Winter – Kids Discover Nature

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!

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

Your kids didn’t go outside today? What’s your excuse?

by MCC

Another winter day has passed. Did your kids spend it hanging around in the house after school watching television or sitting in front of the computer? I have heard the excuses from my kids — “it’s cold, it’s yucky out, I don’t feel like it” and one of my all time favorites….”it’s boring!” Why is it so hard to get kids outside these days? Sometimes I get tired of pushing them out the door and feel like giving in and letting them hang around inside. And it’s true, winter weather makes it hard to go outside to play. It’s so much easier to be outside when the sun warms your face and you don’t have to bundle up.

Really, when it comes down to it though, why is getting kids outside such a challenge? Sometimes I find it strange that I even write a blog about the topic. Shouldn’t it just come naturally? When I was growing up, it was just what my friends and I did. When we arrived home from school, we went outside. Our mothers and fathers didn’t have concerns about us being overweight due to lack of exercise, not getting enough vitamin D, having our intelligence suffer from too much television and time on computers. When did it become so difficult that there is a need for numerous web sites devoted to the topic of enjoying nature and the outdoors?

I know the adult excuses — we’re too busy, there’s too much homework, not enough time in the day, it’s dark too early, etc., etc. etc. Are parents so busy that we can’t spare 20-30 minutes to take our kids outside or make them out go out (if they are old enough) while we get things done around the house even though we know it is so beneficial to them?

Let’s all make it a goal for 2019 to spend more time in nature. It can be done relatively easy if done with baby steps. Here are some good examples:

1. Encourage children walk to school or the bus stop three days per week. Or, reverse it and make it for the walk home. There is an international effort to promote this cause: iwalktoschool.org.
2. Ask your kids to help you take out the garbage or recyclables out to the currb and stop along the way to look at the night sky or make footprints in the snow.
3. Purchase a birdfeeder and start feeding the birds. Have them help you fill it with seed periodically. The National Audubon Society can help you learn how.
4. Go to a book store and look for interesting books to learn about nature. Your children might enjoy a wildlife or bird identification book, activity books or gardening books. Then use the books to do an activity a couple of times per week.
5. Go outside and locate a place to plant a flower or vegetable garden once Spring arrives. Over the next month or two you and your children can decide what you want grow and how you will plant your garden.

Once you accomplish your goal, you can increase your outdoor time little by little. Allow your kids to use their imagination to help figure out what they can do outside. Eventually, going outside will become easier, part of your daily ritual and everyone will have fun!

I invite you to post ideas on simple things you do to encourage your children to spend time outside. You ideas will help all of us reach our goal. Thank you!

Nature Activities for Kids

Bring the Outside In

by Jodi Valenta

There are those days when going outside to play just isn’t in the cards. That has been the case for my children these past few days. My daughter is recovering from a stomach bug and it is just too darn cold for my son to be outside. When the temps are in the single digits and the wind chill is fierce, his little fingers become icicles in a matter of minutes. Needless to say, we are are going a little stir crazy and could use a breath of fresh air.

In my quest to connect my children with nature, I was thinking about how I can bring the outside inside on days like this. So, I went to the cupboard and rooted around for all the collections of various natural materials we stored in boxes after the summer and fall. At the time, I was tired of picking them up of the floor and finding them hidden all over the house. Now, I was relieved to see our stone and shell collections as well as the acorns, leaves and sticks we stored in boxes. I knew an art project using these items would keep them busy for a while.

I covered the kitchen table with newsprint and combined the natural materials along with the art supplies we have on hand such as contruction paper, paint, markers, glitter, pom-poms, cotton balls, popsicle sticks, paste and old buttons. Without providing much direction, I told my kids to create something using the materials we collected. I winced, waiting for the complaints about how “boring” my idea was and all the excuses about why they should watch a movie instead. When I opened my eyes, they were both busily working on their masterpieces. “Wow, I thought, “this nature thing works inside too.”

Thirty minutes later…no I am not kidding — an entire 30 minutes…. they were still enjoying the activity and created beautiful works of art that are now adorning our refrigerator.

No doubt, the winter weather makes it challenging to keep kids connected to nature. It is much easier to connect them to the TV or computer. As I look ahead at the cold months that lay before us, I think about how I am going to do it. You are probably thinking the same thing. Well, I am here to offer help. My plan is to try to get them outside for at least 20-minutes on the more mild days, which I consider 25 dregrees and up (and includes buddling up in layers and snowsuits). On the bitter cold days, when it is too cold to go out, we will have to connect with nature in different ways. No doubt it’s going to take some creativity to do it. My formula will be to combine trips to the local nature center (we have a terrific one close by that has many great indoor activities) with reading books, going for drives and doing many, many art projects!

I invite you to join me as I attempt to overcome the overuse of electonic media to entertain my children during the winter months. I have many great ideas for indoor and outdoor activities. I would also like to hear your ideas, so please share!

<script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-8687750861178484"
     crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
<!-- KDN Sidebar Top -->
<ins class="adsbygoogle"
     style="display:block"
     data-ad-client="ca-pub-8687750861178484"
     data-ad-slot="8429592158"
     data-ad-format="auto"
     data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>
<script>
     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
</script>

<script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-8687750861178484"
     crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
<!-- KDN side bar 3 -->
<ins class="adsbygoogle"
     style="display:inline-block;width:300px;height:250px"
     data-ad-client="ca-pub-8687750861178484"
     data-ad-slot="4244681056"></ins>
<script>
     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
</script>

<script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-8687750861178484"
     crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
<!-- KDN sidebar -->
<ins class="adsbygoogle"
     style="display:inline-block;width:160px;height:600px"
     data-ad-client="ca-pub-8687750861178484"
     data-ad-slot="6157033457"></ins>
<script>
     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
</script>

<script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-8687750861178484"
     crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
<!-- KDN Side bar 1 -->
<ins class="adsbygoogle"
     style="display:block"
     data-ad-client="ca-pub-8687750861178484"
     data-ad-slot="1291214650"
     data-ad-format="auto"
     data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>
<script>
     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
</script>

Seven Cool Icicle Activities

13 Cool Things to Do with Snow

When Life Gives You Snow, Make Snow Forts

Your kids didn’t go outside today? What’s your excuse?

Bring the Outside In

Take the 30-Day Outdoor Challenge