Terri Thompson

January Family Fun Ideas

January 2, 2021 By Terri Thompson

Are you one of those families that like to go out and enjoy winter. Or do you tend to hibernate.

We’re one of those hibernating families. That’s why we often need a push to get out and do something fun.

That’s why these January family fun ideas are so awesome. They’ll push you to go out and have quality time together. Or, if you’re already active, you’ll find some new family adventure ideas.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

January Family Fun Ideas

Whether you’re looking for some last minute fun or want to schedule some family time in your calendar, these January family fun ideas will be perfect.

There’s no need to write them down! If you keep reading to the bottom, you’ll find a link for a simple one-page printable list.

Some will get you outside enjoying the snow and others are perfect for some cozy time inside. No matter the climate you live in, you’ll find some ideas that will the right fit for your family.

Make Snow Angels.

Do you know how to make snow angels? You just stand still with your legs a bit wide and your arms held straight out to the side. Fall straight back. Once you land, move your legs back and forth and your arms up and down. Stand up carefully and you’ll see an image of an angel with wings.

This is so much fun, but works best in new powdery snow. We tend to get plenty of it here in Minnesota!

While you’re outside making snow angels, stay outside for awhile and throw snowballs or build a snowman. Just have some simple fun family time out in the snow.

Winter nature walk - animal footprints in winter

Go On a Winter Nature Walk.

You can go on a nature walk just about anywhere. Try a nature center, park, or even your own neighborhood. You can find signs of nature in so many places!

While on your winter nature walk, look for signs of life. Do you see any signs of animals (like footprints in the snow). Check out the plants. Which are evergreen and which are dormant for the winter?

Read one of these fun Winter Nature Books for Kids for inspiration.

Have fun exploring the natural world together!

Pick a Random Country From Around the Globe and Go to the Library to Find a Book or Two About It.

You can either close your eyes, spin, and point or you can just choose a country that fascinates you. Either way, the goal is to learn about a new country.

Hit up the kid’s nonfiction area for books to help you learn about another country. The Country ABCs series of books are a great option if your library has them.

You could also check out the adult nonfiction area for travel guides or cookbooks. Or, try searching for folktales from your chosen country in your library’s catalog.

Prepare a New Soup Recipe

Search in your cookbooks, one from the library, or just search on Pinterest for a new soup recipe to try. Cook it together with your family for a simple (and warming) family dinner.

Soup is such a great meal to cook with your kids. If your kids are old enough they can help chop vegetables. They can also stir, measure, pour ingredients, and be a taste tester.

Choose a simple recipe that your kids will love such as this Homemade Vegetable Alphabet Soup at Kitchen Counter Chronicles. Or they may love this Creamy Chicken Pasta Soup at My Kids Lick the Bowl.

Build Block Towers

Get out your wooden blocks and get building!

How tall can you build a tower before it collapses? Is there a way to make you tower stronger?

Or, you can add a little math with this fun counting blocks activity.

Tip: If you don’t already have a set of blocks, this Melissa and Doug set is a great choice. Or, invest in a beautiful heirloom set like these maple blocks from EverwoodFriends on Etsy.

Make a scrapbook of holiday pictures.

Print out some of your favorite photos from this past holiday season. Search your pictures from Christmas, Thanksgiving, or even Halloween.

Gather them together and make a small scrapbook of memories. Slip them into a simple photo album, like this personalized Christmas album from Personalized A2Z on Etsy.

Or, you can skip the printing the process and put together a photo book like you can get from Shutterfly.

Paint a picture using only white paint on colored paper.

Grab a selection of construction paper or colored card stock and a tube of white paint.

Everyone can choose a different color of paper and paint a picture using only white paint.

Will you make an abstract picture, a fun snowy scene, or something different?

It will be so much fun to see everyone’s creations!

Set a Few Goals for the New Year.

What do you hope to accomplish as a family? Are there any places you want to travel to or any fun activities you want to do.

Spend some time together and brainstorm ideas. Put a few ideas down on paper so you and your family can be on the same page.

Watch a Fun Winter Movie

Have a winter family movie night! Grab some comfy blankets, make mugs of hot chocolate, and settle in for a fun movie night.

Queue up a great winter movie, like Frozen or Ice Age. Anything that takes place in the winter or features a lot of snow would be perfect!

Or check out our list of recommended Winter Family Movies for a Cozy Movie Night.

Movie nights are our favorite family adventure!

Decorate a Window With Paper Snowflakes

Make traditional paper snowflakes. (Here’s a great tutorial from Kitchen Counter Chronicles.) Or try something different, like these fun Name Snowflakes from Childhood 101.

Spend the afternoon cutting and creating, then tape them up in a window (or two or three!). Now you can enjoy your creation all winter long!

Use this printable for some fun winter family fun ideas to do this January

January Family Fun Printable

Did you see some ideas you want to try? Or do you want to do them all?

No matter what, you can print out all the family adventures on this simple printable. Click the link below, print, and then hang it up to inspire your family to have a lot of winter family fun.

Print your January Family Adventures here.

Do More Activities With Your Family

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.

Cardboard Tube Penguin Craft

December 30, 2020 By Terri Thompson

There’s no better way to inspire my kids to do a craft project than to offer up something cute.

And, penguins are definitely as cute as it gets.

Have you ever met a person that didn’t think penguins were cute? I haven’t. They’re irresistible.

So, grab a few supplies and let’s get starting crafting. We’ll turn them into a cardboard tube penguin so cute you’ll want to make a whole colony.

Grab some recycled materials to make this cardboard tube penguin craft. They're so cute and so easy to make that you'll want a whole colony of penguins.

Supplies Needed for your Penguin Craft

Empty toilet paper roll tube (or paper towel tube cut into smaller pieces)
Pencil
Black craft paint
White craft paint
Glitter paint
Googly eyes
Scrap of yellow paper

How to make your cardboard tube penguin craft

Begin by drawing a large oval on one side of your cardboard tube.

Paint the inside of your oval white.

Next, paint the rest of your tube with the black paint.

Let it dry a bit before moving on to the next step.

Now, it’s time to add a little sparkle. We used some fun glitter paint to paint over our white oval. You could also use glitter glue to add sparkle.

After all your paint is dry – and it can take awhile, so go read a penguin book or two while you wait – it’s time to add your face.

Gather a couple of googly eyes and cut a small triangle out of your scrap of yellow paper. Glue both on the top half of your white oval to create your face.

Once the glue is dry, your penguin is done.

Create a Cardboard Tube Penguin or two or three or more to create your own colony of these cute birds.

They’re so cute, they’re irresistible!

My must-have kid’s craft resources:

Crafting with your kids is so much easier when you keep a few supplies on hand. I keep a supply of recycled materials, such as cardboard tubes, cardboard boxes, newspapers, paper scraps, etc. as well as supplies such as paint, construction paper, and glue that we use often. Here are some supplies you may want to keep on hand to make many of the crafts that we share here.

Are you looking for more kids activities?

Winter STEM Projects for Kids

December 28, 2020 By Terri Thompson

Snow, icicles, frost, and more! There are so many fun things to explore in the winter.

These fun Winter STEM Projects for Kids will help you and your children explore all these fun aspects (and more).

So, let’s gather some supplies and get ready to learn.

Learn and have fun with all of these winter STEM projects for kids. Explore snow, ice, cold temperatures and more winter fun.

You’ll find projects to help you explore snow and ice. Or, explore a favorite winter drink. You’ll create, you’ll explore, and you’ll learn a lot.

Let’s go have some fun!

Science Winter STEM Projects

Learn about friction with our fun Hockey Science Experiment.

Practice prediction and observation while you experiment with our Melting Snow Science Experiment.

Explore a favorite winter drink with our fun Hot Chocolate Science Experiment.

Make frost and explore winter weather with this Frost Snowman Experiment from Science Sparks.

Art Winter STEM Projects

Explore melting snow to make art with this snow process art project from Mom Explores the Smokies.

Grow salt crystals to decorate your paper snowflakes with this fun Growing Salt Crystals project from Little Bins for Little Hands.

Use science to make beautiful frosty windows with this Epsom Salt Painting idea from Babies to Bookworms.

Create beautiful colorful icicles with this Colorful Icicle Science Project from Housing a Forest.

Winter Engineering STEM Activities

Build a snowman with this fun STEM Snowman Craft from How Wee Learn.

Explore symmetry while you build beautiful snowflakes with this fun Pipe Cleaner Snowflake craft from The Joy of Sharing.

Put together a Winter Tinkering Kit from Little Bins for Little Hands and let your kids build and explore.

Engineer an ice lantern with this fun project from STEAM Powered Family.

My Must-Have STEM Resources

I don’t know about you, but I don’t always have time to prep fun STEM projects. That’s why I love Green Kid Crafts Discovery boxes. The boxes are packed full of projects that are fun and inviting. You can choose to get a subscription or a one-off box based off of a specific theme. Any one you choose would be a lot of fun!

Here are some of our favorites (you can purchase and find out more at each link):

Get a monthly subscription.

Intro to Electricity Box

Physics Box

Find all their fun STEM and science boxes here.

STEAM Family Activities

Wouldn’t it be so much fun to get STEAM family activities delivered to your inbox? I think so! That’s why I’ve created this fun series, STEAM Family Fun, to be delivered to your inbox. After going through all the letters in STEAM each week with a fun activity devoted to each, you’ll start receiving a fun STEAM activity once a month. (And I’ll also pop up in your inbox occasionally if I’ve got other fun things to share.)

Fill out the form below to start receiving STEAM Family Fun in your inbox.

Fun Number Line Activities for Kids

December 27, 2020 By Terri Thompson

Number lines don’t have to be boring. They’re a very useful tool for learning simple math facts. Here’s why number lines are so important!

In fact, if you’ve got a child in the early elementary years, they’ve probably worked with them in school.

You can help reinforce their learning at home with some fun math games.

These number line activities are definitely not boring! Let your kids move, play, and have fun while working with a number line.

Fun Number Line Activities for Kids

Make secret codes! Use the number line to create secret codes to help your kids work on addition and subtraction. They’ll have so much fun with Number Line Secret Codes.

If your kids are just learning about the number line, play this Numbers Washing Line game from Lessons Learnt Journal. It will help them learn number recognition and work on putting the numbers in the right order.

Take it outside and go on a Number Line Run from Coffee Cups and Crayons! It’s a great way to get your preschooler moving and practicing their numbers.

You can also let your preschooler play a fun movement game inside with Walk the Number Line at PBS Parents Adventures in Learning.

Suzy Homeschooler turned the number line into an awesome balance beam. Such a great way to work on gross motor skills and math at the same time.

Hop your way along a number line with this fun gross motor math game. You can find this fun Bunny Hop Number Line Game at Teach Beside Me here.

Make a simple DIY Clothespin Number Line from Fantastic Fun and Learning for hands-on learning. You can play all sorts of games and sneak in some fine-motor practice.

Use a long outdoor number line to help your child practice their addition and subtraction. Go to No Time For Flashcards for this Outdoor Number Line Activity.

Play and learn with these fun number line activities for kids. You'll move, use your fine motor skills, play math games and have so much fun with these ideas. Learning math can be fun!

More fun number line games

Do your kids love Minecraft? They’ll love to build and play this fun Minecraft Number Line Game from Stir the Wonder.

Boy Mama Teacher Mama also has a great printable game for learning how to add and subtract with number line. You can find Number Line Hop here.

Do you want to get a reluctant kid excited about math? Add LEGOs to the mix! Creekside Learning shares several fun ways to combine the two.

You can also use your Duplos to make a fun number line. In the Playroom shows you how to make and play with this fun Duplo number line.

Have a fun math competition with a partner. Play Strike It Out! with Teach Mama. It’s a fun and challenging game for your kids who have mastered addition, subtraction, and using a number line.

Combine art and math to create a fun number line using a stamping technique. Rainy Day Mum shows you how to make this pretty Pumpkin Stamped Number Line.

Make a number line out of flowers to practice counting forward and backward. Coffee Cups and Crayons shows you how to create your own Flower Number Line game.

Do you have any fun ideas for number line activities?

Do more activities with your family

Fun Color Games for Toddlers

December 27, 2020 By Terri Thompson

Do you want to introduce colors to your toddler?

The best way is to do it through play, which is why these fun color games for toddlers are perfect for learning. Your little ones will play and have so much fun learning all about colors.

Color Games for Toddlers

All of these activities will keep you toddler active while they explore colors. And, they won’t just be learning about colors. Some of these games also incorporate texture, sorting, or fine motor skills.

You’ll want to try all of these fun ideas!