Snow Day Activities for Kids
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Who has snow outside right now? Not us! Growing up in Massachusetts, snow was par for the course and snow days were like icing on the {freezing cold} cake. Those years formed my opinion that if it was going to be cold outside, there might as well be snow. Now that I’m in Philly, we’ve dodged the snowy bullet and haven’t seen much of the white stuff at all– but, it has been cold and rainy so we’ve been searching everywhere for fun indoor kids’ activities to keep everyone happy.
Despite the lack of fluffy powder, a girl can still dream. I’ve been loving the Instagram photos of all you peeps who’ve been reveling in sledding, building snowmen, and enjoying the snowflakes on your nose and eyelashes. My ‘Snow Day Activity File’ is bursting at the seams, so I guess we’ll live vicariously through those of you favored by the snow gods this year {and yes, I do fully realize I’m totally jinxing myself and we’ll be getting snow through June now that I’ve said that.}
Delicious Snow Day Treats
Forget stocking up on bread and eggs, if snow is in the forecast be sure to grab some Oreos and cream cheese! These “snowballs” are fun to make and are irresistible, too. Find the no-bake Oreo Snowball recipe here.
Hot chocolate in a cookie? YES. Beantown Baker shares her recipe for Hot Chocolate Cookies.
For those with lots of patience, Snowman Pretzel Treats from Better in Bulk will keep little hands busy dipping, tying, and probably taste testing!
One especially for the adults: Fireside Feasts and Snow Day Treats has indulgent comfort food perfect for chilly nights and winter entertaining.
Favorite Books about Snow
Each month I try to add some seasonal books into Noodle’s story basket, and here’s a few that we’ve especially enjoyed:
1. Snow Bunny Tales (Max and Ruby)
Love them or hate them (just where ARE their parents?!) this duo makes my kids smile. Max so embodies a 2-year-old boy, it always make me smile too.
2. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
A classic tale of Peter and his journey on a snowy day. Use it to spark discussion or activities relating to tracks in the snow. And oh my gosh, I found the cutest Snowy Day doll to go with it!
Brett’s complex and beautiful illustrations for a simple tale mean it’s great for reading again and again; follow the written story and also the side plots illustrated in the borders. Plus, the hedghog is super cute and he’s often in the borders of her other (non-hedgehog) books.
4. Snowmen at Night by Carolyn Buehner
Just why do snowman start to look all slumpy? It’s because they party all night long, apparently. There’s hidden pictures on every page making it a fun book for repeated readings.
5. Frosty the Snowman Board Book
It may be a Christmas carol, but really this story is about a snowman. My kids don’t let me sing the words, they make me read them. It’s a challenge, especially when you come to the ‘thumpity thump thump’ part. 😉
A non-fiction book about where animals go in winter is always appreciated. Kids love to soak up facts and if you have snow outside it’s the perfect time for exploring these concepts!
Indoor Activities and Crafts
We’re a huge fan of sensory bins, and this dinosaur sensory bin from Play Create Explore is wonderful. Try making a winter themed one too, with mini shovels (use the sand toy version from your beach pail), white pom poms, and foam snowflakes.
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If it’s too cold to go outside, bring the fun indoors! Play Dr. Mom shows how she does this. I’ll admit we’re not as organized, I’ll usually just scoop into a big bowl and the kids use items from the play kitchen to “cook” and “serve” it.
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Crafty moms could DIY this adorable tablecloth playhouse. Non-crafty moms, you can find one on Etsy. 😉
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Last spring I blogged about our 10 Favorite Indoor Rainy Day Ideas, and those ideas are still perfectly acceptable for snow days as well. Just be sure to stock up on Mr. Bubbles and bandaids.
There’s some great ideas over at LilSugar including playing restaurant, making tissue paper windows, and camping… indoors.
There’s a fantastic kid-friendly tutorial for 3D Paper Snowflakes over on Classy Mommy:
One of my favorite books back when I was a teacher was Snowflake Bentley, so here’s a little bit more about that book with a few snow-themed activities like how to make Borax crystal snowflakes.
Still no snow on the ground at my house, but the temps are chilly so we’ll pretend there’s flurries in the forecast and snuggle by the fire and read snowy books just for the sake of pretending. Those hot cocoa cookies might need to make an appearance, too… in my belly.
What’s the forecast like in your neck of the woods? Any favorite
indoor or snow themed activities to share? How about a book you
love to cuddle up with on chilly nights?