Backpack Explorer: Winter Walk

Winter Walk, Contents

Are You Ready to have some fun in the cold?
Introduction and packing list (1 page)
Head outdoors with warm clothes, hat, and mittens, magnifying glass, water bottle, journal, and camera and get ready explore a winter wonderland.
STICKER SCAVENGER HUNT (1 page)
12 items to look for on your walk:
1. Snowflakes and snow
2. Icicles
3. Frost
4. Animal tracks
5. Trees (Bare branches/hardy leaves)
6. Conifers
7. Birds (chickadee, cardinal, and can you find others who stay around in winter?)
8. Bug signs (snow fleas, leaf litter, signs of insects, springtails, etc.)
9. Sky sightings (clouds, sun dogs, northern lights, constellations?)
10. Animals (including some who's fur turns whites (ermine, fox, snowshoe hare…)]
11. Seeds/nuts/berries - what other finds do winter animals feed on?
12. Sparkles (rainbow spectrum, sparkle on snow and ice, and other prisms in nature)

COLD WEATHER TIPS (1 page)
Here are some ways to have more fun on your walk. TBA.
NATURE FIELD GUIDES (24 pages)
Learn about all 12 things on your scavenger hunt list in more detail. Brush up on fun facts about winter weather, snowflakes, ice, how wildlife navigate low temperatures, and more. [Include general intro copy, plus a list of specific items within each category and 2 to 3 questions to ask, plus something to look up close for with the magnifying glass as in the other Backpack Explorer books.]
WINTER FUN & GAMES [12 pages]
2 Build a snow friend(s) (build snow animals, people, etc and decorate with natural materials)
2 Bird feeder - help your backyard birds with some easy DIY feeders (can do easy ones with fruit or pinecones, etc.)
2 Ice Art - freeze needles, berries, leaves (flowers, whatever else in different shapes and hang like ornaments on outside branches) add food coloring, etc. and/or make an ice lantern or little ice excavation game by freezing a stone or Lego person or whatever in there and chipping away the ice to get it.
2 Snow Science - Frozen bubbles and the boiling water evaporation trick
2 Snow construction - build a fort, slide, trench, etc.
2 Games - sledding, skating, snowball target toss, shuffleboard on ice, etc.
1 Winter Solstice celebration {last page}

SENSORY HUNTS [3 pages]
1 See It Scavenger Hunt (songbird, icicle, red frozen berry, tracks in snow, sled, blue hat, big boots, green conifer needles, etc)
1 Hear It: shovel scraping, wind blowing, laughing, bird chirping, dog barking, ice tinkling, footsteps in slush, etc.
1 Touch It Texture Scavenger Hunt (wet, dry, warm, soft, metal, wood, wool, papery, frozen solid)

DISCOVERY ZONE [10 pages]
2 Amazing Animal adaptations (How ducks can walk on ice without freezing, snowshoe hares and weasels change fur color, moose noses, blubber, etc.)
2 Hibernation (10 animals who hibernate, how long, where, and other facts, or match up to their dens)
2 Temperature fun facts (when it freezes, coldest days ever, temperature for snow to form sidebar on looking at your temperature outside, hot water trick)
1 Seasons in southern vs northern hemisphere explanation
1 Avalanche science
1 frozen lake science (fish still swim below the ice, etc.)

MY WINTER WALK ADVENTURE (fold out pages and 2 sticker sheets)
TBD. Kids write down their name, the date, where they went, the time, what they did, did they stay warm enough, etc, and more fill-in-the-blank journal entries. Plus: record what species or sign found and how they identified them in a picture with stickers and pencils.