It’s been a wonderful winter and we were blessed to have a White Christmas. And thankfully, the snowfall has not been too heavy this year. 

Colorado Springs is no stranger to snow days. In January, we’ve had a few where our public schools had to be closed– thankfully, none where we had to close the doors at Creekside Kids! Snow days are especially hard on young kids. It’s a disruption to their routine, preventing them from the daily activities that give their life structure and the social interaction they crave.

While snow days can be hard on kids, they can also be hard on a parent who’s supposed to be somewhere else and trying to reign in an unhappy child who doesn’t understand why they can’t go into Child Care today. We’d like to offer some tips for things to do to prepare for that day when everyone’s stuck indoors and trying to make the best use of their time. 

• Stock emergency supplies from the thrift store. We don’t mean for power outages (although it’s great if you have such a kit); we mean for snow days when the kids can’t go outside. Invest in a small stack of activity books, coloring books, and craft supplies. 
• Stash some cookie dough in the freezer. If your kids go to the refrigerator and can see a tube of cookie dough waiting there, it will seldom leave their minds until they taste it. Wrap a tube of cookie dough in tin foil once you are home from the store and hide it at the back of the freezer for a snow day. When the occasion comes, you and your kid can fill your home with the exquisite smell of a batch of fresh-baked cookies as part of your day. Making cookies might seem a pretty simple activity, but consider all the things you can teach: prep, safety, cleaning, and at the end, there’s a pretty satisfying reward. 
• Yoga for Toddlers. Want to make sure you and your kid get some exercise, but the cold outside is just too much? Consider Yoga for Toddlers! It’s great exercise and following the video will help teach kids to stay in place when getting instruction.
  
• Work together on your child’s room. Help your child clean and reorganize their bedroom. Ask them about elements that may be out of date (i.e., has your child moved on from Paw Patrol to the Avengers?) and work on a plan to change out some of the less expensive touches to their current favorites.
• Read together and snuggle.  Make time for togetherness and soft contact such as sitting side by side doing puzzles, reading or playing a board game.  Nature is giving you the chance to slow down—-take it!
• Go outside and play in the snow!  Scoop up the snow and make a hill of it.  Slide down it, roll down it and then later, hollow it out to be a snow cave.  Get a few squirt bottles and add hot water and a little bit of paint or watercolor and create a Jackson Pollack style mural in the snow.

If you’d like to discuss a place at Creekside Kids for your kids, we invite you to click this embedded link to schedule an appointment. Let’s get to know each other! Like us on Facebook to follow our stories for news and updates. We’re located at 1201 W Cheyenne Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80906, and we can be reached at (719) 635-9111. Our new hours of operation are 6:45 am until 5:45 pm, Monday through Friday.