If you live where snow covers the ground in the winter months, you can start to feel a little bit stuck in house…AKA…Cabin Fever. I know for me, not being able to let the kids run and play outside because of freezing conditions is not always rainbows and butterflies. I have resorted to being creative on these days and thought maybe I would share some fun things you, too, can do with your littles when the weather seems to hold you in.
Make snow ice cream
My kids LOVE to do this! Here is my recipe:
This 5-minute recipe for homemade snow ice cream is a sweet way to celebrate a snow day!
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup milk (any kind)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, store-bought or homemade
- 1 pinch salt
- 8 cups clean snow or shaved ice (more or less depending on the density of the snow)
- optional (but strongly suggested) topping: sprinkles!!!
DIRECTIONS:
- In a large bowl, whisk milk, sugar, vanilla and salt together until combined. Go scoop up some fresh (clean!) snow, and immediately stir it into the milk mixture until you reach your desired consistency. (The ice cream should be fluffy, not runny. But it melts quickly, so dive in quickly.)
- Top with sprinkles or other ice cream toppings if desired, and enjoy!
Directed Drawing
YouTube can be your best friend on these snowed-in days. My kids LOVE to do directed drawings. Just pick something they would like to draw, search it on YouTube, and have them watch the video that teaches them how to draw. Then I trace it with a Sharpie marker and they can either paint it or color it in.
Puzzles
We LOVE large floor puzzles and do them all the time when stuck in the house. Regular puzzles are also fun to break out.
Read Books
Cozy up with a huge oversized blanket and read some books together.
Make a Fort
My kids LOVE to make forts. We use the dining room table for this activity. I remove all of the chairs and get out all of our throw blankets. We cover the table, drapping the blankets to the ground. The kids can eat lunch in there, read in there, make-believe in there, etc.
Play-Doh
Break out that playdoh and have a good ole time pretending. If you don’t have play-doh on hand, here is a make-it-yourself recipe that works GREAT! Better yet, have the kids help make the play-doh…Oh so FUN!
Colored Playdough
Materials
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1 tablespoon cream of tartar
- Food coloring
- Saucepan
- 1 cup flour
Directions
- Combine water, oil, salt, cream of tartar, and food coloring in a saucepan and heat until warm.
- Remove from heat and add flour.
- Stir, then knead until smooth. The cream of tartar makes this dough last 6 months or longer, so resist the temptation to omit this ingredient if you don’t have it on hand.
- Store this dough in an airtight container or a Ziploc freezer bag.
Bake Together
Cooking with kids teaches them so much and is great one-on-one time as well. Measuring, laughing, stirring, cooking vocabulary, patience, taking turns, reading recipes, etc. are all skills taught when cooking with your kids.
Blocks/ Legos
These are always good options. If your kids like Legos, this would be their DREAM snowy day! Get the action figures or barbies out and they can create castles using the blocks and Legos.
There are endless activities to combat the winter-time blues. In the comments below, tell me what winter activities you like to do when snowed in with the kids!
0 Comments