Growing up in the Arizona desert is sunny and wonderful, but not when you try to explain the concept of seasons and  winter to children!  Traveling north to see, touch and play in the icy snow is always a joyous and exciting event for our family, but we know plenty of children who have not been exposed to snow, winter and winter sports.

So, how can we incorporate this foreign concept of falling snowflakes, winter boots and gliding down the mountain slopes?  The first part of the winter series is dedicated to winter sports and will continue with further crafts and fun soon.

First of all, and most obvious is to visit your local ice skating arena.  They have special classes for large groups, skating lessons and field trips.  For the sports enthusiast you can visit during hockey practice or games.  We wanted to take our son to the professional hockey games, but know it is way too loud for his liking (and mine!)

Find the snow!  This year our zoo, church, city park and train park all had special events where they brought in snow piles for the children to devour.  What a fun and free (except the zoo) way to play in the snow.

Visit the library.  Let’s never forget the powerful magic of words.  Check out books about the winter olympics, winter sports and  famous athletes.  Which sport would you like to try?

We love boxes.  Boxes transform into anything your child imagines, so why not let them decide what to make that can be used in winter.  I am guessing that a bobsled box would be perfect entertainment for an afternoon.

I should have invented carpet skates.  The most genious and simple invention if you have carpet in your home.  Before we found carpet skates for about ten dollars (I think at Toys R Us)  I would tape wax sandwich bags around the kid’s feet and they would pretend to skate around.  They had a blast.  I am sure this may sound crazy to those of you in parts of the world that have real ice outside your front door.

Technology allows us to explore many exciting new things. For example, record the winter games on television and watch as a family as you enjoy a cup of hot cocoa or even Icees.  I am coming around to video games and I know the concern most parents have about these mindless types of activities.  With that said, I love the Wii snowboarding game and have been caught shredding and grinding the slope!

Use your imagination.  Since we cannot snowboard down the real slopes, we made our couch into a mini hill to use with our cardboard boards.  I had pipe cleaners in the crafts area, so we taped them on for the straps.

This little piggy said, “Wheeeee!”

This bubble solution, which we call bubble juice at our house,  can be used with a bubble wand to make bubbles and create lots of entertainment for the children.   Please note that this solution contains ingredients that would be harmful to swallow.  So, I would use with the older children.

Ingredients:

7-10 Parts   water
1 Part dish detergent
Glycerin

Directions:

Combine 1-2 Tablespoons glycerin with ingredients.  Use a bubble wand to dip in solution and blow gently to make bubbles!

Glycerin can be found at a drugstore.

This recipe is a good one for the little ones, just in case they feel like tasting it!

Ingredients:

2 cups     flour

2 cups     water

2 TBLS    oil

1 cup        salt

2 tsp         cream of tartar

Food coloring and/or glitter, the color you desire to make.

Stir ingredients and place over medium heat in a pan. I like to use my large fry pan, it seems to cook more evenly.  Cook until the dough pulls away from the side of the pan and is not sticky.  Cool the dough and then knead thoroughly.  Store in plastic bag or airtight container.  The dough will keep for about three months unrefrigerated.

I like to double the recipe if we are planning for playdates or classrooms.

The play dough can be used for free play, making letters, shapes and number or small gifts for friends.

Retelling Through Drawing

When children retell a story they increase their reading and listening comprehension.  This activity is fun for all ages, especially non-readers.  This is also a good lesson for teaching a new language, small groups and young learners.

1. Read a story out loud. (Readers can read a story on own.)

2. Have child draw one or several pictures that will be used to retell the story.
Depending on age, children may number the sequence of the pictures to help them recall the story.

3. Have child share the pictures and retell the story.

Extension:

As the child retells the story write their words onto paper.
Make the words and the pictures into a book by cutting out pictures and words and gluing onto book (sheets of paper that have been folded and stapled together, remember to put tape over the staples to protect little fingers).

Older Children:

Pretend you are writing a letter to someone who has not read the story.  Tell them the story and what you liked or did not like about the story.