Winter Gross Motor Dice for Brain Break Activities for Kids

Do the words “indoor recess” strike fear in your gut? While visions of screaming, overthrown desks and bean bags hurling across the classroom might be a bit dramatic, there is nothing quite like a bunch of energetic kids stuck indoors for days at a time when cold weather hits and the thermometer won’t rise above zero (ah winter days).

No worries and no need to plan an indoor obstacle course! We’ve got a great way to keep the kids busy.

Take a brain break with this fun winter gross motor game. Kids will love the silly activities and you can easily tie it to other winter themed preschool activities.

Winter Gross Motor Dice for Brain Break Activities for Kids is a ready-made indoor activity for kids when we just can’t send them out. It’s easy to prep (print/cut/go), and will get ALL those wiggles out in a safe (no running or jumping) way that works in the smallest of spaces. These gross motor activities are perfect for your winter theme, too!

Materials Needed for the Winter Gross Motor Dice

To prep: Choose from the color or black & white winter gross motor dice. If you do not have a Differentiated Instruction Cube, you can use the DIY cube that is included, but I highly recommend getting the cubes because they can be used in so many ways to customize learning activities for preschoolers.

Check out more playful learning activities with the Differentiated Instruction Cubes here.

After printing, cut the brain break for kids cards and place one in each photo slot on the cube.

To use the Preschoolers Winter Gross Motor Dice: Let the kids take turns rolling the cube. After each roll, the whole group will act out the winter activities for kids depicted.

The adorable pictures include:

• Shovel the snow
• Slip on the ice
• Waddle like a penguin
• Fall like a snowflake
• Melt like a snowman
• Roll like a snowball

If you want to save on ink or can’t print in color, there is a set of black and white dice included. Why not work on fine motor skills, too, by having the kids color the pictures after recess!

If you don’t have a cube, you can still implement the winter activity for preschoolers. Just place the cards in a pile upside down and take turns choosing a card.

Other Ideas for Indoor Recess

• Art projects keep little hands and minds occupied
• Implement winter sensory activities, like playing with cotton balls in the sensory bin or getting out the winter slime
• Crank up the music!
• Play an active dance video or a stretching/yoga video for kids to follow along
• Give free reign of the dramatic play area, or other play areas within the classroom
• Play a class game, like “Heads Up-Seven Up,” or “Four Corners.”