Thursday, December 31, 2009

Winter Snowflake School Activities


Oh, here I go again with another link list. Why a link list? I'm usually better at finding ideas thought up by someone else, than I am coming up with them myself. lol Occasionally I manage to surprise myself, but for the most part, I'm a hunter and gatherer and not so much a creator of great ideas. What's more I'm certainly not a scientist, so some of what I'm sharing below could never have come from my simple little head. :)

When I'm trying to keep my kids busy I usually jump online and start rummaging through countless websites to see what other people are doing. Just to save you a little time, I then come here to share what I find! So... here is the best of what I found today on snowflakes:

SnowCrystals.com
This site offers some AMAZING images of real snowflakes. You'll be in complete awe at how beautiful and unique each flake truly is. We've always heard that snowflakes are like fingerprints in that no two are alike, but unlike fingerprints, snowflakes can vary tremendously! This site also shares photos of designer snowflakes as created in a lab. Pretty cool either way, but I think nature has done a pretty fascinating job without any help from us!

This site also shares snowflake physics, a guide to frost and some fun snowflake activities. You could easily spend an entire afternoon here. :)

Enchanted Learning
Make your own crystal snowflake at home! This looks like a lot of fun and will give your kids the opportunity to grow their own crystals. :) You'll need just a few supplies, most of which you may already have at home.

Snowflake Factory
Take a study break and let your kids make a virtual snowflake! After watching a quick haircare commercial, you'll be able to access the snowflake factory, where you're free to unleash your creativity. First select your preferred number of wedges, then click a shape and insert it in the single white wedge, which will in turn give you the exact same shape in all the other wedges. You can finalize by changing your snowflake's color, then giving it a bit of animation... for instance, see your flake in a blizzard. Fun!


Snowflake Templates
These free templates will make the job of creating a perfect paper snowflake super-simple and ever so lovely. This activity is best for older children, unless you're going to do the cutting for them. Most of the templates here are a bit too intricate for small hands, but small eyes will light up like light bulbs as they watch your artwork unfold. :)

Alrighty then... have fun my friends!




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