Winter forces toddlers to spend their time indoors with out any let up in their long hours or boredom and inactivity. Hence, it is no wonder that life seems to be gloomy and uninteresting during winter. But, there are ways to make the winter fun and lively for the toddlers and for everyone in the family. Let’s discuss some safe and amusing outdoor activities that will brighten up the gloomy days of winter.
Make use of the vast snow outside to do some building activities. What about building a snow fort and ice castles? To build a snow fort all you need is an open space with plenty of snow. First you need to make a circular base for the wall by scooping up the snow and pushing it together. Leave an opening on one side for entry and exit. Then, make large snow balls by pressing big clumps of snow with your arms. Press these balls on the base of the wall one by one and fill the gaps with fistful of snow. The building can go on until you reach your desired height.
An ice castle could be made by making ice blocks. The blocks could be made by filling containers with water and keeping them outside to freeze. You can add some color if you want for some added effect. Once frozen, the blocks could be easily removed from the containers. Then stack these blocks one on top other. These will stick together if you spray some water on each block before placing another block on top of it. Use convenient materials such as a funnel, top of plastic soda bottles and plastic gelatin molds to make spirals, towers and windows respectively.
Snow sculptures are fun to make. Make a large and hard cube or cylinder of snow by pressing snow into a container. Then flip the snow out of the container and make carvings with a snow shovel. Make finer points with a sand shovel and a kitchen knife. You can give a smooth and shining appearance to the sculptor by spraying a little water on the surface. This method will melt a thin layer of snow, giving fine finishing to the sculptor on the outside.
There are other fun activities such as painting the snow or creating snow angels. Pick up one or two empty spray bottles and fill these with water. Then add a few drops of washable tempera powder paint to have the desired degree of color. Cover your kid’s palms in any rubber gloves and let him/her have fun by painting the snow according to his/her fancy.
To make snow angels, lie flat on the snow on your back and swing your arms up and down on the snow. Then swing your legs open and close for several times. Get up carefully, and there you will see your angel on the snow. You can surprise your kid by giving him a too box for making a Snowman. It should contain all items for making Snowman such as a carrot for nose, scarf, buttons, and so on.
Posted on May 19th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: Play, Toddler
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