A couple of weeks ago, we had a big snowstorm that left us inside for the whole day and honestly for most of the week. The drifts were at least up to my husband's knees and I was a procrastinating mama who never got around to getting my kiddos snow boots or snow pants so there was NO chance we were going outside. With that being decided, I chose to bring the snow INDOORS. YES INDOORS!!!!!! EEK! It's actually pretty fun. You should try it!
Honestly, this is just so simple and you can put your own twist on it. Here's what I used:
- Snow
- Big bowls - can use pots, pans, plastic storage tubs
- Spoons, bowl, cups
- Towels - keep handy for wiping up snow globs on the floor and for wiping little cold fingers
Basically when my kiddos were playing with this cold stuff, they were taking away a lot of opportunities to learn some awesome stuff:
- Language - cold, wet, big, little, scooping, hard, soft, colors, spoons, dumping, melting, clumping
- Cause & effect - the snow is white and flaky, but melts after sometime; if i put the snow in here (bowl) & dump it out it keeps it shape; I can use this spoon to fill my bowl; if I clump the snow together, it becomes hard
- Size comparison & volume - scooping the snow, putting it into bowls
- Size seriation - when we attempted to make tiny snowmen, there were three different sizes of snowballs
- Sensory experience
This activity doesn't need a lot of explanation or instructions. Primarily, you give them snow and let them explore to their hearts desire. My son LOVED it, but my daughter didn't enjoy having wet/cold hands but she still continuously played in it. She did, though, ask me every two minutes to wipe her hand. :-)
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| Look at that face! This is the reason towels come in handy!! |
To give some other components to the snow play, you can add:
- Colored water/colored markers
- Cookie cutters
- Warm water to watch the snow melt
- Different sizes of spoons and bowls
Let me know what your favorite thing to do in the snow is?
