Tag Archives: winter activities

Seasonal Parent-Child Bonding on the Cheap

A winter storm watch has been issued for my neck of the woods.  Meteorologists are predicting nearly eight inches of the white stuff will fall in less than 24 hours.  As a parent, who was born and raised in Hawaii, and despises the snow and cold, I am really not looking forward to dealing with icy roads and below freezing temperatures.  Still, my kid is a Wisconsinite, so I have to do what any good mother would do—suck it up. Sacrifice; it’s the hallmark of good parenting, right? Winter presents a unique challenge for many parents.  Some days, Mother Nature’s … Continue reading →

Making Cold Weather Fun

Being transplanted from sunny Hawaii to the frozen tundra that is Wisconsin has forced me to embrace (okay, tolerate) cold weather. Dealing with frigid temperatures is no fun, but when you’ve have kids, you can’t hibernate for the entire winter. To cure cabin fever, consider a winter outing with the entire family. Learn how to cross-country ski, snowshoe or ice-skate. The outdoor activities will give your kids a chance to burn off some steam, and help you spend quality family time in nature. Some options for winter fun include: UTAH Soldier Hollow Cross Country Ski Resort, located in Midway, Utah, … Continue reading →

Making The Mitten – A Preschool Winter Craft

The story The Mitten by Jan Brett is a lovely folk tale about a little boy who loses his mitten. In the way of these tales, a number of animals take shelter in the mitten, and as each one enters the mitten, it expands. The mitten grows so large that even a bear hides inside, until a tiny mouse tries to squeeze in on the tip of the bear’s nose. Then with a sneeze, the bear sneezes the mouse, the mitten, and the rest of the animals up into the air. The mitten falls to the ground, a little larger … Continue reading →

Sleds and Other Things That Go: Fabulous Preschool Snow Toys

Whee! Winter has arrived in our neck of the woods, although here in the Pacific Northwest winter usually enters with a whimper and doesn’t stay long before the rains begin again. Yesterday we used the opportunity provided by a couple of inches of snow and went sledding. We have a good old boat of a sled, but it’s a little slow. Sometimes we want a bit more speed and better handling so that we don’t thwack into trees, and so went on an investigation of the wild snow toys that are on the market right now. Here are a few … Continue reading →

Winter Birding With Your Preschooler

The air is cold and crisp, but not too crisp. It’s sunny out, and it’s perfect weather for birding. Before we go back to our usual deluge, we’ve been able to spot a lot of birds who cluster around our backyard feeder. We’re intermittent bird feeders in the summer, but winter birds can usually depend on us. My daughter and I love to watch them, especially after the first snowfall comes and the birds leave tiny footprints on the snow. Some of the birds in our area migrate to warmer places for the winter, while others move down from the … Continue reading →

BAH HUMBUG? 20 Ways to Share the Christmas Spirit with Your Kids

Several days ago, one of my kids said to me, “Mom, it doesn’t feel like Christmas. I’m not feeling the Christmas spirit.” I gulped. What? I had a Christmas tree, lights, decorations, the works. So I wrote down all the fun Christmas memories I’d had as a child. I thought I’d make a checklist, to see how many fun Christmas activities my family could still accomplish (without stress) to make this a very memorable holiday season. (I apologize to readers who aren’t Christian. I only have my own family traditions to access here.) It’s not too late to share the … Continue reading →