Outdoor Activities for Kids – Page 4

Seven Cool Icicle Activities

by Jodi Valenta

After a recent deep freeze in New England, with temperatures at -11 degrees, a mid-winter thaw is always welcome. It offers the perfect opportunity to get outside with the kids and enjoy a respite from the stale indoor air. Since the weather also creates the perfect conditions for the development of icicles and the eaves of the house, they make for a great opportunity to have some fun.

Below are fun activities you can do with icicles:

Exercise. Walk around the house and look closely at all the icicles and explain how they form.
Observe. Choose one icicle that can be reached. Measure it once per week for a week or two and observe the difference in length.
Create. Break off an icicle and use it to draw pictures in the snow.
Build. Break off many icicles and use them to build something or make a door for a fort.
Read. Take a trip to the library and search for books about icicles.
Chat. Talk about why water dripping from icicles is a hint that Spring is on it’s way (thank goodness!).
Contest. See who can find the longest, oddest and prettiest.

* Caution: It’s a good idea to oversee anything kids do with icicles because they can be dangerous, especially when them observing from below.

Fifteen minutes is all it takes for everyone to enjoy a bit of fresh air, feel the sun on your faces and learn about icicles.

Thanks for reading and think Spring!

Birds

13 Tips for the Great Backyard Bird Count

by Editorial Staff

The Great Backyard Bird Count starts today and runs through February 17, 2020. It’s a great activity for kids, especially for those who live in the northern climes, when the temps are low and the winds do blow. It’s easy, fun and only takes 15 minutes of your time each day.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society together launched the Great Backyard Bird Count back in 1998. It was the first opportunity for citizens to collect data on wild birds and post it online. The uber cool thing is that results are displayed in near real-time.

More than 100,000 people from across the globe have joined the count each February. It’s important to bird conservation because it creates an annual snapshot of the distribution and abundance of birds. Having this data helps scientists understand the status of bird populations and develop conservation plans based on their needs and distribution.

Your kids can play a role in real scientific research. Here’s how to participate:

Go to the Great Backyard Bird Count page and register.
Count birds for at least 15 minutes on one or all of the days. You can count in the same location or anywhere else you happen to be.
Keep your lists tallied by species (i.e. – Cardinal, Black-Capped Chickadee, Blue Jay, etc.)
Enter your results on the GBBC website by clicking “Submit Observations” on the home page. Or download the free GBBC BirdLog app to enter data on a mobile device.
Download any of the helpful documents such as instructions, online bird guides, and helpful videos.
Go to the online world map via the GBBC landing page and watch near real-time submissions.
Read the results from previous year that are downloadable from the landing page.
Print out the participation certificate available on the website and have your kids fill it out.
Encourage them to enter the photo contest. They can also view photos of past winners.
Participate in local events if in your area. The list is available on the site.
Choose one species and spend time learning more about it.
Draw pictures or write stories and poems about the bird.
Go outside and refill the bird feeders when you finish counting. Birds depend on a specific food source all winter. Don’t let them down.

Join thousands of people world-wide and encourage your kids to “Count for the Birds!”

Outdoor Activities for Kids

13 Cool Things to Do with Snow

by Jodi Valenta

Mid-winter presents challenges when you are a parent with the goal of spending time with your kids outside everyday. Luckily, with all the snow also comes a host of new opportunities for fun. It is easy to find creative ways to play even with piles of snow in your yard — they can become an awesome new snow slide.

Following is a list of some creative ways to have fun in the snow. They are perfect activities for when kids are rammy and need a way to blow of steam and rid them of the the indoor itchies (as I like to call them).

1. Making snow angels is always a big hit!
2. Dig tunnels into the snow and build a snow city.
3. Create a personal snow mountain and play “man/woman on the mountain.”
4. Similarly, use the snow mountain to make a slide or “ski” run.
5. Dig holes in the snow and observe the blue light and look for the snow fairies that created it.
6. Create a snow fort by piling snowballs to form a wall.
7. Get out the buckets and shovels from summer and play with the snow as if it is sand.
8. Build a snowman, of course!
9. It doesn’t just have to be snowmen, how about snow creatures like a dog or deer?
10. Play snow tug-of-war — the losing team will crash into a soft pile of snow!
11. Build an igloo or snow den and decorate it with leaves and branches.
12. Jump from snow covered rocks or even the edge of a terrace or deck into soft piles of snow. (Safety note: check to make sure there isn’t a hard surface or sharp edge under the snow into which children are jumping).
13. Make giant snowballs. Hold a contest for characteristics such as the largest, smallest, roundest and bumpiest.

What are your family’s favorites things to do with snow?

Outdoor Activities for Kids

When Life Gives You Snow, Make Snow Forts

by Editorial Staff

Don’t let the kids use the excuse that there is too much snow outside to go out and play. It is sometimes tough to navigate the yard when the snow is up to their waists, but excuses are not acceptable! It’s important that kids get outside, especially when they are cooped up inside due to freezing temperatures. Kids need vitamin D from the sun, fresh air and exercise even during the winter months when they naturally become sedentary.

If your kids are complaining about going outside, don’t let them get away with it. Boot them out the door by suggesting they make snow forts. The plowed or shoveled snow in the driveway offers the perfect place to build unique creations, whether they simply dig holes or make walls. After they get started, they’ll most likely spend a lot of time doing it. All that digging and building is terrific exercise and a great way to put their mind to work. The only supplies needed are shovels and snow! The bin you use for recyclables is great for making bricks if they want to get fancy.

Here are a few fantastic examples of snow forts:

Ultimate snow fort by Dale DeVries

Snow Fort by Emily Carlin

If they really get into it, they can even add lights. What a fun way to sit outside and look at stars on a clear winter’s night.

snow fort by Andrew Luman

Outdoor Activities for Kids

Include the Outdoors in Thanksgiving Traditions

by Jodi Valenta

So the BIG day is just around the corner! In three days we will be gathering around the table to enjoy a delicious turkey dinner with family and friends. My little ones are getting excited about the upcoming holiday. We are hosting Thanksgiving dinner and our family members will be starting to arrive on Wednesday. The preparations for the feast started on Saturday with silver polishing, meal planning, grocery list making and centerpiece creating. Now the hustle and bustle begins with grocery shopping, cooking, ironing, setting, baking and everything else I am forgetting to add to the list.

It always takes so much effort to prepare a feast that lasts for an hour (15 minutes for the kids). But it’s about more than just the eating — it’s about family, creating memories, relaxing and enjoying a delicious meal that was lovingly and thoughtfully prepared and being thankful for all that you have and have been given. I have been hosting Thanksgiving for many years and with each year my meal and timing improve (I think), though I am still having trouble with the timing the making of the gravy. Thank goodness my Mom is always there to save it from being a total flop.

If Thanksgiving is a tradition in your family, you can include the outdoors. One of our favorite activities is to go for an stroll after Thanksgiving dinner. It’s usually dark, but but we arm ourselves with flashlights and go anyway. There is something about taking a walk in the brisk air that keeps you from feeling like a big lug after the meal. On clear nights you can look to skies to enjoy the sight of the moon and stars. In the arc of the light from the flash lights, you can see leaves blowing across the road and sometimes a raccoon or fox scurrying into the woods.

Some families play football or go to watch a football game, some go hunting and others go for a hike or run in a turkey trot. How does your family include the outdoors in your Thanksgiving tradition? Instead of passing out on the couch, why not get everyone together do something outside this year? It is a great way to spend time with family, doing something healthy, and connect with nature. Why not create a new family tradition?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Enjoy!

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Seven Cool Icicle Activities

13 Tips for the Great Backyard Bird Count

13 Cool Things to Do with Snow

When Life Gives You Snow, Make Snow Forts

Include the Outdoors in Thanksgiving Traditions

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