I love looking at the snow fall ......when I am warm in my house and don’t have anywhere to go. I guess it would be more accurate to say that certain days and certain times I appreciate the snow a lot more than other days. When the kids were younger, we lived in Kelowna. It snowed a lot more than what I was used to and when it snowed, the temperatures were refreshing. Unlike here in Alberta where it feels like it is white for at least 6 months of the year. We started a tradition in our family years ago of drinking hot chocolate and eating timbits on the first day of snow. I would also give my son’s mini marshmallows to eat but before they ate them I would have them count them first. What they thought they were doing was making sure that they were given the same amount of marshmallows. Whether they knew it or not, they were doing Math. Once they mastered counting by 1’s then we worked on counting by 2’s and then 5’s and so on. When a Math pattern is discovered the brain starts to remember information that has been taught to them.That is one of the amazing things about teaching a young brain, they can always learn more!
It is fun to implement snowmen into everyday lessons. Art materials that portray snow like cotton balls, work especially perfect for younger children. Having your child draw a snowman on a light or dark blue piece of paper works great as the blue makes a perfect background.
Another fun idea that promotes fine motor skills, creativity and fun is building an indoor edible snowman. The supplies needed would be 3 large marshmallows, chocolate chips or raisins for eyes & buttons, a piece of licorice for a scarf, pretzels for arms and something small like a slice of carrot or cheezy for a nose. Who doesn’t like to make edible art, right?
Also, you can make mini gingerbread houses with graham crackers and icing. You just build the sides and the roof and glue it together with the icing and decorate as desired. It’s a simple activity and affordable.
Snowy days tended to go along best with reading alouds. Children can learn so much from hearing you read to them like tone, pace, volume and eye contact. We also loved to make fun crafts and watch a Christmas movie in the afternoon in November/December.
My favorite winter themed books are:
- Snowmen at night, Snowmen at play series by Caralyn Buehner and Mark Buehner
- Frosty the Snowmen
- The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
- Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett
- The Mitten by Jan Brett
- The Hat by Jan Brett
These are just a few options about snow and winter weather. If you don’t have these books, the library is free or another option is to listen to them in audiobooks as well.
When I used to teach preschool and Kindergarten we always had different tables/centers set up. It was an invitation to learn a skill and be creative. Even when we started homeschooling I would put out all of my snow related books and dedicate a portion of our day. Or at the craft center we would have the paint out (for about 1 hour for the class). Sometimes children lack initiative until they feel inspired. Although I guess we could say the same for us parents too.
Snow provides opportunities to discuss weather, build igloos, introduce shoveling, learn cooperative play with siblings/friends or bake cookies together. May you continue to feed your child’s appetite to learn and create! May your child remind you that you aren’t too old to play in the snow and that we can all be “kids at heart.”