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

 

 

Four winter walks to take with your kids …part one – Neighborhood Bingo

Are your little monkeys climbing the walls? Are you climbing the walls? Cabin fever has definitely hit our family hard. I think I may have it worst of all. I am dying to get outside and get moving. How does the saying go, "desperation is the mother of all invention." Well this mama's desperate so here are my inventions! I have come up with four winter walks that will get us outside to walk at least a mile, will be fun for the kids and get them motivated to want to go out and do it again.

Here is the first one.

Neighborhood Bingo: Take a sheet of paper and create a grid with 9-12 boxes on it. In each box, list or draw a picture of something the kids may see outside. Think through a route you want to take and put on an item that may be a landmark such as a school, firehouse, or park so your kids can say "hey I know where I can find that!" Before you know it they will be leading you down the street.

Here are some suggestions to fill in your sheet.

• Left over Christmas decorations
  
• Animals
  
  • Bird
    
  • Squirrels
    
  • Rabbit
    
  • Dogs
    

    
     

• Stop sign
  
• House for sale
  
• Street light
  
• Cars- a blue car, red car, white car etc.
  
• Spell out the letters in their name from license plates and street signs.
  
• House colors – a brown house, white house, blue house
  
• A piece of trash
  
• A park
  

You can either have one sheet for the family and work together or give everyone their own. Making up the sheets do not take long and can be turned into a family activity in preparation for the walk. Make sure to bring a pencil or crayon to mark things off as you find them.

Enjoy.