Unexpected Snow Days Require An Arsenal

Today is a snow day. I remember snow days fondly as days when the world was wide open. It was a free day to catch up and do whatever my childish heart desired; reading, sledding, throwing snowballs endlessly which would, for me, end up in freezing fingers needing swirls of mildly warm water to run over them to take away the pain of the cold. This is not that kind of day, for now I’m an adult with a child with multiple diagnosis who thrives on routine…and movies. Only, too many movies does quite the opposite of ‘thriving’. The planning begins.

Planning for these days usually begins the night before. Movies will have to be had, but can be interchanged with play, chores and education. For instance, if he wants to watch a movie, which you can bet he’ll ask for the instant he awakes, he’ll have to do something first. Visual timers will be used, and in my arsenal, will be:

Starfall.com – a fun, interactive, simple yet educational site for kids of J’s developmental level

• Puzzles – he loves them. Not too complicated, not too easy, though the early learning puzzles do hold his attention for a time and we have tons

• Books – He chose a huge dinosaur book for his Book Fair item this year. It should keep him busy (flipping not reading) for a bit

• Trains – enough said

YouTube – see “Trains” above – we have a collection of videos here too

• Volcano – a neighbor got all the kids some kind of volcano. Not sure if this needs to wait until it’s warmer and can be done outside, but we might just give it a go

• Grow a Dino – he got this for Christmas. I’ve been holding onto it. Growing it should hold his attention for let’s say….10 minutes….

• Movies – but of course movies. The best part though, is we have “The Planet Earth” series. When it’s educational, I don’t feel quite as guilty

• Vacuum – oh, what….you didn’t think I’d forget that did you? Pushing and pulling of the vacuum gives some great sensory feedback, and thus, he’ll be vacuuming…1 room.

• Chase – fortunately, we have enough room to run in our house for chase…for a bit

• Hide and Seek – the kids have just re-discovered this one. The best part is when I find a perfect hiding place and it takes them some time to find me. I covet quiet moments, even if they’re only a couple of minutes long

So, that’s my arsenal. That’s what I’ll be doing today. What do you do with unexpected snow days / off days?

2 Responses to Unexpected Snow Days Require An Arsenal