When the weather turns cold, sometimes you need a few extra tricks up your sleeve to keep the kids busy and happy indoors! You can create a winter wonderland inside your own house—with stuff you have in your kitchen and craft cupboard already.
Crafts with a yummy twist
Got sugar? Got glue?
Make a sugar snowman craft!
Marshmallows in the pantry?
Make snowmen with marshmallows, raisins, and toothpicks like Momstown Oakville did at a recent Junior Chefs playgroup.
Mini marshmallows are perfect for building igloos—don't tell the kids they're practicing fine motor skills at the same time!
Make snowmen without the snow
Cotton balls make great (cosy) snowballs – add a few more details and you’ve got a snowman. Momstown Burlington ran a winter playgroup and all kinds of snowmen emerged—indoors!
Need to get the kids up and moving? Get shaking with a snowman shaker you can make from socks and a plastic jar—Momstown Calgary North created this cute little guy!
Mittens that won’t get lost
No lost and found for these mittens! Momstown Edmonton-South had a Snowman and Mittens playgroup and made these adorable paper mittens. Kids can practice matching and symmetry skills as they decorate. Momstown Milton had fun creating some mittens of their own - and also had a sensory corner complete with real snow brought inside for the kids to enjoy!
Cosy up with your kids at the craft table on indoor days and enjoy the fun the snow (real or created) can bring!
We feed our kids healthy food and ensure they lead active lives (surely those swimming classes aren’t for your sanity or chance for a polar bear dip) but somewhere along the lines, we moms get lost in the shuffle. Are you taking care of yourself as well as you do the kids?
The most popular New Year’s resolution is to Lose Weight / Get Fit. It might be on your list this year.
But you’ve got minimal free time, and most of your time includes a child strapped to your leg. Although you can convince yourself he counts as an ankle weight, as you shuffle around the kitchen, it’s not exactly helping your goal.
Mom & tot fitness classes have opened the door and our eyes to bringing our kids along. Mom & baby salsa, stroller running clinics and strap-on-the-baby fitness classes, rare 10 years ago, are now in most communities.
But what about when that baby turns into a running toddler? Does running after him get your heart racing? It can if you do it properly.
Get outside & hustle
Sledding (run UP the hill!)
Don’t walk with a stroller – MOVE
Wagons (pulling on of these is definitely strength training!)
Introduce skating early on
Shovel the driveway with passion (while kids play)
Bundle up (do you own snowpants? Warm winter boots ready for play? As a parent – you should!)
Bring kids along to exercise
Take turns minding the kids while the other moms finish a workout, and then swap. Kids get a playdate and moms discover a fitdate! momstown Burlington's Mommies in Motion did it and they became newbie triathletes! momstown Central Alberta formed a Get Fit club and tried all kinds of new sports.
PLAY during open gym time
Open gym at the local rec centre often looks like kids racing up and down equipment and moms standing on the sidelines with coffee cups...something wrong here? Leave the heels at home, wear your mom wardrobe of running shoes and yoga pants and PLAY. Chase your child. Bounce a basketball and shoot hoops. Kids love it when parents just play (why are dads so much better at this than moms?).
Turn family time into active time Yes, it's much easier in the summer when we can just lace up shoes and get outside, but winter also brings awesome outside exercise opportunities. Snowshoes, Skiing, Hiking, Sledding, Skating—all terrific winter pastimes to enjoy with your children. Have ones too little? A backpack will make it easier for the toddler to keep up and feel part of the team.
Be a good example
Krista from our momstown team competed in a half-Ironman last year and has figured out many ways to both incorporate her girls into the training - along with the lesson that mommy time is important too. It’s good for your children to know their parents take the time to stay healthy—it sets a good example.
Get in Shape vs Losing Weight
It’s not about Weight Loss it’s about Getting in Shape. With 26% of kids in Canada now falling into the obesity category, there’s fine line between awareness and self-consciousness. Stop the fat/weight conversations now in your home and use fitness and exercise as ways to promote a positive lifestyle which will in turn make all family members feel better.
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