Fun with Snowflakes
By: Julie Armstrong
There is just something magical about a snowflake. From the delicate design of each individual flake to the beauty of hundreds floating down on a cold winter day, snowflakes captivate us. Children especially love them, and for good reason!
Here are some magical ideas for planning a family friendly good old-fashioned snow day!
Before beginning, read Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and illustrated by Mary Azarian. This fantastic, non-fiction picture book tells the story of Wilson Bentley, a boy from Vermont who grew into the man that would microphotograph snowflakes for over fifty years. He was the first to reveal the hexagonal shape of a snowflake and that no two snowflakes are alike.- After you have read the book then you can move on to the fun stuff. Obviously, if you have snow on the ground where you are, then by all means, go play outside! Build a snowman, construct a snow fort, or have a friendly snowball fight. Unfortunately, not everyone has snow during the winter or likes to get out in the cold…Brrr!
- However, you can do lots of fun activities indoors. You could make an indoor “Melting Snowman” with just a few supplies from around the house. Warning-this does get messy-but it is so much fun that I would highly recommend trying it. Who doesn’t love to get their hands in some ooey-gooey slime?! Here is a description of this activity from Little Bins for Little Hands.
You could also make “Insta-snow” with a little forethought and a pre-order of this fake snow polymer from Steve Spangler Science. This activity combines science with a whole lot of fun. Your kids can go from the no-snow blues to snow heaven in a matter of seconds. The best thing about this, other than the fun factor, is that you can use this polymer over and over again. Just set it out to dry then store it for another snow day.- Finally, for the crafty members of your family, do not forget about the good old fashion paper snowflakes. This easy but oh-so-satisfying activity helps the kids visualize the hexagonal shape of every snowflake. Give the kids some paper and scissors and before you know it, your entire house will be covered in snowflakes. You can bet that no two snowflakes will be alike. Here is a link to help you get started.