Tips for clearing up snow around your home

Winter is over in another few days. Have we seen the last of the snow? We hope so, but just in case, here are some last-minute tips to get you through the snow.

We think snowblowers are really helpful, especially after the worst snowstorms. You can use snow shovels, but if your family has a snowblower, that can be the best thing to use.

A tip we have for adults is to shovel or plow down a part of the driveway and walk straight back up the path you plowed. Once you get in front of the door, you can start plowing again until you get all the way down to where the driveway starts, and start doing the driveway. The best way to go is down, and back up.

When using the snowblower, you should probably put all of the snow at the end of the road so then you won’t have to plow the same snow again. You don’t have to do all of this alone. You can bring your family with you. You can also help do your neighbors' driveways and doors. It can be a really big help to your neighborhood.

For kids, all you need is a shovel. Here are some fun activities that you can do in the snow. Start shoveling near the end of your yard. When you see your sibling or parent, toss a snowball at them. If they are angry, say you didn’t mean to hurt them. If that does not work, run and hide in the snow. Another activity is making a secret pile of snow and making it into snowballs, then firing away at your friends.

Another tip we have is, if you are an adult and you have kids, they may want to help shovel, but you don’t want them in the street. Take a shovel and go over the area where you don’t want them to go. Then you tell them not to go over there and tell them to do a different spot while you do the spot that you don’t want them to do. That is how you keep them safe and have them help.

Melinda Moran’s fourth- and fifth-grade Stretch students, Cherry Avenue Elementary School, West Sayville