Bringing the Snow Inside to Play

Our day started out the best way today! Snuggled up in bed....

Who cares that there's going to be a blizzard raging outside?



Alec crept into bed with me and he looked over my shoulder as I flipped through a friend's pictures of her trip on Facebook.  There were all sorts of bird and wildlife pictures and the next thing I knew Alec had gotten out his Bird Atlas book and was looking up the names of a few of the birds he didn't recognize.

Once Evan saw Alec in my bed with his book he brought in all his Batman books and "read" those.

It was a fun to snuggle and start our day in bed with some good books.
   
My oldest ended up outside all morning shoveling snow and playing with his trucks in the sand and snow. He tried hammering up the ice using shovels, shoveling our driveways, making snowballs.  All the usual snow fun.

Once he got cold enough he headed inside.
   
The younger two spent the bulk of the time playing World Of Zoo.  This game was bought for my middle son, who went through a very long faze where he wanted to be a zoo keeper.  He even made his older brother promise to help him build it and had plans started!

World of Zoo - PC

Today while playing, they're learning how to make good habitats for animals, that animals need food, water, affection, play and stimulation to keep healthy.  They have to keep the habitats and the animals clean and spray to keep the bugs away.  Sometimes,  the the animals will get sick and they have to try and help the animals by running tests to diagnose the problem.

They learn what each animal's diet consists of and whether animals like to live in groups or not.  They've learned that animals can pass sickness onto one another just like humans and that mud helps keep elephants cool just like pigs.  It's been great and so educational for them.

 I could not persuade the younger two to bundle up and head out but I could bring the snow in!

Coloring snow with food coloring

 I shoveled up some piles, brought in a few heaping bowls of snow and asked "who wants to play?"  Within minutes the Wii was abandoned and they used animals, trays & food coloring.  They made igloos, snow forts, mountains, tunnels and zoos.

The boys worked together to build a mountain

Alec's tunnel
They pretended the animals were eating snow, making face plants, and snow angels.  It was quite creative and funny.  They talked about snakes, venom, and the fact that snakes are cold blooded reptiles that wouldn't normally be able to play in snow.

They pretended the baby hippo was a newborn being raised by his dad because his mother died in child birth.  They pretended that the animals had to hide from the viper.  They've been watching the movie Cool Runnings lately and that showed in their play as the animals all competed in a bobsled race! 

They watched the snow melt and noticed HOW it melted.  Those pieces of snow that fell to the tray or table in pieces melted faster while those flakes piled into the big igloo melted much slower.

They watched the food coloring colors blend together as the snow melted and mixed.   Self- guided discovery is the best, and the rewards are so easy to see if you watch closely. 

Then they put the fort back up in the living room and started watching some TV... while we still can before the blizzard knocks out our power. 


 Sorry for the chocolate faces; we made Christmas Crack (this recipe without the added peanut butter) for a special treat today. 

Comments

  1. First of all, I'm
    Trying that recipe. I don't have saltines but I do have ritz. Think it would work?

    Secondly, I'm going to check out that book.

    Finally, I will be looking into the
    Video game about animals.

    This one post is a wealth of information!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think it would probably work with Ritz, they're a bit more buttery to begin with so you might want to cut the butter back a bit but I was thinking of trying it with graham crackers myself today. I'm always up for experiments in the kitchen! I'm so glad you like my post and I just LOVE this book! Glad my blog helped! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'd quite like some snow here! There's some great self learning from your kids. I do like the idea to bring it indoors!! ‪Thank you for linking up to the #familyfunlinky‬

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I find during the blizzard it's just too windy and miserable out to really enjoy the snow and want to play so this works better.

      Delete
  4. It's great to read that old fashioned fun was favoured over technology and they got to experience snow. My girls have seen very little of it. #familyfun

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love when my boys pick old fashioned fun over technology; it doesn't seem like it happens all that often!

      Delete

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