Winter Picnics Get Kids Outside

A Picnic is a State of Mind -- Anywhere!! 

A picnic is a state of mind and can be anywhere. Winter picnics can be more like a camping experience with campfire cooking, or a quick picnic snack in the backyard.  Each way gets children out of the house in the fresh air when the temperature is not too cold. It is an added plus when when the sun shines, but some winter areas around the country don’t get a lot of sun until February.  Who can wait that long?

Winter Park Picnic

  Look for a neighborhood park with a few trees and bring along a tarp and blanket.  The tarp will keep the blanket dryer and more comfortable. To make the picnic simple you can pack a thermos of tomato, chicken noodle, or vegetable soup and cups and your children’s favorite crackers and cheese. Mac and cheese also works well. Add some carrots and dip, some berries, cookies and hot chocolate.  You can also go to a sheltered spot or snow fort in your back yard.

Try a Winter Campfire Picnic

Winter Campfire Picnics

  If exploring as a family, you may want to try a campfire picnic. There are few tricks to starting a campfire in the snow and maintaining it   Shovel the snow aside so that you can start the fire on solid ground or if there’s a thick base or too much snow to push aside, pack it down so that you have a solid platform to put a base of logs like a raft to start your fire on. Search for dry wood under vegetation. Pine cones, dry birch bark pieces and pine needles make a good kindling. Surround the fire with any logs you haven’t used, so the heat of the fire can help dry them out and provide you with extras. Some people place two small logs going east and west and the next layer going north and south to make a little chimney hole. Then they build the fire inside the hole.

Camp fire recipes

Adapt Those Summer Recipies & Take Them on the Trail!

Many summer camping recipes can be adapted to winter.  The trick is to make foods ahead of time, and wrap them in double tin foil. Serve with hot chocolate and end the meal with s’mores.

 To make stew packets, brown one pound of ground turkey or beef. Place some diced carrots, potatoes and one onion in a little olive oil and cook in a fry pan until tender. Stir in meat and add salt, pepper and  herbs. Make four little double layer foil pockets and place ¼ of the mixture and ¼ cup of chicken broth in each one. Roll foil tightly and seal. Place on white coals until warm. Burritos are also a hit made ahead and warmed on white coals. For more winter fun see grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com or wnmufm.org/Learning Through the Seasons.

Photos, Fran Darling: fdarling fotos

Children Interacting with Snow

“There’s just something beautiful about walking on snow that nobody else has walked on.”

Carol Rifka Brunt

Winter Trees

  

Explore Sunny Snowy Places

Being in a snowstorm is not fun, but afterwards when the sun shines, exploring places where children have not walked before is great fun.  Look for evergreens. They offer a variety of sights, sounds and smells. Search for cones on the ground and some that are still on the trees. Without mittens find some sap on the cones and rub it on your fingers. Is there a smell and taste? Children can rub needles together and smell. Do different kinds of conifers like pines, cedar, and spruce trees smell different? Don’t worry about the sticky fingers.  A little butter rubbed on the fingers and wiped with a cloth will take it off.  

  Show the kids that white pines have five leaves (needles) and red pines have two in a cluster.

You can cozy up to a tree and look for whorls of branches. Count the whorls going up the tree to estimate the age of evergreen trees. Notice all of the needles under the trees.  Children may think that they do not lose their needles. Point out that is not true. Most conifers lose about one third of their needles every fall.  Larch, bald cypress and dawn redwood are called deciduous conifers because they lose all needles every year.

Get to Know Your Animal Tracks

 You can talk about how the trees can give shelter to animals. It is also a quiet a cozy spot for a snack. 

Winter Critters 

  There might be some some tracks you can identify around the tree. Children can learn more about the animal species that stick around the winter months by making pine cone-  feeders for them. Tie a string around a pine cone. Slather a mixture of peanut butter, cornmeal, and oats with a spoon. Roll the coated pinecone in a small bag of birdseed until completely covered. Then hang the pinecone feeders in a tree that can be easily watched. Children can keep a notebook and draw pictures of what visits the feeders. They can check library books for more information.  

Freezing Bubbles

Freezing Is a Winter Decoration

 Blowing bubbles is not only for summer. If the temperature is below freezing outside with no wind, put some soap bubble solution in the freezer for up to 30 minutes. With patience, children can blow some bubbles outside and watch as they crystalize in the three layers before their eyes. Some people stir in a little sugar before placing in the freezer. The bubbles will also roll around on dry pavement instead of popping immediately. It is a great way to talk about the science of molecules slowing down and freezing from liquids to a solid and crystals. For more see grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com and wnmufm.org/Learning Through the Seasons.  

Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos

Swedish Snolykta Spreads Light

  “You have to find what sparks a light in you so that you in your own way can illuminate the world.” 

― Oprah

  

...find what sparks a light in you...Snolykta!!

When the days are short and darkness is long, the Swedish people make their own light. One of their proverbs is “Those who wish to sing always find a song.” Those who want light and happiness will make their own even in the darkness of winter. Their shortest days now are about six hours.

  One of the first structures Swedish children learn to build is a snolykta pronounced sno-lik-ta.  It is symbolic for many things. One is that great light shines in all of us. A snolykta or snow lantern is a cone made of large snow balls, with many tea lights in the center. They can be large, small, tall and thin or short and squat. Sometimes the top is left open like a volcano.  Other times a person of honor, perhaps the youngest child or the oldest relative places the last ball on the top.

Packing Snow

  To make a snolykta, children need snow that packs. If snow is powdery, shovel it into several plastic storage containers and bring snow inside to warm up. The snow either needs a lot of pressure or an increase in temperature.  Changing the temperature is easier. You can start making snowballs 

Step One: Make the Snowballs!

indoors about five to six inches in diameter and take them outside before they stick together.

  Choose a place in the yard where children will be able to see the snolykta from windows at night. Remove snow from the area where you want the snolykta to be placed. They can be two or more feet in diameter. Like snowmen, you can make a family of them or line the sidewalk as a welcoming display for guests.

Shining Light

  A large three- foot diameter family sized snolykta will require more than a hundred large snowballs. Young children can make a small one with less than 30 snow balls. Start by making a circle of snowballs on the ground. You’ll need a perfect circle which is a little math problem.  What will the children do to make a perfect circle since an oval will not look the same? Do you have any big circles around the house to use for a pattern? Children can also use a center spike and a string to make a circle. 

Step Two: Pile in smaller layers - leave spaces for the light

Outline of the snolykta with snow balls and make each succeeding layer slightly indented toward the center.  Leave spaces between the balls for light to shine through. Place many tea lights inside the snolykta on the ground next to the balls and cap with a large snowball, if you wish.

For more family fun see grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com;wnmufm.org/LearningThroughthe Seasons live and podcasts; Pinterest, and Facebook.

Photos: Snolykta1 - Ulkl - Ulf Klingström
             Fran Darling, fdarling fotos

Taking Winter Science Walks

Take Walks on Trails or at Home

When a warmer sunny winter day comes around, grab it, for there is fun and learning outside.
  Children also need vitamin D provided by sunshine, milk, and some juices. Vitamin D works with calcium to develop strong healthy bones. Families can plan on a twenty-minute time of exploring outside on sunny days. Remember to have children wear sunglasses in the bright snow, too.
   Talk while dressing for the outdoors.

Talk and Explore

Point out right and left boots.  Mark the right boot with an X or R. As you help with snow pants, jackets, boots, and mittens use “right” repeatedly. “Let’s put on your right boot.” Raise your right arm.”  “Give me your right leg.” You might sing a little “Hokey Pokey” about the right side only.
Keep it Simple  If children are not accustomed to being outside, an adventure might be very simple.  Young children can take a walk to the mailbox and follow a path you have made while they hold your hand.  They can drag a stick in the snow like the character in “The Snowy Day” by Jack Ezra.
  Young children can help shovel a bit of the porch or a little part of the sidewalk.  They can collect snow and watch it melt inside later. If they bring a pan of snow inside and place the loose snow in top of water will it sink or float before it melts? It is less dense with more air between molecules no matter how hard the snow is packed. Therefore, it will float.
 They can collect snowflakes on cold black paper to count the points on the crystals.
Be Science Detectives

Be Science Detectives

Once outside children explore and solve mysteries for a short time.  Take a short walk around the yard and look for animals and tracks. What made these tracks? What direction were the animals going? What were they looking for?  Where do rabbits, mice, and squirrels go when it is cold? Common small animals like ants, earthworms, bees, and butterflies are not around.  Where are they?
   If the snow packs, young children can make a small snowman family since big balls are too heavy. They may also like to stack ice chunks and make a small fort or dig into a small snow bank. 

Look for the Unusual

Look for plant skeletons that might be sticking up through the snow. Children can make a small bouquet to take inside.  Think small and a take few minutes for any activity as attention span is usually short and preschool children chill easily.  Their boots may get full of snow. Snow will get under their cuffs and even the best mittens don’t work well on very small hands.  Sometimes just a sled ride is possible. 
Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos
More Ideas and Activities....See the authors’ book “Learning Through the Seasons” at area bookstores and grandparentsteachtoo.org. For more help to prepare young children for success in school see the authors’ web site: www.grandparentsteachtoo.org. Also check our audio Podcasts WNMU Radio, 90; Youtube video activities; and join us on Pinterest

Outdoor Winter Fun with Kids

fdarling fotos

Since many animals are nocturnal or scarce, children rarely see shy and secretive animals in the wild. But animals leave their tracks and mysteries for children.
  Take a walk in your own backyard in winter or along the beach in summer.  These tracks will tell a story.
  Observe human tracks in your yard. How can you tell which way the person is going?  What are they doing? Were they taking out the garbage or delivering a package? Look at the patterns of boots and shoes soles. Observe how they are different in size, tread, and walking pattern.
  Do family dogs and cats leave tracks in the snow? Being able to distinguish between domestic dog and fox footprints is important.

fdarling fotos

Making Tracks
   Make new tracks. Drag a stick behind like the child in the book “The Snowy Day” by Keats. Take some pictures or make drawings with markers in a science. notebook. Leave some seeds and check on the spot later. Did animals visit?
  Now can you find some wild animal tracks in your backyard, park, or trail? Try to identify them before the snow is too deep. Explain to children that most animals are nocturnal. They look for food at night and sleep during the day. Their tracks in the snow are often around their homes or trails where they can find food.
  Many free animal track keys are on-line and very helpful. The book “Animal Tracks of the Great Lakes” by Stall is also a handy book.
 Show children some common tracks in your area like rabbits, squirrels, deer, fox, birds, raccoons, chipmunks, shrew, bear, and skunks. Sometimes they will be trailing each other. Why?
Decode Tracks
  When you first find a set of tracks look for the most distinct print. Note the shape of the heel pad, and count the toes. Even though adults may already know the animal, make it a scientific game. Look at the animal track key, think out loud, and eliminate animals by looking at characteristics closely.
  Take out a ruler and show children how to measure a track. Is there evidence that you have several animals, perhaps adults and young ones? Note the habitat. Why are the animals there? Does evidence show animals visit this spot often? Why?  Look around for berries and seeds.  Is there evidence your animal is a tree climber because the tracks stop there abruptly?  Follow some tracks. Where do they lead? Did the animal dig, hop sideways, or run off suddenly? Note that rabbits’ long back paws lead the way because of how they hop.
  Although there is no substitute for first hand study, it is fun to watch trail camera wildlife videos on You Tube with children. View them alone first, however.
photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos
More Ideas and Activities....See the authors’ book “Learning Through the Seasons” at area bookstores and grandparentsteachtoo.org. For more help to prepare young children for success in school see the authors’ web site: www.grandparentsteachtoo.org. Also check our audio Podcasts WNMU Radio 90; Youtube video activities; and join us on Pinterest

Winter Outdoor Activities: Make a Birdfeeder

 Adults can help young children develop a love of nature and a caring relationship with wildlife by making a simple peanut butter bird feeder. You will support wildlife and help children develop important language and motor skills.

Materials you will need:

 Wax paper, pine cones or large chunk of dry bread, peanut butter, birdseed, string or thin wire, and table knife

What to do?

   Talk with your child about how birds need to find food in the winter months.  Plan to make a bird feeder to help attract birds to your yard. You might draw the steps and check them off as they are completed.

  Find some pinecones or make pieces of stale bread or toast and lay them out on a piece of wax paper. 

  Tie a string or wire about 8 inches long around the cone or bread, leaving string at the top to attach the birdfeeder to a tree later.  Spread a generous amount of soft peanut butter all around the cone.  Next, sprinkle birdseed on the peanut butter. You may want to begin to freeze the cone or bread. It’s not as sticky to handle. Decide where to hang the birdfeeder and secure it so children can see it from an inside window.  Watch the birds enjoying their treat. When the feeder is eaten, just make another.

How will this help my Child?

  Children benefit from planning an activity and following the steps in the correct order to complete a project.  By using words like first, second, next, finally, or last you will be helping to develop a sense of order or sequence.  By talking together, answering questions, and observing wildlife, you are stimulating natural curiosity.  Spreading, rolling, patting, pouring, all help develop fine motor control and skill.

What other Activities Could We Do?

  Observe and count the different kinds of birds in your backyard. Keep a calendar with the number and kinds of birds and other animals at your feeder. When do birds visit? Is there a time when squirrels and other animals are not there?  Where are they?  Where do birds and squirrels go to keep warm in the winter? What animal tracks do you see around the feeder?

   Children sometimes like to draw a picture after doing a fun activity. You could print a sentence at the bottom of the picture for your young child to read and show.  Children can describe the steps you took to complete the feeder and help to explain the sequence to others.  Find some non-fiction or guidebooks at the library that show different kinds of birds or read fiction books like “Sadie and the Snowman”.

For more activities to prepare young children for success in school and reduce the stress of child care, see the authors’ book “Learning Through the Seasons” at book stores and Grandparents Teach, Too web site and listen to the WNMU Radio 90 Podcast for even more ideas. 

Illustration: Mark Nowicki

The Sunshine Vitamin: Vitamin D

Long grey winter days rob you of the important vitamin source found naturally through the sun's rays. Vitamin D is the Sunshine Vitamin! How can you help your children and grandchildren make the most of limited winter sunlight? Take them outside, even if just for a few minutes..
A sunny day in mid-winter is a gift. It is worth the extra effort to get children bundled up for ten to fifteen minute fresh air breaks when there is so much benefit. Taking children out even for short time helps them absorb Vitamin D, get a little exercise and reduce stress. Vitamin D helps strengthen and promote bone health and fights against depression. Don't forget the sunglasses to protect your eyes from the UV rays.

Because 90% of the Vitamin D our bodies make comes from sunlight, where should we get Vitamin D on those mostly cloudy days? Eating certain foods can contribute much of the required daily amount of 600 IUs. Fortified milk, yogurt, salmon and many other food sources provide this vitamin.

Find out all about our need for Vitamin D and learn about its sources in this wonderful website: d sunshine vitamin. You can also listen to the Learning Through the Seasons podcast from WNMU Radio 90 at: www.wnmufm.org/post/vitamin-d.