Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow …
The truth is, snow is rarely a problem for children and nannies, unless it becomes persistent. For most families in the UK snow is a fleeting pleasure. A rare opportunity to experience an extreme form of weather, and the simplest way to deal with it is usually to go out and enjoy it!
If you’ve got snow. Here are some ways to make the most of it.
Put out bird-food
This is easier than you might imagine, even if you’re snowed in or don’t want to buy purpose made bird food. You can find some string and thread food on it with blunt needles. Good choices are. Ring shaped breakfast cereals (you don’t even need a needle for those!) raisins, dried apple slices, dates, etc. Then tie the string to fenceposts or between trees and watch the bird-acrobatics as they try to feed.
Paint the snow
With some spray and squirt bottles filled with water and food colouring. Kids can create amazing artworks in the snow. Make sure clothing is old as food colouring can stain.
For both these ideas. Make sure children are warmly wrapped up and that little lips and fingertips are protected from the cold. Chafing is very common on snowy days.
You can still use snow as a theme indoors.
• Teach kids how to fold and cut paper to make snowflakes. Show them how symmetry works and help them understand what shapes they need to cut to produce the effects they desire. This is helpful in developing small motor skills as well as training visual acuity.
• Make biscuits and help children make snowflake icing. There are two ways to do this. The first is to cut snowflake patterns as above and to lay them on the biscuits and sprinkle them with icing sugar, the other is to use glacé icing in two colours. Coat the biscuit with one colour and then make concentric circles with the contrast colour and show the child how to draw the circles out with a cocktail stick to make a ‘spiderweb’ or ‘snowflake’ pattern.
Rain, rain go away …
Rain, on the other hand, is ever present for British children. Finding ways to amuse children on rainy days can test any nanny. So we have a couple of games that are both educational and fun to keep in your armoury for those days when rain makes your charges miserable.
Room tidying competition with hula hoops.
This is a real win-win where you have two or more children and a messy house. Just get the required number of hula hoops and throw them into the room. Wherever they land. That’s the area the child must tidy and the first child to finish gets to decide what game you play for the next ten minutes. When ten minutes is up, throw the hoops again. You’ll be amazed how quickly children can put away toys and tidy up mess when it’s a competition with a prize!
Story Statue
Another favourite that gets children to run around whilst giving them periods of calm and quiet. The story statue can’t move. But she has a wonderful story to tell which she can only do when her poor of speech is activated by having the right objects put in her hand. Send the children around the house looking for a certain item. A soft toy, a shoe, a pencil etc that is vital to the next stage of the story. As long as you can tell a good yarn, this will keep kids amused for hours! It also develops the ability to remember where objects may be found and recognise items from a verbal description.
Snow day image courtesy of martinak15