Snow Track Detectives

What you need

• Notebook, 1
• Crayons or markers, 1 pencil
• Warm winter clothing, 1 set per child
• Flour, about 2 cups (no-snow alternative) (optional)
• Plate or tray, 1 tray for the flour (optional)

How to do it

Grown-up prep: Grab a notebook and pencil, lay out warm clothes, and pick a safe snowy spot away from roads and frozen ponds.

1. Bundle up in your coat, hat, mittens and boots. Ask for help if you need it
2. Head outside with your grown-up to find some fresh snow.
3. Hunt for tracks left by animals, people or bikes.
4. Look closely: count the toes and check how big each print is.
5. Draw each print in your notebook.
6. Guess which creature or thing made each set of tracks.
   Ask: Who do you think made these tracks, and what clues tell you?
7. Pick one trail and follow it to see where it goes.
8. Make your own puzzle prints by walking, hopping, tiptoeing and walking backward.
   Ask: Which way of moving do you think will be the hardest to guess?
9. Challenge someone else to figure out how you moved.
10. Head inside to warm up and count your clues. Who will you track next time?
    Ask: Which tracks surprised you most, and what animal do you hope to find next?

Play it again

• Mystery mover: one person makes a trail with a secret mix of hops, tiptoes and backward steps for everyone to decode.
• Track bingo: before going out, list five track makers and check them off as you find them.
• Flour lab: on a no-snow day, press toy animal feet, forks or hands into the flour tray and guess each other's prints.