Pair your outdoor adventuring with the Jack Frost Challenge on Feb. 3-9, 2019! It is a fun way to see how many KMs you can travel in a week with a team of up to five. Learn how to get involved as a family or at school!
1. Create a Nature Book: Grab a camera, coloured pencils, glue and a notebook to explore nature. Have kids write down observations and draw/take pictures of trees and animals they see. Maybe you can even make up a creative story about the things you’ve come across together.
2. Evening Hike: All you need is a flashlight or headlamp, and warm winter clothing. Get the family together and take a night hike around the neighbourhood. End off the walk with a game of flashlight tag in the backyard!
3. Snow Art: Take your craft time outdoors with snow painting! All you need is some food colouring, water, and a spray bottle! Here are a set of instructions to make snow paint.
4. Snow Sports: Set up some nets and get a soccer ball out, play some snow-tackle football, or set up the bases for soccer-baseball. Just because it is winter doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy summer sports in a different way!
5. Winter Obstacle Course: Set up an obstacle course in the yard with jumps, tunnels and other challenges. You can include your dog as well!
6. Snow Animals: What’s your favourite animal? Challenge yourself to make that animal in the snow – whether it’s a penguin, lion, or alligator! You could even use some snow paint to spruce it up!
7. Tracking: Explore the untrampled edges of local parks after a snowfall to look for animal tracks. For more tips on tracking, see “Stories in the Snow: Tracking for kids.”
8. Wandering Winnipeg + BEYOND: Take the family out to visit some of the great places across our province that encourage outdoor activities, like FortWhyte Alive, The Forks, Assiniboine Park, and Riding Mountain Provincial Park (to name a few).
9. Build a Bird Feeder: Make some bird feeders together (with recycled materials from around the house), and quietly watch from across the yard as our little feathered friends enjoy! Here is a guide to make bird feeders with orange peels!
10. Icy Wonderland: Take your children over to your local playground and enjoy your child’s favourite summer space transformed by snow and ice. Remind your children to be safe around the ice and enjoy!
11. S’more Fun in Winter: These camping classics aren’t just for summer! Start up your backyard fireplace and roast those marshmallows, while enjoying some hot chocolate.
12. Winter Picnic: Find a picnic table or take blankets and pack some sandwiches and hot soup in a thermos!
13. Treasure Hunt: This year-round favourite can be tailored to the season, with clues that refer to icicles and items hidden in snowbanks. Similarly, you can set children off in search of the longest icicle they can find.
14. The Classics: Take the whole family out to your local park, rink, or hill for some good old ice skating, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing or tobogganing!
thanks for the list you provided here. This is an awesome blog. More power!
If you’ve never skiied with your child and want to give it a try but not invest in equipment, try Windsor Park Nordic Centre – http://windsorparknordic.ca/rentals
A 2-hour rental for an adult is $10 and for a child is $6 – they have boots, skis, and poles for you! Looks like they even have pulks for you to pull your small child in behind you if you have pre-skiing age kids. Plus some of the trails are lit in the evenings so you don’t have to wait for a weekend if you want to head out after 4:30.
With regard to “Buy Nothing Day,” it reminds me when I constantly hear about following the “Rs” to be environmentally friendly — one that we should be following and never used is “REFUSE,” period. That in a consumers world would produce the most effects.
Thanks for the great tips, Heather. I’ll try to use them on our next family trip to Alps. Btw, it’s really amazing to see that much snow! Our kids can only dream about that here in the UK. Last weekend we actually got out on our bikes for the first time this year… 🙂 -Jack