Kids Are Ready For Snow

Well, we finally got our first significant snow of the season last week.  It was fun to see kids all over Glen Ellyn out playing in the snow.  My kids got up at 8 a.m. and went right outside to play.  They were out there a good hour or more having a ball.  Other kids in the neighborhood came over to the school park near my house and they built snow forts and went sledding down little snow piles.  

Many of us dread the cold, snowy weather, but there is so much joy if you look for it.  For example, when I drive around during the week and I see a cute snowman in front of someone's house it brings a smile to my face.  I could be having a rotten day, but the childhood joy of building a snowman is forever present.  It also reminds me to stop and enjoy how much fun kids have with the most basic of things.

We live in a wonderful town with many great winter activities available to us. One that is always a hit with kids is sledding.  We have some great hills around, each with something unique about it.  Churchill school on Geneva Road has one of the best hills around.  It is located in the back of the school, so unless you know about it, it can easily be missed.  There are two great hills for sledding there. 

Another great location is Newton Park.  The park district sets up fencing along side the hill and hay bales to help guide people back up.  It has a great main hill and also has a side hill run that goes down and around trees.  You can also ice skate at Newton Park.  They actually create two rinks: one where the tennis courts are that is set up for hockey and one in the park for open skating.  The park district puts a flag out that lets you know if it is safe and ready for people.  When the flag is green it means it is open and red means try it again another day. One special thing about Newton Park is that there are bathrooms there.  This is a great feature for parents out with their young kids.

One smaller hill that's especially good for young children is the one off Main Street over near Five Corners.  It is small, but perfect fun for very young children.  It is a small, square area right next to the Dairy Queen strip mall.  I think the one thing that would make all these venues great is a hot chocolate stand.  It would allow a break where kids could warm up for a minute and then get back out to play.

I asked some Glen Ellyn residents to tell me what they like about winter and where they like to go with their family for winter fun. We've changed the names here to protect people's privacy. Lori told me how much her family enjoys Churchill's sledding area.  It is close to their home and often not crowded, as I had talked about earlier.  She told me how their family brings their own thermos of hot chocolate with them so they can take their own break when they get cold.  Another spot they enjoy is Lake Ellyn for skating.  They usually go on weeknights when the boat house is closed because, "You get the whole lake to yourself," Lori said.  She also talked about how much fun her kids had this year now that they have a dog.  They enjoyed playing in the snow with Gulliver and throwing snow at him.

Lisa told me that her family loves to go to Newton Park.  They like to go early in the morning before everyone else gets up, usually hitting the hill for awhile and then their kids like to play at the park, even though it is covered in snow.  They also have a tradition of bringing hot chocolate with them, and they take breaks at the shelter area.  They also mentioned how friendly everyone is.  They enjoy seeing friends and making friends up on the hill at Newtown Park.

One of the best things about sledding is that it helps parents to remember their childhood and the fun winter used to bring (before they had to dig the car out).  I am not a big sledding mom at all, but when I do go, my kids are so excited and I love to see their faces light up every time they go down the hill.  When we ride down together I always enjoy it and think about why I don't go out more often.  It is free, fun and the entire family can do it together.  There are not a lot of activities that have all that.