Winter life in the Upper Valley can easily get overshadowed by the daunting chores: keeping fires going, shoveling snow and other physical needs of survival. At the same time, winter is amazingly beautiful here.
Unfortunately, because we need to cope with some of the increased responsibilities that winter brings, it takes a conscious effort to slow our minds. If we do so, that allows us to be in the moment to feel, see and experience beauty and the “wow” factor of Upper Valley winters. In working with families with young children, I am forever trying to think about how to make it easier for families to allow themselves to appreciate the beauty first.
In addition to the natural phenomenon of the season, there are clear physical, developmental, and emotional health benefits for children living and playing outside in the winter. Here are a few ways families can enjoy experiencing winter together:
■Explore, observe, and appreciate nature: Turn every trip to the car, to the mailbox, etc., into a nature walk, an opportunity to explore and wonder.
■Enhance motor skills and problem solving: Go for a walk through the deep snow and wind, build snow people, make snow angels, pull sleds up a hill and create a snow fort.
■Play cooperatively with siblings and friends: Go on a nature walk, create a scavenger hunt and build snow structures together. See who can make the biggest snowball or the tallest snow mountain, slide down age-appropriate hills together.
■Experience healthy exposure to sunlight: Spend time outside in natural light, which can influence overall well being, improve sleep and boost immune systems.
■Create family traditions and memories: Build “snow chairs” around a fire and roast marshmallows or hot dogs, or go on a family hike together to mark the season.
While the cold temperatures often make it necessary for families to spend more time indoors in the winter, there are plenty of opportunities for shared memories and activities inside. As I’m planning activities in my role with The Family Place, I recognize that during these long winter months, sometimes “getting out” means getting out of the house, having opportunities to socialize and have organized activities with other families. We coordinate indoor playgroups, parent/child workshops and parent education offerings for families that can be a breath of fresh air during the coldest days.
I appreciate the slower pace of winter and often cuddle up on the couch with a comfy blanket and read some fun books about snow and winter. Some books I recommend for families reading and learning about snow together: “A Snowy Day,” by Ezra Jack Keats, “First Snow,” by Bomi Park, “Soup Day,” by Melissa Iwai, and “Tracks in the Snow,” by Wong Hubert Yee.
Here are some other indoor activities families can enjoy together:
■Play interactive winter-themed games: Make paper snowballs and have a snowball fight. Mix white playdough and create indoor snow people. Bring in snow from the outside and paint in the snow. Build snow people out of cotton balls and glue.
■Cook and decorate food together: Make hot chocolate and cookies to dunk. Create snowflakes using pretzels. Use yogurt cups to build snowmen. Make snow people out of pancakes.
■Listen to and sing winter songs: “The Mitten Chant,” “If all the Snowflakes Were Candy Bars and Milkshakes,” “Funny Little Snowman,” “Snowflake, Snowflake.”
The next time you hear a snowstorm is coming, instead of grumbling about the cold, ice and wind, I challenge you to think of the beauty first and share that with the children in your life. Together you can experience the excitement of seeing, feeling and exploring the blanket of white snow; of holding, touching and tasting an icicle, and the giggle you make when you feel the wind in your face when sledding down a hill. Be in the moment and allow yourself and your child to “stop to catch a snowflake.”
Lori Stever is the Parent Education Coordinator at The Family Place in Norwich.