Living in Michigan, I know that we’ll have at least six snow days per year. This year we’re already at seven and we have had five snow days in a row. My Konmari-ed house now looks like an episode of hoarders. The first snow day was a welcomed break from the normal “hurry up and get out the door” dog and unicorn show. My reserves of Pinterest boards with activities were used up three snow days ago. Luckily, my friends are awesome and way more creative than me. Here are some fresh ideas on things to do for kids on snow days.
Here’s the FREE printable for the Draw-A-Snowman dice game! Keep reading to find more details about it!
1. Make Snow Cream
What is snow cream? It’s ice cream make with snow! You can use any type of milk and vary the sugar and toppings to your taste. Our favorite toppings include sprinkles, food coloring, chocolate syrup and leftover Halloween candy (don’t worry, you’re not alone!).
Here’s a simple recipe we follow for snow cream:
- 8 cups of snow
- 1 cup milk (your choice!)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Pinch of salt
2. Snow Slushies
Maple Syrup SlushiesI grew up drinking slushies, but I don’t often give the treat to my kids because of all the dyes and high fructose corn syrup. So I was so excited when a fellow mom shared how they make slushies out of snow! Simply mix snow and juice! This is one recipe you can let your kids mix five different kinds of juice and get creative.
Here’s a simple recipe to make snow slushies:
- 4 cups of fresh snow
- 1 cup of juice (make your own using any kind of fruit in a blender or pour from a bottle of juice)
How to make a maple syrup slushie:
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 cup of fresh snow
Heat the maple syrup in a small sauce pan on the stove until it’s bubbly. Pour the hot liquid over snow and stir in the milk.
3. Maple Syrup Taffy
One thing I love about northern Michigan is the abundance of maple syrup. Maple syrup taffy is easy to make using ingredients you most likely already have. It might remind you of the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingles Wilder. Oh, now you want to watch the entire TV series on this cold, wintery day? I can’t think of a better idea! Amazon Prime has the seasons available or you can purchase the entire Little House on the Prairie series.
Simple recipe for maple syrup taffy:
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- Baking pan full of fresh snow
- Heat the maple syrup up so it becomes a liquid. Then poor it in strips over the snow. The snow will begin cooling the maple syrup instantly and turn it into taffy!
4. Make a Giant Hopscotch Board
We had boxes stacking up between Amazon Prime and diaper boxes. My kids have been bouncing around, so we cut up the sides, taped them together and taped construction paper as the boxes to jump in. We used a roll of clear packaging tape to keep everything together and – let’s be real – so the snack and drink spills don’t ruin it. The kids drag it out into the living room and then fold it back up and stick it in a corner when they are done!
5. Nerf Gun Target Practicing
I know not everyone is on board with shooting Nerf guns in the house, but I really love having them around now that our youngest isn’t crawling around trying to eat the darts. One inventive mom friend helped her boys construct a target board out of cardboard! We’re out of cardboard, so the girls collected all their small stuffed animals and set them up around the living room. We had bears on the window sill, tables, couch, fireplace, trampoline and slide. The funny part is they mostly missed, but they had a ton of fun. And all the darts and Nerf guns made it back into the bin!
Playing with Nerf guns offers a great opportunity to also teach your kids about gun safety and to respect the power. We also use sunglasses as eye protection since those are never put away after summer anyways!
6. Play with Snow Inside
We started bringing snow inside to play with when my youngest was a baby and we continue to do this today! It’s only allowed on the hardwood floor in the kitchen or the bathroom. We hide plastic toys and snacks and play rescue the animals. We add food coloring and mix the colors, although red just looks like your kids are bleeding. My toddler loves to steal my spatulas and every plastic cup in the house to divide out the snow between containers.
7. Painter’s Tape Track
Drawing lines on your carpet (or cardboard) using painter’s tape is a great way to power up their creativity and run some energy out. Place tape in a circle for the ultimate race track or zigzag it down a hall and through your living room. Make a maze to drive toys down, a web for Spider Man, or giant squares for a massive game of bean bag toss. There are so many creative things you can do to change how your kids are playing and the tape is easy to pull up – another fun activity that can turn into a game! Masking tape works great too, but the bright blue color of painter’s tape sticks out on most carpet.
8. Play with Shaving Cream
Shaving cream makes play easy and fun! It’s fairly easy to clean up and safe to play with. Your kids can spell letters, drive cars, add food coloring, turn it into puffy paint and more! Just like playing with snow, your kids can add toys and mix textures, like sand, pasta, ice and water. Here are 60 fun ideas from the ArtfulParent.com.
9. Have an Art Show!
If your kids are like mine, they tend to talk non-stop. They also have a ton of art projects laying around from playgroups and school. Have them choose their favorite projects and use painter’s tape, masking tape or washi tape to hang them up around the house. Walk around together and ask about their work! Chances are they will ask do a craft and forget that they have been inside for endless days.
10. Draw A Snowman Dice Game
My kids love to play games and this one is short and fun. Take turns rolling the dice and drawing the body parts for the snowman until someone has a completed snowman. Oh, and now you have another piece of artwork for your art show. Print out the game card here!
Take turns rolling the dice and drawing the body parts for the snowman until someone has a completed snowman. Oh, and now you have another piece of artwork for your art show!
11. Turn on Cosmic Kids Yoga
There are many yoga videos for kids on YouTube, but Cosmic Kids Yoga is a favorite. Jaime is the instructor and she creates themed videos and tells a story around the theme while walking your kids through yoga poses. They may not even know they are doing something good for them! Our favorite videos include Spider-Man yoga, Frozen yoga, bedtime yoga, Harry Potter yoga and space adventure yoga.
There are dozens of videos, so your kids won’t easily get bored. The music and audio is far less annoying that the YouTube videos featuring kids opening up toys and candy! Oh, your kids haven’t discovered those yet? Consider yourself lucky. They do not spark joy.
12. Draw on the Windows
You already have hand prints on your windows, so why not add some kid artwork? Hide all the Sharpie markers and use Dry Erase markers or regular markers. Draw silly faces, trace hands, trace objects, use stencils and then time your kids to see how quickly they can erase their pictures!
13. Create an Indoor Treasure Hunt
This does take a little prep time, but your kids will burn off energy looking for a hidden object, or a basket full! We have leftover prizes from a recent birthday party – and I bet you have hidden treasures from all the holiday parties, parades and random trinkets you are tired of stepping on. What a great day to pull them out and hide them around the house. You can simply hide them or create clue cards they have to follow.
14. Set Up an Indoor Obstacle Course
We already have a trampoline, slide, bike and bouncy horse inside, so creating an obstacle course is fairly easy. Of course all the toys scattered around have to be picked up first, so it’s a great way for your kids to clean up quickly! Spread out pillows to jump over, zigzag tape down the hallway, build a fort of blankets they have to crawl under, and encourage your kids to add their ideas too! Change the direction they go and time them then. Winners can collect stickers for a treat or just play for fun!
15. Indoor Snowball Fight with SOCKS
Do your kid’s socks match? Mine don’t either! Have them race around grabbing all the socks they can find and either match them or two ball two random socks together. Give them 10 minutes to build their snow fortress, count to 10 and fire away! Make sure you build a fortress too – hiding under pillows works well and gives you a break!
Wishing you the best on your snow day! For more fun, try writing all of these activities on paper and give each kid a turn to pull an activity out!
