Even homeschoolers can have snow day fun

Bundle up and head outside! Your kids will have so much fun playing in the snow that they might not realize that they're in the middle of a physical education class. Shoveling sidewalks, rolling the body of a giant snowman and having a snowball fight are all activities that can be a good workout for both you and your children.Cooking can be an important part of your homeschool lessons, so take the opportunity on a snowy day to make some special treats together. Your kids will have a blast making snow ice cream from clean, fresh snow; if you'd prefer, you can replace the snow with shaved ice. If a warm treat is more appealing on a cold day, make homemade hot cocoa or a pot of soup with your children.A snowy day is a great opportunity to curl up with a good book, and books about winter weather are especially good reads when the snow is blowing. Young children will enjoy "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats and "The Jacket I Wear in the Snow" by Shirley Neitzel. Independent readers can try "Winter of the Ice Wizard" by Mary Pope Osborne or "The Long Winter" by Laura Ingalls Wilder; these chapter books also make excellent family read-alouds.View the list »
First thing in the morning on a snowy day, take a ruler outside and measure the depth of snow that has already fallen. Throughout the day, take additional measurements. Record your findings on a chart or a graph. For an additional challenge, measure the snow using two different units of measurement, such as inches and centimeters.

Homeschooling newsletter

For traditionally school students, winter weather often means a break from school, but homeschoolers don't have much of an excuse for taking the day off when the weather turns nasty. However, a snow day can still be fun for homeschool students. Check out this list for five suggestions of ways to make a snow day a special occasion in your homeschool.

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Snow days are a fact of life for Illinois families. Peoria sees snowfall on 19.9 days of an average year. The average annual snowfall in Peoria is 24.6 inches, or 62.5 centimeters. Other area cities receive a similar amount of snow each year, such as Urbana, which gets about 23.2 inches, and Springfield, which gets about 20.9 inches.

If you're looking for a way to turn those inevitable snowy days into homeschooling fun, check out this list for ideas. You'll find activity suggestions, plus links to recipes, worksheets and books that will make a snow day just as exciting for your students as it is for schoolkids.

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  • First thing in the morning on a snowy day, take a ruler outside and measure the depth of snow that has already fallen. Throughout the day, take additional measurements. Record your findings on a chart or a graph. For an additional challenge, measure the snow using two different units of measurement, such as inches and centimeters.
  • A snowy day is a great opportunity to curl up with a good book, and books about winter weather are especially good reads when the snow is blowing. Young children will enjoy "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats and "The Jacket I Wear in the Snow" by Shirley Neitzel. Independent readers can try "Winter of the Ice Wizard" by Mary Pope Osborne or "The Long Winter" by Laura Ingalls Wilder; these chapter books also make excellent family read-alouds.
  • Cooking can be an important part of your homeschool lessons, so take the opportunity on a snowy day to make some special treats together. Your kids will have a blast making snow ice cream from clean, fresh snow; if you'd prefer, you can replace the snow with shaved ice. If a warm treat is more appealing on a cold day, make homemade hot cocoa or a pot of soup with your children.
  • Bundle up and head outside! Your kids will have so much fun playing in the snow that they might not realize that they're in the middle of a physical education class. Shoveling sidewalks, rolling the body of a giant snowman and having a snowball fight are all activities that can be a good workout for both you and your children.
  • Many free snow-themed printables are available online, so reinforce the skills that your child is learning with pages that add to the excitement of a snow day. Teacher Planet has free resources, including winter vocabulary pages and a snowman connect-the-dots. After signing up for a free account, you can print a snowflake matching page from Education.com. ABC Teach offers winter writing prompts, mazes, word puzzles and more. For little ones, print a few activities from a winter preschool pack.
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Suggested by the author:

, Peoria Homeschooling Examiner

Meghan Ross is a homeschooling mother of two young children in central Illinois. She has been working with children for 15 years, in church, public school, and homeschooling settings. She believes that good books and hands-on activities make lessons come to life for both children and the adults...

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