Frosty Footprints
What you need
- wellies or warm shoes
- a small coat, hat and gloves
How to do it
- On a frosty day, wrap up warm and go out to a patch of frosty grass.
- Crouch down together and look closely at the frost sparkling on the grass.
- Take big steps across it and turn round to look at your footprints.
- Let your toddler make their own trail, then compare: big footprints, little footprints.
- Try stamping, tiptoeing and jumping, and look at the different prints each one makes.
Why it matters
Seeing their own footprints appear shows them that what they do leaves a mark, and frost is a sparkly thing to crouch down and look at.
What they're learning
- Big and little
- Their footprint next to yours makes size easy to see.
- Moving in new ways
- Stamping, tiptoeing and jumping each make a different print.
- Looking closely
- Frost on each blade of grass is worth a close look.
What to look for
Watch for them turning round to check their footprints after each step. Hold hands on frosty paths, which can be slippery.
A tip
No frost today? Walk through the edge of a shallow puddle and make wet footprints on a dry path instead. Keep gloves on, as frost is cold on little fingers.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: hold hands and walk a trail side by side
Harder: follow each other's footprints exactly, stepping in the same prints
