Winter is the Warmest Season

 These two beauties are loving all of the snow we have had.

 Wow am I grateful for Reagan.  She takes Kate outside and plays and plays and plays until Kate is cold.  I should back up a bit, because before they even go out, Reagan gets Kate all bundled up with snow pants, warm socks, boots, a coat, hat, and mittens.  I don't have to do any of it.  I've said this before, but Reagan is an awesome big sister.

 The girls decided to use their beach toys in the snow.

 Boo and Kelly hung out with them.

It was the perfect day for reading Winter is the Warmest Season, a great book that celebrates all of the warmth that winter brings, such as hot chocolate, grilled cheese, mittens, blankets, and a warm house.

Painting Snow

It seems like we went from having no snow at all to having snow every week, several days a week, in the blink of an eye.  I don't mind the snow, but some days it is just too cold to go out and play in it, so we bring it inside.

Kate and I worked together to create a masterpiece with watercolor paints and the snow as our canvas.

 We did some color mixing and made orange, green, and purple snow.

Beautiful, don't you think?

Penguin Party

Here Comes Jack Frost

Here Comes Jack Frost by Kazuno Kohara has been a winter favorite since Collin and Reagan were little.  All of the illustrations are blue and white; it is very appealing visually and almost demands some kind of art project to follow the reading.  A few years ago, I did this same art project with Collin and Reagan.

I used pieces of masking tape on watercolor paper to create trees and then let Kate paint over the tape with blue watercolor paint.

After the paint dried, she tapped a paintbrush dipped in white paint to create snow in the air of  her tree scene.  There was paint everywhere, but Kate loved doing this.  Here is a tiny video (you can also see this video on my Vine page).

 Once all of the paint was dry, Kate peeled off the masking tape to reveal her finished winter scene.

The Snowy Day

We haven't had much snow at all this season, but last week there was a tiny bit on the ground while we were reading The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats.  Kate requests this book often; I think she likes the simplicity of the text and I also think she can relate to the main character, Peter, in a few ways.  I thought she might enjoy extending the book a bit.  

We began with a sensory art project.  Together we made puffy paint using equal parts white glue and shaving cream.  Kate loves the way this paint dries, and it is perfect for "snow" art.

 I had cut a Peter shape out of red construction paper for her to place in the snow.  She sprinkled on a little white glitter to make her snow sparkle.

Kate grabbed a little snow from the deck and placed it in her pocket, just like Peter, to see if she could save it for later.

When she went back to check her pocket, it had melted, just like Peter's snow in the pocket.  She had already hypothesized that it would melt, so she certainly was not surprised, but it was still fun for her.

There wasn't enough snow on the ground for us to make snow angels or footprints/tracks, so we are still hoping to get a good storm soon!

Glittery and Tasty Snowmen

Collin and Reagan both did this same craft when they were younger.  It is one of my favorites because it is so unique and the end result is sparkly and just perfect.  Kate loved it because it requires so much glitter!  It also requires a gymnastics leotard apparently.

After all of her hard work, it was time for a snowman snack.

S is for Snow

Frozen Bubbles

I have wanted to try to make frozen bubbles for years, but I either didn't have bubble solution left from the summer or the weather didn't cooperate.  Well, it has been VERY cold, and I saw bubble solution on sale at Target yesterday.  That's a double win!

After school yesterday, Reagan attempted to blow frozen bubbles without any luck.  I did some research and found that warming the bubble solution first provides the best results.  Reagan and Ellie braved the frigid polar vortex this morning to try again with warm bubble solution.

I put the bubble containers in a bowl of hot water for a while before they went outside.

At first we didn't think it was working, but the girls caught a few bubbles on the wands and they froze before our eyes!

This picture is very blurry, but you can actually see the bubbles in the process of freezing.

Here is a bubble on Reagan's wand that froze as we watched.

The frozen bubbles aren't solid like ice; they are kind of gelatinous and remind me of the bubbles we used in the past that you can grab.

When the bubbles fell to the ground, they shattered, and that was also kind of cool.

Kate wanted to join the fun in the worst way.  I bundled her all up, but the second we got outside she took her mittens off.  She blew two or three bubbles, and returned to the warm house!

Yesterday, a few people asked me how we have time for activities before school.  I was specifically asked what time I wake up and how we manage to do fun stuff so early.  I am usually up around 6:00, and the kids are usually up by 7:00.  If they take the bus, they leave the house at 8:00; if I drive them or we walk, they have to be at school by 8:50.  Ellie (our neighbor) comes over at 7:20 every morning.  After giving them breakfast, and packing lunches, we usually have about thirty minutes on the days they take the bus.  I try to have something fun for them to do to start the day; I think it's nice to head off to school with something fun on their minds rather than just sitting in front of the television.  I'm also fortunate that I don't usually have to rush out and I'm still in my pajamas setting up any activities.  Nothing we do before school is very elaborate (although a few of the activities have been more complex than I expected, and those required more than just one morning), and most of the activities only take a few minutes to plan and execute.  Also, most of the time the activities are so simple that they aren't even blog-worthy.  Sometimes the kids choose not to do the planned activity, and that is fine too!  Reagan and Ellie played a game yesterday instead of making bird feeders, and Collin wasn't interested in being out in the cold today.  I know that mornings can be difficult for some people, and not everyone has time to play before school, but we are very lucky that mornings are only mildly chaotic here, and we usually have time for fun.  If it makes for a positive start to their day, then it's well worth the few minutes it takes me to plan something fun!!!