time, you will have more self-control, energy, and mental bandwidth for holiday fun.

Children Need a Winter Break Routine

Like I mentioned above, your kids are already hyped-up from the excitement of the holidays.  Instead of wondering what will happen during the day with all the holiday festivities, a routine will help them trust things will happen in a manageable way.  This increases their confidence and self-control.

Similarly, routines build independence and competence. When children are able to take care of small chores like making their bed and self-care like brushing teeth, they grow to believe they are capable.

Another reason that routines are powerful is they make children feel secure. A lot of children do better during the school year than they do on school breaks because they have the routine of the school day. The predictability of the school routine reduces anxiety and stress for children.

Using a Winter Break Routine

I created this free printable Winter Break Routine for you. This routine is LOOSE.  There is no specific time frame.

It is not set in stone.  Depending on your child’s tolerance for unpredictability, you can eliminate the activities some days.

Last winter break, my husband took our three-year son on a morning outing while my daughter still stayed home and independently in her pjs.

She looked at the routine, we were able to give her an option, and made the choice so there was no conflict.

Heree’s what you need to do:

  • Print out the Winter Break Routine
  • If needed, use the dotted lines to cut it out and glue it down in another order on another piece of paper.
  • Place it inside a sheet protector or dry erase sleeve and/or on a clipboard.
  • Use a washable dry erase marker to check off activities as you go or cross off on days when the plan has changed.
  • Proactively discuss those changes with your child.

Plan Activities for Winter Break

To give more structure to your days at home, you’re going to want to plan some activities ahead of time.  Even if you’re in the midst of winter break despair right now, do this:

  • Take ten minutes to plan low-key activities for your children.
  • Print out the planning sheets and inventory what you already have in your home.
  • Simply walk around your house and look at the arts and crafts or educational activities you could use.
  • Then look for toys and games you can set out for your children to play.
  • Clear off your dining room table, coffee table, or kitchen island for activities.
  • If you need to, just relocate the junk and deal with it while your children are playing.

Morning Making Activities

In the morning, we do “Morning Making.”  Really this is a just a slightly messier activity that needs a little prep the night before.  I set the making activity out on my dining table the night before.

These activities are just invitations to the children to do something constructive rather than flipping on the TV and grabbing a tablet.

Coloring Sheets

This is so simple.  Find the coloring books you already have and rip out a few pages.  Set out some crayons.

Dry Erase Books

Practicing printing and pencil control with dry-erase books is a purposeful morning activity.  Make sure to use washable dry erase markers – ask me how I know?!

Finger Painting

Squirt some washable finger paints on a washable plastic plate or a paper plate.  Grab some giant paper and a damp paper towel or rag for your children.  Your kids will be occupied!

Q-tip Painting

We are huge fans of q-tip painting as it helps develop a proper pencil grasp.  The q-tip is so short it’s really only possible to use it to build a tripod grip!

Use the free Candy Cane printable or grab the Christmas Alphabet Q-tip Printable Pack in the shop.

Dot Markers

Grab a set of dot markers and some big paper.  Make some outlines like a giant coloring sheet.

Drippy Glue

My son’s preschool calls Elmer’s glue drippy glue.  Grab some construction paper and some feathers, pom poms, tissue paper squares or whatever you have, and let your kiddos glue away.

This is a little messy so grab a wet paper towel or damp washcloth and let your kids develop hand strength with squeezing.

Craft Kit

We bought this Alex Busy Box on Prime Day and still have tons of craft supplies left over. While there are specific projects, I plan to just set out the craft supplies and let my kids go to work on creating whatever they want.

Washable Paints

We love the Crayola Washable Project Paints because there is no need to transfer to another container.  It also cleans up so easily.

The little Crayola Paint pots have the lids attached which we also find handy.

Watercolor sets are also super easy and fun.

With washable Crayola, you can drink your morning coffee in peace with the knowledge that if your little Picasso sneaks over to the wall or gets paint on the kitchen table, you’ll be okay.

Rubber Stamps

We have the Melissa and Doug Alphabet set and the Zoo Animal Set.  I just set out construction and stamps for the kids.

It’s good fine motor practice, plus my second grader can work on spelling while my preschooler works on letter recognition.

Afternoon Activities

Our kids have quiet time in their rooms every afternoon.  We’ve worked hard on this so if you haven’t yet with your kids, the routine sets up the expectation and you just need to follow through. You can start with 5-15 minutes and work from there.

Independent play is super important for children to develop problem-solving, imagination, and resilience so don’t feel guilty for one second about taking a break for your own sanity and expecting them to entertain themselves.

The afternoon activities are seriously just stuff I already own that I set out before my kids have quiet time in their rooms.

Sometimes when children are so overwhelmed and hyped up, they can’t even organize themselves enough to play creatively.  By setting out the activity, you’re providing an invitation and an idea for playing.

Wooden Blocks and Cars

I set out two sets of blocks: Melissa & Doug Standard Unit Solid-Wood Building Blocks and Melissa & Doug Deluxe Wooden ABC/123 Blocks Set. 

Then I gathered a few Hot Wheels Cars.  The children make roads, tunnels, and bridges for the cars.

Melissa and Doug Puzzles

We have a variety of Melissa and Doug puzzles but I set out the Melissa & Doug Farm Chunky Puzzle for my son.

even though she can practically do it with her eyes closed, my daughter still likes the Melissa & Doug Frolicking Horses Wooden Jigsaw Puzzle With Storage Tray.

Magnet Sets

We like Mind Ware’s Imagination magnets for my older child.  She creates the puzzles on the included cards and the wooden case stores everything.


My younger child plays with Melissa and Doug alphabet and animal sets.  We use an old cookie sheet as the magnetic base.

Stuffies and Snacks

I get out all our Melissa and Doug wooden food sets and the children pretend to feed their stuffed animals snacks.

Fine Motor Games

The children play Gumball Grab and Feed the Bunny by their own rules.  They don’t necessarily need to play by the rules to get the benefit of using their thumbs and first fingers to manipulate the gumballs and carrots.

These games are available at Lakeshore Learning but I got them both at consignment sales.

Noisy Board Games

Board games are great for teaching a variety of social skills to your children, but sometimes I just get them out and let my kiddos play.

Like the fine motor games, my children independently play with these by their own rules.  Both of these games make noise, but I prefer it to arguing or certain TV shows!

 

Character Bath

I got this idea from Busy Toddler’s dinosaur bath.  My son’s dinosaurs were upstairs, though, so I tossed in the Daniel Tiger figures.

I used a small plastic shoe box (from Target).  I filled it about half-way with warm water and Seventh Generation dish soap. Then I give each of my children our vegetable scrubbers and then sanitize them in the dishwasher when they are done.

In honesty, I give each child their own plastic shoe box so I can have peace and quiet! They could share a larger tub but that also means more water.

Recapping Surviving Winter Break with Kids

Here’s the summary for busy parents on surviving winter break with kids:

  • Parents need a routine for their own sanity.
  • Your children also need a routine to feel secure with all the excitement and big feelings.
  • Your routine can be loose to fit how the days will change, but anchor with a predictable few activities.
  • Grab a free printable Winter Break Routine and planning pages.
  • Inventory what you have at home for Morning Making and Afternoon Activity and order what you still need.
  • Set out an easy project in the morning and a easy activity in the afternoon to give your children some structure.

Surviving Winter Break with Your Kids

You can not just survive but enjoy winter break with your children.  Do a little prep work now.  Show them the printable routine.  Reduce the fighting and meltdowns (yours and theirs). Create happier memories.

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