If you live in the northeast United States right now, you’ve probably had your fill of snow by now. Sure, the winter started off pretty tame, but all that has changed in the past week or so.
We’ve been hit with about three feet of the white stuff, with more in the forecast for this week. We’ve had just about all we can take of sanding, salting, shoveling, and trying to find a parking space among the snowbanks.
While snow can be challenging for us grown up types, it can also be tons of fun. Here is a great snow day activity that you can do with your kids, from “The Wild Weather Book: Loads of Things to Do Outdoors in the Rain, Wind and Snow,” by Fiona Danks and Jo Schofield.
MAKE A SNOW IGLOO
How about enjoying your very own igloo after dark with flashlights and hot chocolate?
- Pack snow tightly into plastic storage boxes to make bricks. Tip them out of the boxes and place them in a circle.
- Add a second layer of snow bricks on top of the first, but placed slightly further in towards the center of the circle. The bricks in the second layer should overlap the edges of the bricks in the first layer.
- Continue adding more layers of snow bricks, each layer set further in than the layer below, until the walls meet at the top. Fill any gaps with loose snow and check to see if each layer is stable before you build the next one. IF the walls aren’t going to meet at the top, you can always make a roof from wooden planks or a sheet of plywood.
- If a life-sized igloo sounds like too much of a challenge, try making miniature snow building instead. How about an igloo for your teddy bear, a white palace for a snow queen, or a snow church for a fairy wedding.
It’s raining outside – let’s get out and play! Don’t huddle cooped up indoors on a bad weather day: wrap up in warm clothes or waterproofs and get out of doors for some fun. In this book Jo Schofield and Fiona Danks offer myriad suggestions for wild things to do outdoors on wet, windy and snowy days, including:
– Rainy adventures (e.g. go swimming in the rain; test out your fire-making skills – can you make a fire in the rain?)
– Get creative (e.g. make a rain shadow; make an igloo; paint with natural paints made from wet mud, wet berries, wet charcoals)
– Play bad weather games (e.g. slip and slide; watermelon rugby; ice hockey)
– Experiment with weather (e.g. make a rain trap; make boats and float them on puddles; make a wind whirler out of a plastic bottle)
– Just have fun! (e.g. do a rain dance; make rain drums)
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