#353: Snowball Fight

Make snowballs and have a snowball fight!



Safety First: Be sure that your snowballs don't have ice chunks, rocks, or other hard spots in them--you don't want to hurt someone when the snowball hits them.


Make this a family activity: Have a snowball fight with the whole family.

This activity promotes aim and gross motor skills.

#352: Tie Dye

To tie-dye you will need these materials: clothing for dying; dye; water; buckets; rubber bands, strips of cloth or thick string; rubber gloves; and an adult.



Tie dye instructions:
Find an item of clothing (something white is best) that is okay to dye a different colour. If your item is brand new, wash and dry your item.

Tie strips of cloth/rubber bands/thick string around the item you are dying. Where you tie the strips the dye can't colour and it will remain the original colour. Make sure the ties are very tight so dye doesn’t seep underneath them.

Have an adult mix your dye according to the package directions. If you mix the dye in a large bucket you can dip your item into the dye. Make sure you wear old clothes, rubber gloves (so you don’t dye your hands) and cover your work area with plastic or newspaper.

After dipping the item in the dye a few times, rinse it really well in cold water and then again in warm water. Afterwards, you can take your ties off and admire your new tie-dyed item. (Lay it flat to dry.)


Make this a family activity: Tie dye something for everyone.

This activity promotes an awareness of textiles, the dying process and a bit of chemistry too.

#351: Count Windows

How many windows are there in your home? Count them!

Yikes! That's a lot of windows!

To make it more challenging, see if you can count them all from memory--that means you close your eyes and try to picture all the windows and count them in your mind. Can you do it?

Have you already counted the doors in your home? Are there more doors or more windows?


Make this a family activity: Counting can be tricky when you have to go from room to room, get your whole family in on the game and see if you all come up with the same answer.

This activity promotes math skills.

#350: Cuddle or Play With a Pet

Do you have a pet? Cuddle or play with it. (If it isn't a fish. They are hard to cuddle.)


Make this a family activity: I feel a cuddle fest coming on!

This activity promotes pet care.

#349: My Pet Peeves List

Are there things that make your grumpy? Drive you crazy? Write them down. (These crazy-making things are called pet peeves.)



Want to look on the bright side? Make a favourites list.

Make this a family activity: Get the whole family to write down their pet peeves. Pet peeves make a good family discussion topic. Work together to help eliminate (get rid of) each other's pet peeves. For example, Dad hates tripping over wet boots at the front door when he comes home--make sure you put your boots in the boot rack or to the side. And you hate it when your dad comes into the bathroom without knocking--now that he knows, he'll make sure he knocks. Sometimes when others do things that drive us crazy, they don't know! Then again, sometimes brothers and sisters do know and they love to do them just to watch us go crazy!

This activity promotes self-awareness and expressing emotion.

#348: Peek-a-boo

Play peek-a-boo with a baby. Babies love to see people disappear and then reappear.


Cover your face with your hands (disappear--the baby can't see your face) and then open your hands to show your face (appear--the baby can see you again) and say, "Peek-a-boo!" The baby will laugh and smile.


Make this a family activity: See who can make the baby laugh the hardest.

This activity promotes empathy and communication skills.

#347: Give a Shock

January is one of the driest times of the year in North America and that means one thing--static electricity! Go shock someone!




To build up static electricity so you can shock someone, put on a pair of socks and drag your feet along carpet. Then reach out and touch someone. Ouch! Did you zap them?


Make this a family activity: See who is a good shocker.

This activity promotes a knowledge of science, electricity, and conductors.