Try some of these ideas for playing in the snow and watch young kids learn about their winter environment while having lots of outside fun!
One of the best things about winter for kids is the variety of outside activities that involve snow. Making snowmen, building forts and tobogganing are the more popular children’s winter activities but kids can also have fun exploring the environment and discovering the science of snow. Try some of these ideas as a family outing or as a special activity with a group of preschoolers.
Using sticks, pine boughs or even their fingers, have the kids draw pictures on a canvas of freshly fallen snow. Look for tree stumps, railings, fences, and benches as ready surfaces for kids to show their creativity. Take pictures of their drawings to be used for the front of next year’s homemade greeting cards.
On a relatively warm day, add water to the snow to create slush. Let the kids get wet and make slush creations, much like ice sculptures. Encourage them to use sticks, stones and other materials to add details to their artwork. Challenge the kids to co-operate on creating a slush wall which can be used as part of an outside obstacle course.
Let snow flakes fall onto dark construction paper and have the kids take a close look at snowflakes through a magnifying glass. Talk with the kids about the uniqueness of each snowflake and how they are made. Have the kids draw pictures of their favourite snowflake shape when they go inside.
Most kids love the sensation of cold snow melting in their mouths. Rather than repeatedly reminding them to stop licking their mittens, find a spot that has clean freshly fallen snow and let them have fun tasting the white stuff. For preschoolers who like to role play, let them use an ice cream scoop to spoon snow into plastic bowls and pretend they are running an ice cream stand.
Do various experiments with snow, simply to see what happens.
Using food colouring added to water let toddlers paint the snow and ice with brushes or spray bottles. Let them see what happens when two different colours are mixed on the snow’s surface and how the colour blends when ice melts. Teach them to paint their name on the snow bank in front of the house.
While on a walk in the woods, show kids how to spot animal tracks and talk about what the animals might be doing. Ask the kids to make their own tracks in the snow using their footprints, sticks or their fingers. Let them look at the tracks with a magnifying glass.
Snow is the perfect learning tool for science and creativity. Show preschoolers how to explore the wonders of winter and let their imaginations do the rest.
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