Fun in the Snow

      What can I say?  I love playing in the snow, though I didn't get outside long enough to play today.  I'll take a walk later, maybe down the steep hill to get my mail.  I miss having children around to play with.  It's just not as much fun making snow sculptures by myself.  However, I try to remind myself how important it is to go outside when it's cold out.  Children, in particular, need lots of time outdoors.  Most of them don't get the same amount of outdoor play as I did when I was a kid.  Most of them don't get as much play time at all.  Their lives are so scheduled, and some of them are micro-managed.  I sometimes feel a little guilty when I offer my classes because I know they add to that scheduled time.  However, I hope that most parents are aware of not over-scheduling, and some scheduling and a reasonable amount of extra-curricular activities are good for their development.

   This post is going to be a short one with a couple of cold weather ideas.  Building snow creatures is always fun.  You can use your creativity to build not just snowmen, but try building cats, teddy bears, even dragons.  Make igloos and snow forts.  My youngest son still remembers the snow fort built for him with a slide on the outside.  I remember a time when the snow was covered with so much ice, we could cut it into blocks.  We built all kinds of buildings and sculptures using those blocks and slices of ice encrusted snow.  It was like building with building blocks.  We could leave spaces for windows all around. 

      Food coloring is always nice to add a touch of color to your creations.  Speaking of food coloring, why not fill a couple of balloons with colored water and freeze them to leave outdoors as decorations?  Have you ever blown soap bubbles outside in below freezing weather?  These are all really fun and offer the opportunity for art and science.  No matter who we are, it's important to remember to play.  Otherwise we turn old, and I have a feeling we may be getting a lot of opportunity to play in the snow this winter.


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