In case you have not heard, those of us residing in Minnesnowta have been pretty much shut in by a recent blizzard.  Even better is that the forecast claimed that we may reach a high of around zero degrees today!!!  Oh the joy.  So here kids is 4 feet of snow but with the wind-chill dipping to an excruciating -30 your chances of playing in all that great powder are about as probable as today’s forecasted high.

This is where my job becomes, fun.  time to plan activities that everyone will enjoy so that the house is not completely torn apart at the end of the day. 

So here is what we made today, “snow-deer”  sometimes called reindeer, but let’s face it, if it was rain we would have been splashing in the puddles.

The bonus to this project is that we can save it to remember each child’s foot and hands from this year.

I had them all gather a shoe , trace it and cut it out. 

Then I helped them trace each hand and cut it out…these are the antlers.

Next I got out my jars of buttons that I bought at a local antique sale that happens annually in a small local town and they all chose buttons for eyes, nose and of course an earring or two. This also led to discussions of how old the buttons were, and we imagined what person or outfit might have gone with these buttons.  We found one dated from the 1800’s.

Then Jon and I had a turn making  one, his had some lines on it from another project which he turned into a proper tribal tattoo.  I love how all of them reflect each person’s true self in a small way.

We also made bread, meatballs, and those little pretzel chocolate melts with the M &M’s what a great day!