Preparing for Snow Days

 

Now that my daughter is in elementary school snow days have a totally different meaning! Last week her school had 2 (TWO!) fog days in a row after an already scheduled two-hour delay day. I'm not complaining about the fog days, I fully support the school in keeping children safe, I am however realizing that I need to be a little more prepared in order to keep her busy, and myself sane, on these days!

Fog days were easy, once the fog lifted we were able to go do things, like visit the library. Snow days in our area are a different beast - I don't want to be on the roads on those days. So here are some of the things that I'm stocking up on now in order to be prepared for days where we stay home together all day long (these are affiliate links and I receive a percentage of the purchase - but I truly am using these myself and fully endorse them!):

Scholastic Workbooks are my favorite - they're high quality and developmentally appropriate, along with being very cost-friendly, PLUS if your school participates in Scholastic reading clubs you can purchase them through that and earn your child's teacher some free books! It's important to me that a *little* bit of learning is done even on snow days, and these are a really easy way to sneak that in. 

Offering up a good craft is sometimes the only way I can convince my girl to turn off the TV (I know I'm not along in this)! She would much rather create on her own that make something specific from a kit - which makes my Reggio-loving heart happy. Lately, just giving her supplies and letting her go to town has kept her busy for so much longer. This kit from Kid Made Modern has EVERYTHING and would capture any kids attention!

We have one of these drawing tablets in a travel size, and I know the larger one would be a hit. Drawing is always a winning activity, but these have the added feature of fun colors and lights, along with no wasting paper. The big win with something like this is that little ones can use it independently and there's no concern about mess!

Finding ways to MOVE when you're stuck inside is so important! This double-sided kids yoga mat can be used for yoga or flipped over and used for a fun movement game that'll definitely get the wiggles out. 

Speaking of yoga, Yoga Pretzel cards are such a good way to make yoga fun for kids. Unexpected snow days bring a little (or a lot) of stress for parents, so enjoying some of these poses with your child can be a good thing for both of you!

Search and find books are so good for building focus and persistence - and there are SO MANY options available! Where's Waldo is a classic, along with the I Spy collection, but there are also versions for favorite characters and different ages!

When it comes to gathering materials for spontaneous days like these, my biggest tip is to put all of these materials in a tub and store it away, only getting them out on snow days. This keeps them fresh and fun so you don't pull them out only to hear "I don't want to do that"! What are some of your favorite things to have on hand for snow days?