Enjoy these fun indoor & outdoor activities for your next snow day!
Like so many others, we are having a ‘snow day’ this week (actually, it’s an ice day today but who knows what tomorrow might bring — my kids are hoping for a repeat performance :).
You can’t go out much (really, driving is horrendous) and it’s not like you had time to plan ahead since snow days are always a surprise.
But that shouldn’t stop you from having some fun today and even creating a few memories.
Here are a few creative ways to spend the day without going crazy from cabin fever!
25 FUN Snow Day Activities for Kids & Adults
Whether you want to spend some time inside away from the elements or outdoors enjoying nature, we have a slew of ideas for you along with a few affiliate links to items that will make the day fly by!
Indoor Snow Day Ideas
Maybe there’s a new board game you haven’t played together?
Or something your kids have been wanting to do (like baking cookies!).
Now’s the time!
- Make String Phones from a cup and some string or yarn – directions here from Science Kids
- Play some of the FREE printable Winter-themed Games
- How many old Disney movies have your kids seen? Stream a movie like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or Swiss Family Robinson — Amazon has a TON of the old classics avaiable!
- Build & create something from junk! Try taking apart a broken household appliance to make your own DIY Tinker Kit and see what makes it tick!
- Start a scrapbook of all those favorite items, awards and keepsakes.
- Put a tent up in the living room and have an indoor campout!
- Make an ice mold to hang in your window — these are gorgeous in winter!
Get to Know Each Other (again!)
Kids grow up too quick!
And you and I both know how fast the days and weeks fly by. Sometimes we just don’t get enough time to connect as a family — we’re together having meals, running errands and doing homework but some weeks lack those quality hours that we need to connect.
- Growing Book by Book has a great list of ‘What if’ questions that you can print out! Use these to generate some fun conversation with the kids.
- Let your kids ask you questions about growing up – what was your favorite book, who was your best friend, which vacation memory was the funniest — then turn the tables and ask them the same! Or use this free printable list of 20 Questions and get to know your kids again.
- Pull on some old home movies – you know, of your kids when they were so young that they don’t recognize themselves. Or go through your old photos and experience a blast into your past.
- Connect with relatives afar – call grandma and grandpa, draw a picture and write a note to a distant cousin, Facetime with someone you love!
READ!
The teachers will thank you if your kids squeeze in a little reading time 🙂 And it makes for great ‘down time’ for everyone.
- Pull out some books that your kids may not have read for a while.
- Don’t have much to read at home? We’ve got a list of 10 Great Websites with FREE Kids Books – use on your iPad, Kindle, laptop or phone.
- Pair a book with winter fun – here’s a few ideas of fun activites that go along with a book.
- Want an activity that goes along with a book? Check out these 100+ free Online Games & Printable Activities for some of your favorite kids books (both picture & chapter)!
Snow Day Outdoor Activities
Seriously! Being cooped up in the house isn’t good for anyone – get everyone outside for a while as long as it’s safe.
- Build a snowman
- Shovel the driveway or walkway
- Find out how much water is in snow with this easy experiment
- Make a snow fort
- Go on a snow hike and see who else is outside enjoying the day
- Help a neighbor to dig out
- See what animals might be enjoying the cold by Exploring Animal Tracks in the Snow
Pass on Some Wisdom
A snow day may just be the opportunity you need to pass on some life skills and wisdom.
- Experiment with density by mixing some household items in this cool experiment from Steve Spangler!
- Teach your kids a little science — try an easy sink or float experiment using fruit & veggies! Or this fun “Make a Gong out of a Spoon” experiment that will amaze them!
- I love this sensory experiment that just uses spices from your cupboard from A Little Learning for Two – create some ‘scent cards’ and have your kids guess the different smells. You can ask ‘which do you think we use to bake cookies?’ or ‘which has a strong odor?’ Kids really enjoy this one!
- Talk about money – do your kids know the values of the coins? Have you talked about why it’s important to save money? Do they appreciate how much their activities cost? Start the conversation.
- Think about ways that you can ‘be greener’ at home – ideas to reduce, reuse and recycle. Here’s a list by age of the topics kids can help with in a quest to be more environmentally friendly!
Forget about the Weather
Sometimes you just have to close the shades and forget about what’s going on outside.
- Start some spring gardening activities. You may even have some seeds and potting soil in the garage – plant a few in a cup to get those seedlings started!
- Have an island day with these Island Activities & Movies — play some Hawaiian music, enjoy a tropical snack and think ‘sunny’ thoughts!
- Create a cool indoor fort – blanket fort, sheet fort, pillow fort, turn the closet into a fort – give the kids some building time and encourage creativity! Print off these FREE Fort Signs as a fun surprise too.