… Are you Canadians still awake? You lot, of all people, must have some tips on what on earth you’re supposed to do with kids in deep, deep snow… Any ideas?
Free Our Kids
The Toddler and Me and Our Year For Free
… Are you Canadians still awake? You lot, of all people, must have some tips on what on earth you’re supposed to do with kids in deep, deep snow… Any ideas?
SNOWMEN! And then lots of time inside in the warmth- get a big roll of paper and get them to stamp paint with their hands and feet, scribble etc etc etc Good luck!!!
Long time since I’ve done these but …
Build snowmen
Snow Angels (how deep is deep, deep snow?)
Build a fort (roll the snow into balls the same as snowmen but make a few walls – could try to build an igloo but that never actually worked for me as a kid)
Tobagganing/sledding (if it’s cold enough a good sized piece of carboard will get you down a hill if you don’t have a sled – you could also just drag the little ones around if there’s no hill close by)
Hide and seek – tracks in the snow make it easy to find the hiders
It’s also silly fun to just stand under trees and shake the snow off them
Also not as nice – washing someones face in snow – putting snow inside their jackets – snowball fights … oh the fun of being a younger sibling …
This has been doing the rounds lately:
http://queenvanna.wordpress.com/2012/02/01/ice-ballons/
Looks very cool! Giant marbles? Yes please!
Kate x
Just Pirouette and Carry On…
I tried this in the summer and only then realised it needed to be water balloons not ordinary balloons because normal balloons don’t stretch as much. I did it with the balloons with lights in and they looked like lovely glowing bulbs!
Use empty squirt bottles (dishsoap, ketchup, etc.)- fill with water and just a couple of drops of food coloring- go outside and ‘draw’ on the snow. Spray bottles/misters also work.
take out the beach toys and build snowcastles, ‘draw’ in it with sticks, or really my 3 yr old seems to have endless fun just flopping around in it…bit boring for me though.
Snow ice cream? http://chemistry.about.com/od/snowsnowflakes/a/snowicecream.htm
If you have access to big icicles (we have them a lot in Ottawa), you can break them off and make a dragon’s teeth garden with them by planting them in the snow.
Also, making bird feeders using seeds and peanut butter is fun. You can hang them in the tree in front of a window and watch the birds who come to feed.
Canada reporting. Mostly I try to hide inside when it snows. I just recommend stopping the boy from eating it. Like mine still think they can do.
Just discovered your blog and adore the idea. Will be following along.
You lot rock! Thank you! xx
We live in Calgary… and have a 2 year old…. he hit the local playground to play (or watch shinny hockey, which my son is obsessed with right now!), go the zoo (we have memberships), play in the backyard, or go to the science centre (also have memberships), which has a huge indoor play structure/sensory tables/activities for kids. The hardest things about winter with a 2 year old are that: he doesn’t tell me he’s cold, he won’t wear mitts for more than 5 minutes and when he does wear them they just fall off, he doesn’t have the patience/strength to do a lot of the fun winter activities (like “build” a snowman) for more than 5-10 minutes, he’s too little for skis/skates, etc…. Next year will be more fun when we can get him on skis!
I’m doing a similar thrifty-Mom venture over here in Vancouver. Granted, it isn’t that cold here, but it does rain constantly. I’ve been writing about events for kids under 5 for less than $5 (most are free) in the city and finding a ton of places to bring my one year old. Check it out and keep up the great posts. vancouverunder5.wordpress.com
Go outside. Bundle up and play! Nothing cheaper than playing in the snow with some sand toys or old pots and pans. Weather never keeps us in.
if it’s not cold enough forjust cardboard to make an awesome sled, wrapping it with a plastic garbage bag will work wonders…..heck, skip the cardboard and put leg holes in the bag, silds great and nothing much to carry up the hill!
-Give them a bunch of crayons and paper let them go at it
-Have a bake/cooking day, simple easy stuff. You can pre measure and let little hands help put it together
-Contrary to popular opinion little ones can help you clean house. Make it a game and don’t have high expectations.
-Have story time after a trip to the library
-Playing in the snow
-Learn to skate you can start young
-Go to the local indoor pool for family swim day
-I had a craft box where I put all kinds of odds and ends in. Some leftover fabrics, bows, lace and ribbon from my sewing project, some stuff from the dollar store etc and gave it to my daughter to have at what ever she wanted to make.
-Have learn to amuse myself time, we as parent don’t always have to amuse our kids, nor do we need tv etc to do it for them either.
-Play dates with other kids and mom’s gives both of you free social time and you don’t have to plan and schedule the whole day, kids can play by themselves too.
I commend you for freeing yourself from the burden of consumerism that we all get caught up in at some point. I was laid off from my job 9 years ago when my kids were 11 and 9. I decided to leave the rat race for a while and spend more time with my kids while pursuing my passions of writing, music and scrapbooking. Sometimes I miss the social aspect of working and the extra money but the tradeoffs have been so worth it. I think we’ve all benefited. Sadly, I’m not a much better housekeeper than before. I blame that on Facebook! Heheh!
Two ideas:
Squirt bottles with water and food colouring to paint in the snow with. If it’s too cold, or pouring rain, we often do dance parties. Just put on some fun active music and go crazy! Fantastic way to get exercise too and they can better develop their balance, learn to move their legs and arms together (coordination skills), improve their sense of rhythm and appreciation of music, singing and various instrument sounds.
There’s soooooo much to do!
Go for a walk and take them for a ride on a sleigh.
Make a snowman,
Have a snowball fight.
Make an igloo/snow fort,
Go tobagganing (if you don’t have one, a peice of plastic sheeting will work).
Bury each other in snow (kinda like the burying each other in sand).
Go for a hike in the woods and check out animal tracks, take photos and then find out on the internet what animals were out there with you.
Do whatever you can imagine, but remember to wear layers to keep warm.:)
Fill a large baking pan with snow and bring it inside! Lay a towel underneath, add some small toys (animals, dinosaurs, even Barbies!) and give the children a spoon and a fork for molding and pushing the snow around. Voila! Instant free fun!