Snow Play!
The first accumulating snow has fallen in Columbus and with that comes all of the snow related activities. Read on for 10 ways to say-n-play in the snow!
Snow related vocabulary: snow, ice, slippery, white, cold, melt, freeze, wet
Activities:
Build a snowman: Do you want to build a snowman? Of course! Have fun building a snowman or a family of snow people with your child. Use snowman related vocabulary (descriptive words/body parts/clothing) and snowman related concepts (spatial/size/sequencing) while building in the snow.
Make a snow angel: Describe how to make a snow angel. Then, get down in the snow with your child and make snow angels together.
Snow Paint: There are many ways to paint the snow (just do a Pinterest search to find more ideas). I used a spray bottle filled with water and food coloring (pictured below). Painting the snow is an excellent way to incorporate descriptive concepts into your conversation. Include color, shape, and size words while painting the snow with your child.
Snow Gems: I had leftover colored ice cubes from this activity and decided to take them outside for some snow play. What a fun contrast these colored ice cubes made in the snow. You and your child can make designs or hide them around the yard. Conversation can include descriptive concepts: colors, shapes, and spatial concepts (on/under).
Frozen bubbles: Blow bubbles in the frigid temperature and watch what happens. Check out Housing a Forest for a frozen bubble how to. Talk about what you see!
Hunt for animal tracks: Print off this animal track identification guide from Studyworks! Online. There are a lot of animals so I would suggest printing the animals that are relevant to your backyard. See if you can find any track matches in the snow. Discuss how the tracks might be the same and how they might be different.
Snow Ice-Cream: I have never done this, but it looks very cool. Check out the link and let me know if you have made this before. I have heard it’s delicious!
Build a Fort: If we get enough snow this winter you can build a snow fort. Increase your child’s vocabulary and concept understanding by incorporating these words into your conversations: build/destroy, on/under, hide/find, up/down, hot/cold, in front/behind.
Bring the Snow Inside: If it’s too cold outside to take baby out, just bring the snow in to her. Talk to your baby about what you are doing while playing with the snow.
Experiment with Snow: If you have an older child (3+ years old) and want to do something with the snow inside, consider doing a snow experiment. Divide equal parts snow into containers (3 or more) and place the containers around the house. Ask your child where they would like to place the containers in the house (consider guiding your child to putting one container in the freezer). Let some time pass (20 min) and then check out the containers. Discuss where the snow melted the fastest and which container the snow melted the slowest.
Stay warm and have fun!