Q. In case this ends up to be a snowy winter, do you have any fun ideas for playing in the snow?

A. Sure -- the children at our centers love the snow, and we encourage creative play. Here are a few ideas:

• When snow is forecast, freeze water in plastic containers of different sizes. Then, when the snow flies, take the "ice bricks" outside to build ice castles, using snow as "mortar" and trimming.

• Make snowpeople -- and snow cars and snow horses and snow whatever-you-can-think-of!

• Catch snowflakes on black paper and use a magnifying glass to examine them.

• Create a snow gauge from an empty 2-liter pop bottle (cut off the whole top section so you basically have a large tube with a bottom in it). Place it outside before the snow starts, and measure how much snow falls.

• Take bubble liquid and wands outdoors. You'll see that, in the cold, bubbles won't pop as quickly or easily as usual.

• Sprinkle Kool-Aid packets onto the snow and see what colors result.

• Make snow angels -- and decorate them with whatever you can find.

• Bring the fun inside ... make snowballs of different sizes, put them in a sink or tub -- and see how long it takes them to melt.