#339: Sleigh Ride

Put on your warm clothes, grab a blanket, and go for a sleigh ride!

Don't have a horse and sleigh? Some ranches provide sleigh rides in the winter as do some winter carnivals/festivals as well as some winter resorts.


Make this a family activity: Pile the whole family in the sleigh--if they all fit!

This activity promotes peace and an enjoyment of nature.

#338: Watch the Northern Lights

On a cold night in the winter, sometimes you can see aurora borealis in the sky to the north.


Make this a family activity: Admire the northern lights together.

This activity promotes an awareness of the Earth's atmosphere and the beauty of nature.

#337: New Year's Resolution

Tonight we say goodbye to 2009 and hello to the year 2010.


On New Year's Eve (today), many people make New Year's resolutions. A New Year's resolution is something you decide to do in the new year. Usually, a resolution is something you promise to do that will help make you a better person in some way. It can be simple like trying to remember to make your bed every morning to bigger things like not picking on the small kid in your class anymore.

Do you have something you would like to do in the new year? Make it a resolution and try not to break it!


Make this a family activity: ask your family what resolutions they are making.

This activity promotes self-development and self-awareness.

#336: Dare to Compare

Take a look around. Are there things you can compare?


This is a great game for those boring times when you are waiting around somewhere. Hey, it's fun even if you're just looking out the window!

Here are a few ideas to get you started in Dare to Compare: What season is it? Winter? Okay, how many people are wearing boots? How many are wearing shoes? What about hats? If it is summer, you can compare things like how many people are wearing shorts. How many aren’t wearing shorts?

What else can you compare? How about Tall vs. short. Colours (Black pants vs. blue pants or Silver cars vs. black cars.) Birds. Or make it harder and compare more than one thing like Cars vs. Trucks vs. Vans. You can compare anything and everything!


Make this a family activity: Each member of your family picks one thing to watch for. They count how many they see. Then, get together and compare.

This activity promotes math skills as well as visual identification skills and detail awareness.

#335: Find Your First Name in the Newspaper

Pull out a newspaper and flip through it. Can you find your first name somewhere in the pages?


Make this a family activity: Is everyone's name in the paper?

This activity promotes literacy skills.