“A Silly Snowy Day”
by Michael Coleman
Synopsis:
When a tortoise names Shelley decides she wants to stay awake and see what winter is like instead of
hibernating with her parents, Mr. & Mrs. Tortoise tell her she is ridiculous. Shelley is determined and
sets out to explore the snow and cold. As she travels from the duck pond to the hilltop, she finds other
animals who agree with her parents-that a tortoise out in the winter is ridiculous. Shelley eventually decides to return home and gets
there much quicker than a tortoise can normally travel. Read the story to find out more about Shelley and her adventure!
Try some of these RIDICULOUS-LY fun winter activities with your child:
Go outside and play in the snow! What is the point of all the white stuff if you can’t get out in it?! Just make sure
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you bundle up 
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Go sledding with your child.
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Make snow angels together.
Paint the snow! Give your child some spray bottles filled with a water/food coloring mixture and let them make
colorful snow creations.
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Build a fort in the snow with your child.
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Build a snowman together.
Make snowballs with your child and take them inside. Place them in a bowl/on a plate/etc and help your child use
a blow dryer to melt them. Feeling competitive? Get two blow dryers, and race your child. Whoever can get their
snowball to melt faster wins a prize 
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Catch snowflakes together! Use dark colored paper (black works really well) and let snowflakes fall onto the
paper. Look at the snowflakes-the contrast on the dark paper lets you see the design of each snowflake. It really
is amazing to see how pretty they are, and how no two are exactly alike.
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Make homemade snow-cones! Blend ice cubes in your blender for your child to create the snow. Let your child
pick what flavor of juice they want to add to their snow. Kool-aid works great for this, or you can purchase actual
snow-cone syrups from the grocery store.
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Make snow paint! Mix equal parts of white glue and shaving cream. Cut out snowflakes from cardstock paper and
let your child paint them with their snow paint. When the paint dries, it is fluffy and soft like real snow (just not wet
and cold) 
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Do an art project using marshmallows as snow. You can glue small marshmallows to paper as snowflakes, use
large marshmallows and glue them to paper to make a snowman, melt them in the microwave (with the help of an
adult) for a ‘melted snowman’ look, or dip them in white paint and make snow pictures!