It’s here – SNOW! Your school or setting might be closed today, or maybe it’s open and you’re looking for snow ideas to do with the children. Or maybe you’re at home with your own children, and running out of ways to keep them entertained. So we’ve rounded up some quick and fun snow day ideas to help take the chill (get it?) out of days like this.
Snow Day Activity Ideas
- Build a snow sculpture – something different to your typical snowman. A dog, a cat, a house! Let your children’s imagination run wild. Discuss techniques for impacting the snow, the different types of snow and what works and what doesn’t.
- Ami Elizabeth says, “create an indoor snow tuff spot for when it’s time to come in and get warm.” Just add snow and small world figures, little houses, whatever you have!
- Going sledging is obvious – but join in yourself. Have races down the slope, experiment with different angles and various levels of steepness. Talk about ways to make yourself go faster, or slow you down. Discuss aerodynamics and whether lying back or sitting up is most effective. Does sledging work on deep snow?
- Make a baking soda volcano – out of snow! Thanks for the idea Science Sparks!
- Go for a winter walk, look for animal prints and try to identify what sort of animal made each mark. Try our Winter Hunt Checklist – print it out and take it with you. Tick off what you see along the way.
- Look for icicles! Where’s the best place to find them, discuss how they are formed. What happens when you hold them? Use them as pencils, writing in the snow – until they melt! (be careful as they are sometimes sharp.)
- Emma from The Mummy Whisperer says, “It’s fun to freeze little plastic toys in a tub of water (won’t be hard overnight tonight!) and then use salt to melt the ice and utensils to scrape away to free them again. You can colour the salt with food dye for more dramatic effect!”
- Rachel from Out and About Mummy says, “We like to play with diggers and trucks outside in the snow. Then when we get too cold we bring the snow indoors and play some more!”
- Take some balloons and fill them with water and food colouring. Place in the snow all day and over night. The next day peel off the balloon and you’ve got a ready made ice sculture! Chip away until you’ve got a shape you’ve want, or leave as they are. Fun!
- Devon Mama says, “Turn a snowy garden into a construction site; get out their diggers, dumpers and tractors and let them literally shovel snow!
- Using an ice tray, leave lego figures in water overnight outside (or in your freezer) and let them freeze. The next day, excavate them using sticks or something else safe to use. Tell the children you need to set them free! (or just put in the freezer until they’re ready).
- Fill used plastic water bottles with watered down paint, and spray onto snow through the nozzle! Make patterns, ask children to write their own names or just make swirly patterns. Children really love this!
- Make snow ice cream like Sarah from Craft Invaders!
- Jo from Cup of Toast says, “It’s fun to collect snow in tubs then use them like bricks to build with.”
- Be like Clare’s Little Tots – use our Snowman Counting Activity to practise some counting with pre-schoolers. Add buttons, pom poms or whatever!
- Collect fresh snow from a snow fall to make snow ice cream! Just mix on your favourite cordial or sauce.
- Gather the snow in a tray and bring indoors for small world play. Add in characters and figures, use diggers and spade. Pretend to be road clearers helping the community!
- Make snow paint in jars – use old jam jars, add snow and mix with liquid paint. Take a brush and mix it round. Take outside to paint the snow or use a tray inside.
- Set up a dig! Bury things like large pebbles or fake jewels – or figures – in the snow and challenge children to find them – whoever finds the most wins! Gloves are a must for this one.
Explore the rest of our Winter resources right here!
