Snow Theme: What An Appropriate Day For This

Last week, Shannon over at Teaching Tiny Tots hosted a theme reading challenge based on Snow. Be sure to check out the other participants and their activities. We are running a week behind but it is very appropriate that we waited as we are in the midst of a Winter Storm. Here's a pic of the ice on my grass that I took this morning. It has been raining ice for over 24 hours. For those of you not familiar with the southwest Missouri region, we have terrible ice storms.

So today, we snuggled up inside and learned, very appropriately, all about the Winter season.

We started by Reading First Snow in the Woods. This is one of the most beautiful children books I’ve had the pleasure of reading. I found myself in such anticipations as I waited to see the pictures on each coming page. You owe it to yourself and your child to check this book out at the library or better yet buy it. In "First Snow in the Woods," the little fawn learns about season change and his “heartsong”. Now, I can’t wait to read Stranger in the Woods by the same authors. I’ve also heard there is movie out!

Next, I went outside to scoop some snow into a bowl for my daughter to have a sensory experience with. Unfortunately, the snow was packed under a sheet of ice, so I wasn't able to get any snow...just ice. Still, I brought that in and my daughter wasn't impressed. I have no idea where she has learned this, but she poked her hand in and said "Brrr....Winter". I'm really happy that she somehow knows the season.

For our first project, we painted a snow scene using bubble wrap with white paint. Bubble wrap painting is always a hit around our house.

We rolled white play dough into snowballs and then built a snowman with the play dough. We didn't have any white play dough and I didn't feel like making any, so we have rainbow colored snowmen.

We sang the Snowflake Dance Song. It is sung to the tune of “Are you Sleeping?”

Dance like snowflakes, Dance like snowflakes
In the air, In the air
Whirling, Twirling snowflakes, Whirling, Twirling snowflakes
Here and there, Here and there

We sang Snow is Falling All Around. It is sung to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”.

Snow is falling all around,
Falling, falling, to the ground.
I catch snowflakes on my tongue.
Building snowmen is such fun.
Snow is falling all around
Falling, falling, to the ground.

For a snowflake pattern cut several slits up from the end of a toilet paper roll and then bend them out. Dip in paint and press on paper.

She's too little to cut snowflakes, so I made a snowflake for her to play with while we danced like snowflakes to music.

Since she didn't get to feel the snow, I put some instant potato flakes and powdered milk into a pan. She ran a little car and a few other toys through it. She LOVED this activity.

Finally, I put some ice cubes in a bowl for her and let her build with them.

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It was a fun day. Hopefully, tomorrow will bring soft snow we can actually play in. I'm hoping we won't lose power. In 2007, we had ice storms that left 200,000 people without power for some up to two weeks. It looked like a warzone because of all the fallen trees and other destruction. Here's a pic of then. I'll always remember it because my daughter was 6 months old, very sick, and no one had any electricity or heat. We are all hoping that it doesn't get as bad this time...