Winter is a wonderful time of year. It is easy for the cold,
cloudy days to take a toll and make you feel depressed and lethargic. But
winter isn’t going away anytime soon, so instead you should take the time to
enjoy it, and to enjoy it with your students! The ideas we are going to present
you with here work great for field trips or just as ideas to give your students
to get them outside appreciating nature, instead of inside playing video games
for the next several months.
1.
Go sledding. As long as this activity is done in
a safe location, it is a great activity for students. This is the perfect
opportunity to explain sledding safety to your students. The most important
step they can take is to choose a safe hill. Hills should not be too steep and should
have a good, flat surface for the sled to stop on, with no roads or sidewalks
in the way. Hills should also be free of trees fences, and other dangers.
Additionally, hills should be snow covered, not ice covered. Falling off a sled
onto ice can cause serious damage. These tips will help your students have a
great time sledding, and stay safe.
2.
Go ice skating. This is another activity that
can end in injury, so it is important that you give your students plenty of
safety tips so they don’t get hurt. Students should be sure to lace their
skates up tightly. A loose skate means a better chance of falling. While many
people don’t do this, a helmet is a great way to prevent serious head injury.
And something to remember when it comes to ice skating is that you will always
fall. The key is to fall correctly, protecting your head, wrists, and hands.
This doesn’t stop a fall from hurting, but it does stop it from causing a
severe injury.
3.
Go skiing. While skiing may sound like a
dangerous sport, it is actually quite safe when done correctly. I was taken on
several skiing field trips in middle school, and I’d never skied before in my
life. This is a great field trip opportunity, though a pricey one. Skiing is
something you really want to leave to a professional. They can teach kids how
to balance, move, fall correctly, and avoid any dangers associated with the
sport. When done correctly, skiing is an exhilarating and fun school trip and
family activity for the winter months.
4.
Take a winter hike. Winter hikes are a great way
to show natural terrain in a whole new way. Hiking in winter does present a
series of challenges. Obstacles may be concealed by the snow, so students must
take caution while walking. Winter hikes keep students outdoors. They’ll see
animal tracks, snow-covered trees, frozen streams, and other wonders that can
only be seen during a winter hike.
5.
Create a winter scavenger hunt. You can find
plenty of examples online with a simple Google search. It may seem that in
winter there’s not much to look for, but that’s not true. This scavenger hunt
can be both to collect items, and simply spot items. Animal tracks, pine cones,
icicles, berries, and frozen puddles are all great examples of scavenger hunt
items.
6.
Organize a classroom-wide snowball fight. You
will of course want to establish a few rules to keep the activity fun and safe.
The biggest rule by far is that snowballs can only be made with snow. Threaten
that any ice, twigs, or other items placed in snowballs will end the game and
bring about severe consequences. There should also be boundaries, such as no
aiming for the head or direct physical contact. From there pick the teams, let
them make a base, and watch the battle!
7.
Go on a horse-drawn sleigh ride. Rides like this
are sometimes offered in the city, but the best place to do an activity like
this is in the countryside. Students can experience sitting in a sled or wagon
and being pulled through the fields and woods by a team of horses. It’s a great
opportunity to teach about the past, get students closer to nature, and learn
more about animals.
8.
Make ice cream out of snow! This is a fun, cheap
activity that your students will love. Do some searching online to find the recipe
that is perfect for your classroom. You’ll find there are many different recipes
and methods for this tasty concoction.
9.
Attend a winter festival. This is of course an
activity you will likely not do with your students, but it’s a great activity
to share with them. Many cities have some form of a winter festival. These
winter festivals often have activities to offer that students won’t find anywhere
else. Examples include snowshoeing, dog sled races, ice sculpture contests, and
more. Winter festivals can make the bleakness of winter more exciting with
unique activities.
10.
Make snow art! There’s tons of great ways to use
snow to create art. And we mean beyond creating snowmen and snow angels. You
can do crafting with snow, and even add other materials. A great example is
snow painting. Using food coloring with water in spray bottles gives students
the tools they need to make art outside. You may also choose to include
paintbrushes and bowls of “paint” but this can get complicated and a bit messier.
Either way, making art with snow is a great way to nurture creativity.
