How does a family that lives in one of Florida's warmest cities celebrate winter? We create our own version of snow days! Here are some of the ways we welcome winter while wearing our shorts and flip-flops.
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While we may not be able to make good old-fashioned snow cream, my kids do enjoy eating snowballs (powdered sugar donut holes) and snow cones.
We still create snow forts, just inside rather than outside, and with imaginary snow. :)
My kids crawl into their forts and complete lots of FUN and educational winter related activities from education.com.
My kids play the Melting Snowman Game.
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Throw a small ball or bean bag back and forth to a partner. If you drop it or you throw a bad throw, then you will lose a leg so squat down on one knee.
If you catch the next throw, you will gain your leg back and can stand up again BUT if you did not catch the ball or you threw a bad throw you will lose your other leg and will have to kneel down on both knees.
If you catch the next throw, you will gain one of your legs back so you can squat down on one knee BUT if you did not catch the ball or you threw a bad throw, you will lose one of your arms and will have to throw and catch the next ball with only one arm while placing the other arm behind your back and kneeling on both knees. Talk about a challenge!
If you catch the next throw, you will gain your arm back BUT if you did not catch the ball or you threw a bad throw, you will lose the game as you melted away.
So in a nutshell: leg, leg, arm, melted (out)
If you catch the next throw, you will gain your leg back and can stand up again BUT if you did not catch the ball or you threw a bad throw you will lose your other leg and will have to kneel down on both knees.
If you catch the next throw, you will gain one of your legs back so you can squat down on one knee BUT if you did not catch the ball or you threw a bad throw, you will lose one of your arms and will have to throw and catch the next ball with only one arm while placing the other arm behind your back and kneeling on both knees. Talk about a challenge!
If you catch the next throw, you will gain your arm back BUT if you did not catch the ball or you threw a bad throw, you will lose the game as you melted away.
So in a nutshell: leg, leg, arm, melted (out)
This game can go on for awhile since you can always earn back an arm or leg. The kids in my neighborhood play this game at least once a week at my home. They really, really love it!
My kids like to have indoor snowball fights.
We ball up old sheets of paper saved from our printer. I divide a large room in half with masking tape on the floor. I put an even number of children on each side with the same number of paper snowballs (usually about 15 on each side). When I say go, the kids throw the snowballs to the opposite side as fast as they can. The winning side is the side that has the least number of snowballs after one minute. I have also played this outside dividing my front yard in half with a long piece of rope. Kids LOVE having these snowball fights, and I like how much exercise they get doing it.
The kids create their own snowflakes, such as these.
You can also add lots of glitter for the bling-bling effect.
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We also create a torn-paper winter art project. The trick here is not to use any scissors. Kids want it to look perfect at first and they want to be able to cut the construction paper with scissors. But after tearing the paper for a bit, they begin to like the abstract look. I love it when each project looks unique!
The kids also make winterscapes using crayons and construction paper. It is hard to tell the detail from this photo but the kids really enjoyed the sketching part.
This is our newest winter art project. The kids cut out buildings from construction paper and windows from aluminum foil. After gluing the pieces on a large sheet of construction paper, we glued cotton for the snow on the bottom and then sponge painted the snow over the cityscape. They turned out super cool!
My kids enjoy these fun winter sites.
Have you ever created a virtual snowflake?
It is quite fun and no mess to clean up afterwards. :)
We made melted snowman cookies with a chocolate cake mix cookie recipe. They added vanilla icing on top, mini-chocolate chips for the eyes, half of a small Reese's peanut butter cup for the hat, and an orange sprinkle for the nose. They were so cute!
I have to try this writing/art activity soon! Isn't it just adorable?
What are some ways you welcome winter with your kids?
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It is quite fun and no mess to clean up afterwards. :)
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We made melted snowman cookies with a chocolate cake mix cookie recipe. They added vanilla icing on top, mini-chocolate chips for the eyes, half of a small Reese's peanut butter cup for the hat, and an orange sprinkle for the nose. They were so cute!
I have to try this writing/art activity soon! Isn't it just adorable?
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