Snow Day Fun

I hope we are at the end of all the snow days. I am writing this on snow day number 8 in our town - iced over roads for the second day in a row. This is finals week and snow day number 2 of this week so it has definitely been a complicator for teachers and students. In fact my son who is a sophomore was all ready for his English exam this morning - all studied up and ready to go - and he is seriously not happy about the weather this morning!

I actually love snow days. I just prefer when they are little more spread out and involve things like a foot of snow so we can go outside and enjoy them. Honestly, when the snow days become more of the norm my kiddos (and maybe me a little bit too) become weak about getting up early and a five-day school week just might do them in (assuming we have one sometime soon!)

We have done some fun, creative, and profitable things on snow days and I thought I would share them with you. If you aren't having snow days this can apply to regular holidays where there is no school, summer vacation, spring break, or even some Saturday morning fun. There are tons of ideas on Pinterest and I am sure each of you have some ideas to share too. 

1. Bust a Move and Clean the House
Your kids may not agree, but snow days are great for getting some cleaning projects done. In the busyness of church, sports, school, and life in general sometimes we get behind in the cleaning department. This is a great time to give everyone a task or a list of tasks and hit the cleaning together. AND, it is very important to crank up the tunes! Music is an energy booster for cleaning house and it works for the kids too. Often we clean with a timer. For example: Let's all tackle one room or one area. We set the timer for ten minutes and work with speed. It's actually fun!

The Giant Candyland Game

2. Get Creative
My girls like to look on Pinterest for ideas of things to do and create. This is where my older daughter came up with the idea for making a giant Candyland game. She took construction paper and made the squares (adding instructions to some of the squares for missing a turning or going to another square). She made a dice out of an old box in our recycling pile. It looked awesome and it was a lot of fun for everyone.

   No school - learning to make cheesecake!

3. 3-20's
This is one of my favorite things that we first incorporated one summer to help the kids engage their brains, have purpose, and stay off their screens in the morning. They must complete 3 20-minute segments of an activity of their choice before they can get on screens. Some of our parameters: The activity for each segment can not be the same. General cleaning of their rooms does not count. We encourage them to choose something they want to learn, something to create, or doing something for someone else. The only reason they could use a computer would be to write or to do research.

They have done a wide variety of things in their 3-20's. Here are some:
1. Research an animal and write about it.
2. Write notes or letters to friends and family.
3. Plan an activity for the family. (One of the kids created a dinner and movie night for the family. They printed out tickets, researched food to prepare, etc. We didn't do the activity that day, but they spent several days of 20's working on this event and it turned out really cool.)
4. Reading
5. Coloring. Adult coloring books.
6. Creating or inventing using all the recycling materials in the house.
7. Deep cleaning in their room (wash windows, dust, rearrange)
8. Make a craft (Pinterest again is a great resource)
9. Cook or bake something

B and C playing around on ice.

4. Family Movie
Avoid regular screens throughout the day and then enjoy a family movie together. Avoiding screens actually makes the family movie even more enjoyable. Don't forget the popcorn!

5. Play outside
When there is snow this is awesome. And, this also works in the summer. Sometimes the kids just need to be made to go out the door. Even if it isn't great weather for playing outside, have them get the mail or take photos with an iPod or iPhone. Moving around outside is always good, and the fresh air is helpful too.

So many wonderful ideas! Please share some of your best ideas with us below.

Be Extraordinary!

My name is Traci, and I love sharing insights that challenge and encourage people to be the best version of themselves. Click HERE to receive updates from Be Extraordinary!