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Scroll down to see a great article with fun snow day activities!
36 Snow Day Activities and Ideas for Your Kids
From http://herviewfromhome.com/36-snow-day-activities-and-ideas-for-your-kids/
Written by: Heather Riggleman
1. Make Use of the Snow
Might
as well embrace the snow. Toss your kiddos outside with a shovel and
have them shovel the driveway and sidewalks. If they have extra energy
and can stand the cold, suggest they shovel the neighbor’s drive way
too.
2. Hot Coco Magic
Provide
your kids with bowls, scoop up the snow and add it to your sauce pan.
They will love watching it melt into chocolately goodness on the stove
top with you
3. Maple Syrup Goodness
This
makes another sweet snack for your kids. Boil real maple syrup for 10
minutes, stirring often. Then carefully take the syrup outside. Have
your kids find a smooth, clean area and pour the syrup into the snow.
Have fun and draw your kids names in the snow with it. Just be sure the
syrup has cooled before picking it up and nibbling on it. You can find
another recipe at Family Go.Com
4. Snowman Marshmallows
Marshmallow
snowmen: put three jumbo marshmallows on a plate to create the
snowman’s body. Add chocolate chips for eyes and buttons and a
butterscotch chip for the nose. Then, stick the whole thing in the
microwave for about 7 seconds. Take out and attach thin pretzel sticks
for arms. Then, enjoy this gooey treat!
5. Polar Express
Create
a train like atmosphere with your furniture. Have your kids make train
tickets. Then read the story and let their imagination take off. My kids
love playing “train” or “Polar Train”
6. Spa Day
I
have two girls, we round up our mani & pedi supplies and stake out a
place near the fireplace. You can do this with your girls, paint toes
and giving facials.
7. Game On
Mostly boys? They love competition, consider a Wii tournament or Uno.
8. Make Snow Ice Cream
Scoop up snow in waffle cones or cups.
- 1/2 cups half & half or whole milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- 4 cups of clean snow or shaved ice
Blend
the milk, sugar and vanilla together until the sugar dissolves. Mix 4
cups of snow & stir until you get the same consistency of ice
cream. Add toppings or chocolate syrup to make a Snowy Sundae!
9. Have an indoor picnic
Who
needs a table and nice cooked meals? Make cookies and other finger
foods ahead of time and let your kids decide where (within reason) to
picnic.
10. Make homemade play dough
1 cup flour 1/2 cup salt 2 tbsp. cream of tartar 2 tbsp. oil 1 cup water food coloring (optional) Scent (cinnamon, vanilla, mint, etc. – also optional)
In
a saucepan, mix flour, salt, cream of tartar, scent ingredient, and
oil. Slowly mix in water until it’s all smooth. Then turn the heat on
medium and stir until it forms a ball of dough. I used a heat-resistant
rubber spatula so I could scrape the bottom of the pan easily. Once it’s
a ball, plop it onto some wax paper until it’s cool enough for you to
touch.
11. Make homemade finger paints ( I found this one at Thrifty Fun)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/3 cup of cornstarch
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 cup dishwashing soap
- food coloring
Put
the sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan and then slowly mix in cold
water. Then cook the mixture over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring
constantly until you have a smooth gel. Let cool and then add
dishwashing soap. Divide into as many containers as you would like
colors and then mix in food coloring drops until you have you desired
color. If you have colored dishwashing soap that can influence all the
colors you try to create, which isn’t always a bad thing. Here’s another recipe for finger paint.
If
homemade paints is for the birds, simply break out your store
bought paints and let them go to town on creating. If you’re really
brave, let them add glitter to their masterpieces.
12. Make Balloon Marbles
Jen and I both have made these. Here is her article, she tweaked the idea and made it more efficient and fun. Her Pinspiration: Ice Balloons.
13. Taffy Time
Have
a Taffy Pull in your kitchen with your kids. I remember doing this
every Christmas with my grandma. I may have to purchase some supplies
and do it. You can find the directions here: Berkshire Cottage.
14. Indoor Snow Castles
My
kids love this but be prepared for a little bit of mess. Bring in your
kiddie pool and add buckets of snow. Provide your kids with their sand
making supplies. OR add the snow to your tub. I like the tub, easier and
less mess.
15. Color Free Printables
There
just isn’t enough time in the day to be creative. Consider finding free
printable coloring pages for your kids. Most sites like Nick Jr,
Disney, etc have printables.
16. Computer time
There
are several sites online for your child’s education use and fun. We use
ABC Mouse and Starfall.com, Other sites we like are Nick Jr and PBS
Kids.
17. Snow Fun
There is always the best traditions of snow angels and snow ball fights. Take pictures and capture the moments.
18. Snow Fort
Too cold to go outside? Make a fort inside, using blankets and pillows, watch a movie from the fort!
V-day
just passed and chances are you still have some left over supplies from
making those crafts. Here is another list of 14 crafts you can do with
your kids, including Tic Tac Toe with hearts. Valentine Ideas for your Kids. Or Natural Valentine Ideas
20. Fashion Shoot
Hang
up some sparkly sheets and beads, add tulle or anything fun fabric,
then have your girls dress up in their favorite costumes and have a
fashion shoot!
21. Sock Toss
My
kids loved the sock toss when they were toddlers. Arrange baskets,
buckets, or paper bags in the middle of your living room floor, stuff
socks into balls. Whoever gets the most socks in the baskets wins. (Or make a sock fishing game like we did here.)
22. Borax Crystals.
This
one takes overnight, but hey – if it is a snow day – you have the time!
I was intimidated by it at first, but it is WAY easier than I thought.
All you need is Borox, a glass, water, pipe cleaner and a string. So
cool. The whole recipe is right here.
23. Science Fun!
Satisfy your pint-sized scientist. Volcano, rockets, super gel. Most of the stuff is made from things already in your house. Just check it out here.
24. Make some cookies!
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1 egg
Cream the butter & sugar. Add eggs & Vanilla. Add the rest. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. YUMMY!
25. Skype Grandma and Grandpa
Do
you have a Skype account? Facebook? Google Plus? All of them have
video chats now. And if you can’t video chat, just call! Grandma and
grandpa would LOVE to hear from their grandkids!!
26. Bring the snow INSIDE!!
Grab
a few buckets of snow and put it in the bathtub. Have your kids put on
gloves and go to town. The mess is minimal and the fun is maximum!
Plus, you don’t have to worry about kiddos getting too cold!
27. Feed the birds!
When
it is snowing the birds have a harder time finding food. Now’s your
chance to help out and give the kids an educational something to do! You
can roll a toilet paper or papertowel holder with peanut butter and
popcorn (or bird seed if you have some) or check out these other ways
to make simple feeders. Or you can check out how we used gelatin to make a feeder.
28. Masking Tape City
Have
kids who love cars? Get them started on a living room city project.
The tape outlines the streets. Then the cars can drive around and even
up and over some couches, chairs and such.
29. Octopus Spaghetti Use hot dogs and spaghetti. Mix with cheese. All kinds of kid fun. **If it is cold: FREEZE BUBBLES!!
30. Moon Sand!!
Baby oil + flour. COOL! You can see some pictures here.
31. Read a Book from your library.
No
– Don’t go out in the snow. But you CAN check out books from your
library on your tables or iPad!! You may have to log on to their web
site or call for directions.
32. Treasure hunt!!
Hide something in your house. Then post clues for your kids to find them.
OR
– just play ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ telling your kids they’re getting ‘warmer’
when they’re getting closer… and ‘colder’ when they’re walking away
from the ‘treasure’
OR – Have one of your older kids hide a treasure and draw a ‘map’ of how to find it.
33. Snowflakes!
Use
coffee filters. They’re pre-cut in circles. Just fold them in half
and half again. Then cut out some circles and triangles.
34. When you’re ready to go outside – Make some art!
A
couple squirts of food coloring in a squirt bottle or squirt gun and
then send the kids outside in the snow to ‘paint’ the snow. This is
also fun for decorating snowmen and women.
OR
(inside)
Put a piece of paper on a cookie sheet, pile snow on top of it, then
squeeze a few drops of color on the top of the paint. When the snow
melts, you’ll have a neat water color picture!
36. Frozen Paint!!
If you have paint, set it outside (or in your freezer) overnight to freeze it! Then kids can color with the frozen paint.
Hope you enjoyed that article visit the full site here
http://herviewfromhome.com/36-snow-day-activities-and-ideas-for-your-kids/
Happy Snow!
:) Miss Carissa
