Snow Fun
As adults you either love it or hate it but as a child that magical white stuff that is settling all around us at the moment is a fascinating sight that provides numerous learning opportunities. As you may have read in our previous blog we are big on outdoor play and learning (See more here) at Little Garden Day Nurseries and snow provides a whole new world of exciting activities and experiences. From our Little Buds to our Little Climbers we have been encouraging all ages to explore and discover and some amazing fun and learning has taken place.
With the snow set to stick around for a while longer we have decided to share with you some of the activities and opportunities we will be sharing with our children over the coming days. From building snowmen to investigating ice, the possibilities are endless!
Snow Activities
Snow Paint
Things don’t get much easier than this and it allows for some great creative play that washes away when the snow does! To create snow paint all you will need is some spray bottles, water and food colouring. Mix the food colouring and water together and then pour it in to the spray bottles. Next round up your little artists, wrap them up warm and send them out in to the garden with their bottles. This provides hours of endless fun and they will probably cover every inch of snow in your garden before getting bored!!
Snow Volcano
Making a snow volcano is really easy, and also so much fun for your older children! We often do this experiment inside with homemade volcano’s but doing it in the snow makes it that little bit more exciting! Make sure you have lots of baking soda and vinegar on hand, because your kids will want to make their volcano erupt again & again!
- A cup or plastic bottle
- Baking soda
- Vinegar
- Food colouring
- To form the volcano take the plastic cup or bottle and place it on the ground in the snow. Then pile the snow up and around the cup to form the volcano.
- Once the volcano is formed let your child add baking soda and food colouring to the cup which is now acting as the volcanoes core.
- Now, it is time to make it erupt! Let your child pour in vinegar and then step back and which it bubble!
Snow People
What better way to enjoy the snow then to build a good old fashion snow man or snow woman! This activity can be as creative as you like… add clothes, jewellery, hats.
You can use sticks for arms, stones for eyes and even a good old carrot for a nose! The possibilities really are endless, why not even build a whole snow family!
Sledging
Children enjoy this old time classic and it is a good way to get around when those buggy wheels are getting stuck in the snow. We have a one at our Kentish Town nursery and the children have been thoroughly enjoying being pulled around. You can pick sledges for around £15 from Halfords here.
Ice Activities
Ice Blocks and Ice Cubes
Freezing different items in to ice is an all time classic in nurseries. You can add anything from flowers and herbs to small toys.
Provide your child with the tools to help make the ice melt and let them experience one of sciences little miracles. Cups of warm water and pipettes are great fun and this activity can be done both indoors in a washing up bowl or outdoors in the snow.
If you are feeling creative you can even use frozen blocks of ice to create a small winter wonderland such as the picture below!
Indoor Activities
When those little hands get a little too cold and the noses are a little too red the fun doesn’t have to stop. There are plenty of snow and ice themed activities that you can do inside to keep the wintry theme going. We quite often use Pinterest as a source of inspiration in our nurseries as it is filled with so many wonderful ideas. From making your own sparky icicles to making your own snow globes there is enough ideas to keep you entertained for hours!
