There's A Snowball In My Fireplace

Does anybody else spent 30 minutes gladiating potty breaks and bundling kids and coercing them outside all while trying not to melt from overexertion because you're wearing twenty-seven layers of your own, only to get out and decide exactly 4 minutes later that it's time to come back in? No? Me either.

We had our first snow here this season and we spent the last two days forcing bundling kids to go outside and endure enjoy a few minutes of playing in the snow. We did the sledding thing for a while and also broke out our little people and built snow villages on the deck. Cute, right? Because we're totally all about freezing temperatures. No issues. I love the feeling like my face is going to fall off. Charlie does too. That's her crying. They are totally tears of joy, though.

But just incase you are not up for enduring all 12 degrees of delight we've got going on here in East Tennessee, but still want to get in some snow fun, I've got you covered. Here are 3 fun activities we did with actual snow we scooped off the deck and welcomed into our warm abode.

First we just scooped a bunch of snow into containers and gave it to the kids on our kitchen floor. This entertained them for.ev.er. No organization, no structure, just playing with snow on the floor. Because why not? They mostly scooped and poured and re-scooped. I gave them our little people arctic animals so that they could incorporate them into their little imaginative scenarios. We'd talked earlier about how these animals like cold, and talked about how we have to wear coats & mittens, but they don't! This was an ideal activity. Fun, simple, and very easy cleanup.

Next we tossed our leftover snow into a pot and examined it. We talked about what it looked, felt, and tasted like and guessed what it would do if we left it for a long time in that pan. Beckett just kept repeating my question. He didn't really get the concept of prediction. Later, once it had melted, he was AH-MAZED that it had turned to water. It's magic, ya'll. The kids both kept giggling and tasting it. We talked about how the snow turned to water when it came into the warm house, and we observed the bits of leftover snow/ice floating in pan.

This one was our favorite. We decided to pack a snowball and guess what would happen if we put it in the fire. Beckett guessed that it would get bigger (dad may have had something to do with that guess) but none of us guessed it would last as long as it did. The snowballs took at LEAST 4 or 5 minutes to melt. They really put up a fight! They also put off a bit of steam and made some sizzling sounds that both made for fun observations. The kids loved this activity so much, we did it a second time!

What fun snow-related activities are you doing this week? I'd love to hear your ideas! We'll be spending the rest of this week doing fun snow-related play-based activities! Keep up with us on Facebook & Instagram!