How To Get Your Kids PLAYING IN THE WINTER!

How To Get Your Kids PLAYING IN THE WINTER!

Have you ever taken your kids outside, built a snowman or had a quick snowball fight only to have them wander around aimlessly and bored, and quickly turn into, “Can we go back insiiiide?”

Back inside, planted back in front of Nick Jr., you may find yourself thinking as I often did, “What’s the point of warming up with hot cocoa? That was hardly worth the time it took to get their snow pants on…”

I felt my children were skipping out on good ol’ romps in the backyard, and missing a lot of fun. They were unable to see all that winter has to offer, and perhaps I was, too.

Adjusting our perspective a bit, here are a few things we’ve tried that have produced cold fingers, rosy cheeks, and honest appreciation of hot cocoa after really PLAYING OUTSIDE IN THE WINTER!

Snow Art:

Major fun! I purchased clear condiment bottles at the dollar store, and I fill them with food coloring and water. I let my kids create color all around the white “canvas”! Snow angels get decorated, faces are created, names are drawn, hopscotch and Tic Tac Toe are all new and fun…Snow art equals good times! I’ve been known to refill a time or two…

Bring the Inside Out:

My daughter loves dollies (original, no doubt. Perhaps you know a little girl who likes dolls…) Outside fun certainly reached new heights – and lengths — when we began using nature’s supplies as toys similar to indoor toys. A pinecone became a dolly, a bed was easy to create with snow, twigs turned into bottles. Then, the “baby” needed brothers and sisters (a chance to explore for more pinecones), and a home (build on! See below…). Then the baby pinecones became “fairies”, and then fairy huts needed to be built…

*You can also, if you’re willing, let your child bring an actual doll outside – “Barbie” likes the snow, and my son loves Spiderman. With Spiderman by his side, our slide becomes a quick get-away from the “bad guys” and Spiderman climbs trees and needs forts and…

Build On:

Endless imagination games can take place in the snow, and building these areas or “toys” out of snow keeps my kids entertained for a long time. Take advantage of your children being able to build actual structures – forts, houses, beds, babies, ramps for sleds — without glue, nails or anything Nature didn’t supply!

Think of Snow like Sand:

Instead of a sandbox, we have a “snowbox”, and many of the same toys can be used, including buckets and shovels. Build “sandcastles” of snow, complete with moats and decorations (albeit leaves and twigs instead of rocks and shells). Our sandbox is used as much in the winter as summer, and the kids have asked me, “Can we go play in the snowbox?” It’s funny – the whole backyard is a “snowbox”, but…it works! Also, the above-mentioned pinecone family/fairies/people often play in our “snowbox”, too.

Create A Scavenger Hunt:

Ask your kids what they think they will find outside, and make a list (twigs, pinecones, snow, perhaps frozen berries, birdseed), adding a few tough ones for fun. Grab a basket, and fill ‘er up! The kids have fun looking for the list items, and it always takes quite some time finding a “frozen grape” on our vines or looking for an “intact sunflower seed, not just a shell” in the birdseed, or attempting to find a “green leaf” buried in the snow. Scavenger hunts are fun, and so are obstacle courses…I time them on my phone to see if they can “Go up the ladder, down the slide and jump through the tire swing” faster than their last time!

Bring Snacks:

This helped a lot! Honestly, I wouldn’t take my kids to the beach without water and food, or head out into the backyard in the summer without water, at least. Yet we went outside in the winter many times, only for me to hear, “I’m thirsty/hungry!” I now fill up a water bottle for winter play, too, and bring granola bars in my pocket.

Have a Winter Picnic:

Let snow be the blanket, and use your hands and feet to “clear” an area for sitting. Enjoy anything warm and easy to eat with gloves on (we like pigs-in-a-blanket and grilled cheeses, wrapped in foil). Also, a regular apple or orange is a new taste experience amidst the cold – Try it! Have your kids lie back in the snow, and watch the clouds whisk about on crisp winter days. Listen for birds. Watch squirrels. Enjoy a picnic, just like summer, only in the Winter.

Bonus: Remind your children that bugs do not play in the winter. My children love this! No hidden bugs in the play cottage, or a spider in the corner. Game on!

Winter can be a lot of fun. Obviously, dress warmly, and then…Go Play Outside! And stay outside long enough to truly enjoy that cup of hot cocoa!