Monday, January 30, 2023
BRRR! It’s really cold here in Minnesota today!
We suppose it’s just another friendly (?) reminder that winter is still far from over!
Today’s blog post, continues with the season at hand and
ways to explore it with our Littles as
Laurie shares the BEST winter book you will EVER read!
Keep reading to check out details about this awesome book
and some fun ideas to go with it…
One day during this winter season I walked into Mrs. H’s kindergarten room where I volunteer each week. I was SOOOO excited to see she was reading my favorite book, Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright to the kindergartners! I loved that book as a parent and as a teacher. When I heard her read those familiar words, “Make me brand new!” I knew winter was upon us now!
Sneezy the Snowman is cold, cold, cold! To warm up, he drinks cocoa, sits in a hot tub, stands near a warm fire and… he melts! But the children know just what to do to build him up again–and make him feel “just right”.
Mrs H taught such a fabulous lesson!
This project would be SO EASY to adapt and do with your Littles!
Follow along as you read the directions below!!
1. Read the story to your Littles. (Amazon link HERE)
If you don't have access to the story book, we've provided a Youtube video of the story being read!
2. When you are done reading/listening to the story, ask your Little to tell you what happened in the story. Talk about why Sneezy kept melting! Then get ready to do the project together!
3. Fill a plastic cup with about a ½ inch of glue; add shaving cream and fill to
the almost top of the cup.
4. Stir, stir, stir with a craft stick.
5. “Paint” a melted snowman on a piece of construction paper (blue or black works best). Add a nose, mouth, eyes, hat, scarf or whatever you would like from scrap paper. What does Sneezy look like when he is all melted?
6. Let Sneezy dry. (The kindergartners in Mrs H’s class let theirs's dry overnight.) Brainstorm other “hot” items Sneezy might come in contact with to warm himself up. Talk about the ways or use your writing skills as a follow up activity.
Thanks to Mrs. H for letting me take photos during her lesson!
During the winter of 2021, my kindergarten great-nephew had Covid, so for a week I did Distance Learning with him while he was quarantined at home. Sneezy the Snowman made an appearance, and at the end of our lesson, I challenged him to build a snowman that would NOT melt and place it outside to test his theory. It was a great STEM project!!
Of course, these activities would work best for kids, preschool and older. But if you have a toddler or older baby who does not put items in their mouth, they could finger paint with shaving cream to make a winter landscape or build a snowman with PlayDough after listening to the story!
Here’s a quick side note - I did try finger painting with shaving cream with Little D, and even though she is NOT a Little that puts things in her mouth any more, a fingertip of shaving cream was just too interesting not to try! She made a face and quickly spit it out and went back to fingers full of cream!! I gave her a drink of water and all was good, though I did add this one to my book of “Grandma Fails!”
While January is quickly coming to a close, the winter weather will undoubtedly be sticking around for some time to come!
(credit to Amazon for this fun sign)
This snowman seems to have the right idea with good reminders for us all!
On Thursday (February 2) we will turn our attention to the new month (Welcome, February!) and all the fun it brings! You are invited to subscribe to our blog - that way you’ll know each time a new blog post is published. You may also join us on Instagram - we’d love to have you follow us there, too! Until then…
