We used books and field guides to gather information, illustrating the pages and writing information about each bird.
We also made snowflakes out of coffee filters. To make these six pointed, we first folded the circle in half, then in thirds, and then in half once more.
My younger son really liked making the snowflakes and wanted to be able to make "cooler" ones than he was able. We traced a few lines to help him follow to help with his results. It worked well for him! I have seen all kinds of snowflake templates for Star Wars characters, holidays, and other fun themes. In college, a boyfriend sent me a snowflake with my name cut in it. Pretty cool!
Each snowflake was beautiful and different, just like them. A few asked to do them later in the week!
My cool cat husband wanted to try the boiling water vaporizing experiment again, so he heated water in the microwave.
It certainly vaporized quickly! He used a larger bowl this time (2 quarts) and we saw some fall to down to the ground as a solid, which we didn't see the first time. If you try this at home be very careful, have the adults do it, and throw the water away from you in the wind. Very cool!
One of our favorite activities was using the activities from The Treasure Hunt Book (Klutz)
. This was a simple concept with various scavenger hunts already put together. All I needed to do was tear out the pieces and hide them where the book told me. I bought this nearly new book at a garage sale for 75 cents--that was a deal! I had been waiting to use it for a special time. Being stuck inside in frigid temperatures fit the bill!
The hunts started out fairly simple (objects with different colors) and built up to more complex riddles and puzzles. I will say even some of the alphabet ones were hard for the older kids. I used hints, using them as motivation for kids to pick up near them!
This 4-year-old was so cute--as we did the letter hunt, he wanted to make a list of all the things they found. He's been making all kinds of "lists" recently! We did scavenger hunts over and over and over again. I would love to take this concept outside! The kids could make their own hunts for someone else to find. It can be a great way to get a little exercise and fresh air. The kids were racing through the house.
I had been curious about frozen bubbles. I tried them last year when I saw pictures on Pinterest but it wasn't frigid outside and definitely didn't work. I found it hard to get the bubbles to "stick" to the snow long enough to freeze before they popped. I did manage to make a few work, but it wasn't as simple and easy as I thought it would be.
We also made snow ice cream after my husband suggested it. He scooped ice cream from outside for us. We mixed it with evaporated milk (we didn't have cream and ran out of regular milk due to being sequestered for a week), sugar, and vanilla.
It was yummy! Here is a link to a recipe, though there are others out there.
We had a little more cousin fun when another came to visit. Fun day!
