Bea & Harriet's top 23 things to do on a snow day

(a post from Bea)

Outdoor stuff:

1. Go sledding! Don’t have a sled? Neither do we! You can use lots of things for a sled, like boogie boards, big pieces of cardboard, or anything flat and smooth.

2. Make snow angels or a snowperson.

3. Have a snowball fight.

4. Make a fort.

5. Take a walk and see how different everything looks.

6. Eat clean snow from the woods. Or ice! Make snow cream.

7. Slip and slide on the ice.

8. Look at the ice with a magnifying glass or a portable microscope.

9. Put some snow in the freezer for later.

Indoor things:

10. Drink hot cocoa. (See recipe from my mom below.)

11. Read a book.

12. Make a marble run or a homemade game.

13. Read comics!

14. Make comics!

15. Listen to an audio book. (We are listening to a favorite, Invisible Inkling, about a boy who lives in Brooklyn and meets an invisible bandapat at his family’s ice cream shop.)

16. Have a movie afternoon. Make popcorn.

17. Make cookies and take them to your neighbor (we made peanut butter-chocolate chip and took some to David yesterday).

18. Write a story. (We are trying to write one, inspired by Invisible Inkling, about the time Harriet found a live mouse in her boot.)

19. Do calligraphy.

20. Make watercolor postcards of a snow scene.

21. Find your discarded/worn-out disposable masks and cut the ear loops so they don’t become dangerous to animals. (Hint from Belle: they are probably on the floor of the car.)

22. Annoy your parents by singing the Ponyo theme song.

23. Learn Japanese.

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Favorite hot cocoa syrup recipe (adapted from The Gift of Southern Cooking by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock):

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cocoa powder

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup boiling water

2 ounces (1/3 cup) dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Mix the cocoa, sugar, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Whisk in the boiling water and simmer for three minutes.

2. Whisk in the heavy cream, bring to a simmer, and remove from heat.

3. Stir in the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate. Add vanilla. When melted, pour into a jar with a lid.

To make cups of hot chocolate: Use 1/4 cup of this syrup for each cup of milk. Warm your milk on the stove, then stir in chocolate syrup.

Tip: Double the recipe, pour syrup into clean jelly jars, and give as a gift, with instructions for adding milk. Also makes a great ice cream topping!

What’s your favorite thing to do on a snow day? Or a winter day at home?

See you Friday, Frog Troublers!