Did you know that snow isn't white? Or that it takes about 1 hour for a snowflake to reach the ground? Maybe it's because we live in Florida, but snow seems so magical and this kit attempts to bring all the magic of the season to your home where you can enjoy the "snow" while cozy in your house in front of the fireplace or dreaming of what a White Christmas would be like.
Here are 10+ simple, easy to do ways that you can extend the play with your kids, encourage conversation, and learning all while playing and having fun!
Book Suggestions:
- Engage in conversation about weather. What signs of weather does your child notice around them? What experience have they had with winter weather? Does it snow where you live? If not, what might they imagine snow is like?
- Explain what a “snow day” is and ask your child what they would like to do if they got to stay home because of the snow.
- Science tells us that no two snowflakes are alike. Explore the snowflake designs in the illustrations together. Draw your own snowflakes.
- Discuss winter clothes. What types can you find in the book? Why are they important? What types of winter clothes do you have at home?
- Explore the colors of winter. Snow is typically thought of as being white. But is it really? Examine the illustrations together and discuss the colors you see in the snow.
Kit Suggestions:
- Explore the sensory dough. How does it feel? How does it smell? Why might the kit have that scent for this box?
- Chill the dough in the refrigerator for a bit to add another level of sensory exploration. Discuss how snow would feel.
- Make your own snowflakes. How many designs can you and your child create together?
- Build a winter forest scene using all of the elements in your kit.
- Roll the dough into three different sized balls and create a snowman. Decorate it with snowflakes and pasta.
- Using the white pasta, ask your child to sort them into shape categories. Which are pointy or round? What shapes do you see within the round pasta? How many of those shapes are there?
These Ways to Play are not meant to be an exhaustive list, after all the possibilities are literally endless, but more of a starting point. They also don’t need to be printed and checked off as you go, but certainly can be if that’s what works best for you and your family.
After experimenting with a few of these, I'd love to know which ideas worked best for you!