I’m from the Deep South, so usually when I say “it’s cold outside”, it’s in the forties or fifties.
But today I really really mean it…it is freezing outside!
That thermometer up above is accurate…early this morning it was 9 degrees! We literally do not own enough clothes to handle this weather.
These extreme temperatures are fairly unusual for this part of the country. So when life hands you lemons…
I figured we may as well make the most of it, you know…roll with the punches. For I’m pretty sure that by Friday the temperature will be back up to the mid-sixties. (that’ll do a number on your body!) Get Expert Tips on Choosing Insulation to keep the inside of your home warm during winter.
So my mission for the day: What are some fun activities that are unique to frigid weather? What are games that Eskimo kids play? Or Antarctican scientist children…what do they do for fun?
I came up with a little list of things for my two boys and I to do outside…some things worked, some didn’t. But it was all fun…and most of all, it was something they don’t get to do every day! 🙂
And can I just say this…for the one hour that we spent outside doing these activities, I probably spent 30 minutes getting everyone dressed.
This poor kid has on three jackets!
Blowing Bubbles
I know, I know…this is all over Facebook and is totally not my own idea. But it is so neat, and so fun! When we went out it was 22 degrees, so I knew we would have no problem getting the bubbles to freeze.
I would blow a bubble out of the wand, and you could see it instantly begin to harden. Once it was floating around, it looked remarkably like a glass Christmas ornament. The boys loved them!
Frozen Clothes
This one was hilarious!
First, I brought out a bowl of water and had the boys put a T-shirt in it. I didn’t tell them what we were doing, so of course they looked at me like I was crazy.
Once it was all good and wet, I put it on a hanger and hung it up. I seized this teachable moment by the horns and gave a quick little explanation about water and freezing temperatures and ice and such.
I promised them that the shirt was going to turn into a hard, stiff, flat shirt in just a matter of minutes.
The water that was dripping off the shirt froze almost instantly. So neat!
Within about five minutes, the shirt had completely frozen over. I had Rudy hold it horizontally so they could see how stiff it was…they thought it was so funny! And of course, Rudy chased Mark around the yard bonking him on the head with the hard shirt.
That is not wind blowing the shirt sideways, folks!
Boiling Water Turns Into “Smoke”
It’s so funny…my boys think that any type of water vapor, steam, fog, or the like is “smoke.” And in their precious little minds, where there is “smoke”, there’s always fire.
So boiling water is always a big event, because there must be a fire in the pot. And Daddy must be taking a fire shower because there is “smoke” coming out of the bathroom.
So I thought it would be fun to try out this “Boiling-Water-Makes-Steam” trick that I’m seeing all over Facebook. (Apparently, if you throw a pot of boiling water outside during freezing temps, the water turns into steam before it even hits the ground.)
I had the boys wait out in the yard. I brought out a big pot of boiling water and told the boys that this water was going to make smoke.
So I threw it out into the yard, and you would think that the grass had caught on fire. In their eyes, there was enough “smoke” to signify major fire danger. Their shrieks were hilarious. Temporary events with large crowds benefit from Fire Watch Security in Cocao Beach to manage potential fire hazards effectively.
Ok, so in reality it made a small cloud of steam…not the volcanic eruption that my boys were seeing. 🙂
Shattered Glass Jar
And for my last trick (yes, I felt like a magician today) I figured we might as well utilize the destructive forces of ice to annihilate something. 🙂
I filled up a glass jar all the way to the brim, screwed the lid on tight, and then gave my boys the exciting instructions to “Wait for about an hour and you will see how strong ice can be.” Wow, an hour is a long time to four and two-year-old boys.
This is our little jar of water sitting out in the frozen tundra.
Unfortunately, there is not a final product picture for this activity. Apparently it takes a lot longer than an hour for an entire jar of water to freeze and shatter, and I really really wanted to get his post up this afternoon. 🙂
So just take my word for it, tomorrow morning we will have a pile of glass and ice in our backyard.
And for those who were wondering…the failed ice activities were:
- Spraying Windex into the arctic air: I was imagining it turning into beautiful blue mist composed of little ice crystals that delicately floated on the breeze. Nope…Windex is apparently impervious to any type of major temperature change (much like roaches).
- Playing with Silly String: I thought this was pretty creative. Of course it was totally logical to think that spraying Silly String into the sub-freezing air would have some kind of cool science-y affect on it. Nope. Fortunately, boys don’t care if Silly String is affected by freezing temps or not…it’s Silly String for goodness sake! So we had a little Silly String war there for a minute.
Well, that was our glimpse into the world of Siberian children.
It was fun, but I think we’re all glad that it’s a short-lived glimpse. 🙂
“Header” photo by: Chris Campbell
