Being cooped up indoors during the nasty winter weather can be frustrating for children at a daycare center. Oftentimes, infants and toddlers enjoy spending their time doing activities that involve a lot of physical movement. With the recent passing of Christmas and New Year’s, many people are gearing up for the winter months. Although having the winter blues can be a problem, it is important that we keep our kids active with indoor physical activities during this season.
Winter Temperature Zones
Typically, when a child says that they are bored, it is almost every parent’s instinct to hand them a tablet or put them in front of a tv screen. After all, it can be a bother to getting a child ready to go outdoors in the cold. Then when they come back in, it’s no picnic either. However, at Paradigm, we understand the significance of children receiving a fair amount of exercise and physical activity they will need in order to grow. Just because the temperatures are cold, doesn’t mean your kids have to stay indoors! We make calculated decisions on when it may be ok for children in daycare to go outside.
We like to categorize our winter’s Michigan temperatures into three zones:
- Green Zone-temperature is above 30 degrees, meaning that with proper clothing, your child is able to play comfortably outside.
- Yellow Zone-temperature is in between 20-30 degrees, meaning that your child is able to play outside–just cautiously.
- Red Zone-temperature is below 20 degrees, meaning that it’s extremely dangerous to play in that type of weather condition.
Indoor Physical Activities
Yes, our daycare is equipped with all of the proper age-appropriate equipment, but depending on the weather conditions will determine whether or not your child will play outdoors. In fact, when the weather is harsh, we tend to play games that incorporate movement indoors. For special times as these, we allow for our kids to run around and play in our large motor room. The months of January and February are typically months of indoor winter activities. One of the activities we have is our pretend ice skating rink, right inside of the motor room!
Winter in Waterford and Canton where Paradigm is located, is beautiful. That being said, it is our job to make sure children in our daycare centers are protected. If you are looking to enroll your child in a care center that you can have confidence in, contact us today.
