The winter scavenger hunt your kids will LOVE
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Get outdoors and see how many of these seasonal challenges your kids can complete this winter.
1. Pick up some pine cones
An abundance of pine cones in winter means hours of free entertainment for littles ones.
Whether they decorate them or play skittles with them, there's no end to the fun that pine cones can offer.
2. Make mud pies
When it's way too cold to make sandcastles, it's time to make mud pies.
All it takes is a few old pots and pans and a little imagination.
If your kids are particularly keen dirt chefs, task them with setting up a 'mud kitchen' in the garden for the winter to help get them outdoors every day.
3. Listen out for the sound ice splintering
The satisfying sound of ice cracking doesn't just live in Hollywood movies or Nordic noirs.
On a frosty morning, head outside and look for frozen puddles. Then jump.
What's not to love?! Encourage kids to 'feel the sound' through the soles of their welly boots. Are there any other wintry sounds they can feel?
Minds = completely blown? We hope so.
4. Taste the rain
If your little one loves puddles more than Peppa, dazzle them with the wonders of looking up to the sky and catching raindrops on their tongue next time you're out in a shower.
Particularly useful for turning frowns upside down when you're unexpectedly caught in the rain :).
5. Collect catkins
As winter starts to give way to spring it's time to go hunting for these woolly wonders.
With their uncanny resemblance to caterpillars, and their soft silky feel against your skin, catkins are a perennial kid's favourite.
Set yours the challenge of finding as many different colours as they can.
6. Work out which way the wind's blowing
Learning to use their finger as a weathervane turns even the tiniest rambler into a full blown expeditioner:
1. Stand as still as possible while facing north, south, east or west directly (use the compass on your phone as a guide).
2. Lick the tip of your index finger and point it upwards.
3. See which side of your finger feels the coolest: whichever direction the cool side of your finger is facing is the direction the wind is coming from.
Next stop, the North Pole!
7. Crunch frozen grass underfoot
Imagine you're writing the next instalment of We're Going on a Bear Hunt. You can't go over it. You can't go under it. You've got to go through it!
Whoever thinks up the best word for the sound the ground makes is the winner.
8. Stroke an icicle
Avoiding any particularly spiky ones, touching icicles can be a big thrill for little ones.
Ask them to count how long it takes for it to melt in their hand. Or try and carry one home.
Lesson in freezing and melting complete!
