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by Anne FeenstraLet it snow! Bundle up and head outside to play with the children in your life.
Ice cube scavenger hunt
Using food coloring, freeze ice cubes of one color or of several different colors. Hide cubes in the snow in a designated area and let the children try to find them.
Footprint tag
Play tag, stepping only in others' footprints.
Light a fire in the snow
Using dry firewood and perhaps some barbeque starter, start a fire in an open area. If done in deep snow, children will be fascinated to see how the fire gradually sinks deeper and deeper.
Lighted snow angel
Materials needed:
- heavy-duty flashlight with 12-volt batteries, preferably waterproof
- 10 thin wooden stakes/sticks about two feet long
- aluminum or steel window screen about two feet square
- spray bottle filled with water
Dig a hole one foot wide and one foot deep in the snow. Place lighted flashlight, face up, in hole. Lay stakes across hole and place screen on top of this. Secure screen by packing snow around edges. Roll snowballs five inches in diameter and tightly pack in ring around edge of hole. Spray with water to freeze and solidify. Repeat process using less snowballs in each round until the tower is cone-shaped. Roll larger snowball for the head. Very spectacular when dark outside.
Catching snowflakes
Place a black sheet of paper into a freezer until cold. Take outdoors and use a magnifying glass to view snowflakes that land on the paper.
Saving snowflakes
Materials:
- clean microscope slide or small piece of thin Plexiglas
- clean, empty plastic container
- spray can of clear lacquer
- magnifying glass or microscope
Allow slide, container and lacquer to cool outside so snowflakes won’t melt when landing on the slide. Spray thin coat of lacquer on slide and tilt so any extra spray runs off. Allow lacquer to set for a few minutes. Catch several snowflakes on slide and then set back into container and cover with lid. Leave slide outside to harden for three to four hours. View with magnifying glass or microscope.
Snow insulation
Make some Jell-O following the directions on the box. Divide evenly into two plastic containers with lids. Place one on top of the snow and bury the other under the snow. Which one freezes first? Try activity again, wrapping containers with insulating materials like a scarf. Does it take longer for the Jell-O to freeze now?
Snowball thermometer
On a mild day, make snowballs of the same size and place them on different surfaces outside, e.g. rock, patch of grass, sidewalk, parked car. Check to see which one melts first.
Snow melting rate
On a mild day, place sheets of different colored paper (including a sheet of black and one of white) on the snow in full sunlight for two-three hours. Use stones to hold them down. Then observe which one sank the deepest into the snow.
Winter wildlife detectives
After a fresh snowfall, look for animal tracks and try to figure out which animal made the tracks.
Recipes:
Snow Ice Cream
1 cup milk
1 egg, well beaten
3⁄4 cup sugar
1⁄4 tsp. salt
clean snow
Beat egg; add milk, sugar and salt. Mix together well. Add enough snow to make it thick.
Maple Taffy on Snow
Boil pure maple syrup to 122 C or 252 F. Drizzle on well-packed snow. Make sure it is cool before licking. (It is essential that pure maple syrup be used and not any other maple-flavored syrup).
~ Anne Feenstra has been married for 20-plus years and has home-schooled all four of her children. She has led several Bible study programs in her church and enjoys Creative Memories scrapbooking, cooking, entertaining and using their home for hospitality. Her articles on creative grandparenting appear on the web site, RetirementWithAPurpose.com.
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