Snow days can be fun! Let down your hair and try some of these creative strategies with your kids:
Science and sledding!
Rule #1: No sledding until you’ve finished PowerPoint on Newton’s second law of physics. Quiz younger siblings on coefficients of friction and value of acceleration due to gravity (9.81m/s²). Child with lowest test score gets broken toboggan.
A “snow fort” is not good enough.
Rule #2: You may build an igloo, but only if it’s perfect. Begin by solving third-degree differential calculus equations on paper, then proceed to measure and carve ice blocks precisely to spec. Ice blocks must be inspected by mother prior to construction. The next part is easy: Simply lay blocks in spiral formation, making sure the dome curves upward at the same time. Remember that four of the six sides of the block must be curved. If dome caves in, start all over again.
Sibling bake-off!
Kick it up a notch from the usual Toll House cookies. Challenge your kids to a bake-off, with you as the judge. The more difficult the recipe, the better. Souffles, Baked Alaska and baklava (no pre-made puff pastry allowed) are all good choices. You can get a lot of mileage out of this activity: The quest for the perfect pie crust could go on for years.
Hooked on classics?
Just for one day, loosen up from the usual Schoenberg and Paganini practice regimes and let them perform some low-brow, mainstream classics with a winter theme. Think ballet and Boston Pops. Children may play piano pieces from the Nutcracker or Vivaldi’s "Winter Sonata" on violin, but only in basement with curtains drawn.
Mommy’s little helpers
To kill more time, make children walk two miles down highway to local Starbucks to get you a venti Americano. If the coffee is cold upon their return, send them back again.
Brownie points
At end of day, child with highest score on winter activities gets three mini marshmallows on top of hot chocolate. Loser gets glass of tap water and spends night in igloo.
Sally Sisson is a writer, editor and TMG correspondent specializing in parenting, small-town politics, fashion faux pas, and petty crime. Any resemblance to the author of The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is pure coincidence.
