Tag: snow

Indoor Ice Caves and Snowball Fights

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Indoor Fort (2)

Sometimes it’s too windy and cold to play in a snowstorm, but you can bring the snow in instead of sending the kids out. Imaginary snow, that is.

To wit, first I made Veronika an ice palace. Whether your kids pretend this is an ice cave, a snow fort, or a polar bear’s arctic den, imaginations will go wild as they crawl through any tunnel made with pillows and blankets. We went all out, adding blankets from the beds upstairs, not just the ones from the living room.

Indoor Fort (1)

Veronika loved loading it up with “snowballs” (a.k.a. rolled up socks).

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And she was thrilled when she discovered a secret back entrance.

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There was even a secret window to peek through halfway down the tunnel.

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Then we split up the ice tunnel into two barricades and it became the perfect snow fort for a snowball fight!

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For snowballs, we simply balled up pairs of socks and added a few from crumpled white tissue paper. Now it was mommy versus Travis for all out war!

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Travis cackled with glee hiding behind his wall or popping up to pelt me.

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And he loved staging sneak attacks. Veronika may not have entirely understood, but she certainly picked up on the glee and soon tried her hand at tossing a few “snowballs”.

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Attack!

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By now I had two gleeful kids who would happily have played in their “snow fort” all day. I think at this point they were pretending it was a ski slope with avalanches rolling downhill!

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Don’t forget clean-up: Make it a race to see who can toss all those sock balls back into a bin the fastest.

Indoor Snowball Fight (1)

What will your kids do with an indoor snow fort? Please share in the comments!

‘Let It Snow’ Winter Town

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Christmas Town (11)

Here’s a fun way to make a winter playset for kids, especially on days when it’s too cold to really go outside and play.

The first step is to paint toilet paper tubes white; the more tubes you have, the bigger your town will be! I considered having Veronika join in for this step of the project, but then decided to paint the night before so she wouldn’t have to wait for it to dry in the morning. I covered 4 tubes with white paint but then ran out and had to use sparkly silver on a few instead.

Christmas Town (1)

In the morning, the kids helped set up the rest of this little town. First we decorated the tubes with marker to make windows and doors. Veronika loved proudly scribbling.

Christmas Town (2)

Big brother Travis was very deliberate with his architectural features.

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He was particularly proud of this triangular window!

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For rooftops, we glued on white coffee filters (which I  had to trim slightly to fit). White cupcakes liners would work for this step, too.

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For snowy streets, I showed the kids how to pull cotton balls apart slightly so they were light and fluffy, just like snow on the ground. You might even consider piling a few cotton balls together to make “snowmen”!

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It was time to make our town sparkle with snow. Veronika wanted to use glitter glue and I only had purple, which spoiled the look slightly. But then we sprinkled over it with white glitter!

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Now it was a sparkly, snowy scene!

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Veronika loved adding play figures to wander in the streets of town. We included some seasonally-appropriate toys from her advent calendar, like a small Christmas tree and snowman.

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She loved the way the soft cotton balls felt, and also enjoyed putting her toy people inside the tube houses. I guess they were staying cozy and warm!

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What will go in your winter town? Please share in the comments!

Winter Road

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Winter Road (1)

What do you do when the kids want to play in the snow but you only have a thin, icy layer that’s not great for making snowmen? Make a road, instead!

I did this the easiest way ever, not even a shovel required. Instead, I took a few old markers and drew the outline of a road directly onto the snow.

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Now all the kids had to do was drive along the track.

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We added a few cross streets and curves to our road, and even a little stop sign for an early lesson on road safety.

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I had mostly intended the track for Veronika, but it turned out that big brother Travis loved driving the cars, too.

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Construction vehicles were particularly fun, like our bulldozer and dump truck which could scoop up snow or be filled with it.

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The icy wind drove us indoors fairly quickly, but at least we got in a little creative snow play!

Winter Road (4)

Coloring the Snow with Droppers

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Coloring Snow with Droppers (11)

We have snow, but it’s not the soft fluffy kind you’d want to roll around in. This snow iced over pretty quickly in a thin layer on the ground. So it was the kind of snow to take inside!

I scooped some of the snow onto a tray, and set it out alongside pipettes and liquid watercolors (in the compartments of an ice cube tray). Because I only had 3 colors of liquid watercolor, I added food coloring to a few compartments, too.

Coloring Snow with Droppers (1)

I showed Veronika how to dip a pipette in one of the colors, squeeze to fill it up, and then squeeze again to release the color over the snow.

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She loved watching the colors appear against the white snow. “It’s yellow!” she exclaimed with delight for her favorite color.

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It was hard for her to get the mechanics of filling and releasing the pipette, but that was totally fine since this is the first time I’ve introduced her to the tool.

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She was so proud of her work nonetheless and did a lot of simply stabbing at the snow, or dipping the tip of the pipette into the colors and brushing it over the snow like a paintbrush.

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We mixed colors, too, (although our mix of red and blue looked more black than purple), which was good for a quick art lesson. After she tired of that, we put small chunks of snow directly into the ice cube tray, which now only had a shallow layer of each color. The color would saturate the snow immediately, which was fun to watch.

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Veronika worked so seriously to move the snow pieces over to the ice cube tray with tongs; another tool to hone her fine motor skills!

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When your toddler tires of the play, clean up couldn’t be easier. Simply put your snow in the sink and let it melt!

Coloring Snow with Droppers (10)

Make a Snowscape Window

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Snowscape Window (8)

We had a rain storm today, but the kids definitely wished it was snow instead. Luckily, I had a quick way we could turn at least one window into a snowy landscape.

I set out two paper plates, one filled with torn pieces of white tissue paper and the other with watered down Mod Podge. I showed Veronika how to dip a paintbrush in the Mod Podge mixture and then smear it all over the window of the playroom.

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She loved doing this, and was also thrilled that she got to stand on a chair while doing so. My big girl!

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As we covered the window in the Mod Podge, we then added pieces of tissue paper which will stick right on. I guided the placement of the tissue paper only slightly so it roughly formed a bell curve, mimicking the look of a snowdrift.

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If your kids have crafted any small Christmas trees from foam or felt this holiday season, you can tape these up to your snowy landscape. In a pinch, we added a few tree with washable green paint.

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The internet leads me to believe all of this will wash off easily once December is over, and my fingers are crossed!

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But in the meantime, Veronika’s artwork now makes the perfect backdrop for the rest of our Christmas decor.

Snowscape Window alt

Flurry in a Hurry

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Flurry in a Hurry (4)

If your kids are like mine, then they are so excited for snow this winter. To help them wait it out, make a snowstorm in a jar instead!

This is one of those classic experiments that never grows old. Simply stir together 1 teaspoon white paint and 1 cup water in the bottom of a mason jar. Fill nearly the rest of the way with baby oil.

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Now drop in Alka-Seltzer tablets, one at a time. Veronika loved plopping these in!

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The resulting bubbles will immediately make the white paint rise up and then down again, a little snowstorm in miniature.

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If we added two tablets in at once, it was more like a blizzard!

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After watching for a little while, we decided it would look even prettier in blue stormy skies, so added a few drops of blue food coloring.

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It was a little harder to see the white paint as “snowflakes”, now, but Veronika was equally delighted watching this stormy sky.

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We went through six Alka-Seltzer tablets before she tired of it!

Take a Sled Ride

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Take a Sled Ride (2)

This was the final activity I had hoped to do with Veronika before she turned one year old, but we never had the chance because in her first year we had… No snow! Well, at thirteen months, she now has two feet of snow out the window, and loved getting bundled into her snowsuit for the first time.

Take a Sled Ride (1)

Gentle sled rides are a new and exciting feeling. I sat her down on a small plastic one and simply glided her across the snow. If you’re going to go downhill, make sure you sit with your child and hold him or her firmly!

She seemed so intrigued by the novel motion. When we came to a stop, I pulled out a few sticks to show her how to write in the snow. She eagerly grabbed for one and gave it a try.

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Don’t worry if those curious fingers feel at the snow for a brief moment; it will be a  completely novel sensory experience, and then you can head right inside to warm up rosy fingers and cheeks!

If you live some place that never receives snow, consider a sled ride over sand instead! Then you can demonstrate writing in the sand with a stick instead.

How to… Build a Snow Fort

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Snow Fort (g)

It’s only the third day of December and Travis is on the second snow day off from school. That meant we had to test out Highlights magazine’s tips for making the best snow fort!

Highlights recommended first delineating an area for your fort with a stick. We used a shovel instead, making a big square on our patio and then mounding up the walls to give us a base.

Snow Fort (a)

To make bricks for the walls, fill a rectangular container with snow. Drizzle with a little water, than add a final layer of snow on top.

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Depending on the consistency of your snowfall, you may or may not need that extra water. We soon found that we did not – today anyway! Continue building until you have several layers of “bricks”.

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We even tried adding windows.

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Simply twist an empty soup can to drill a little peephole.

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Even more fun was adding food color to a spritz bottle; now we could decorate our fort’s walls with art (though I wish Travis hadn’t opted for orange!).

 

Snow Fort (f)

Travis loved being in charge of the “moat”, shoveling a long path away from our fort.

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And we even armed ourselves with ammo, in case enemies (i.e. neighborhood friends) happened to storm the castle!

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Don’t forget a side door to sneak out of! What special activities to you do on a snow day off from school? Please share in the comment!

Snow Fort (j)

Snow Skeeball

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Snow Skeeball (7).JPG

Finally! It took until March for us to receive our first real snowfall of the season, and we were so ready to play. Last weekend we were indoors at an arcade, so today we decided to replicate one of our favorite games in snowy form.

I fashioned a ramp out of the snow, making it lower at the bottom, and higher up top – good thing we had perfectly packable snow.

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We wedged three buckets into the snow at intervals, and then I handed Travis a few golf balls.

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Time to toss! We decided the first bucket was worth 1 point, the second was 2 points, and the third was 3. We even had tickets to use from a pretend-play carnival game!

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The game was admittedly hard – next time we’d use bigger buckets. (Note: we’d also use colored balls, for rather obvious reasons!).

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So here’s hoping for one more storm before spring. We’ll be out there playing skeeball… or should I say “ski ball”?

Snow Skeeball (4)

 

Green Time: Play in the Snow

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Snow Play (7).JPG

We’ve been so eager for a snowfall so we could get to our second installment of outdoor play suggestions from Ranger Rick Jr. Last night we got our wish – only about three inches, but because I doubt we’ll have much more snow this winter, we took advantage of it!

The first thing we had to do was test out the sled we bought but haven’t had a chance to use. There’s a tiny hill just off our apartment, and Travis enjoyed a few mini runs down it.

Snow Play (1)

Whoops, but as you can tell, he was not a fan lying down to try out a snow angel next.

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Making a small snowman was a bigger hit…

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…as was building a snow fort. Based on the magazine’s image, we used a bucket to build the fort, which worked so well! Although we didn’t have enough snow to build our walls up high, this is definitely how we’ll fashion future forts.

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Meanwhile, I loved that these suggestions got us out into crisp morning sunshine to make first tracks in the snow – especially since it had all melted by afternoon!

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