Snow Fun

Do you recognize any of these characters?








The side of our shed looks friendlier...for now!

Go Play!

Maybe you can't have a snowball fight in summer, but if you use your pretending skills, you could try. You don't need mittens, either! Well, you could wear mittens if you want, to make the pretending more real. If it is just way too hot to play outside today where you are, or if it has been raining for days, here is a fun, easy, cheap game.
Get a stack of newspapers and give each person an equal share. Each person also needs a large shopping bag that can stand open.
Crumple each sheet of newspaper into a tight ball and fill your bag with paper 'snowballs'.
When everyone is ready....snowball fight!

What else can you do with your snowballs?
Bury each other!
Here is another idea:
Pile them on a towel, have each person hold a corner, and on the count of three throw the snowballs up into the air.
When you are done playing, make the cleanup a game too. First person to fill their bag is champion.
If you used paper shopping bags, you can roll the top down and make a paper snowman!
Decorate you 'paperman' and enjoy his company as long as you'd like, he won't melt!
Happy playing!
(Remember to put all your snow into the recycling when you are done.)

Make a Good Luck/ Wishing Kit (project)

Making a wish on a birthday candle is a fun tradition. There are lots of other wishing tricks. Have you ever made a wish on a star, or when blowing dandelion seeds fluff? Other wishing traditions use things that you hold, such as a penny or a wishbone, to make the wish on.
There are many traditional good luck symbols as well. Some examples of good luck symbols are horseshoes, ladybugs, four-leaf clovers, pigs, goldfish, elephants, and acorns. The penny and star are used for both wishing and for good luck.

Here is a simple and fun project to celebrate wishing and good luck:
* Use a box of any kind. The size, and type of box, doesn’t matter. You could write on the box and decorate it if you want.
*Research wishing and good luck for more ideas of things to collect. Ask friends and family members about their favorite wishing and good luck traditions. There are even websites to search.
*Find items to represent as many wishing and good luck ideas as you’d like. You could find things such as little toy plastic pigs, ladybug necklaces, and four-leaf clover pins just about anywhere, but a good place to look is at discount stores and yard sales. The items do not need to be the real thing, either. For example, scrapbooking and craft stores have huge selections of stickers that might have the symbols you’d like to collect. You could simply print pictures from a website, or just draw them yourself.
*Put all your good luck and wishing symbols in your box.
*Since it is a collection (like rocks or shells), you could write the history and/ or directions for each symbol to put with the items.
*When you feel like you need a little extra luck, or need to make a wish, get out your collection! You could write your wish on a slip of paper and put it in the box to soak up all the good luck!

Of course, whether or not you believe your kit will really work is up to you. Either way, it is an easy, fun, and interesting collection to work on.
Good luck and best wishes!