25 Things To Do In Winter for Adelaide Families
Looking for some fun winter inspiration to get out and about with the kids?
Just because it’s winter it doesn’t mean you have to hibernate until spring! The days are shorter, temperatures are cooler and it’s wetter underfoot, but Nature Play SA’s list of 25 things to do in winter provides plenty of inspiration to rug up and head outdoors, as well as some fun indoor activities too.
So grab the raincoats and gumboots and get the children outside for some fun and fresh air!
1. Wander a National Park trail, keeping an eye out for wildflowers (such as greenhood orchids) or curious echidnas as they search for a mate.
2. Explore your local creek in gumboots and rain gear, taking in the earthy smells and sound of flowing water.
3. Create a mud face on a tree or big piece of bark. Form facial features with sticky mud then add details with flowers, grass and other garden finds.
4. Walk your local coastline after a storm to see what natural treasure has washed up. Keep an eye out for different shaped sponges, Pt Jackson shark eggs and shells you haven’t seen before.
5. Write a poem or story about how the rain makes you feel.
6. Go on a snail or slug hunt in your backyard after heavy rains. Draw or paint your discoveries in an art book or nature journal.
7. Visit South Australia’s whale watching regions to see if you can spot a whale. Can you identify what species it is?
8. Cuddle up on a cold night with a warm cuppa, board game or family movie.
9. Camp at a National Park and toast marshmallows, make damper or tell stories around a campfire.
10. Make natural playdoughs (try cinnamon, lavender or lemon) and use them in creative ways: write your name, create a nature scene or incorporate sensory maths.
11. Create a living tepee in your yard by digging sticks into the ground, making a tepee big enough to sit in. Plant native climbers at the base, such as the winter-flowering Native Lilac (Hardenbergia violacea)
12. Walk through a botanic garden, noticing which trees have leaves (evergreen) and which don’t (deciduous). Visit Mt Lofty Botanic Garden, Adelaide Botanic Garden or Wittunga Botanic Garden – (be sure to check out Wittunga’s new nature play space!)
13. Make a rain gauge with an empty jar or plastic bottle. If using a plastic bottle, cut it in half and place the spout upside down into the bottom half (like a funnel). Use a permanent marker and ruler to write measurements on the bottle. Place it outside and record your daily rainfall
14. Visit a waterfall after heavy rains such as Morialta Falls, Waterfall Gully, or Ingalalla Falls.
15. As a family, cook hearty soup or bake using winter produce such as apples, lemon, rhubarb, beetroot, broccoli, pumpkin and spinach. Check out our family friendly baking and cooking recipes.
16. Stroll or bike ride the neighbourhood. See what flowers are blooming, how many nests you can spot in bare trees, or what insects are on the move (such as woolly bear caterpillars).
17. Create a nature weaving by tying four sticks together in the shape of a square. Use string to create a series of vertical lines. Collect flowers and leaves and weave them into your frame.
18. Spend a morning making potions, stews and mud pies with flowers, leaves, bark and seed pods collected from your backyard or neighbourhood.
19. Create rain art: take a sheet of thick paper and add drops of watercolour paint or food colouring. Lay your paper flat in a container and leave it in the rain to watch your masterpiece unfold.
20. Make a winter shelter for small bugs and critters from twigs and leaves.
21. Spend a morning gardening, noticing interesting creatures living in the soil such as beetle larva (white grubs in the shape of a ‘C’).
22. Set up a nature display at home with your interesting outdoor winter finds.
23. Have a picnic in a pine forest and observe the moss, fungi and lichen you find.
24. Towards the end of winter, visit a local nature patch or National Park to spot Golden Wattle in bloom (Australia’s floral emblem and the inspiration behind our National colours).
25. On a clear night try to spot the moon and learn what ‘phase’ it is in.
Download the list from Nature Play SA here, place it on the fridge and see how many you and your friends can tick off this winter.
