- Jan 16

snow much fun! a winter walk with our Littles!

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

We’re so glad to be back and to welcome in the new year here at

We hope that your holiday season was filled with love and light

and that you are ready to greet 2024 and all it offers!

Later this week, we have a post planned where we’ll share highlights

from our own holiday season

as well as share a few future plans for the blog.

In the meantime, it’s FINALLY snowing here in Minnesota!

In fact, there have been a few SNOW DAYS already - although not near us -

which makes us think

that many Grands may be spending unexpected time with their Littles!

That means, it’s time to kick off this new year of blogging

with a post to celebrate the snowy season!

Last January, as our blog was getting off the ground,

we shared many fun ways to celebrate the winter season with the Littles in your life…

your grandkids, your own children or young ones you care for each day!

If interested, you can find a WINTER WONDERLAND of ideas here, here and here!

One of our favorite ways to embrace the season with our Littles

is an outdoor activity that is simple and memorable…

Today’s post - one we’re revisiting and building upon from last year -

is devoted to this experience!

Did you know that January 20 is known as Take a Walk Outdoors Day?

As the name suggests, it’s a day to step outside for a walk alone or with someone,

and we can't imagine anyone more fun to go for a walk with than our Littles!

We know how much kids love playing outside in winter!

Sledding, making snowmen and ice skating are all exhilarating experiences!

Yet, as an alternative, a quiet walk surrounded by the beauty of winter -

whether in your neighborhood or the woods -

is a breathtaking way to share this season with our Littles!

So… let’s bundle up and head outside!

While it may seem tough to bundle up and head outside when the temperature drops and the snow accumulates (especially with Littles in tow), the rewards in doing so are great! We ALL benefit from spending time outdoors during the winter… the temps get our blood flowing, help improve our immune systems and provide needed nutrients!

Walking also increases a child’s sense of observation and wonder of the world around them. Now, of course, for our littlest Littles, walking per se isn’t yet an option but, depending on their age and the outdoor temps, these Littles can still benefit from a “walk” outside - you can carry them or pull them on a sled! A winter walk, in all its glory, can be a quiet time to look around you and see what almost looks like a new world that has opened up with fewer leaves on trees and bushes. It is the simplest - and most awesome - of winter activities.

Here are a few of our favorite ways to share

a winter walk together!

❄️ A Five Senses Walk! ❄️

As you walk, suggest that you walk in silence for a bit! Ask your Little the following questions… What do you see? What do you feel? What do you hear? What do you smell? What do you taste? (That last question could be the tough one!)

For Littles that are babies or toddlers, you can encourage their vocabulary development by labeling ideas for them - I hear an owl hooting or I feel the wind on my face. are such examples.

A Grand Tip!

With older Littles (elementary aged and up)

take a nighttime winter walk together!

Bring a flashlight but only use it as needed!

This experience will bring a whole new dimension

to your walk together!

❄️ A Tracking Walk! ❄️

You and your Littles will really need to use your observation skills for this activity! Look for snow tracks made by animals or even ones made by different size people! Ask your Littles who or what might have made each track. Take pictures of the animal tracks and look them up when you get home. Try following the tracks to take a different route on your walk!

Before heading outside, you could read the Ezra Jack Keats story, The Snowy Day, to your Littles! (We’ve provided a Youtube video of this story below as another option.)

Then, when you head outside,

challenge your Littles to see if they can recreate some of the tracks

highlighted in the story!

“He walked with his toes pointing out, like this.

He walked with his toes pointing in, like that.

Then he dragged his feet s-l-o-w-l-y to make tracks.

And he found something sticking out of the snow

that made a new track.”

- from The Snowy Day

❄️ A Winter Collection! ❄️

Before leaving for the walk, give your Little a box or bag to collect items in. When you get home, create a Winter Ice Mold of your collection. (Read on - you’ll find details for making this project later in this post!)

For older kids, it’s fun to give them a very small box to see what they can collect that fits in the box! A jewelry box or matchbox work great! Examine the items together when you get home.

❄️ Magnify It! ❄️

Bring a magnifying glass on the walk with you (or use a phone app) to examine things around you. If it is snowing, carry a dark piece of paper to catch snowflakes on and then examine them closely.

❄️ The Best for Last… A Simple Walk! ❄️

There’s nothing better than a spontaneous walk together - telling stories, singing a few songs, quietly enjoying each other - truly the best kind of adventure!

A Grand Tip!

Your Littles may get chilly on a winter walk.

Dress them in layers before you head out to insure warmth

and, as an added treat,

bring a thermos of hot chocolate with you, too!

Your Littles will love it!

Oh, those rosy cheeks and noses that appear on our Littles

after time spent outside

are simply precious, aren’t they?

Once you’ve all warmed up and settled in,

here are a few more easy and simple ways to bring the winter fun inside!

❄️ Natural Ice Molds ❄️

As we mentioned above, while walking, encourage your Littles to collect natural items in the snowy landscape. Items like sticks, pinecones, dried grass, berries or leaves all work great.

When you arrive home, arrange your items in a foil pan or plastic container. Cover the items with about an inch of water, add a piece of twine or rope sticking out of the water and set outside to freeze.

Remove them when frozen and hang to decorate your wintery yard!

❄️ Snow Sketches! ❄️

Give your child a piece of white chalk (sidewalk chalk will work) or white paint. Encourage them to sketch or paint what they saw on their walk using a piece of dark construction paper.

❄️ Have an Indoor Snowball Fight! ❄️

Do your Littles need to release some pent up energy? Is it too cold to go outside? If so, we’ve got the perfect solution for you… have an indoor snowball fight! No real snow needed! Simply roll up balls of paper or tissue paper into snowballs. You could even use bunched up socks!

Have fun tossing the snowballs at each other while you duck for cover - use pillows and furniture cushions to create safety zones and hiding places! You could even make the battle multigenerational! Add some tape on the floor to designate different sides! Set a timer or just keep going as long as the giggles and snowballs persist!

Loads of fun is sure to follow!

A Grand Tip!

Before play begins, you may want to set a few ground rules…

only shots below the shoulders is a good one!

NEED MORE VARIATIONS FOR YOUR INDOOR SNOWBALL FIGHT?

Extend your fun by using one (or more) of these ideas to add a bonus round to your battles!

❄️ Target Practice! Draw a bullseye target on a piece of paper (or print one out that you’ve found on Google). Tape your target to a door or wall. Players then take turns throwing the snowballs at the target, trying to hit it!. The player who gets closest to the target (or gets a bullseye) wins!

❄️ Knock Them Over! On a table, build a pyramid using lightweight paper or plastic cups. You choose how tall you want the pyramid to be, based on the age of your players. Once built, players take turns tossing the snowballs at the pyramid trying to knock it down. The player who knocks down the most cups in 1 try (or 2, depending on age) wins!

❄️ Snowball Throwing Contest! When given a signal, two or more players throw their snowballs (one at a time), aiming for a pail or bucket a distance away. The player with the most snowballs in his/her bucket, in the allotted time, wins!

❄️ Secret Messages! Write a secret message on each snowball before you crumple them up. When hit with a snowball (or perhaps when a player has caught one), the player smooths out the snowball and reads the message! 😍 You can also write a riddle or joke on each snowball… your Littles will be delighted to read each hidden message!