Book Review
Winter Day Play!: Activities, Crafts, and Games for Indoors and
Out is a great idea book for what to do in the winter months whether
the weather is good or bad outside. What I really like about this
book is the wide variety of activity ideas organized into the following
chapters/categories: Into the Snow!, Fun and Games, Winter Critters,
Arctic Adventures, Cabin Fever, Winter Holidays and Festivals and
Winter Olympics. The activities in these chapters/categories can
be engaged in by children of different ages and a snowflake symbol
is used to indicate the projects that require adult assistance.
For the crafts, games and activities included in this book there
is a list of tools and materials you will need. Because this is
a book full of activities the whole family can use, parents need
to be aware that at least one of the activities involves the use
of peanut butter. If allergies are a concern this needs to be taken
into account when deciding what activities to do. I also really
like that some of the activities have practical applications (i.e.
Layer Up Relay) because older and younger children play a game while
getting ready to go outside as well as the younger ones having time
to practice dressing themselves.
I especially like the chapter called Winter Critters because it
is informative in a fun way that makes exploring the outdoor environment
interesting. Children can look for footprints in the snow, stars
at night, owls, go for a moonwalk and feed the birds that hang around
in winter. Another thing children like to do is help out in the
kitchen and there are a number of recipes that are winter favorites
they can help prepare (i.e. Chase the Chills Chili and Hot Cocoa)
as well as learning some new recipes for Berry Bear Punch and Beary
Muffins. I like that as well as the recipes on these pages and other
activities in this book are accompanied by additional information
or games (i.e. I Spy Snow accompanies the instructions for Snowy
Day Bingo). In the Winter Critters chapter under the Bear Pajama
Party section not only are there the bear themed recipes there is
a list of bear books you can read and a game (Don’t Wake the
Bear) to which is attached an article on the origin of teddy bears.
One final thing that deserves a special mention about Winter Day
Play!: Activities, Crafts, and Games for Indoors and Out is the
multicultural content of this book. There are instructions for activities
that represent cultures and countries children may never experience
(i.e. Japanese Snow Cottage, Igloos, Snowshoes, Soapstone Sculptures,
Inuit Clay Bird Game, Eskimo Yo-Yo, Iditarod Race Relay) as well
as how various winter holidays are celebrated throughout the world.
There are also resources of additional books, websites and videos
listed at the back of this book. The resources are sorted into categories
of the chapters of this book to narrow down your search if you are
looking for something specific. If you are looking to attend a winter
festival there are listings of those taking place in the United
States and Canada with a little description and contact number accompanying
each listing. |
