So it’s snowing outside – what’s the first thing you do? I must be a bit odd because the first thing I do is get a box of snow and put it in the freezer to play with later. Snow in England is so fickle – it might snow lots of it might all be gone in an hour. If so the girls will be so sad they haven’t played with it at all.
I think snow makes a brilliant sensory play material. It’s soft and malleable and watching it melt is a fascinating science experiment. It’s brilliant for little ones who don’t want to be out in the cold for too long but still want the chance to play. The best thing about snow play is it’s completely free. Wrap up warmly, get a box of snow and you’re ready to go. A few extra spoons and bowls or small world toys add to the fun.
Here are some of the ways we have been playing with snow.
1. Make a Winter Wonderland
This is an easy one which we enjoyed last year too Have a look at our Inside Snow Play post to see. We had a huge box – one of those ones for under bed storage. Then filled it with snow and added lots of small world toys. This was brilliant as simply the act of putting the toys in a different situation meant hours of play. It breathes new life into toys which might otherwise be neglected.
2. Colourful Snow
This is lots of fun – food colouring and snow is very pretty. Ok it’s pretty messy too – but it’s worth it. Not sure about the yellow colour though.
3. Animals in the snow
The girls seemed to particularly love this one. I think having animals playing in the snow must be especially appealing.
4. Ice Cream Parlour
This has to be an all time favourite. Snow is cold and forms into brilliant balls – and is perfect for making ice cream. Sometimes we add a bit of colour with food colouring.
You do need to be careful that the snow is fresh and clean as sometimes it’s a bit too tempting and there might be a few sneaky licks.
5. Inside Snowmen
Building a snowman outside is hard work. I didn’t realise when I was a child. It’s cold and tiring when you have to do most of it yourself when the children are small. Mini snowmen are so much easier. I give the girls a bowl of snow and a few snowman making things – googly eyes, buttons, ribbon for a scarf, sticks for arms.
Then I let them build. The mini snowmen are so cute and you can keep them in the freezer if you want. This was Charlotte’s snowman – she’s only two and a half and didn’t need very much help – just in forming the body and head.
6. Cookie cutter shapes
Last year we made shapes using cookie cutters. It worked quite well and it was like making mini sculptures. We froze the hearts and then hung them outside but I can’t find the picture of it. They looked very pretty outside and it was fun watching them melt.
7. Spelling Practice
Ok – ok! I know! This is supposed to be fun – right?! But practicing spellings is fun isn’t it?! No? Well I’m a teacher – I can’t help myself! Writing spelling words or practicing numbers or handwriting is more fun in the snow and sometimes you have to sneak these things in when they aren’t paying attention.
This is my post for the Winter Wonderland blog hop:
