Family Snow Days

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I was looking at the weather report and chatting with my family back home in Chicago and man, I am sooo sorry for all of you who are going to be cold and stuck inside.  I remember all too well just when you though it was safe to hang up your jacket… BAM!  A late winter/early spring snowstorm has you bundling up again.

I have a few things I hate to do in the snow (shoveling, driving, de-icing windshields), but I have many more that I love to do in the snow. Or inside when it’s snowing.

Have a Snowman Competition: bundle up and while it’s fresh get outside and see who can build the smallest snowman, the biggest snowman, the silliest snowman, the most unique snowman.  What happens if you stand him upside down?

Start a Snowball War: not just a fight – go for the gusto – make teams, build forts out of snow embankments.  This is a great time to introduce the grandkids to the old fashioned game capture the flag.  Loser has to make the hot chocolate (so grandmas and papas, this means you lose).

Make Snow Angels: get down in the snow and wave your arms up and down and fan your legs in and out.  Make an angel family.  Get out the camera and capture this – one day your granddaughter will not even want to put her hood up for fear of wrecking her hair style, so while they are young enough, roll around with them.

Build an Ice Palace in your Backyard: gather up the snow and create your own bunker to hunker down in.  You can get really crazy and decorate it with twigs and leaves. Princes love defending ice palaces from raging dragons (think red jacket and roar your best roar, Dragon King) and princesses love  being rescued by knights in shining armor.  Your backyard can be fodder for all these creative ideas.

Catch Snowflakes: ever heard that no two snowflakes are alike?  Share that little bit of knowledge and go catch some to see if it is actually true.

Go on a “Buried Treasure” Hunt: What is in your backyard that the snow is hiding? Do yo have rocks, leaves, little creepy crawlers?  You can organize the hunt with a list of things to find or you can just get out a sand bucket and shovel and start digging away to see what pops up under all that white stuff.

Make Up Stories: One of my favorite pastimes that is great for encouraging imagination is to start a story and let the grandkids take it from there.  On a snow day you can sip hot chocolate or warm milk, sit in a circle and start off with, there once was a princess stranded in a castle, while the snow fell all around her.  She sat, looking out the window and to her surprise she saw… let her take it from there, who knows what will come up? No Princesses?  Make it a wild adventurer, and archeologist, a mad scientist.  Whatever main character fits your grandchild will do.

I hope you enjoy your snow day today.  Warmer weather is around the corner, and next winter you may not get this special chance to play.