Snow Play: Tricky Tracks

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Age
3-5 years
Child Development
Language/literacy links: Pretend play; vocabulary: movement words (slide, glide, roll, pitch); directional words (right, left, sideways, backwards, forwards); support play with talk and sign.
Equipment
Snow!!
Physical Activity

Vigorous play (building muscles and cardiovascular fitness).

How to Play
  1. Outside, take turns making a pathway for the others to “follow in the footsteps.” Have fun making the path change direction, crisscross itself, and change the distance between the footprints so that some are close together and some need a jump to reach.
  2. Talk about how snow makes things look different.
  3. Write letters and numbers and names in the snow.
Change it up / Alternatives / Additional Options
  • Introduce the many ways of playing in the snow by reading Stella, Queen of the Snow with the children. Talk about things you used to do in the snow when you were little.
  • Investigate and describe the way snow feels, looks, and the sounds you can make as you scrunch through it.
  • See if you can find animal tracks, or look in a book to see what the tracks of different animals look like and try to copy these in the snow.
  • Have fun inventing creatures (e.g. animals, machines) with extraordinary tracks. Make the track and challenge the children to imagine and describe the creature that made it.
  • For a child with a visual impairment, have the leader of the path making a noise with a rattle, bell or song.
  • For a child with a disability that limits their locomotion, ensure the path is created on a surface that still facilitates their involvement, such as a cleared playground. You could incorporate clearing the path as part of the game so that all individuals are able to traverse through the snow.
Notes

Book link: Stella, Queen of the Snow by Marie-Louise Gay

This activity develops physical skills such as walking, jumping and balance.

Adapted from HOP.