When is it too cold to play outside?

While doing my thesis I was shocked when teachers revealed to me that here in Central Oklahoma sometimes the students could not even go outside when it was below 50 degrees F outside! Many of the students were not acclimated to spending any time outside. They often could not afford adequate clothes. The school or the district had overly prohibitive policies. Also some of the necessary clothes are difficult to buy here.

So, how cold is too cold to go outside?
The more you research this question you may realize that in many places it is largely an arbitrary judgment call.  Teachers and parents in northern states and countries are much more lenient then are schools in places like Florida.  Some states (like Missouri) have set up a simple traffic light frame of reference. (Even these guidelines are a bit on the cautious side compared to what schools in sites like Minnesota or outdoor recreation leaders will endure with their students). I could not find parallel regulations for Oklahoma.

Green light: Temperature above 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Wind below 15 mph. Children may play for long stretches bundled to their comfort level.
Yellow light: Temperature between 13 and 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Wind 0 to 40mph. Bundle children in several layers with a non-cotton base. Children should also have mittens, hats and water-proof winterized shoes. Play should be limited to short bursts of up to 30 min.
Red light: Below 13 degrees it is unsafe for children to be outdoors at all.

The NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) website is the most accurate place to check the temperature and wind. For a more precise estimate of what your conditions actually feel like on the skin check out their wind chill table below.  Find out the temperature and then your wind speed. Read down to the number where those two columns connect. This will tell you the wind chill, or what temperature it actually feels like.

Borrowed from

http://www.weather.gov/os/windchill/images/windchillchart3.pdf

http://www.weather.gov/os/windchill/images/windchillchart3.pdf

Using this table you can see how dramatically wind can change the conditions. Almost any wind would put you into the yellow zone. A 40 degree day with 20mph makes the temperature feel like 30 degrees and extra caution should be taken to make sure children are properly bundled. However, this table also serves as a reminder that in most winter weather conditions (at least here in Oklahoma!) the dangers of frostbite or other severe tissue damage are highly unlikely in a typical playtime period.  (Note: It is very important to keep children dry so if children go out in sleeting or snowing weather they will need dry clothes to change into. Children also should always be taken inside if they are shivering or have bluing lips. Infants will need additional bundling and less time outdoors as they cannot adequately warm their own bodies).

In a region where the temperatures fluctuate so widely during the winter, care givers should make their assessments on whether to play outside based on the actual weather conditions (taking into account the clothing students have available). Playing and learning outside everyday is a right that should be entitled to all children everyday, when the conditions are safe.

Stay tuned for the next post for more information about how to dress properly and creative ideas to make winter wear available at your site...

Winter outdoor education curricula ideas

Photo by Oakley originals at creativecommons.org

For early childhood/lower elementary:

From Growing Up WILD, Exploring Nature With Young Children:

• Hiding in Plain Sight- Use Hide and Seek to teach adaptation
• Tracks!- Explore and make tracks
• Oh Deer- Explore parts of habitat
• Field study fun- Explore a plot over time

From Project WET- Water Education for Teachers

• Cold cash in the icebox- Make an insulator to keep ice from melting
• Molecules in motion- Act out three states of water  

From Project WILD

Thicket game- use hide and seek to teach adaptation.

Non-fiction books

• Tracks, Scats, and Signs by Leslie Dendy
• Wild Tracks! A Guide to Nature's footprints by Jim Arnosky
• When Winter comes  by Laan and Gaber

Fiction books

• Footprints in the Snow by Cynthia Benjamin
• In the Snow: Whose Been Here? by Lindsay Barrett George
• Tracks in the Snow by Wong Herbert Lee
• Stranger in the woods! by Sams and Stoick
• What will I do without you? by Sally Grindley and Penny Dann

 For upper elementary:

From Project WET- Water Education for Teachers

• Cold cash in the icebox- make an insulator to keep ice from melting
• The Incredible Journey- act out the water cycle
• Hanging together- act out hydrogen bonds in surface tension, ice formation, etc.
• Just passing through- Imitate how water moves down a slope (*Adaption: Change the game by declaring different temperatures in different rounds)
• Molecules in motion- Act out three states of water
• Water crossings- simulate various water crossing situation (*Adaptation: build a replica of something used historically or modern day to pull cargo across ice or snow. OR simulate a sled dog race)

From Project WILD

• How many bears can live in this forest?- Students become bears and look for components of a habitat.
• My kingdom for a shelter- Construct a lifesize habitat replica 
• Oh Deer- students use tag-like game to learn about carrying capacity
• Urban Nature Search- gather data about what habitats exist in your area. (Winter is great time to find bird's nests).
• Quick Frozen Critters- Use freeze tag to teach adaptations.

Fiction books

• Julie of the Wolves
• Narnia series by C.S. Lewis
• Little house in the Big Wood by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Nonfiction books

• Arctic Tale by Wolverton, Richards, Gore
• Snowflake Bentley by Martin
• Learning about Winter with Children's literature  by Bryant, Keiper, and Petit
• Who lives in the Snow? By Jones and Powell
• The Kids' Winter handbook by Drake and Love

For middle school
From Project WET- Water Education for Teachers

• Hanging together- act out hydrogen bonds in surface tension, ice formation, etc. 
• Just passing through- Imitate how water moves down a slope (*Adaption: Change the game by declaring different temperatures in different rounds)
• Water crossings- simulate various water crossing situation (*Adaptation: build a replica of something used historically or modern day to pull cargo across ice or snow. OR simulate a sled dog race)

 From Project WILD

• How many bears can live in this forest?- Students become bears and look for components of a habitat.
• My kingdom for a shelter- Construct a lifesize habitat replica
• Oh Deer- students use tag-like game to learn about carrying capacity
• Urban Nature Search- gather data about what habitats exist in your area (Winter is great time to find bird's nests).

 For high school:

From Project WET- Water Education for Teachers

• Hanging together- act out hydrogen bonds in surface tension, ice formation, etc. 
• Water crossings- simulate various water crossing situation (*Adaptation: build a replica of something used historically or modern day to pull cargo across ice or snow. OR simulate a sled dog race)

 From Project WILD

• Artic survival- Do a simulation of hunter gather lifestyle in the artic. 

What active winter curricula have you found useful?
Bonus points: What animal makes the footprints in the above photo?