Originally Posted by Michaela
Don't give up on the library... can you ILL? I know the public library here can get books even from academic libraries, which opens up the posiblility of getting stuff from the teachers' colleges of universities. I've had good luck finding all kinds of interesting but not overly teachy stuff at the local teachers' college. One library is frequently pretty much *all* libraries, with an internet connection and some effort.

Oh! And maybe exploit the unique environment. Have you heard of a book called "Thora"? It's a novel about a half-mermaid, (who appears to me to be gifted;)), probably around your daughter's reading level (I've just giving up on guessing the reading level -- it's listedon amazon as gr4-6, I would have read it in gr.2, but I'm a confusing mess for that), and it might get her interested in exploring the place itself. DS (much younger than yours) got better at transit when we started showing him maps and talking a lot about different vehicles and routes. It might be fridgid, but there's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing -- if she's interested enough in the physical place, she might be willing to go out collecting. Heck, she might be interested in learning "survival skills," like which order to layer clothing in, and what to put in a -50 first aid kit smile I did a bunch of that stuff, and eventually got to the point of winter camping in historicaly-accurate gear... there's lots scope in geography, biology, etc. in an isolated ocean environment. And such a rich one, historically. Seems a shame to waste the life experience of just being there.

Maybe she'd like to make up stories about a little girl living on an island in the Berring sea who needs to find a way to "fit" without loosing herself.

Good Luck,
-Mich

Ok, I'm not the OP but I absolutely LOVE that idea!

For indoor activities... how big is your house? Do you have room for an indoor slide/swing? Could you install some sort of climbing bars? Get a trampoline? What about those pop up tent/tunnels (we have some in our super-small apt and they store very nicely!). I'd definitely look into a lot movement equipment to get out that extra energy if you're snowed in.

I also agree with trying to build multi-age friendships. Get her involve in an activity that isn't age segregated and start making friends now that would like to come over and play! DD seems to interact better with older kids (my understanding is that that's pretty normal for the under 6 crowd).

Also, what about running science experiments non-stop throughout the winter. You have all that snow so make use of it! Measure it, weigh it, melt it, get a magnifying glass and check out the snow flakes, watch the weather channel, research different climates, make "winter foods" together in the kitchen, talk about how animals survive the winter. Also don't forget to build lots and lots of snow forts! Maybe even get some food coloring with water in a spray bottle to paint them. Also, definitely look into other science experiments for that age.

Good luck!