Snowman Sculptures If there's one craft kids can't resist, it's sculpting. Children are born to squish, roll and stick stuff together. MATERIALS: 2 cups mild, powdered laundry detergent (we tested and recommend Ivory Snow Ultra) 1/2 cup water Toothpicks Twigs, cloves, buttons, felt, seed beads, tempera paints, egg carton and pipe cleaner To mix up a batch of faux snow, pour the Ivory Snow into a bowl, add the water and whip with an electric beater until doughy. Shape the damp soap into three balls. Stack them by gently pushing a toothpick halfway into the center of the bottom ball. Then, push the middle ball down onto the toothpick until the two balls touch. Do the same for the snowman's head. Now, add twig arms, clove eyes, shirt buttons and a felt scarf. To make a smiling mouth, press on a row of seed beads. For a mini carrot nose, color the tip of a short twig with orange paint. Top off the snowman with an egg-cup hat or a set of pipe-cleaner earmuffs. As the soap dries (this can take a few hours), it will lose its grayish tinge and turn bright white. Mixed-up Mittens HOW TO PLAY: 1. Have the kids remove their mittens and place them in a heap in the middle of a big room. Make sure that the mittens are mixed up. 2. Then have the children stand in a circle around the pile (about ten feet away). 3. At your signal, the players should race to locate their own mittens; the first child to find and don the right winter gear and shout "mitten match" wins. VARIATIONS: You can complicate matters by including hats or boots in the pile, too. Indoor Winter Camping Another fun idea is to try an afternoon camp out right in your living room. You can start by setting up a children's tent right in your living room. There very small and easy to assemble. Then you can surprise your kids with their own sleeping bags. You can roast marshmallows, and tell stories. Your kids will definitely love camping out in the house on a day where they can not play outside. These are just a very few suggestions on fun things that you can do during those very cold winter days when children just can not get outdoors. Snow Painting: A Great Idea Snow painting is a fun family activity. All you need is a few water bottles with a squirt top, some water and food coloring and some snow. Fill each bottle with water and some food coloring and then head outside. A little imagination and some creativity will result in some great works of art. Viewing Snow Flakes What you'll need: Viewing platform: black velvet, dark cloth, or black construction paper Magnifying glass Snowflakes are delicate creatures and their fine crystalline shape can vanish at the touch of warmth. You'll need to freeze your viewing surface (keep it in the fridge or outside in a cold dry area). If the snow is falling, just hold your platform aloft to catch a few flakes and view with your magnifying glass. You may need to wear a scarf over the mouth and nose to avoid melting the flakes with a warm breath. Gross Motor Activities If you can't face the cold and wet, here are some ideas for indoor versions of outdoor activities. You can also make up your own. Encourage your child to throw a scarf up in the air and catch it on her arm, leg or head. Let your child kick a balloon up as high as possible, or use a fly swat or plastic bat to hit it. Games with hand clapping and ball rolling are also good indoors and help develop coordination and movement skills = you can set up your own indoors game of ten-pin bowls using a tennis ball and some plastic bottles. Build a fort together out of chairs and blankets. Have races around the living room. Snowball Soap fine motor winter activity Get ivory soap and soak it in water over night, then break it into halves. Give it to the children to mold like play dough into a snowball. When it dries it flakes up like a real snowball. You can put it into a sandwich bag to send home with a poem that reads: My snowball soap, I made it just for you. To help me learn about Winter, And keep my hands clean too! Winter books: Dream Snow by Eric Carle Frozen Noses by Jan Carr Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett Snowballs by Lois Ehlert The Mitten by Jan Brett The Snowman by Raymond Briggs The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats Time to Sleep by Denise Fleming Under My Hood I Have a Hat by Karla Kuskin