Healthy and Fun Snow Day Ideas

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but staying indoors with your kiddos is … driving you crazy? If cold weather and snow days have given your family the winter jitters, we’ve created a list of ideas to keep you and your kids healthy and moving, even on the chilliest winter days.

Outdoor snow day activities

While Oklahoma may be prone to wintery mixes, we occasionally get a snow day that makes all the school kids cheer. When the ground is covered in snow, bundle up your kids and get them outside with these fun ideas to get their bodies moving:

• Make snow angels.
• Build a snowman or other fun snow critters.
• Organize a snowball fight, but be sure to establish clear rules to keep everyone from getting hurt.
• Go sledding.
• Play tic-tac-toe in the snow.
• Create a snow fort.
• Play snow touch-football.
• Go for a walk to explore your snow-covered neighborhood.
• Hold a hula hoop contest in the snow and see who can hoop the longest.
• Give your kids water bottles filled with colored water and let them “paint” the snow in your yard.
• Freeze colored water in ice cube trays, and then hide these frozen blocks around your yard for a fun scavenger hunt.
• Draw a circle in the snow and then host a snowball throwing contest to see who can hit the target from the farthest distance.
• Bury cups in the snow for golf holes and host a putt-putt tournament.

Stay active indoors during cold weather

When it’s just too blustery to head outdoors, don’t settle for a lazy day on the couch. Shake up your snow day and stay warm with these indoor activities.

• Set up empty toilet paper tubes or soda cans in a hallway for an intense game of indoor bowling.
• Play hide and seek.
• Rather than breaking out sit-down board games, roll out the Twister mat and get moving!
• Play charades.
• Turn on some music and play freeze dance. Everyone dances until you randomly stop the music.
• Make an obstacle course throughout your house and time your kids as they work through it.
• Host a dance party.
• Hold an exercise contest, seeing who can complete the most number of jumping jacks, push-ups, etc.
• Play Simon Says and make it as active as possible.
• Hide a stuffed animal in the house and send your kids on a “bear hunt.”
• If your kids want to play video games, break out an interactive video game console to keep them moving.

Enjoy winter without sacrificing your health

Even when the temperatures have dropped, it’s important to keep your kids active and healthy. Aim to get your kids moving for 60 minutes of physical activity every day. Physical activity will help your kids maintain a healthy weight, build muscles and strong bones, build strength and endurance and help relieve stress. During the winter months, let your kid’s creativity shine through to create and play games all season long.