Snow is falling and snow days are (hopefully) going to become a common thing for the next few months.  I love to give parents lots of snow day ideas of things to do on a snow day but also we love to try and suggest things that others may not have thought of.  Travelling to countries which experience lots of snowfall is becoming more popular and we love to try and incorporate some learning and creativity into our travels.  So here are my top picks of things to do with children in the snow (whether at home or whilst you are travelling).

Outdoor Snow day ideas : things to do with children in the Snow

Make a snow labyrinth

This is so high on my list and is so easy to do.  All you need to do is make a snowball and roll it on the ground.  The labyrinth can be as easy or as hard as you want to make it but the easiest way to make one would be to start in the middle and roll the circles around.  This would be fun to do in a group and see what ideas each child comes up with.

Making a frozen bubble

I love this idea from Housing a Forest and I know my little adventurers and teens would be all over this.  It is so simple to do and the post has lots of tips.  All you need is a bubble wand, some bubble mixture and hope the temperature is cold enough to let the bubble freeze.  There are loads of tips (remember to blow the bubble high so they have time to freeze and catch them on a bubble wand…) on the post and also instructions on how to make your own homemade bubble solution.  The science behind this is amazing and watching a bubble freeze would be incredible fun for all the children.

Snow Lantern

These would be magical to see light up in the evening and it so simple to do.  All you need to do is make lots of snowballs.  The key is to try and keep the snowballs the same (ish) size and pack them tightly.  Once you have made several snowballs, you need to make a circle on the ground.  Once the first circle is made, start building up until you have a snow pyramid.   Once the pyramid is complete and it is growing dark, get a parent to insert a small tealight in the heart of the pyramid on the ground and see your snow lantern glow!

Snow Art

Everyone loves to be an artist and a great twist in playing in the snow is making art in the snow.  It is so simple and all you need is spray bottles (water guns work just as well and add even more excitement for the kids), food colouring and water.  I would also recommend a few bowls and paintbrushes too especially if you have younger children

Fill the bottles water with cold water (as the warm water would melt the snow) be sure to test the colour on the snow to ensure there is enough food colouring in them.  Then simply send the children out to make their masterpieces.

Make Ice Gems

I love this idea from HurrayIC, who made different coloured ice gems and then used them to make art in the snow.  It is so simple to make the iced gems, full instructions are here.

Collect Snowflakes

As the snow starts, grab some black paper and a magnifying glass. As the snow is falling catch a couple of snowflakes on your paper and get the children to observe them with your magnifying glass.  This activity is great for younger children so they can compare how the snowflakes are similar and different, you can ask them to count how many sides or points the snowflakes have and if any snowflakes appear to match.

Make animal feeders

There are loads of different ideas of animal bird feeders you can make.  My little adventurers love making the cheerios on a wire and hanging them around the garden.  I love this idea of making orange rind critter feeders from Happy Hooligans and it is perfect for even young children to get involved.  The idea is to use orange rind and pack them with dry food like nuts, raisins, assorted fruit and berries, sunflower seeds before adding snow to the top (great for letting the children play in the snow without being outdoors!  Full details are here

Snow Volcano

Science and snow mix really well and I love this idea of an erupting snow volcano from Growing a Jewled Rose.  It is so easy to make too, all you need is snow, a cup, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar.  The full details are on the link and it looks so cool to see the “volcano” erupt with colourful lava.  The science behind the reaction is really simple, the vinegar and bicarbonate of soda react together to neutralise each other. This releases carbon dioxide, a gas which is the bubbles you see.

Preserving a snowflake

We bought the little adventurers microscopes and are super keen to get them to use it.  I love the idea of preserving a snowflake and looking under a microscope to see the aspects of a snowflake in lots of details.  You will need some slides and hairspray to make this work.  To collect and preserve snowflakes, spray one side of the slides with the hairspray. Catch the snowflakes on the sticky side of the microscope slides. Place the slide with the snowflake in a cold area where no additional snow can fall onto it. Leave the slide untouched for a few hours so that the hairspray can dry and the water in the snowflake will disap­pear. You now have the imprint of a snowflake on a slide you can study.

For the older children: How to photograph a snowflake

My niece and nephew teens love photography and I think it would be so cool to let them try and photograph in minute detail a snowflake.  There are loads of guides out there but I love this one on how to use a DSLR to photograph a snowflake.  I think the teens would really get into this activity and it would really get them focusing on the different types of snowflakes and letting them really build their photography skills.

Alternatives to making a snowman

Half ofg the fun of snow is to make a snowman, but I adore these alternatives from Buzzfeed, why not make a lego snowman or a snow kitty.  The choices are so cool, and even if you want to keep it nice and simple you can make an upside-down snowman or a snow face on a tree instead.  Make your creation stand out from the crowd.

So you have any more snow activities? we would love to hear them!