Winter Fun

Posted December 29th, 2007 by Jen in family life, holidays, parenting, poetry

Mom and JoJo iceskaing Dad and LittleL iceskating

My husband and I took our kids and a few of the cousins ice skating on Christmas Eve. We survived with only a few bumps and bruises, remarkable considering that between just the two of us, we managed seven children under the age of 10 on the ice.

I must admit that my husband was not overjoyed when I suggested ice skating! I only bring this up because I want to encourage you to push past the common hindrance to enjoying winter sports: BBRRRR!!! He actually was so happy in the end that we went ice skating, mostly because the kids had beaming faces and have talked about it for days. As you can see from the pictures, this was an indoor ice rink, and really not that cold. Just bundle up and do it!

A quick note on ice skating safety. One of the skate guards noticed my four year old daughter, pictured above with me, and commented on how she was gaining courage and wanting to go faster, even though this was her first time ice skating. A Canadian, he said, “You Americans have a lot to learn! In Canada, the little children have to wear helmets on the ice.” He recommended putting a regular bike helmet on the littler ones at least. Think about it, a hard fall on the ice is no more forgiving than a hard fall on concrete.

There is a winter wonderland across much of the country and so much fun to be had! One of my sisters in Michigan just took her family on a skiing vacation to Boyne Mountain and, living in Oregon, I worked hard to resist the temptation to poke fun at Michigan’s mountains. They all had a fantastic time even without supersized mountains. Now, if you do happen to be in Oregon and want to ski, be sure to visit my friends at Berg’s Ski Shop for all your gear, and go experience some real altitude.

And don’t forget about snowshoeing, sledding, and snowboarding. Or just building a snowman! My kids’ personal favorite is a good old fashioned snowball fight. I am definitely in the winter mood, and if I don’t get myself and the kids out despite the weather, we all get cabin fever. My rule of thumb is that if it’s above freezing, (32 degrees Fahrenheit), out we go. An investment in high quality gloves, hats, coats, and boots is well worth it, especially if it means the whole family can play outside in winter weather for at least an hour at a time.

I know many of you are either stuck inside because it’s truly treacherous outside, or at the other extreme, you live in a location where it simply doesn’t get wintery. I found a great website, Apples4theteacher.com, with a slew of winter games and activities for kids that can be done indoors and still give your kids some winter fun. You’ll find winter crafts, stories, puzzles, coloring pages, and more.

If your family has a favorite winter past-time, would you share it with me? I’ll leave you with a wintery poem by that classic Scottish writer, Robert Louis Stevenson.

Winter Time
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from A Child’s Garden of Verses

Late lies the wintery sun a-bed,
A frosty, fiery sleepy-head;
Blinks but an hour or two; and then,
A blood-red orange, sets again.

Before the stars have left the skies,
At morning in the dark I rise;
And shivering in my nakedness,
By the cold candle, bathe and dress.

Close by the jolly fire I sit
To warm my frozen bones a bit;
Or with a reindeer-sled, explore
The colder countries round the door.

When to go out, my nurse doth wrap
Me in my comforter and cap;
The cold wind burns my face and blows
Its frosty pepper up my nose.

Black are my steps on silver sod;
Thick blows my frosty breath abroad;
And tree and house, and hill and lake,
Are frosted like a wedding-cake.

10 Responses

Grace December 29th, 2007 at 9:40 pm
What a great time! and I admire you and your hubby for taking care of so many children at the skating rink! I am not good in ice skating but I was constantly trying every year when I was in Japan.
Jane December 29th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
Hmmm, we don’t get much snow- just a short lived dump here and there. We spend as much time outside as possible when that happens- sledding and going for walks, then coming inside by the fire and drinking hot chocolate.
Yes, the kids have to wear helmets out on the ice to start with here. It is a good idea.
Kathleen December 30th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
Love the skating pictures! My kids enjoy skating too and yes the little ones always wear helmets :-)
Jenn December 30th, 2007 at 11:29 pm
Looks like fun! Thanks for contributing your post to the Happy New Year’s Carnival of Family Life which I am hosting tomorrow at Mixed Metaphor.net! Hope you’ll drop by the party and join in the festivities — we have many wonderful entries this week!
Faith December 31st, 2007 at 9:05 am
Hi Jennifer!
I left you a comment on my blog and decided to come visit you!
We are not really winter sports people here in my household other than sledding. Both of my girls love it. Courtney is 14, Claire just turned 9 on 12/21. Claire likes it more than Courtney. We just woke up to another 4 inches of snow. Last week we received 8. We live in the capital region of NYS so the mountains we are closet to are: the southern-central Adirondacks (25 min to the north/northwest), the foothills of the Catskills (about 30 min s. of us), the Berkshires of MA about 30 min to the east and the Green Mts of Vt. which are about an hour northeast of us. We are really into hiking and do it from april to oct! I am trying to get my family in to winter hiking with snowshoes but so far have had no luck. Our new thing this spring will be using the new kayaks my hubby Dave bought me for my birthday!
Oh, i LOVE the pics of your family. Have fun and Happy New Year!
e-Mom December 31st, 2007 at 12:40 pm
What a super idea! It looks like you had a wonderful Christmas Eve. I grew up ice skating, but haven’t been on skates in ages. Hmmm… :~D

Loved the poem. Winter is so beautiful!
Jen December 31st, 2007 at 2:38 pm
Grace, thanks for coming over! I’ll bet you’re a better skater than you think, compared to most. I have few friends here in Oregon who’ve ever ice skated at all! I happened to have lived for many years in Michigan, and went ice skating on the frozen rivers all winter long. Those were my high school and early college years, back when you hung out with your friends all the time and had so much time to spare. Plus it was a hockey town and that’s just what people did for a past-time. Many fond memories!

Jane, it’s funny how people think of Canada and assume you ice skate all the time! You’re in a part of Canada that just doesn’t get the kind of weather that, say, Ontario, does! My border town when I lived in Michigan was Sarnia, Ontario, and those Canadians I knew lived on skates!

Kathleen, it’s good to know the skate guy wasn’t just pulling my chain. You really do have to wear helmets in Canada! It’s seriously a good idea, and I’ll be putting helmets on my kids next time we go.

Jenn, you’ve put on a great carnival, thanks!!

Faith, I’m jealous of so many wonderful mountains! I hope I make it over there someday. The kayaking sounds so fun, too!

e-Mom, it was a very nice Christmas Eve, and that time skating with all the kids was seriously my favorite part of the entire time in Eugene.
~Amy January 2nd, 2008 at 9:59 am
I recgonize that place. I haven’t been in there for a long time. I think the last time was years ago for a hockey game.

We all had our fingers crossed for snow on the valley floor but it never happened. :(

Happy New Year!
~Amy
WW: Wear Your Helmet On The Ice! February 6th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
[…] that’s a good mom…after being reprimanded by the Canadian, I helmeted the kids the next time on the ice. Kind of a no-brainer for three and four year olds […]
Happy New Year's Carnival of Family Life | Mixed Metaphor.net March 1st, 2008 at 7:54 pm
[…] Jennifer: Winter Fun at Diary of 1 can include ice […]

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