Winter Walk part two – The Great Gutter Races

So I have already admitted that I am desperate to get outside. I know several of you are going to read my next suggestion and think I am NUTS. But really, I just want to get outside and my kids really did love this. I am a mama who goes by the saying "dirt don't hurt," and I am extending that to include gutter water - doesn't that just make you want to read on.

This walk only works if you have just had a good rain, or snow is melting. Announce to your kids that today is The Great Gutter Races. (I hold firmly that parenting is 93% marketing.) They have the important job of finding the best race course in your neighborhood. Where does the water go the fastest? Where is the best stretch of gutter without a dam? What will be the best course? To test this you will have search the neighborhood. Pick a number of how many courses you are going to test, depending on how far you want to walk. This will keep your kids moving. Pick a route off main roads, without traffic and with sidewalks to keep your kiddos safe.

Let kids gather leaves and small twigs to use for their races. I made up the rule that you can only use leaves or twigs one time, so once you put it in the water, you can't get it out again. This kept the girls from getting wet trying to fish their precious leaf boats out of the gutter. In Denver it is just too cold for that right now.

On our next big snow melt off day, we are going to make some little paper boats before we go on our walk. Here is a site with great step by step instructions and pictures to go with each step. http://www.ehow.com/how_2000722_make-paper-boat.html