CCCC Activity of the Month: Those Long Winter Days

The months of January and February drag by. This is the time when most of Kern County is covered by a thick, Tule Fog. Our days are cold, gray and dreary. Young children, who crave outdoor play, are forced to stay inside because of the weather.

When these days force you and the children indoors, be prepared. Plan at least five activities to chase the foggy day blues away. Be careful to choose activities that fit a child's mood (for example, try games in the children are rowdy and restless.) Here are some suggestions:

1. Hang old sheets against the wall and place chairs together underneath to make a new play space. Children can pretend this new area is a tent, a clubhouse, even an airplane or ship. Children can pretend to be explorers or airplane pilots, take tickets and serve snacks, and other can be passengers. On a signal from the pilot, the passengers can bump and lurch through a storm.

2. Start foggy traditions, like making up songs or nursery rhymes to sing:

    (Sung to the Tune of Rain, Rain, Go Away)

    Fog, fog, go away
    Come again some other day
    The kids and I want to play
    Come again some other day!

3. Make Fog In A Jar
Age 4 and older
Here is what you need:

    quart mayonnaise jar and metal lid
    boiling water
    empty can
    ice cubes
    flashlight
1. Talk with children about how it looks outside. What color is the sky? Where is the sun?
2. Then, pour about half a cup of boiling water into the mayonnaise jar and cover it with the lid. Allow children to feel the warmth of the jar.
3. Put ice cubes into the can and allow children to feel its coldness. Place the can on top of the jar lid and encourage children to observe what happens. The warm, moist air in the jar will begin to look steamy, forming fog in the jar.
4. Shine a flashlight through the jar. Like the sunlight on a cloud, the flashlight makes the steam look whiter. Gradually, as the water droplets in the steam become larger (thus blocking more of the light), the steam will begin to look gray.
5. Point out the water droplets forming on the lid inside the jar. Some drops may roll down the side of the jar or simply drop like rain.
6. Explain that the inside of the jar is like the outdoors. That is, when the warm, moist air of the cloud meets cool air, the water inside the cloud forms droplets and falls as rain. Explain that this process is called condensation.

4. Cold Weather Lotto
Ages 3-4
Here is what you need:

    2 pictures each of 9 different weather-related objects (umbrellas, coats, boots, hats, scarves, mud puddles, clouds, raindrops, lightning, gutters, buckets) cut from magazines and catalogs clear
    adhesive-backed plastic or laminator
    Cover the pictures with plastic or laminate them.
    Make sure you have two of each item.

Place pictures in a basket or box. Encourage children to match the pictures.

5. Flying Feather
Ages 3 and older

Here is what you need:

    feathers

Divide children into groups of three and four. Give each group a feather. Encourage children to puff and blow to keep the feather in the air.

For older children, set a timer for 2-3 minutes. Keep track of how many times the feather touches a child or hits the floor. When the time sounds, the group with the lowest number of points wins. Divide the children into different groups, and continue playing.

6. Hunt the Thimble
Age 4 or older
Here's what you need:

    thimble, acorn, stone, or other small object

Send children out of the room, and place the thimble in a spot where children can see it without moving furniture or other objects. You might place it on a bookshelf, inside a cup, or on the window sill, for example. Call children back into the room to hunt for it. Explain that when they see it, they must not say anything or point to it but rather sit down quietly. Continue until all children have spotted the missing thimble.

7. Indoor Basketball
You will need:

    a wastebasket
    paper from the recycle bin
    and masking tape (optional)

Tape lines on the floor to mark distances from the waste basket. Your child can "scrunch" up the paper for balls while you do this. It's now time to start shooting "hoops". Begin at the easiest tape line and work up. In our house this activity has been used as a fun math skill game. Make a graph of successful baskets from each line -and how many all together?

8. Get a Charge
Static electricity at its best!
You'll need:

    An inflated balloon
    An empty aluminum can

Have your child rub the balloon vigorously against his hair or sweater. Try to move the can along the floor using the static generated from the balloon. OR, Experiment with different objects...where the balloon will stick? The Drapes, Wall, Refrigerator...Older kids can graph the static results: Where did it stick? How long?

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS SUPERVISE CHILDREN WHEN THEY ARE USING BALLOONS!!!

9. Creative movement is perfect for a rainy day because it gives children a chance to do what they love best: move around! Dance, pantomime and movement games add to the fun. Guide the movement with suggestions and ideas for responding to the music. Keep it calm and organized with special music, try opera or nature sounds. Give children scarves or long pieces of crepe paper to dance with.

For more fun activities and recipes for all ages, check out our EverydayLearning.Net website!

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