Snow Creations

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Family Adventure

 

GOAL:  Help kids develop reasoning, judgment and communications skills.

 

The ADVENTURE:   Take a drive as family around your neighborhood (you can make the space you cover as large or as small as you want!) to look for snowmen or other snow creations. Discuss what you like about each, and work together to choose a 'winner' (or winners in different categories).

 

TIPS:

 

Be sure to recognize the feedback of each family member. You may want to point out how different people have different styles and preferences (even among family members!) and that neither is right or wrong-- they are just 'different'!

 

Plan a fun reward for when you arrive home after the 'judging'. Have hot chocolate or a favorite treat ready to enjoy while finalizing the judging or making the awards.

 

Of course, making the rewards for the 'winning' snowman can be a reward for your children as well. Let them have input on the design, the stype of award given, the treat made for the reward, etc.

 

  You may want to let each child choose a 'winner' for a special reward they choose. For example, one child might choose to award the 'Funniest Snowman' award while another child chooses to award the 'Most Creative' award.

 

This is a great way for kids to practice their decision-making skills, comparison, etc.

 

This Adventure comes from a post in our #FinancialFriday series. This fun Christmas experience is a GREAT way for families to spend time together while also helping kids develop some key skills. Everything from reasoning and judgement skills to communication and mediation skills can come into play. As you'll notice, we took the idea and made a few tweaks to turn it into an Adventure you can enjoy with your family all winter long!

 

Of course,  when you get into making the awards and perhaps a treat to go with them the skills learned just keep stacking up with this one!

 

Here is the story that is the basis of this Adventure:

 

“One Christmas, when my boys, now 18, 22 and 28, were little, we gave them an experience that is still talked about now. And it’s something so easily replicated that any family can do it, and it’s not too late to do it for Christmas (even ON Christmas) this year.

 

We drove around our neighborhood and looked at all the homes decorated for the holiday. We took note of the addresses as we numbered them. We talked about what made each ornamented yards stand out. And at the end of the night, we voted for our favorite.

 

I had my sons help me make some of our favorite holiday desserts and, in addition to taking plates to family, friends, and other important people we wanted to share with, we took a plate to the home that we declared “the winner” of our friendly, family competition. The best part? Sharing what we felt to be the true message of Christmas with a family that we had never met.”

 

It is never too late to give your family an experience gift, even when Christmas will be long in our rear view. It just takes a little effort. I encourage you to make a Merry Christmas this year.

 

 

 

 

Pre-K Adventure

Even your youngest Adventurers will love telling you what their favorite Christmas displays are and why.

 

They will also get excited about helping to create the rewards and recognition.  One of my favorite cards received this year featured my 10 month old grandsons footprints with the title 'Merry MistleTOES'!

 

 

 

 

 

Community Engagement Adventure

Want to make this Adventure extra fun? Get the whole community involved! That's right-- put out the word that next time it snows there will be a neighborhood sculpture/snow creation contest.  Encourage families to use the fresh fallen snow to create something that represents their family. This can be anything from the basic snowman or snow angels to more elaborate designs and creations.

 

The most important part?  Just have fun!

 

 

 

 

Teen Adventure

Encourage Teens to go deeper than what they see on the surface. Encourage them to consider the following when they look at the displays:

 

What techniques or special skills were used?

 

In what way does it represent the family that created it?

 

Is there something we can learn from the display? A message of hope or community or . . .?

 

What does the display tell us about the family that created it?

 

Are there signs of family teamwork and engaging little ones?

 

Encourage your youth to get creative and think of a clever award for as many of the yard displays as they can.

 

 

 

 

Photo Location

Take a selfie of the whole family in the car ready to embark on your big Adventure!

by Pick a Winner!