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*** Monthly Feature Column ***
Positively Speaking
Building Assets in your Kids
Asset #17 – Play and Creative Activities
by Kelly Curtis from Pass the Torch
Although I can’t speak for those living in warmer climates, I know in northern Wisconsin many of us tend to hibernate in the winter. The fun play activities that are so easy to organize outside in the summer months sometimes disappear altogether in January and February. Even on mild, sunny days, when the temperature rises above the freezing point, it can be daunting to manage the bulky winter gear required for creating snowmen and forts. But our diligence in encouraging creative play with our kids really does pay off.
Search Institute has identified Play and creative activities as one of the 40 Developmental Assets, which means research shows it’s a characteristic of healthy, caring, resilient kids. The more assets youth have, the more likely they’ll resist risky behaviors in the future. Search defines play and creative activities for young children as: “The child has daily opportunities to play in ways that allow self-expression, physical activity and interaction with others.”
There are few activities more special to kids than those done with Mom or Dad, and fun activities may be easily within your reach – even in the coldest days of winter. Hook up with another family and try some of these fun winter ideas with your children:
Get outside. Watch your weather forecasts and plan ahead for simple and short outdoor activities on mild days.
- Bundle up with your child and help them to make a snowman, build a fort or create a snow angel.
- Go for a scavenger hunt in your backyard.
- Play “I Spy” in a walk through your neighborhood. Drag a sled along in case little legs get tired on the way home
Bring outside in. Who says you can’t play ball inside?
- Clear a spot in the basement that is dedicated to rowdy play during the winter. Remove any objects that might be breakable or harmful, and volley a beach ball back and forth.
- Buy a remnant piece of carpet and extra carpet pad for one corner of the family room. Designate it as the “tumbling area.”
- Pitch a tent in an unused area of the house and encourage your kids to haul in their pillows and sleeping bags. The physical work you ask them to do is good for their bodies.
Go somewhere! Why reinvent what communities may already provide for us?
- Visit a children’s museum or science museum in your area. Many have hands-on exhibits designed for younger children. (I’ve written about several in Minneapolis, Chicago and Florida.)
- Purchase a day pass at the YMCA, if you don’t have a membership, or ask your local motel for resident rates to use the pool.
- Go for lunch at a fast-food restaurant with an indoor play area.
How do you help your kids find fun in the winter?
Thanks for joining in to build assets in your kids! I look forward to seeing you again next month for Positively Speaking.
Kelly Curtis is a Wisconsin school counselor and author of Empowering Youth: How to Encourage Young Leaders to Do Great Things. To read more about Kelly, please visit her Weblog, Pass the Torch.
Jessica says
Great ideas, me and my husband were just brain storming idea. Good website. tks
Jenn in AZ says
Thanks for this post! Oddly enough, we have to plan to stay inside during the summer months, because we have such hot temps here in the desert.
I do love scavenger hunts and also treasure hunts! I have done quite a few treasure hunts. The really fun ones are city-wide, driving ones for teens/adults. They usually last all day and they have to do some potentially humbling (read: embarrassing!) things sometimes to get the next clue. I do have some younger TH for my kids, too. I like the macro photo hunts. I did one for my dd’s bday party. I took about 30 macro photos (or you can just take close-ups and crop it in close with photo-editing software). If the photo was a stack of VHS tapes, it usually only showed a small portion of two stacked, or something, and the next photo would be hidden there. The kids LOVED it and so did I. I have also done puzzle TH and such.
My kids also LOVE building forts in the house. We have had them span the entire living room and hallway to include the bathroom and of course the television! It’s loads of fun.
Thanks again! Love this site and your posts! (Sorry this is so long!)
Jenn
http://azhometeachin.wordpress.com
Jen says
We live in a small apartment (two bedrooms for 2 adults and 2 kids with a small living room (14×20 including eating area)), but that doesn’t keep us from having fun. We clear the living area for a day by pushing the dining table into the kitchen and let the kids run wild there. Its inconvenient for me as I try to work in the kitchen, because it takes up most of the space but our daughters love it! We also set up a crash down area with the couch cushions and pillow at one end of our living room. The girls run and throw themselves into the pile of cushions, yelling “Crash down!”
Last idea about getting out: We take our letter magnets to the mall and tool around. Our 18 month old likes to sit in the stroller and hold the letters, and our 3 year old loves to hop around and find letters on the shop signs that match the one in her hand. Best done before the mall gets hopping!
Brenda Prentice says
Those are some wonderful ideas. One thing that I do for my 2 year old and one year old is to bring in one of their bigger outdoor toys, ratating them once a week. Their little tykes slide, little tykes kitchen, swimming pool (filled with stuffed animals), etc.
Tara B says
I’m down in Florida….so I’m not experiencing any real weather at this point, but those are still great ideas to get outside with my kids with or without snow…and thanks for posting the “Florida” link for the museums and exhibits! Those are not too far from me and we’re always looking for fun family outing ideas!
Stephanie says
Great ideas! I smiled when I read the part about “hibernation” in the winter. Here in Arizona, the winter is the best time of year to be outdoors (the spring and autumn are pretty nice too). It’s the summers that we have to be worried about…with 90+ degree weather!