Snow Fun

Young children love snow but they usually don’t love being in the cold for every long. Here are some ideas that you can do inside.
Toddler Gym

Paint Snow- Lay snow on a tray. Let your child paint the snow with watercolors.

Shaving Cream Snow- Give your child shaving cream to play with on a table. This is an excellent way to begin drawing shapes and letters! Beware…this is messy but smells great!

Cotton Ball Snow- Have a snowball fight with cotton balls! Try to see who can get the most cotton balls across a line or into a bucket. You can even use sand toys for shoveling!

Happy Snow Day!

Indoor Camping

Growing up in Mesa, Arizona where the average winter temperature is 41 degrees, I despise South Central Pennsylvania winters; I HATE being cold and trying to dress a 14 month old for the snow is like fitting a square peg into a round hole (11 Step Program for those thinking of having kids- Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems. 1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh. 2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out. Time allowed for this - all morning)! I’ll admit I like one measurable, sleddable, snowman building snow a year but after that I’m ready for warmer weather…well, we’ve had snow and I’m ready for spring, kiss the cabin fever goodbye and send my kids outside into the wide open.

To change up the indoor play routine I dug out and dusted off my old 2 man tent from my collage days, set it up and the kiddos and I had an indoor camping experience. We piled pillows, blankets and sleeping bags into the tent, we read books and for lunch I served a camping style lunch of hotdogs, trail mix, fruit and macaroni and cheese.

Since warmer weather doesn’t appear to be in the forecast, another winter wonderland front is scheduled to arrive tonight, the boys and I are off for a little change of scenery at the Hands on House.

Teddy Bear Den

Every bear needs a den to hibernate, including teddy bears…right?!?! After reading Leaves by David Ezra Stein I realized that Bear didn’t have a place to sleep and Benjamin had to fix this little problem; to solve this issue we created a den for Bear.

Materials:
Cardboard box
Packing Tape
Scissors
Glue
Leaves

Instructions:
Tape box closed, cut a hole on the side of the box, large enough to place your child’s bear inside. Have your child glue leaves onto box, be sure to cover box. You might want to line the inside of the den with some dry leaves or fiberfill to keep teddy nice and cozy.

You can make a sign for the face that says “Good Night, (name)! See you in the spring! Don’t worry about not seeing your teddy bear for several months. Bears often wake up during the winter months and come out and wander around a little before going back to sleep.

Winter Sun Catcher

Winter Sun Catcher
Family Fun

Materials
Ice cube tray
Food coloring
Round cake pan
Ribbon
Plastic cup

Instructions
First, create colorful ice cubes by adding one to three drops of food coloring to the water in each section of the tray. Use only a few matching colors, as they will run together in the pan later. Freeze the cubes completely.

Fill a round cake pan about two-thirds full of water. To make the hole for the ribbon, set a plastic cup full of water in the pan. Place the pan in the freezer for an hour or so. Put the colored ice cubes in the pan, then let all the liquid freeze solid. Remove the plastic cup, flip the sun catcher out of the pan, then hang it outside with ribbon.