Sometimes favorite fair-weather play places are forgotten when the winds become chilly or they become buried under snow. It just takes a little fun digging and exploring in the snow to discover them again.
The almost-buried sandbox is now an exciting snowy landscape for excavating with sandbox toy rakes and toy dump trucks. Our two-year-old has discovered that these often-reserved-for-summer sandbox toys are just as useful for fun snow pretend play.
In warmer weather, our treehouse is filled with our children's laughter shared with visiting friends, sleeping bags and sleep-over secrets, and sometimes just a quiet peaceful place for our oldest one to read. In winter—
—treehouse heights offer a glorious new perspective of the snow white landscape.
And from here we can see the snow covered branches of leafless trees, and watch the mesmerizing drip, drip of melting snow from the treehouse eaves.
Even now, a hammock strung below the treehouse is a lulling place for our little one to be swung to sleep in the afternoon winter sunshine. The hammock is also one of our winter places for pretending. Our two-year-old's imagination turns it into a fast ship that, swaying back and forth, sails on choppy seas away from pursuit. I asked him what kind of ship was coming after us now. "A rocket ship," he answers. A rocket ship, I smile. And sometimes he sees a whale across our snowy sea too.
The snow is so deep that when we lay down in our hammock, our backs are cradled by the snow blanket. Our little one likes to lay in the hammock's comforting hold and look up at the sky.
More ideas for outdoor winter play
Park playgrounds are lonely this time of year. Predictably, we are the only ones there when we go in the snow. But some are missing out on this snow park fun—swishing down a park slide into the snow elicits giggles and laughter all around. Hopping on a swing and sailing over a blanket of snow is a fresh, fun park experience too.
Get out the sand toy buckets and shovels again. Pack snow into the buckets, flip over and release the bucket-molded snow. Children can make a snow castle this way, just like sand castles are made in the summer time. Just leave the swimsuits packed away for a while longer...Wait. We could get those out too. And have a pretend beach party when we go inside to warm up...
And that IS just what we did.
Similar posts: foot prince in the snow, treats for the birds, and love nature walk scavenger hunt.
