Snow Day Activities to Keep You Keep Your Sanity

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Snow Day Activities to Keep You Keep Your Sanity

Welp…after our first normal school day in two weeks, our school is now delayed two hours and the busses on snow routes. In our case, snow route means we have to drive our kids half a mile to the bus stop. Yes, I am well aware my children can walk half a mile (barefoot, uphill, in the snow, both ways) if necessary. But when the bus won’t come up our hill because it is considered dangerous it seems a little foolhardy to send them walking down an ice slick…

So, that’s fun.

Snow days are hard. 

Not because we hate our kids or don’t want to spend more time with them. Snow days are hard because they are unplanned and last-minute. They require a shift in mindset, changing plans, finding last-minute childcare or someone to cover at work. They cause canceled appointments or just last minute shuffling.

We’ve had over 6,000 snow days so far this year. Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration, but it certainly feels like it. So my creativity is being put to the test. Here are some things we have come up with to help us navigate unexpected days home.

Here are some ideas for snow day activities to keep you sane.

First of all, relax.

I know. I know it is hard when you have plans that have to be shifted and appointments canceled. But it is always a good idea to take a deep breath and relax when feeling stress.

Bake with Your Kids

I know how hard it can be to find time during busy school weeks to bake with our children. As I told Chuck years ago, having the kids help me around the house means I can do half the work in twice the time! Despite the sad reality of that statement, kids need to work around the house. So why not teach them some fun skills.

Maybe today is the day you attempt baking bread. Or scones. Or The Best Monster Cookies on the planet.

Declare a Reading Day

One of the things my kids miss the most about homeschooling is having hours to read. They feel like they have to squeeze in reading and always feel the pressure to read AR books instead of rereading old favorites or diving into new books that don’t have “enough” points.

Snow days are the perfect day to read. Just for fun.

If you have little kids is a guarantee they will love to snuggle up with you and read a pile of books.

Make Slime. Or Playdough. Or Use this Jello Slime.

I bought this Jell-O Slime in December and had it hidden away. It made a great distraction on yet another snow day. It’s 100% edible and so easy to make (just add water).

Kool-Aid Playdough was always my go to when the kids were young. The colors came out perfect and they smelled so good!

Pull Out an Invention Box

An invention box is simply a box filled with odds and ends (or better yet, old broken appliances) that you hand to your kids and give them free-range to invent something. Back when we were doing DIY Family Camps in the summer, this was one of the kids’ favorite activities. And even better, it was free and easy (no, not that kind of free and easy). This is something we did with our homeschool buddies last year if we were out ideas or too tired to come up with anything more creative. The kids, of course, loved it!

Pull out the Board Games and Puzzles

We usually reserve giant 1000 piece puzzles for Christmas and Thanksgiving. We start them in the morning and spend all day (or days) working on them here and there. Snow days are also perfect for pulling out giant puzzles.

If you aren’t into puzzles, how about board games? We all know Monopoly takes 6 hours to play and Risk 600 hours, so why not pull them out on a snow day and let the kids play to their heart’s content?

Here is a list of some of our favorite board games to play as a family.

Make Ice Cream

I scream you scream (we all know the kids will scream!)

Seriously, who doesn’t love ice cream??? If you love coffee as much as I do, you should try my Vanilla Latte Ice Cream or my Mocha Pretzel Ice Cream. If you don’t have an ice cream maker you can make Snow Ice Cream.

Make Snow Days Memorable

I hope these ideas inspire you to make the best of snow days. I know they can be disruptive and stressful, but let’s make the best of it and make some happy memories!