There's No Play Like Snow Play

The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event.  You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?    -J.B. Priestley

There are a few sensory experiences that I wish everyone could enjoy but may not have the opportunity to; the feeling of walking on soft sand at the beach, the pull of waves while swimming in the ocean, the sights and sounds of hiking through mountainous and creek riddled forests, and playing in a blanket of cold snow.

Every two years our little family makes a pilgrimage back to our home state of Wisconsin during the Christmas season.  We've been lucky to have snow each time we visit; Mother Nature never guarantee's a white Christmas, but I make extra wishes for it.  This season brought a bonus of two different kinds of snow; wet and heavy, and dry and fluffy.  Many people don't know there is more than one type of snow, which can encourage different experiences and kinds of play.  The snow brings out the kid in me; I found myself sledding down a hill in my pajamas with Aidan, throwing snowballs at my younger brother, and making a snow angel just to watch the flakes fall on me from the dark quiet sky.

We immersed ourselves in the cold white world for a full sensory experience.  Devin scrunched clumps of wet snow in his hands, and lightly touched bowls of the fluffy variety.  He observed it disappear on his fingers, then happily splashed in the watery puddle left behind.
 

We measured and observed, finding diverse looking snowflakes on different surfaces around us. 

Two storms blew in about 7-8 inches each.

A magnifying glass for a closer look.

We tasted from the sky and the ground.  Next time we'll bring flavored syrup!

We created...

And experimented with the physics of snow.

There's no play like snow play, it brings out the magic of childhood in all of us.