Winter is a season where life tends to slow down, and we enter a kind of pseudo-hibernation where we, too,  slow down and become more sedentary. It’s time to embrace our slow season and make the best of it. Here are 21 activity ideas, for both indoors and out, to keep your families busy.

1. Animal Tracking

For those of you who get snow, winter is an excellent time to find animal tracks and to follow them. Take pictures of the tracks you find and then use the Internet or books from the library to figure out which animals made which tracks.

A Massachusetts Scouting  Website contains A Pocket Guide To Massachusetts Animal Tracks (you will need to scroll down the page), which has a good listing of animals common to North America and the tracks they make. Recommended Books:
Big Tracks, Little Tracks: following animal prints
Tracks, Scats & Signs

2. Sledding

I have great memories of sliding down the hills behind my home on a magic carpet. I am sure that most of you can remember the exhilaration and excitement of tearing down those memorable slopes. Find the slides, or make one, and go find a snow-covered hill to throw yourself down.

3. Skiing

Downhill skiing, cross-country skiing and snowboarding are all excellent physical activities that will offer your child an exhilarating adventure. For those of you living in the city, local parks offer a great place to explore cross-country skiing.

4. Stargazing

Crisp winter nights are an excellent time to go stargazing with your family. Gather some blankets, some firewood for a campfire, and find a location away from civilization to be able to sit back and gaze at the stars.

Winter Stargazing Tips & Tricks
Naked Eye Stargazing

5. Feed The Birds

Setting up a bird feeder and providing food for the birds, helps him during a difficult winter months and enables your children to observe them from a close distance. An important word of warning though, if you start feeding them, you need to be consistent. The birds will become dependent upon your goodwill and suddenly removing their source of food can put their lives in danger.

Making bird feeders:
Bird Feeder Projects
How To Make Bird Feeders With Your Kids’ Help

Bird feed:
Dinner? It’s For The Birds
How To Make Bird Snacks

6. Building Snowshoes

Building  snowshoes was a practice of nomadic tribes which were used to travel through deep snow with less effort. In fact, until the advent of modern transport, such as cars and skidoos, snowshoes were quite common. This activity is better suited for teens.

How To Make Snowshoes
How To Make Snowshoes And Use Them
Here’s How To Build Snowshoes

7. Make Snow People

Why stick to making the regular snowman? When it comes to sculpting with snow, the world is your oyster, and there is no limit to what you can create. How about building an entire family out of snow? How about an ogre? A gigantic alien?

Snow Sculptures
International Snow Sculpture Championships
Snow Sculpture Gallery

8. Build a Snow Fort

Building snow forts and then using them for snowball fights is a true right of passage. See what kind of fort you can come up with as a family.

Images Of Snow Forts
Snow Fort

9. Make A Giving Tree

A giving tree is a great way to encourage children to focus on the act of giving instead of receiving. A Christmas tree is set up with wishes from needy children.

10. Learn About Winter Solstice

“The winter solstice occurs exactly when the Earth’s axial tilt is farthest away from the sun at its maximum of 23° 26′. More evident to those in high latitudes, this occurs on the shortest day and longest night of the year, when the sun’s daily maximum position in the sky is the lowest.”

Many cultures have revered this day because of its significance in the annual calendar. For many, for home winter was a difficult time for survival, this day meant a change from shortening days to days that would now start to gradually lengthened towards summer.

Winter Solstice celebrations
Build your own Stonehenge activity.

11. Snow Painting

Some individuals in our homeschooling community have taken this up as a family activity. All you need is a few squirt bottles and different colors of food dye. Fill each squirt bottle with water and add a few drops of food coloring.you are now ready to go. Dress up warmly and head outside with your bottles. Find a spot of undisturbed snow and using the squirt bottles ‘paint’ to your hearts content.

12. Build a winter survival shelter

Types of snow shelters
Field Manual for the US Antartic program (pdf)

13. Hot Chocolate/Apple Cider Stand

This is a great activity idea to do during the holidays in order to provide a little warmth to friends and neighbors. Very simply, set out a small table on the sidewalk at the front of your home with the thermos of hot chocolate or apple cider. Have some disposable cups available and offer a warm cup of drink to those passing by. No need to charge them anything, You can sure they will appreciate the gesture.

14. Visit Your Local Library

On the colder days when playing outside is not such a good idea, take a visit to the local library and explore the treasures it holds.

15. Have A Winter-Themed Movie Marathon

With winter nights so long, and the days so short, enjoy the early evenings with the selection of winter-themed movies. My personal favorite is The Dog Who Stopped The War, which I often watched as a child.

The best winter movies for kids

16. Indoor Snowball Fight

Save up an unwanted scraps throughout the year. Divide your children into two separate teams on the opposite sides of the room. Divide the available paper between them, and have them scrunch it sheet into a ball. When the “snowballs” are ready, they can now have their own snowball war. When the balls are all gone, collect them again and play again. Once you are done, either gather the balls up into a bag for another time, or recycle them.

17. Go Skating

Depending on where you live, skating is an excellent outdoor winter activity. If you’re fortunate enough to live near a pond, clear it off for a great skating surface. Of course, make sure first of all that the ice is thick enough to skate on. If you are in a more populated area, many communities have skating surfaces available in the winter.

18. Outdoor Exploration

Let your children go outside and explore even if the weather is frightful. Make sure that first of all, they are properly dressed, then let them loose outside. if you need in courage meant to stay engaged, have them try out fun activities such as who can bounce a ball in the rain the longest, make the most snow angels or build the biggest fort.

How many animals can they find going about outside? Do winter flowers grown your area? Can they find any?

19. Go Trekking

In a park or the local woods, have a parent take a walk through the snow, in and around trees, stones, brooks etc. A short time later, I love the kids( either supervised or unsupervised, depending on their age) follow the path that was left by that parent. Perhaps you would like to leave a little treasure at the end of the track as a reward. As the children become more proficient in this, try to make it harder to find your tracks.

20. Build An Indoor Fort

Blankets, tables, sofas and cushions for all you really need to build an indoor fort. Be creative. EZ Fort is an awesome new kit consisting of rods ant joints which allow your children to build the fort, then drape a sheet or blanket in order to complete it.

21. Build A Dream Catcher

Dream catchers originated in the Ojibwa nation. Some consider the dream catcher a symbol of unity among the various Indian Nations, and a general symbol of identification with Native American or First Nations cultures.

Dream catchers can be made either from a kit or from scratch.

Understanding the dreamcatcher legend

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I recently discovered the power of Squidoo and have to say that in the short time I’ve been with them, I have already become addicted. The potential for homeschoolers either wanting to find, or make and distribute valuable resources, is huge! I have already created two unit studies there, with plans to create many more.

You too can join in on the fun.

Related posts:

1. 101 Reasons #13: What to Teach, What to Learn…
2. Homeschool In A Box Update
3. 101 Reasons #5: Youthful Optimism

It’s that time of the year where, instead of complaining about everything cold, we are embracing it in order to get some relief from the summer heat!

Dawn and Emily are at an age where all things ‘popsicle’ light up their lives with joy, spending time every day sucking their sweet, cold treat. I quickly grew tired of the plain frozen-juice pops, and went on a mission to find new wonderful recipes to try out. The girls like them much better, and it gives them different flavours and textures to experiment with.

1. Mango Kulfi

This ice-cream-type desert originated in Pakistan and India. While this recipe calls for mango, you can substitute it for many other ingredients, including peach or orange.

2. Dripless Popsicles

If you’re a mom, you probably find that giving popsicles to young children a rather stressful event. Try dripless popsicles! The jello in the recipe solidifies the popsicles enough that they don’t make a mess while being eaten.

You will need:

1 package fruit-flavoured Jell-O
1 packaged unsweetened Kool-Aid
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup boiling water
2 cups cold water

Place Jello-O in bowl. Add boiling water and  mix till gelatin is dissolved. Add sugar and Kool-Aid. Dissolve as much as possible. Add cold water, and continue mixing until all particles are gone. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze.

3. Rocky Road Pops

You will need:

1 package instant chocolate pudding
2 cups of milk
1/2 c. miniature marshmallows
1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Prepare pudding according to package directions. Add in marshmallows and nuts. Pour into molds and freeze.

4. Ice-Creamsicles

Love the flavour of a store-bought creamsicle? Try this:

You will need:

1 can of frozen concentrated orange juice, partially defrosted
1 can of water (same can as the juice came in)
1 pint vanilla ice cream

Combine all ingredients in the blender and blend till smooth. Place in molds and freeze.

5. Creamy Fruit Pops

3 cups grape (or other) punch
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Combine the two ingredients and freeze in popsicle molds.

6. Orange-Banana Smoothie Pops

Recipe courtesy of Country Living.

7. Oreo Pudding Pops

You will need:
1 box instant chocolate pudding
2 cups of milk
8 Oreo cookies, crushed into crumbs
1/2 cup thawed cool-whip or whipped cream

Prepare chocolate pudding according to package directions. Add crushed cookiest and whipped toping. Combine till smooth. Place in popsicle molds and freeze.

8. Banana Blueberry Swirl Popsicles

From MarthaStewart.com

9. Banana and Coconut Frozen Yogurt Popsicles

From Wandering Chopsticks

10. Easy Creamy Lemon-Dream Popsicles

You will need:

2/3 cup sugar
5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
1 pinch salt
1 2/3 cup buttermilk

Whisk all ingredients together until sugar is well-dissolved. Mold and freeze.

11. Maple Mocha Pops

From Taste of Home

12. Homemade Fudge Pops

You will need:

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 c sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place chopped chocolate into a medium glass mixing bowl. Set aside.  Combine heavy cream, milk, sugar, and cocoa powder in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until cocoa is dissolved and mixture comes to a simmer. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate. Let stand for 2 to 3 minutes and then whisk gently until all chocolate is melted. Add the vanilla extract. Divide into molds and freeze.

13. Honeydew-Lime Popsicles

You will need:

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
4 cups cubed honeydew
2/3 cup fresh lime juice.

Combine ingredients into blender and puree. Force puree through a fine-meshed sieve, passing through as much of the pulp as possible, discarding the remain. Distribute into a popsicle mold and freeze at least 6 hours.

14.  Melon Popsicles with Mind, Honey, and Yogurt

You will need:

1 medium melon, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
handful of mint leaves
3 TBs honey
1 TB lime juice
1 cup unsweetened Greek strained yogurt

Purée the melon, mint, honey, and lime juice in a food processor. Strain into a bowl through a fine sieve, pressing on the solids to extract the juice. Discard the solids. Stir in the yogurt until smooth. Distribute into a popsicle mold and freeze.

15. Frozen Strawberry Peach Pops

From Country Living

16. Cardamom Rhubarb Sorbet Pops

3 1/2 cups fresh rhubarb, chopped
2 1/2 cups water
1 2/3 cups sugar
1/4 ts. salt
2 ts. dried lemon zest
1/2 ts. cardamom
1 ts. vanilla extract
2 TB corn syrup

Place the rhubarb, water, sugar, salt & lemon zest in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. The rhubarb should get very soft. Cool. Place in blender and mix until smooth. Press through a strainer to remove pulp. Stir in remaining ingredients. Dispense into mold and freeze.

17.  Red, While, and Blueberry Pops

From Serious Eats, a nice snack for summertime.

18. Plum Smoothie-Pop

Another neat one from Country Living.

19. Kiwi Ice Pops

…and another!

20. Rootbeer Float Pops

From Erin Cooks

21. Tyler Florence’s Yogurt Popsicles

And this final one is courtesy of Oprah.com

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Feel disorganized and are looking for some pre-made homeschool forms to organize yourself and your family? I’ve scoured the net for you to find the top sites providing free homeschool forms for you to print out.

1. Free Homeschool Planner and Organizer “TheHomeSchoolMom Planner is a comprehensive organizer for appointments, school assignments, lesson planning, record keeping, and family menu planning.”
2. Highland Heritage Forms 821 forms and counting…nuff said?
3. Homeschool Complete homeschool forms is a nice selection of homeschool forms, curriculum planning pages, science forms and free ebooks.
4. Oklahoma Homeschool has a section titled Homeschool Forms containing homeschool forms, thematic papers and coloring pages designed by the site’s author.
5. Printable Homeschool has printables of all kinds, from themed writing paper to transcript and planning forms.
6. Homeschool Launch files on organization. Dozens of great files have been uploaded here.
7. Homeschool scheduling forms.
8. DonnaYoung.org has a sizeable library of free printable forms and planners.
9. The Master Planner Not free, but for only $5 for the downloaded version, it’s worth the tiny investment. For those who don’t want to fork over the $5, they have a sample package available as a free download.
10. Free Downloadable Homeschool Forms While these forms are intended primarily for Pennsylvania homeschoolers, many of them can be useful for any home-educating family.
11. Talibideen has a nice selection of well-prepared homeschool forms.
12. Homeschool Tracker has a basic version or it’s awesome software!
13. Homeschool Incorporated offers a free web-based planner.
14. Homeschool Skedtrack -another free online planner.
15. PrintableChecklists.com has checklists of all sorts. This link defaults to the ‘children and education’ section.
16. TeacherVision has tons of lesson plans, forms, worksheets and more. While this is a subscription site, there is a free 7 day trial-period.
17. Education World Lots of juicy tidbits to be found here.
18. Hold that Thought has a small, yet nice selection of free homeschool forms.
19. Free Homeschool Resources A site which has a few nice forms for your use.
20. Homeschool Record Keeping Forms @ About.com has a short, but useful list of forms available to download.
21. Homeschool Helper Online has a small number of useful forms.

Edit: I unknowingly left out two of the links, this has now been rectified. My apologies.

Related posts:

1. 21 Best Must-Bookmark Sites for Colouring Pages
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3. The Homeschool Toolbar

If your children are anything like mine, they LOVE to colour! I thought I’d take some of the effort of finding good colouring pages for them by posting the top 21 of what I consider to be the best colouring pages on the net! And since I’m a proud Canadian, I will refer to colouring pages as coloUring, and not coloring! I chose these sites after looking through dozens of links. While I can’t look through every colouring page on the net, these are the ones I found to be best based on quality, quantity and variety. If you have some good pages to contribute, please live the links in the comment section of this post. Happy colouring!

#21 A few good Winnie the Pooh Images.

#20 Cool-Coloring-Pages.com

#19 Chevron Cars the chevron cars has a nice library of cars to colour for your young car-fanatic

#18 Veggietales coloring pages

#17 Color Your Own has over 300 images for people of all ages to colour.

#16 Kids Korner

#15 The Little Artist, Inc

#14 Castles.org Castles for kids only has a few pages, but they are beautiful and intricatly detailed…great for older children.

#13 123Coloring.com has 100′s of images on almost any subject your child might be interested in!

#12 Mom’s Network Claims to have thousands of coloring pages. While some of them are of questionable quality, most are pretty good.

#11 We all know Fisher Price! They have a nice assortment of quality pages.

#10 Activity Village has lots of other printable activities as well.

#9 Coloring.ws has a nice-sized library of colouring sheets sorted by subject. If you’re looking for something specific (a certain animal, or a rainbow, for example), they should have it.

#8 Coloring-Page.net has  large selection of original colouring pages, as well as links to online colouring books

#7 Need simple pages for your child? Lil-Fingers.com should have what you need.

#6 Coloring.com Awesome site with free membership where you can save your online coloring. To print off a page, place mouse over image, right click ‘open in new tab’ within your web browser, then print your image to colour.

#5 NSSL- national severe storm lab has several educational colouring books available. CLick on a book, and beside the online colouring version, you’ll have a link to download the entire version as a pdf.

#4 DLTK Kids, a British publisher, has a large repetoire, high quality images and an easy site to navigate

#3 Free-Coloring-Pages.com has both printable and online coloring available. Ads are rather annoying, but other than that, they have good quality images and some licensed pictures such as Barney and Sesame Street

#2 Coloring-Book.info Amazing site with images from companies such as Disney and Nickelodeon. If your child is looking to colour images from his favorite movie or tv program, this is the place to go.

#1 Crayola definitely wins the #1 spot with their library of quality printable colouring and activity sheets.

…and in case all this isn’t enough, there are dozens more quality links @ Ivyjoy.com

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