Snow Day Activities

It is cold.  There is snow. Getting out of the the driveway is a bit of a problem.  Does that mean that we are cooped up in the house?  NO WAY!  There is so much fun that can be had just outside in the back yard.

A little disclaimer:  Cold can be dangerous.  Be aware of the dangers of extreme cold and dress children in snow clothes.  What is cold? It depends where you live.  USA Today has an interesting article on how cold is too cold for recess. 

Build a Snowman

Snowman building tips from Zippy:

1. First make a snowball in your hand.
2. Pack down the snow hard, but not so hard that the snowball break
3. After you build the snowman, make sure you fill in the cracks or the snowman might fall over.
4. After you build a snowman always have hot chocolate. 

Build a Snow Fort

Make blocks by packing snow into a bucket or square plastic container.

Make Snow Angels

Gently fall back into the snow and move your arms and legs up and down.

Go Ice Skating 

Here is a fabulous YouTube video on how to make your very own ice rink in the back yard from superdivamom

Snow Painting

Put water and food coloring into a squeeze bottle.  Kids can squirt designs of all kinds onto the snow.  One better is magic snow paint from the blog Growing a Jeweled Rose.  Hint: it involves vinegar and baking soda.  

Picture Books About Winter For Kids

The last two weeks have been full of winter fun with picture book reading while the snow was blowing outside.  I thought I would share with you twelve books we especially liked.  I found these at our local library.  If you would like to see more about the books, click on the picture to take you to the Amazon listing {these are affiliate links}.

1. Winter, An Alphabet Acrostic, by Steven Schnur is a beautifully illustrated book full of wonderful poetry.  Many of us have done the acrostic poem where we've written a word up and down and filled in attributes of that word.  Steven Schnur has taken that kind of poem to another level.  A collection of twenty-six winter acrostics, each poem expands the word into a whole feast for the senses.  I love the way that this books moves through the season as it moves through the alphabet.


2. The Snowflake A Water Cycle Story by Neil Waldman is really a story of what happens to the snowflake the rest of the year.  It goes through month, by month as the snowflake falls, melts, goes into the earth, back in up in a stream, becomes part of a rainstorm, is collected for irrigation and so forth.  This true science story is written with colorful descriptive language and is beautifully illustrated.





3. Snow Pumpkin by Carole Lexa Schaefer is a charming story about two friends and an early October snow.  They try to build a snowman but there isn't enough snow for the head, so they borrow a pumpkin from a garden.  This book is set in an urban setting with many multicultural details.





4. Winter Friends by Mary Quattlebaum is another delightful collection of poems.  Each page is wonderful winter scene whimsically illustrated, capturing an aspect of a snowy winter day.  From "After the Storm" to "More Snow", this book weaves together an almost story.  My personal favorite poem is "Sledding".  Printed on an illustration a big hill of snow with children sledding, it perfectly describes the amazing descent.



5. Snow Dance by Lezlie Evans shares the joy of snow.  Starting out on a cold, gloomy afternoon, the children start to do the snow dance when they hear that a snow storm is forecasted. It snows all afternoon and evening making the perfect snowy day.  Children dance and laugh through every kind of happy snow day activity, from putting on scarves, hats and boots, snowmen making and sledding, right until the last cup of cocoa drunk before a fire.



6. We had lots of fun with The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats.  There are loads and loads of great {free} learning activities out there on the web. (Check out some of the wintery activities on my Tot School Pinterest Board.) This is the classic, Calecott Award winning story of Peter, who wakes up to a snowy day and all the adventures he has.  My favorite thing about this book is the title page, where Peter is sliding down a great mound of snow.  Every time I open it up the Little Dude takes his finger down the hill and says "Wheeee".

7. A Kitten Tale by Eric Rohmann is the story of four kittens who have never seen snow.  Three look forward to winter with some trepidation.  One can't wait to see it.  They go through each season thinking about winter and what the snow will hold.





8. Snow! Snow! Snow! by Lee Harper is the simple story of what happens when a Dad and his two pups go sledding on the world's best sledding hill. Not a lot of text, this would be a great early reader.  The simple story also lends itself well to sequence cards or activities






9. Snow by Cynthia Rylant is the artfully told story of a little girl who gets to go home early from school because of snow and all the wonderful adventures she has.  The delightful thing about this book is that it is written about the snow, all different kinds of snow and the relationship of snow to all different kinds of people.  Not only is this a delightful read, but it is also beautifully illustrated.

  



10. The Big Snow by Berta and Elmer Hader is the story of what happens to all the animals and birds living on a hill in winter.  The big snow comes.  Some sleep through it, some must look for food. The last page we meet our old friend groundhog, who sees his shadow, so six more weeks of winter.  It is easy to see why this is a Caldecott Award winning book. Even though it was published in 1948, its timeless charm endures.



11. No by Claudia Rueda is a story about a little bear who doesn't want to hibernate with his Mama.  The snow will be fun and exciting, but the little bear soon learns that it is much better to be safe with Mama than out in snowy, cold storm.  This story is about obedience as much as it is about hibernation.





12. Jan Brett's Snowy Treasury is a collection of four of her most endearing, snowy, stories; Gingerbread Baby, The Mitten, The Hat and The Three Snow Bears.  The Mitten and The Hat are two of my favorite books, period.  I just love Jan Brett's skillful illustrations and humorous storytelling.  These are stories to be read again and again. 

Wordless Wednesday - More Snow

We had a snow day last week...


A big Wordless Wednesday welcome.  If this is your first time here, thanks so much for stopping by.  Have a look around.  I write about life, homeschooling and take lots of pictures.  If you have a Wordless Wednesday post, whether it be word-full or wordless, please link up using the linky below.  I like to link up with other Wordless Wednesday blogs too.  Here are a few:
Project Alicia, Five Minutes for Mom, Create with Joy

Writing Prompt 12

All the snow is turning pink!

Writing Prompt 9

It is photo Friday!  Tell the story of the picture.

Photo credit: Katsrcool via flickr

Baby It Is Cold Outside

5 Reasons to still go out to do a nature study.

When coats and earmuffs are a must, when many animals are hidden away from the cold, when the trees stand barren and the flowers long dead, is it worth going outside to study nature?  I say a hale and hearty Yes!  And here are 5 reasons why:

1. Clearer Vision This is probably my favorite reason.  Things that obscured by foliage and undergrowth become the star on the barren stage of winter.  Things like bird's nests, squirrel's nests, hornets' nests are some examples of those things easily seen in winter that are hidden during the other seasons.
2. Winter Sounds Winter is a different scene to our ears. The enormous quiet of the the snow covered field (or back yard), the blowing of a winter wind, and the creak of frozen tree limbs are all sounds that happen only in the deep cold of winter. 
3. Winter Weather I think winter weather is a wonder.  One could spend a whole month just observing snow. Not to mention all the other ways that precipitation falls from the sky. The freezing and melting that is precipitated (no pun...really) by the changing temperatures. 
4. Snow I know I already mentioned snow under winter weather, but snow in the air and snow on the ground can be two different creatures.  Snow covers and reveals like nothing else.  There is nothing more exciting than coming across foot prints in snow, whether they are squirrel, bird, or just plain old cats, dogs or people. 
5.  A clear head.  You know, sometimes it is good to get outside, even if it is just for a few minutes.  A walk around the block or a frolic in the back yard sometimes is just what it takes to blow out all the cobwebs.  

A Little Disclaimer

As I look out my door this morning at the freezing rain pelting down on the ground cover of snow, I am forced to admit that sometimes the weather is just too bad. (Although I will tell you that we did go stand on the porch for a couple minutes to admire what the freezing rain was doing to my bushes and the trees.)

Remember:

• Use common sense when going outside in cold weather. 
• Dress warmly in layers, keeping exposed skin to a minimum.
• Know the symptoms and how to treat frostbite and hypothermia 

What is your favorite reason to venture outside in the winter for nature study?

Writing Prompt 5

Imagine what it would be like to spend a day as a snowman (snow person). 

Writing Prompt 4

Today is Photo Friday!  The writing prompt is a photograph. 

photo credit: James via Flickr

Writing Prompt 1

Welcome to a brand new feature here at Possibilites and Peas. Every day (but Saturday and Sunday), I will be posting a writing prompt at 8am. Zippy will be starting a creative writing journal, so I thought I would share her prompt will everyone.

Describe a perfect winter day.

Snow

Berry - 3 -

Overcome the notion that you must be regular.  It robs you of the chance to be extraordinary.

{Uta Hagen}