What to watch: The Snowy Day
Where to find it: Amazon Prime
Best for ages: 2 and up
Run time: 40 min
Why We Recommend The Snowy Day
Why you will like The Snowy Day on Amazon Prime: The Snowy Day, originally a book by Ezra Jack Keats, follows a little boy named Peter as he walks from his house to his Grandmas. Along the way he meets all the different people in his neighborhood. His journey will show your child that in one small neighborhood there are so many different people who are diverse and celebrate different holidays. It also shows through all these differences the neighbors all appreciate one another and help each other in their community. You will also love that Peter learns the meaning of giving during the holiday season, even if we do not have much to give.
Why your kids will love it: Your little ones will love it because of the beautiful and inviting winter wonderland that Peter walks through to get to his grandmother's house. They will love all the different activities that take place in the snow like seeing the different tracks Peter makes in the snow and the snowball fights. They will feel love & connection when Peter interacts with his family and neighbors.
Snowy Sensory Wonderland
I tried out many (I mean many!!!) different snow recipes that I found online until I found the one I liked (aka the least messy). The recipe that felt the most snow-like, not super messy, and even felt cold to touch was the combination of baking soda & hair conditioner. Have a little one that likes to put everything in their mouth? If this is the case I would substitute the ingredients with cornstarch and vegetable oil. However, I do warn you that the cornstarch was much messier than the non-edible version!
Estimated activity time:
To Make: 5 mins
Play Time: Depending on your child's focus anywhere from 10 mins to well over an hour. (Logan has now played with it two days in a row for over an hour.)
Materials needed:
2.5 cups of baking soda
1/2 Cup of hair conditioner
Bowl
Pan or bin (to let your little one make their winter scene and play with)
Table cloth or large paper (this can get messy! If you are playing inside get something to put under the pan to collect any snow that "blows" away from your winter wonderland sensory bin)
Step 1: Pour Baking Soda into a bowl and slowly add in conditioner a little bit at a time. You want to make it so it has a crumbly look but you can also form little snowballs that can stick together. This is great to do with your kid so they can help you see if you need more of either ingredient to get the texture of "snow".
Step 2: Pour fake snow into the bin or pan and add in little toys complete your snowy scene! We had some snow-themed items we found at the dollar tree for our Christmas Village, so we used these, and Logan of course needed to add in his favorites, such as Darth Vader, a dinosaur, a knight, and an astronaut. The next day he decided to make a Santa out of an old bottle. He got this idea from our previous Curious Couch Potatoes post which featured instructions for making snowmen out of old bottles (inspired by the movie Frozen).
Step 3: Play together and discuss The Snowy Day movie with these discussion questions:
What kind of tracks can we make in our snow like Peter did in the movie?
What was your favorite part about the movie?
What can we use as a sled like Peter wanted in the movie? (Logan and I used a water bottle cap.)
What can we use to make forts for a snowball fight like the neighborhood kids did in The Snow Day? (Logan and I had a mini snowball fight after we selected which characters were on our team.)
For older kids - What lessons do you think Peter learned from his walk?
For younger kids - What does the snow feel like?
Step 4: Share the fun you are having with us on Social Media! Be sure to tag us @curiouscouchpotatoes when you try any of our activities.
Jeanette's Educational Insights:
Families have holiday traditions, some more some less. Identifying with your family's traditions helps a child embrace their role in the family and connect the generations. Whether it's who gets to put the star or angel at the top of the tree or light the first Hanukkah candle in your home. The Snowy Day presents an opportunity to discuss family, your family's traditions, and the traditions of other people in your community.
A plus to playing with "snow" is the development of fine motor muscles. Squeezing and molding the "snow" builds the muscles in their hands which will help them hold and manipulate a pencil. As they get a bit older use clay which will develop the hand muscles further.
Children learn through all their senses. Making and playing with the "snow" allows your child to feel texture. Feeling the texture helped Logan and Patrice discover they needed to add more conditioner to the formula. Building the forts & snowballs based on what your child is imagining helps your child feel the placements of each part and have a better understanding of spatial awareness.