Be A Chionophile

Learn:

A new year’s challenge for you: Can you be a chionophile? Even for just an hour?

A chionophile is an organism that thrives in cold weather conditions and loves the snow. (Literal meaning is from Greek: khion = snow and -phile = to love)

There are plants and animals that have adapted their lives to the cold and snow. Think polar bears, snowy owls, Atlantic cod, killer whales, and cover crops like winter rye and winter wheat.

In our family, we try to love winter as much as we can - given that it takes up about half of the year here in Wisconsin - through skiing, ice skating, and winter hiking and biking. I’m always impressed by those who do more!

Read:

Ten Ways to Hear Snow by Cathy Camper and illustrated by Kenard Pak introduces different ways to observe snow on one girl’s ordinary winter walk to see her grandma. It also weaves Arabic foods and words into this intergenerational story, while focusing on the sounds that snow makes.

Do:

On the back cover of the book is this quote: “When the world grows quiet, we learn to listen.”

Head outside on a snowy day. Pause and notice the sound of quiet - how does the snow muffle sound? What sounds do you hear as you interact with the snow? How many different adjectives can you use to describe these sounds?

What else can you hear when you’re quiet outside on a snowy day? Can you be a chionophile in this way?

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