Snow Day: Three Wintery Short Stories to Read to Your Kids---and a Trip to the Snowflake Factory, Too!

The white stuff is falling out of the sky and your children are running from window to window, squealing with glee. Today may be the first time they've seen it snow on their very own house. Or maybe it hasn't snowed at your house in a very long time. Or maybe your kids just love the first snow of the season, the middle snow, the last snow, or every snow.

The fact is: it's a Snow Day, and that's a great time to make family memories.

Of course, the number one priority for most people who love snow is to get out in it. It's definitely time to round up the beanie caps, mittens and woolen socks.

I can remember waking up to a very unexpected snow one day in the temperate climate of Virginia. The squealing soon began and, oh brother, was I scrambling for improvised "snow gear" so that my children could get outside as soon as possible.

I know this is hard for those who live in, say, Finland or Green Bay, Wisconsin, to believe, but there actually are families in which no one owns a set of gloves, much less a pair of warm boots. This is because, generally, they do not need them.

On our particular Snow Day, however, as chance would have it, we did have gloves. Boots, no. And, when there are large amounts of snow on the ground, boots are very important when it comes to little feet that spend most of their time in flip-flops.

In desperation, I ended up making the boys put on two pairs of socks. Then I put each of their little feet into a plastic grocery bag, put on their shoes, pulled the bag up over their pant legs and taped it tight with packing tape.

Later, I heard my son talking to the little girl who lived behind us. Suddenly, she asked in a very loud voice: "Are you wearing Wal-Mart bags on your feet?"

Son turned a little redder under his snow-flaked cheeks and answered, "Um. Uh-huh."

The little girl seemed to consider for a moment. Then she smiled a huge grin, pulled her foot out of the snow to display it, and declared: "So am I!"

Snow days can be fun.

When the reality sets in that snow is, well, really, really cold, it's time to continue the celebration inside. Hot chocolate is always welcome (I learned the hard way that, even in temperate climates, it's the better part of valor to keep a box of hot cocoa mix in the pantry---or the fixings to make your own.) Snuggling up under blankets is excellent. And reading a few snowy, wintery short stories aloud is perfect. A snowfall is simply magic to a child. What a great time to tap into that sense of wonder and imagination ---and to connect your children to the excitement of others at the sight and experience of snow---by engaging some new stories together.

Here are three lovely stories you can quickly print out for reading at a family snuggle convention after the outdoor portion of the Snow Day celebration is done: The Snow Birds, posted at Apple 4 the Teacher, and Winter Wonderland and Waddle Loves the Snow, both by Margo Fallis, posted at ElectricScotland.

If you want more snow-related activities after story time is through, check out the Snowflake Factory. The online snowflakes aren't as cold as the real thing, but they can be just as entertaining in their own way.