Short Lessons and Activities for the Start of Spring
The snow in our yard is at least two feet deep right now. This was concerning to my youngest daughter who asked me on the way to school, “can we have spring if it’s still snowy?” My answer, of course, was that spring will still start even if our yard is buried in snow. That […]
Short Lessons on How Snow is Made
My oldest daughter is super excited to start her third year of ski lessons this winter. I’m also very excited about it because I’m going to be giving ski lessons at our local ski mountain. While we’ve had some snowstorms this winter, we wouldn’t have nearly as much area to ski on if it weren’t […]
21 Activities and Lessons That Have a Winter Theme
Today is the first day of winter in the northern hemisphere. To mark the start of winter I’ve put together a list of twenty-one activities and lessons that have a winter theme. Snowy Outdoor ActivitiesI enjoy winter and my kids do too. We like to sled, ski, snowshoe, and just play outside in the snow. […]
Why is Snow White?
On my phone I keep a list of questions that my daughters (ages 4 and 5) ask me. The questions are about things that I haven’t thought about for a long time, if ever. For example, last week my youngest asked me why snow is white. If you have kids who are wondering about the […]
Why the Moon Seems Brighter in Winter
We had our first coating of snow this week. (It’s unusual to go this late into fall without having a snowfall). As I was putting my daughters to bed last night my oldest asked why it was so bright outside. My short answer was that the snow reflected the street lights and the moon light. […]
Fun Activities for Snowy Days
We’re finally starting to see snow accumulation here in Maine that is typical for our winters. We had a big storm last week followed by a few inches of snow last night. Today, it is a beautiful blue sky day! As I wrapped up my last Zoom class of the day I encouraged all of […]
The Science of Snow and Ice
How to Survive the Snow and Ice is a new compilation video published on the Reactions YouTube channel. The video features segments about how snow (both natural and man-made) is formed, how ice is made, why saltwater takes longer to freeze than freshwater, and why kitty litter is better than regular sand for getting traction […]
How Snow Is Made Naturally and by Humans
Every skier knows that natural snow is better than man-made snow. But there will be plenty of both at the Winter Olympics. So what is the difference? And how is snow made? Those questions are answered in the following videos. How to Make Snow (If You’re Not Elsa) is a short video produced by SciShow […]
The National Archives and the Yeti
The U.S. National Archives has a great feature called Today’s Document. Today’s Document features one historical document (almost always a primary source) per day. Sometimes the documents are serious while other times the documents are not so serious. Sunday’s featured document was a perfect example of a not-so-serious document. On Sunday Today’s Document was Regulations […]
Fun & Educational Activities In the Snow
We have just had our second snowstorm of the year here in Maine. It is around this time every year that I share some educational activities that you and your students can do in the snow. Some of these activities have connections with math and physics concepts. NOVA, as a part of their program on […]
The Physics of Skiing
It’s a snow day here in western Maine. For a skier like me, that means it’s time to enjoy the snow with some time on the slopes. If you live in an area that has skiing, you might have some students that feel the same way that I do about snow. New snow equals a […]
The Science of Snowflakes
Here in western Maine we’re expecting our second real snowstorm of the winter to arrive tonight. This has reminded me of a couple of educational videos that explain the science of snowflakes. The Science of Snowflakes is a TED-Ed video lesson that explains how snowflakes are formed, why they’re all different, and why seem to […]
40 Years of Snow Data
The Snow Guardian is an interesting short film featured on National Geographic’s YouTube channel. The film features billy barr (he chooses not to capitalize his name) who has lived alone on Gothic Mountain in Colorado for more than 40 years. For all but one of those years he has kept detailed, daily records of the […]
How Igloos Can Keep You Warm – And Winter Phys Ed Activities
How an Igloo Keeps You Warm is a new video from It’s Okay To Be Smart. The video does a great job of explaining how an igloo provides insulation and stays relatively warm when people are inside it. The video also explains the engineering concepts used in the creation of a strong and warm igloo. […]
How Trees Survive The Winter
It was a crisp -10F at my house this morning. When it’s that cold everything seems crisp, brittle, and well…frozen. It makes you wonder how anything survives for long outside. I know that I’m always amazed when my lilac and blueberry bushes bounce back to life every spring. How do they do that? The answer […]
Lots of Lessons About Winter Weather
Conditions at my house on Tuesday. A large winter storm is in the forecast for later this week in the northeastern United States. If you like snow, this is a great forecast for you. If you hate snow, the snow is still coming. I subscribe to the philosophy that you should make the most out […]