Snow & Snowman Theme
      Page 6
      Theme Ideas

      First, Second, Third

      Have your children use real snow or play dough to make snow people. When they have finished, ask them to tell what they did first, next, and so on, and write down their responses on a wall chart. Or make sequence cards that illustrate the steps in making a snow person. Mix up the cards and invite the children to put them in the proper sequence.

      ~Submitted by Becce in Missouri

      Snow Experiment

      Try a simple experiment with your child. Have him collect two cups full of snow. Have him bring them into the house and place one in the refrigerator and one in the kitchen. Have your child observe the two cups every two hours. Have him put into words what is happening to the two cups of snow.

      ~Submitted by Becce in Missouri

      Measuring Snow

      Children love to play in the snow and they also love to measure snow. Give your child a long ruler or yard stick and let her measure the snow outside each day. Help her keep a written record or graph.

      ~Submitted by Becce in Missouri

      Snowy Windows

      You can simulate snow any time by letting your child paint a window or mirror with a special crystal paint. Just mix ˝ cup water, with ˝ cup Epson salts (available at drug stores). When the mixture dries it will form crystals on the surface simulating snow or frost.

      ~Submitted by Becce in Missouri

      Borax Crystal Snowflake - Grow a snowflake in a jar!

      You will need:
      * string
      * wide mouth jar
      * white pipe cleaners
      * blue food coloring (optional)
      * boiling water (with adult help)
      * borax (available at grocery stores in the laundry soap section)
      * pencil

      Directions:
      With a little kitchen science you can create long lasting snowflakes as sparkly as the real ones. Cut a white pipe cleaner into 3 equal sections. Twist the sections together in the center so that you have a "six-sided" star shape. Pipe cleaners and string form a snowflake base for the crystals to grow on. If your points are not even, trim the pipe-cleaner sections to the same length. Now attach string along the outer edges to form a snowflake pattern. Attach a piece of string to the top of one of the pipe cleaners and tie the other end to a pencil (this is to hang it from). Fill a widemouth jar with boiling water. Mix borax into the water one tablespoon at a time. Use 3 tablespoons of borax per cup of water. Stir until dissolved, (don't worry if there is powder settling on the bottom of the jar). If you want you can add a little blue food coloring now to give the snowflake a bluish hue. Insert your pipe cleaner snowflake into the jar so that the pencil is resting on the lip of the jar and the snowflake is freely suspended in the borax solution. Wait overnight and by morning the snowflake will be covered with shiny crystals. Hang in a window as a sun-catcher or use as a winter time decoration.

      ~Submitted by Becce in Missouri

      Estimating Snowballs

      I draw a huge outline of a snowman on the bulletin board. I make about six circle shapes for each child about the size of a grapefruit on white construction paper. I give each child one snowball with the sentence: How many snowballs do you think it will take to fill the snowman? The children write their estimate on their snowball. Then they each cut out their six snowballs. I then choose one child to do the tally marks on the white eraser board. I staple as the children count and tally the snowballs. We have had practice with tally marks before this activity. After the snowman is full we count the tally marks. And on the other side of the snowball I write the sentence: How many snowballs did it actually take to fill the snowman? Then the child writes the actual number. I then ask the students to bring "real" items to decorate the snowman. This is where the children become very creative.

      ~Submitted by Becce in Missouri

      Smallest to Largest

      Cut several snow people shapes of assorted sizes out of white poster board or felt. Decorate the shapes as desired. Give the shapes to your children and invite them to line up the snow people on a table or a flannel board from smallest to largest or from largest to smallest.

      ~Submitted by Becce in Missouri

      MELTING SNOW KIDS In an open area, have your children pretend to be Snow Kids, standing straight and tall. Choose one child to be a Warm Breeze, and give the child a scarf. As the Warm Breeze gently touches the Snow Kids with the scarf, have them slowly melt down to the ground. When all the Snow Kids have melted, choose a new Warm Breeze and start the game again.

      ~Submitted by Becce in Missouri

      Snowball Shoot

      Students are sure to enjoy slam-dunking snowballs in this game that focuses on hand-eye coordination skills. Make several beanbag snowballs by using a funnel to partially fill white balloons with rice. Knot the end of each balloon. Set three different colors of laundry baskets or large tubs in a row on the floor. Invite a child to stand a specified distance away. Have him name a color, then throw a snowball into the corresponding basket.

      ~Submitted by Sherry in Ontario

      SNOW CENTERS

      Painting Center

      Invite children to fingerpaint on cookie sheets using whipped cream or shaving cream. Add snowflake sponges for printing on a supply of dark-colored construction paper. Stir sparkly glitter into white paint for shimmering, snowy designs.

      Discovery Center

      Bring in a snowball from outside or an ice cube from the freezer. Set it in a pie plate and invite students to observe and describe what happens.

      Game Center

      Label each of five snowman cutouts with a different numeral from one to five. Direct a student to place the correct number of cotton balls on each cutout. Since we don't have snow here in Arizona, and many of my students haven't even touched snow, we read Snowballs each winter and then make snowmen out of sandpaper. They are decorated with all my odds and ends in the classroom, patterned after the story. Thus we create our...sandmen! Much more appropriate for the southwest deserts don't you think? I even have a formula that mixes sand with glue and starch that can create sandmen sculptures.

      ~Submitted by Jill in Arizona

      Footprint Fun

      On a day that the snow has just fallen, ask the children to describe the snow on the ground. The children should see that there snow is smooth, and there aren't any footprints in the snow. Have the children walk across the snow, and have them turn around and look at their footprints. Have them follow their footprints back.

      Picture Matching

      Find snow stickers. Place 2 identical stickers on the left and right sides of an index card. Cut the index in half, cut in a jig-jag form. Use a highlighter to highlight the edges. Do this with many different stickers. Have the child match the stickers, and line up the two halves of the index card.

      Snowflake Sizing

      Cut out many different sized snowflakes. Ask the children to line up the snowflakes from largest to smallest.

      Build a Snowman

      Supply the children with three white felt circles of different sizes, and other pieces for the features.. like an orange triangle for the nose, black circles for the eyes and buttons, a hat. Invite the children to make a snowman out of the pieces.

      Sensory Snow

      -Place some snow in your sand and water table for the children to experience.
      -Supply the children with some snow and a balance or scale
      -Look at a snowflake under a microscope -Make snowcones (not with real snow)
      -Watch snow melt
      -Time how long it takes one tablespoon of snow to melt, compare that to the time it will take one cup of snow to melt.

      Pretend to be a Snowflake

      Ask the children to pretend to be a graceful snowflake falling from the sky. You could even play soothing music for them to dance to.

      Melting

      Have the children pretend they are a snowman that is melting.

      Snow Ball Experiment

      Make 3-5 equal snowballs and put them into bowls. Place them in different places with different temperatures. Check the snowballs every 30 minutes to see which is melting the fastest. Put a note pad and pencil with each bowl to record observations. Use one page per observation to show how long it takes to melt. Take a magnifying glass outside to observe the snowflakes on a dark coat or on dark paper.

      ~Submitted by Cheryl's Sweethearts ChildCare
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