Two winter activities that both involve creativity and competition.
Obstacle Course
Creating obstacles courses combine design, organization and collaboration, competition and physical activity. Obstacle courses outside in winter adds resilience to the list of benefits.
Take outside some gym equipment like hula hoops, pool noodles and skipping ropes. Add to that whatever your students' imaginations can come up with; use the snow if there is any. Then see what creativity happens. If you allow the design process to start indoors, the process will probably start with all kinds of unrealistic ideas. Go outside for the brainstorming and designing as well as the implementing. Each group in your class can design an obstacle course to share with the others. Another possibility is for older grades to design obstacle courses for the younger children in the school.
Snow Snake
Classes that learn about the First Nation/Native peoples of their regions can learn about the game Snow Snake, an Ojibwe game.
The Ojibwe or Chippewa are an Algonquian speaking tribe, whose territory is in the northern Great Lakes region: Michigan's Upper Peninsula, as well as the northern shores of Lake Huron and Lake Superior and far beyond to the north, east and west. Ojibwe and Chippewa is actually the same name pronounced slightly differently. It comes from the Algonquin word "otchipwa" (to pucker) and refers to the distinctive puckered seam of Ojibwe moccasins. This tribe is one of the most populous First Nations in North America (north of the Rio Grande), second only to the Cree nation.
The game Snow Snake involves learning how to design and build an icy smooth course. It also involves straight sticks such as broom handles. In the video below, you will see students taking turns to aim the stick down the course. The one whose stick travels furthest wins.
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