Snow has covered the roads and the school district has called a snow day. Students cheer and parents jeer as the family wakes up together. Many ask each other “now what do we do at home?” Here are some options for snow day activities students can do when classes are canceled.
Grade school students can do ready to make arts and crafts. Take colored or construction paper and cut out a doll form. Tape or glue the doll form to popsicle sticks, q-tips, or straws to turn the doll into a puppet. Cut out or draw different clothing pieces and dress up the paper doll. Create several outfits or styles and put on a puppet show of a favorite book or film.
Students can read a favorite story and put a “twist” on the ending. Take a popular fairy tale or myth and rewrite the outcome. Turn a tragic story into a happily ever after. Draw several movie posters of the new story and put them on display for the family. If there are multiple snow days, create a script, try on some costumes, and put on a play.
Dust off the family atlas and create “road trips” to favorite places. Map out the route and mileage to the nearest state park or national landmark. Create a budget for the trip, including gas, food, and lodging. Using index cards or card stock, draw and create postcards from your trip destinations. Write up the facts and features of your destination place and “mail” it to your mom and dad.
In the same vein of landmarks and places, use the newspaper, online news, or the television to research a current or daily event. Write up the 5 “Ws” of who, what, when, where, and why. Create a picture or poster of the event. Describe what is happening and locate the place of origin on a map. Search the event on other news sources and compare your version with others. Pick one local news source and one foreign news source and draw a comparison chart of the different perspectives of the event.
Finally, create an international buffet. Bake different cookies or breads using flavors from different countries. Cook up meat dishes or vegetables representing various flavors of the world. Mix up different teas or juices from exotic lands. Dress up the table with a tablecloth, decorate with cut outs from magazines, and find accompanying music to set the dinner table for a nice international flair.
With all the creative ideas going, the hours out of the classroom will fly right by. Students may end up learning a different kind of lesson in spite of school closings for snow.
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