Let's Learn English! Topic: Getting Ready for Winter! 🥶🧥☃️ (Lesson Only)

Well, hello and welcome to this English

lesson about getting ready for winter.

If you live in a country that experiences winter,

there are a lot of things you need to

do in order to get ready for winter.

And in this lesson I will talk about most of them.

If you don't need to get ready for

winter, you should still watch this lesson.

Many of the things I talk about can also be

used to talk about getting ready for other things.

Maybe if you switch one word it

will mean getting ready for summer.

For instance, one example, you sometimes put extra blankets

on the bed to get ready for winter.

You might have a colder season where you are

where you put an extra blanket on the bed.

So even though the lesson is about getting ready

for winter, it is a multi use lesson.

You will learn many useful

phrases in this English lesson.

So once again, welcome to this

English lesson about getting ready.

Winter get out the winter coat.

So in Canada and in other cold countries, we often

put away our warm winter coats in the spring.

So when spring arrives and when I don't need my winter

coat, we actually put it in the basement, sometimes in a

box or sometimes we hang it in a closet.

But then when cold weather comes, you

need to get out the winter coat.

Get out your winter coat.

You can see this person here is nice

and cozy and warm wearing their winter coat.

So what this means for me is I go

to the basement, I find my winter coat, you

can see me wearing it right here.

And I start to wear my winter coat.

But first I have to find it and get it out.

Another thing I do is I put on the snow tires.

We also call these winter tires.

I'm not sure if all of you are aware but, but there

are different kinds of tires that we use in the winter.

In colder countries the rubber is a little softer.

So in really cold weather, the tires

grip the road really, really well.

So it's just handy to have.

Um, when it gets super cold out, it's nice to be able

to stay on the road instead of sliding off the road.

So when there's a bit of snow on the road or when

there's a bit of ice on the road, it's nice to have

your snow tires on or what we also call winter tires.

And then you might want to stop drafts.

There's two ways to spell this word.

This is the long complicated way.

You can also spell it D R A F T draught.

But this is the word draft that means air that

blows under the door from the around your window.

If your windows and doors aren't

sealed nicely you might have drafts.

And this is something called a draft dog.

Some people have these types of things to lay along the

bottom of a door to stop wind from blowing in.

There are many other things you can do to stop a draft.

You can put stuff on the door itself to stop a draft.

But this something people do, they stop drafts,

put an extra blanket on the bed.

Jen and I actually did this a few weeks ago already.

When the nights start to get colder, your

house starts to get a bit colder.

In fact, most people in cold countries have

their house go a little colder at night

than it probably goes in the summer.

At least we do.

And so we put an extra blanket on the bed.

This sometimes is called a duvet.

Sometimes in my part of Canada, we call it a comforter.

It has many names.

Some people might call it a quilt, but there

are lots of thick, warm types of blankets.

And you will probably put one of those on

your bed so that you stay warm at night.

Last night in particular was quite cold, so it was

nice to have an extra blanket on the bed.

You're also going to get out your gloves.

You're going to get out your winter

hat, or what I call a toque.

You're going to want to cover up.

So I would not go outside

with my hands uncovered right now.

I would not go outside with my head uncovered.

It's way too cold for that.

So you're going to get out your gloves,

you're going to get out your winter hat.

We keep all of these in a box in the spring,

summer and fall, and then we pull out the box.

And then you hope that you can find a matching pair.

Here's something that some people think is controversial

and bad for the planet, but you start

to warm up your car in the morning.

I usually start my car about

five minutes before I leave.

Some people say you don't need to do this, but

I like to warm up the car so that I

can clean the windshield and the side windows better.

So you sometimes need to warm up the car

in order to be able to drive safely.

So sometimes I get up early so that I can warm

up the car for about three or four minutes, sometimes five

minutes, so that when I get in it's warm, but also

so that the ice and snow has melted off the windows.

And then you need to put the ice

scraper and snow brush in the car.

If you are not familiar with these two tools,

um, this is one that has a scraper at

one end and a snow brush at the other.

So this is what you use to clean

off your car windows in the morning.

So when you get up on a winter morning, you

need to get up earlier because you probably want to

start your car and let it run for a few

minutes and you're going to need to clean the windows.

So normally we do not have an ice scraper or a

snow brush in our car in the spring, summer and fall.

So in the fall, late fall, we put the

ice scraper and snow brush in the car, um,

just so that you can clean the windows.

It's important to be able to see when you drive.

So this is something.

Um, I don't have a snowblower like this.

I have one that goes on the tractor.

But a snowblower is a machine that

you only use in the winter.

So when you are getting ready for winter,

it's important to check the oil, fill the

snowblower with gas, and start it up.

You don't want to start your snowblower for

the first time during the first snowstorm.

You want to be ready for the first snowstorm.

So if you start the snowblower, you, when

it's a nice warm day in the late

fall, then you are ready for winter.

So you should definitely start

the snowblower at least once.

Make sure everything works properly, and do

this before you get a large snowfall.

You should find the shovel.

Um, there are things called snow shovels.

They're designed especially for shoveling snow.

Uh, you should probably find the snow shovel

if you are getting ready for winter.

Um, sometimes our snow shovel gets used other places on

our property, and then it's not in the right spot.

So you might need to find the snow shovel

so that when it snows, you can shovel the

snow and then put warm clothes in your car.

So if you live in a country like Canada

or one of the countries that experiences cold winter,

you should always have gloves, winter hats, maybe a

blanket, maybe an old winter coat.

You should have these things in your car all the

time so that if you go in the ditch or

if your car breaks down, you can stay warm.

When I go to work, I wear gloves,

a winter hat, and a winter coat.

But I don't always dress warm enough to

be outside for a long period of time.

I'm warm enough to be outside for

10 or 15 minutes or more.

But if my car broke down, I would

probably put on another winter coat over top

of my winter coat and maybe warmer.

Um, so it's important to put warm clothes

in your car so that you're ready in

case your car breaks down in the winter. Or.

Or if you need.

Your car breaks down, or if you

go in the ditch, that happens.

Sometimes you slide off the road.

You should get the furnace serviced.

So a furnace is an appliance that heats your house.

Um, you should make sure that it's working properly.

Um, it's very important that the

house stays warm in the winter.

So you will call someone to

come and service your furnace.

Not necessarily every year, but maybe every two

years or every five years, you will have

a professional person come to service your furnace.

Check the windows.

So an interesting thing happens

sometimes around your windows.

There's something called caulking, and it can fall out.

And then you will find out

there's a draft by that window.

So usually about once a year or every other year,

we go around and we check the windows to see

if there are any spots where air can blow in.

And then you can find different things.

You can buy different things to put

around the window to stop it.

Most half of our windows are.

Sorry, I'm trying to think about how to say this.

Most of our windows are fairly new,

so we don't have this problem.

But when our windows were older before we

had them replaced, we often did this.

We would check and then kind of make sure.

Put the markers along the driveway.

Many of you see this in my lessons and ask, what

are all those orange sticks that you put along your driveway?

This person has put orange sticks along the sidewalk.

Sometimes put orange sticks along our driveways,

because when it snows, you can't tell

what is driveway and what is grass.

And people sometimes drive on the grass or on the lawn.

So when we know winter is coming,

before the ground freezes, we often will

put out these orange stakes or sticks.

Some of them are reflective so that people know where the

driveway is, so that they don't drive on the lawn.

Bring in outdoor plants if you have any plants in pots.

Most plants do not like winter. They die.

And so you might bring them in.

Sometimes you leave them out until

they go dormant in the fall.

So sometimes when plants sense cold weather,

they stop growing and they go dormant.

And then you put them in the garage or

in the basement where they won't freeze so that

next spring you can take them out again.

You might get out the sleds.

Sometimes we have to find the sleds when

winter is coming because we might want to

go sledding or what is sometimes called tobogganing.

So you might go and get out the sleds,

um, so that they're ready to use, by the

way, sleds don't work very well when they're warm.

So we often keep our sleds in the

garage where it's colder or even outside.

Because a warm sled, when you put it on

the snow just melts the snow and it sticks.

So we often get the sleds out

early so they're ready to use.

By the way, sledding is when you slide down a hill on

the snow on a sled, it is a lot of fun.

You might find your skates.

If you're someone who likes to skate,

you might get out your skis.

You might get out your skates.

We have skates that we keep in our basement in storage.

So in the fall and late fall, when

winter is approaching, we will find our skates.

Um, sometimes it's hard to find because I share my

skates with my son, so I have to figure out

who used them last and where they are.

Um, you'll need to prepare to leave early,

or you'll need to start to leave early.

What this means is that when winter comes, it takes longer

to get to work because you need to drive slower.

So yesterday I drove about 70km an

hour on my way to work.

The speed limit is 80 kilometers an hour,

and usually I drive 90 kilometers an hour.

I drive a little bit faster than the speed limit, but when

it starts to snow, when the roads start to get a bit

of snow and ice on them, you need to slow down.

Sometimes I can only drive 50km an hour on my way

to work, if it's really snowy, if it's hard to see.

So you need to prepare to leave early or

be ready to leave early for work for the

whole winter, you need to start setting your alarm

earlier because you need to clean off the car.

You need to start the car, and then you will

need to drive more slowly on the way to work.

If you have a generator, you might

want to fuel up the generator.

Winter sometimes brings really, really bad storms.

So sometimes it's a good idea to be prepared

for a power outage if the power goes out.

If there's no electricity for a day, you need a

generator in order to run your furnace and to run

a heater and to keep your house warm.

So it's always good to fuel up your generator.

Um, so this depends on the type of tap you have.

But you might want to turn off outside taps.

Outside taps are interesting because

this is an outside tap.

When you turn it, the.

The mechanism is on the inside

of the house where it's warm.

That's how an outside Tap works, so you

don't really have to turn them off.

I guess that's a bad way to describe it, but you

have to make sure there's no hose connected it and that

that part that goes through the wall can drain freely.

Hopefully I.

Hopefully I explained that well and you

and understand what I am saying.

So you need to drain everything.

If you have any garden hoses

outside, you should drain them.

Garden hoses outside, you should drain them.

If you have a bird bath, you should empty it.

If you have anywhere where water can freeze, you

should take the water out when you are getting

ready for winter, because water, when it freezes, expands.

So if you have a cup of water and you

freeze it, there will be more ice when it's frozen

than there was water, and that is very destructive.

Water can break things very easily.

Water is very strong when it freezes.

When it turns to ice and it

expands, it can break bird baths. It can.

You have a water pump outside with water in it.

It will break the steel.

It will break everything.

Water, we drain everything.

So drain means to take the water out of it.

Uh, you should put away your patio furniture

and you should clean up the yard.

Once it starts to snow, it can be quite a mess.

Snow is beautiful, but there are certain things

you do not want to have outside.

So this is outdoor furniture, or

what we call patio furniture.

Um, and there's even a barbecue on the far side there.

Let me make it a bit bigger.

You want to put away your patio

furniture or at least cover it.

Some people have special covers

for their patio furniture.

Uh, and you'll want to do this for a couple reasons.

One, it will get covered in snow.

Uh, and two, it might blow away.

Like, it gets really windy in the winter as well.

Uh, you also want to clean up your yard.

Oh, let me check the focus here. We're all good.

Um, you don't want to leave things out in

the winter because when it snows, they get covered.

So if you leave a shovel on the lawn and

it snows, and then you're out running with your dog,

you might step on the shovel and trip.

So it's a good idea to clean everything up so that

your yard is nice and tidy and ready for winter.

Always fill up.

This is something you should do if

you know bad weather is coming.

So in the winter, something

that's different than the summer.

I don't often let my car get all the way to empty.

Often when it's just below half or when it's

at a quarter tank, I'll Fill up, because you

don't always know when it's going to snow again.

And more importantly, you don't know

if you might get stuck either.

Maybe you go off the road or you're in a traffic jam.

And if you're doing that for a long period of time,

you have to keep your car running to stay warm.

So it's not.

I don't know if everyone does this,

but I keep my cars full.

Like, if it's half a tank, I'll fill up.

Uh, especially if I know bad weather is coming.

You need to wear layers.

You can see I'm already doing that.

I'm wearing two layers.

When I put my coat on, I will have three layers.

The best way to stay warm in

cold weather is to wear layers.

So when you're getting ready for winter, you will probably

look for an extra T shirt to wear underneath.

Sometimes I'll wear four layers.

I'll wear a T shirt, a shirt

with a collar, a sweater, coat.

When I go outside.

When you wear layers, you stay warmer. Just.

It's kind of a funny thing

that people might not understand.

But if you wear a T shirt, another shirt, a sweater,

a vest, and then a coat, you will be really warm.

The layers will keep you warm.

So when you wear layers, this guy, it

looks like he's wearing 1, 2, 3.

He's probably wearing at least four layers of

clothing that will really help him stay warm.

So getting ready for winter, you need to make sure you

have the clothes you need to wear Layers by salt.

This is a little controversial as well,

because it's not good for the environment.

But salt will melt ice.

So if you have a walkway in front of

your house, if there's an area where you've cleared

the snow away, but there's still ice, usually we

will put salt on the ice to melt it.

For some reason, salt and ice together.

Salt changes the freezing temperature of the water,

so it will actually melt the ice.

Um, we do this a little bit on our front walkway.

We usually put down some salt, um,

so that you don't slip and fall.

So in order to do that, you need to

buy salt in order to get ready for winter.

Check to make sure the humidifier is working.

A humidifier is an appliance that

puts moisture into the air.

It puts water into the air.

When you heat your home, the air becomes drier.

It's just a natural process.

So some people will have a humidifier so that they

can keep the air in their home more humid.

And so you might want to check

humidifier to make sure it is working.

You might want to change the furnace filter.

Um, the furnace is again, the

appliance that heats your home.

And if you have one that has air going

through it, there's usually a filter in it.

In order for the furnace to work

correctly, you should change your furnace filter.

You should actually do this a lot

more often, uh, than you might realize.

Um, we usually change ours every six to eight weeks.

But yes, you should change the furnace

filter so the furnace runs properly.

And then test your smoke alarms.

So you should make sure they have fresh batteries

in them and make sure they're working properly because

you are going to start heating your home.

That means somewhere in your home there is a flame.

Like a furnace burns gas.

Um, a wood stove burns wood.

You are using fire some form to keep your house warm.

Uh, so you should make sure that your smoke

ALARM and your CO2 detectors are all working properly.

So make sure you do that.

And then when you use your windshield wipers,

you can squirt washer fluid onto your window.

You should make sure you have winter washer fluid.

Almost all washer fluid, um, won't freeze,

but winter washer fluid is even better.

So this one goes down to -34 Fahrenheit.

So that's really cold.

This will not freeze.

So it just is a good idea to have

the right kind of washer fluid in your car

and then make sure you have flashlights and batteries.

Sometimes in the winter, the power goes out and it's

hard to see in the dark in most countries that

experience winter, also the time of year when the days

are the shortest and the nights are the longest.

Right now at quarter to five in the

afternoon, it starts to get dark here.

By quarter after 5, 5:30, it is dark and

then it doesn't get light out again until six

in the morning or something like that.

So it's a very dark time of year.

It's a time of year where there could

be storms and the power might go out.

So it's always a good idea

to have flashlights and batteries.

Most of most of the time we

just charge our phones now though.