Having Fun with Snow

The snow is blowing around outside our kitchen windows, it’s freezing, and I’m getting tired of Winter.  If you live in a wintry wonderland, I’m sure you might be feeling the same way.  We’re all longing for Spring.

Here are some activities I did with the kids last week, in an attempt to fight the Winter blues and have a little fun with snow!  Thought I’d share here in case you’re looking for something to do in and around your sweet home!

Some of the activities below came from a book called, Snow Watch, by Cheryl Archer. It’s a fantastic resource and I highly suggest grabbing it from your local library!

Indoor Snow Dying!

You need:

• Snow
• A big bowl or plastic container
• Food coloring mixed with water (I used two drop of color with about 1/4 of water)
• Medicine droppers, spray bottles, spoons, plastic medicine syringes

Grab a pile of snow, several trays, some droppers and let the kids have fun creating their own colors, shapes, designs, and mini snow men!  This entertained our children for quite some time…

 

Build a Snow Fort…

Have you ever used a bottom sheet for the top of a snow fort?  Works like a charm!

We even decided to eat lunch and read some books inside our fort.  What a fun afternoon.

 How Snow Melts – learn about insulation and molecules!

• Grab a bowl or container for each child and fill it with snow.
• Measure the height of the snow using a simple ruler and record the findings.
• Wait for the snow to melt, then measure again.
• Discuss!

Play with Water Flow

 Make Ice Crystals!

What you’ll need:

• 1 cup of water
• a cooking pot
• 2 cups sugar
• a jar (we used one jar for each child)
• a piece of sting and a pencil

 This experiment is easy but really interesting!   First, I had each child label their own jar and create their handing string (hands from a pencil, tied in the middle).

 

Go on a Track Search!

Take a walk and search for animal tracks!  We had a couple of great books a few weeks back for I forgot to get images of them.  You can easily search the internet or your local library.  We were lucky to find deer tracks in a nearby park.

 Go on a “Green” Treasure Hunt

This is simple but fun.  We walked around our backyard searching for signs of green!  Look for grass poking up, small streams where snow has melted, and maybe even dig down into the snow to reveal rocks and moss!  Encourage the kids to really notice the smell of the grass and the damp, limp feeling of the green plant life that has been damp for so many months!

Enjoy a Family Hike

There’s nothing like breathing in the crisp, cool air on a wintry walk.  We love taking the kids to all the local waterfalls and streams in Winter.  Kids love to throw rocks and sticks at the ice and just explore nature in a different time of year.  If you can experience it, there is nothing quite like a huge, roaring waterfall completely frozen over.  Beautiful!

Little adventurers…

Enjoy today, friends, and stay warm!