Winter is a magical time in Wisconsin. A time when the ground can sparkle. A time when our parks and neighborhood sidewalks are quieter. A time when the light and world around us change.
I love being outdoors, especially with kids, all year round. But winter feels like a particularly special time. Like a secret whispered just between those of us that get out and explore in the cold. But the truth is, there are not any secrets to getting out in the chilly, sometimes freezing, weather. It takes three simple things: motivation, persistence and the right clothing.
Winter weather is magical, when you are prepared for it. Snow, ice, slush and wintry winds are no fun when you are uncomfortable and cold. Put on layers — avoid cotton and other moisture-absorbing fabrics — and finish with a waterproof outer layer all over. And include as much wool as you are able. Wool socks are great on big feet and small, and also make great makeshift mittens for cold, wet hands. Once everyone is dressed for the weather, it becomes easier to persist in winter activities.
My motivation to get out in the winter is undoubtedly ice. I love ice. Slipping and sliding, stomping and crunching, licking and dripping. Snow has its lovely place in the season, but ice offers such fun and can be a more reliable presence in our magical season. Ice might be dripping off your roofline, or created in your local park, developed on your area lake, or made in your own freezer.
Here are my family’s favorite ways to play with ice:
EXPLORING THE FROZEN LAKES
We anxiously await the lakes in our area to freeze over so they are safe to explore. Before frozen solid, we love to find nature treasures (rocks, sticks, etc.) to toss into and across the ice. Games quickly develop naturally — how far can we get our stick to skid? Can your rock break a hole in the developing ice?
Once the lakes are frozen solid, we love to slip and slide around. Boots, skates, sleds, bellies — all are so much fun! We can explore areas that are otherwise inaccessible to us in all other seasons. A familiar park becomes new again with an iced lakeshore to explore. Frozen waves and trapped treasures are magical below our feet. A whole new world opens up.
MAKING FROZEN TREASURES
If we can’t find ice formed naturally, we make our own fun! Using clean recyclables — yogurt containers, plastic bins, etc. — and balloons, plus a bit of coloring, we create our own frozen treasures. There are so many fun ways that we might experiment when creating our ice:
Color variations: Fill balloons with water. Add one drop of food coloring or liquid watercolors to one balloon. To another, add two or three drops of the same color; and to a third, even more color. Or try the same color from different colorants — green food coloring, green watercolors, green tempera paints. Experiment to see how the colors vary.
Temperature variations: Use different color cups or containers to pair with different water temperatures. Fill one container with very color water, one with room temperature water and one with very hot water. Notice if there are differences in freezing times and ice appearances.
Include friends or nature treasures: Add a bit of water to a container and let freeze for at least thirty minutes. Add a small toy and a bit more water and let freeze. Finish off with more water and allow it all to freeze so that the toy is trapped in the middle of frozen ice. Or add nature treasures — my favorites are cranberries and pine needles — in a similar manner.
Once our frozen treasures are ready for exploration, we can observe how our treasures transformed in the freezer. Exploring for the differences we created and those that might have surprised us. Finally, we move on to playing with ways of breaking and melting the ice:
Breaking: Mallets, rocks or simply throwing the ice on the hard ground are great ways of smashing. And such satisfying, heavy work — great for bodies with big energy that can build up in the winter.
Melting: Of course ice play’s natural partner is liquid water. Squirt bottles or squeeze bottles are a great ways for mittened hands to add liquid water into the play. Again, experiment with water temperatures, application methods and melting times.
More melting: Salt is another great way to experiment with melting the ice — and freeing our friends and nature treasures! Table salt, Epsom salt and de-icing sidewalk salt have all been fun to experiment with. My family always tries to use these sparingly, given the potential environmental impacts, and only with kiddos we know will only explore with their hands (and not the oh-so-tempting mouth exploration!).
We could experiment and play with frozen treasures in every season — but the fun lasts the longest, and seems the most magical, in winter!
– Lee Alliet
Photos courtesy of Lee Alliet.
Lee Alliet is a Tinkergarten leader, wildschooling mama and outdoor enthusiast. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband, two kids, resident dogs and an array of foster dogs. You can follow her outdoor adventures on Instagram and learn more about classes and events in the Madison area on her website.