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  • Home
  • Raising Outdoor Kids
    • Cooking & Crafting

      How to Make Birdseed Ornaments for Wild…

      November 27, 2020

      Raising Outdoor Kids

      Beautiful Spring Picture Books for Children

      March 28, 2020

      Raising Outdoor Kids

      Playing in Nature Protects Our Children During…

      March 17, 2020

      Raising Outdoor Kids

      50+ Spring Nature Activities for Kids of…

      March 3, 2020

      Crafting

      How to Make a Willow Nature Crown…

      July 2, 2019

      Raising Outdoor Kids

      9 Special Ways to Celebrate Summer Solstice…

      June 1, 2019

      Raising Outdoor Kids

      A Beginner’s Guide to Pond Dipping with…

      May 20, 2019

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      How Pokémon Can Get Kids Bird Watching

      April 30, 2019

      Nevada, USA

      Rock Climbing and Hiking Around Las Vegas…

      April 24, 2019

      Raising Outdoor Kids

      Signs of Spring Nature Walk for Kids…

      April 5, 2019

  • Spring Outside 2020
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  • Canadian Adventures
    • All Alberta British Columbia Lower Mainland Northern Interior Okanagan
      British Columbia

      Hiking and Camping with Kids at Kokanee…

      July 30, 2018

      Okanagan

      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

      December 1, 2017

      British Columbia

      Family-Friendly Adventures on BC’s Sunshine Coast

      November 8, 2017

      British Columbia

      A National Park Reserve in the South…

      November 3, 2017

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      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

      November 1, 2017

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      Hiking Spion Kop with Kids in Lake…

      October 10, 2017

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      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

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      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

      August 30, 2017

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      Rock Climbing with Kids in Jasper National…

      August 8, 2017

      Alberta

      Family Adventures in Jasper National Park: 10…

      July 26, 2017

      Alberta

      Shaw’s Point Resort

      August 6, 2015

      Alberta

      Apiaries in Northern Alberta

      August 5, 2015

      Alberta

      St. Isidore, Alberta

      August 4, 2015

      Alberta

      The Hoodoos

      July 29, 2015

      Alberta

      Royal Tyrrell Museum

      July 28, 2015

      Alberta

      Bow Valley Campground

      July 27, 2015

      British Columbia

      Hiking and Camping with Kids at Kokanee…

      July 30, 2018

      British Columbia

      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

      December 1, 2017

      British Columbia

      Family-Friendly Adventures on BC’s Sunshine Coast

      November 8, 2017

      British Columbia

      A National Park Reserve in the South…

      November 3, 2017

      British Columbia

      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

      November 1, 2017

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      Hiking Spion Kop with Kids in Lake…

      October 10, 2017

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      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

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      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

      August 30, 2017

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      Visiting the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park in…

      March 7, 2017

      Lower Mainland

      Outdoor Family Adventures in Metro Vancouver

      August 2, 2016

      Lower Mainland

      Biking the Stanley Park Seawall

      July 27, 2016

      Lower Mainland

      Exploring Deep Cove and Quarry Rock Trail

      July 25, 2016

      Lower Mainland

      Visiting Queen Elizabeth Park

      July 22, 2016

      Lower Mainland

      Biking Through Pacific Spirit Regional Park

      July 20, 2016

      Lower Mainland

      Exploring Lynn Canyon Park

      July 18, 2016

      Lower Mainland

      1001 Steps to the Beach

      April 19, 2014

      Northern Interior

      Life at Ness Lake

      September 1, 2016

      Northern Interior

      McMillan Creek Regional Park

      October 8, 2015

      Northern Interior

      Ferguson Lake Nature Reserve

      October 6, 2015

      Northern Interior

      Eskers Provincial Park

      October 5, 2015

      Northern Interior

      Autumn in Northern British Columbia

      September 28, 2015

      Northern Interior

      Wildflowers in Northern British Columbia

      June 6, 2015

      Northern Interior

      Visiting Barkerville Historic Town

      June 2, 2015

      Northern Interior

      Travelling North

      June 19, 2013

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      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

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Backwoods Mama

Raising Outdoor Kids

Positive Ways to Talk to Kids About the Weather

January 13, 2019

The way we talk to our kids about the weather has a big impact on their interest in playing outside. When we talk about the weather negatively, using it as an excuse to stay inside or blaming it for thwarting our plans, our kids learn to do the same thing. Our kids are really good at copying us!

However, when we talk about the weather in positive ways, we are teaching our kids that there is no bad weather. There are only many different types of good weather: rain, snow, wind, cloud, fog, cold, hot…

Unless there is a severe weather warning in place, kids can play outside in all types of weather. What’s more, developing a positive mindset around weather helps our kids learn resilience, preparedness and flexibility which will benefit them throughout their life. Hurrah!

Quick Tips for Talking to Kids About the Weather:

Tip #1: Describe the weather in simple, factual and/or neutral to positive words.

Tip #2: Ignite curiosity and wonder about the weather with questions and possible outdoor activities.

Bonus Tip: Dress appropriately for the weather and have fun outside!

Read: Keeping Kids Warm in the Winter with Base Layers

Want more tips on raising outdoor kids? Join the Backwoods Mama Newsletter!

If it’s COLD try saying…

➡ The thermometer says it’s below 0°C (32°F) outside. I wonder what Jack Frost has been up to outside? Let’s go find out.

➡ Look! The ground is sparkling with frost. Today is the perfect day for drinking hot chocolate outside.

➡ Come and peek out the font door! Can you see your breath? That means we need to wear our warm clothing today.

Cold weather outdoor prompts:

  • Go outside on a fall or winter scavenger hunt.
  • Gather ice and icicles from puddles, along small streams or around your home and make ice sculptures.
  • Make an ice lantern or an ice sun-catcher using bit of nature collected from around your yard.
  • Draw pictures on frosty surfaces using your fingers or some wet paintbrushes.

If it’s RAINING try saying…

➡ I see rain falling. Today is a great day for jumping into puddles with our rubber boots.  

➡ Rain is wonderful for plants and animals. Let’s go outside and play in the rain.

➡ Oh my! All this rain is perfect for making mud pies.

Outdoor prompts for rainy weather:

  • Look for worms that have come out to enjoy the rain. Are they coming up to breathe? To migrate? What do you think?
  • Search for puddles to make big splashes.
  • Try to catch raindrops on your tongue.
  • Make a watercolour painting using raindrops, you can even make your own nature paintbrushes!

If it’s WINDY try saying…

➡ Can you see the trees swaying in the wind? Today would be great day to fly a kite.

➡ The wind is swirling leaves through the air. Let’s go see if we can catch them.

➡ Did you know that there are different types of wind? Let’s go outside and see what kind of wind is blowing today.

Outdoor prompts for windy weather:

  • Listen to different sounds that wind can make. What do you hear?
  • Make a kite, a leaf pin-wheel and an up-cycled wind sock to play with in the wind.
  • Discover how the wind spreads seeds. Collect fluffy seeds like dandelion heads or milkweed pods and let the wind carry them away.
  • Blow bubbles and see the wind carry them away.

If it’s SNOWING try saying…

➡ Wow! Look at all those beautiful snowflakes. Let’s go outside and see if we can catch some on our tongues.

➡ The ground is covered in snow. It’s a perfect day for sledding. 

➡ This sticky snow is just what we need to build a snowman.

Outdoor prompts for snowy weather:

  • Take a closer look at snowflakes. How many different shapes you can find?
  • Look for animal footprints in the snow. How many different types of footprints can you find?
  • Build something out our of snow like a snowman, a Swedish snowball lantern, a snow sculpture or a snowfort.
  • Enjoy snowy sports and activities like sledding, snowshoeing and skiing.

If it’s CLOUDY try saying…

➡ The sun is hiding behind the clouds. Today would be a great day to look for shapes in the clouds.

➡ Wow! Those clouds are moving fast. Let’s go watch them.

➡ There’s fog outside! We can go walking through clouds.

Outdoor prompts for cloudy weather:

  • Look for shapes, animals and face in the clouds. What do you see?
  • There are many different types of clouds. What kind of clouds can you spot in the sky? Are they high up and low down?
  • How do clouds float? What do clouds taste like? Be curious.
  • Fog is a cloud that is touching the ground. Go walk through a cloud!

It’s HOT outside try saying…

➡ The sun is warm today. Let’s go outside and play in some water.

➡ Plants grow big in hot weather. Let’s go outside and plant something.

➡ The thermometer says it’s over 30°C (86°F). Today is the perfect day to enjoy a frozen treat outside!

Outdoor prompts for hot weather:

  • Stay cool by playing with water.
  • Get those hand dirty and plant something (anything) outside.
  • Paint on outdoor surfaces with water. What is happening to the water? Where is it going?
Positive Ways to Talks to Kids about the Weather – Free PDF

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Positive Ways to Talk to Kids About the Weather was last modified: November 26th, 2020 by Josée
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