Math Ideas
20 Questions--At the beginning of the unit, I place a snowball in a ziploc bag, and then inside a box and play 20 questions. If you are in an area where there is no snow, you could put ice in a bag or a snowman figure.
Pattern Block Snowflakes--After teaching that snowflakes have 6 sides, model making snowflakes with pattern blocks and allow children to free explore and make their own. Then, using white pattern block shapes, have children glue snowflakes on blue paper. These look so pretty.
Measuring Real Icicles--I bring in different lengths of icicles and measure them with unifix cubes of some type of manipulative. This can also be done with scarves, mittens, hats, etc.
Measuring Snowflakes--Cut a variety of different sized snowflakes. I have plain white ones and some out of coffee filters that I made different colors using watered down food coloring and an eye dropper. Glue these on to blue paper and laminate them. Use a math manipulative to measure the distance across each one. You could make a recording sheet to record the answers if desired.
Estimating--Using different mittens and gloves, estimate how many counting bears will fit inside each one.
Graphing Ideas--Do you like snow?
Have you built a snowman?
Do you want it to snow?
Did you wear a glove or a mitten to school?
Which mitten book did you like best?
Which snowman story did you like best?
When I do the book/story graphs, I usually xerox a picture of the covers to put on the graphs. Sometimes I put pictures of the kids on the graphs, and I may cover their faces with snowballs (cotton) if they want it to snow. I do that after they leave for the day so they are surprised when they get to school the next day.
and
Activities
Build a snowman just for me.
F G H I J
Please don't let him melt away.
K L M N O
Is he melting? NO! NO! NO!
P Q R S T
Down he melts awat from me.
U V W X Y Z
I'll build him again you see.
Here is my broomstick.
Here is my hat.
When the sun comes out I melt away.
Down, down, down, down!
WHOOPS! I'm a puddle.
Sung to the tune of I'm a little teapot.
Oh, you shiver and you quiver when it snows.
Your hands feel just like ice,
so you rub them once or twice.
YES, you shiver and you quiver when it snows.
BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!
Sung to the tune-If you're happy and you know it.
On my sled, on my sled.
Riding down a snowy hill-
What a giggle, what a thrill.
On my sled, on my sled.
"Frere Jacques"
Walking, waliking on tiptoe.
Lift your right foot way up high,
Then your left foot-keep it dry.
All around the yard we skip.
Watch your step or you might slip.
Tune of Twinkle Twinkle
It looked like cookie dough.
It looked like my white blanket.
but it was snow, snow, snow.
had a carrot nose.
Along came a bunny
and what do you suppose?
That hungry little bunny,
looking for his lunch,
ate that snowman's carrot nose!
NIBBLE! NIBBLE! CRUNCH!
After teaching the poem, the children make a paper plate snowman to manipulate while saying the poem. Poem is glued on tummy.
each with a funny hat.
Out came the sun and melted one,
what a sad thing was that!
DOWN! DOWN! DOWN!
After the kids know the poem, we act it out using one child as the sun, and five as snowman. They hold laminated cards (see picture), and as they melt, they turn the picture over from a "whole" snowman to a melted one. Of course, they "melt" to the floor as we recite the poem. I just have a construction paper sun on a stick that the "sun" taps the snowmen on the head with. Then they start to melt.
Using white gloves, make a snoman hand puppet and use it to act out the poem
.
To make the puppet, I cut the tips off of colored gloves and hot glued them to the fingers of the white glove. I hot glued little pom poms on the top and made the faces with fabric paint. One year, my mom helpers and I made them as gifts for all the kids. If you wait for after winter sales, you can get the gloves really cheap!
Snow Mixing --- Squirt shaving cream into a small zip loc bag. Add 2 different colors of food coloring. Zip bag closed and allow children to knead the shaving cream until the colors are mixed.
Snow Painting --- Fill a variety of squirt bottles with water and food coloring. Tate the kids outside after a snowfall and let them spray the snow with colors.
The picture is my shirt. The kids only put one snowman. My friend put her entire class on her shirt and wrote thier names by the feet.
Begin with a large sheet of bulletin board paper--use white or a light blue. First, Sponge paint the entire sheet dark blue, but allow some of the lighter color to show through.
Next, mix white paint and water in a spray bottle aand give each child a turn to spray the paper.
Then, sponge paint white snowflakes and throw on glitter.
Dry and hang on a wall. It looks so pretty.
I did this project out in my messy area with lots of newspapers on the floor. I hung the bulletin board paper on the wall and then the kids started decorating.
I also did this as a center and let each kid make individual snowstorms to take home.
Children color a picture of a scarf, 2 mittens, and a hat. Then cut out. I have my kids color the scarf in a pattern. On a piece of aluminum foil, squeeze or pour a large puddle of glue. Lay the clothing pieces in the puddle and let dry. When dry, it looks like a snoman has melted away.
We were tired of winter days,
Being cold and wet and gray.
So we talked to winter's wizard.
He made it snow a rainbow blizzard.
Give each child a large chocolate cookie OR an unfrosted chocolate cupcake. Lay a small doily on top. Sift powdered sugar on top. Lift doily and eat your snowflake.
Use a small cookie dough scoop and give each child 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream. Decorate as with the wafer snowmen.
Have a sock skating party. Bring a pair of dad's socks and put on over shoes. Go to the gym and skate away.
Play the SNOWKEY POKEY by putting your mitten in, your mitten out etc.
Make your calendar a snowflake calendar. Xerox or take digital pictures of each child. Glue pictures onto snowflakes. Put into your calendar. I did a boy-girl pattern. Even our principal was a "flake."
How splendid it would be,
To make bright jolly snowmen
For everyone to see.
RAINBOW BLIZZARD.
This simple activity turned out to be a HUGE hit with the kids. The first picture shows the activity board on my easel. The 2nd picture shows what is UNDER the trees. To make this, The trees were cut out of heavy green paper and laminated TWICE for strength. Then the trees were stapled onto a large piece of tagboard. A piece of velcro was attached under EACH tree. Then, using the Ellison Die Cut machine, I cut 8 snowmen out of 8 different colors of craft foam. Velcro was attached to them.
To start the activity, the trees are covering the snowmen, and we all sing the song from above...IF SNOW CAME DOWN IN COLORS etc.
Then I just sing this line that I made up...WHAT COLOR IS THE SNOWMAN, THAT HIDES BEHIND THE TREE?
The kids get so excited towards the end, when there are just a couple of snowman colors left, and they are pretty sure that they will guess correctly.
