Let It Snow

I'm using this holiday break from babysitting to shore up some ideas for January. You know me ... better to have a wealth of ideas to choose from than a day with nothing planned.  Do I expect to use all the songs & fingerplays next month? NO WAY!! A two-year-old can be quite capricious and this just becomes part of Grandma's "bag of tricks." But she's come to expect that Grandma will have some kind of craft so that part is a given. Other than clean-up, I LOVE this part of our time together!!

The weather here has been unseasonably warm and there isn't any snow on the ground. However, when you live in the Chicagoland area, you can pretty much guarantee we'll see snow in January so I feel a snow theme is pretty safe.

Art Projects:

Friends and family say I'm out of control with my pinning. So there's certainly plenty to choose from on my preschool art board for winter!  I already included a canvas snowflake for Little H to paint in her birthday art box so that's out. I can hardly wait to see how it turns out. I found it at Ten Kids and a Dog.

  One of my Christmas gifts to my son and daughter-in-law needed three (yes three!) bags of white shredded paper. Corey was quite happy to empty the Santa basket full of craft beer, chocolates, and gift cards, and leave me with the white shredded paper ... a WIN-WIN! I plan to use the shred on a cute snowman from BabyCenter Blog. So that leaves 3 more art projects.


Decisions, decisions! I really like the snow globe over at Rainbows Within Reach blog. The marble painting isn't something we've done yet, even though I did plan a similar activity for February in her birthday art box. I'm also concerned about how tiny the facial features would have to be. Grandma, I want to do it myself!!! Mmmm ... maybe I should leave this for next year's art box!

So I looked for another snow globe. I like the simplicity of the snow globe made with pom moms at the wehaveraars blog. There would only be a few pieces to precut and everything is large which should make it easier for those tiny fingers to grab. I would probably have her mount it on a background sheet and we could still do some painting just for fun on her easel that day. More learning in process than product!







I'm  thinking one week needs to be collage. I've learned that Little H loves to put things on top of glue. She also likes to take them off and rearrange them much 
to this Grandma's dismay!!

 

How to Run a Home Daycare has a mitten project 

I like that starts with painting.  But I would probably expand the decorating portion. In addition to adding cotton balls (which I have), I'll need to stop at Hobby Lobby for stickers, buttons, ribbon,  or pom poms. I think Little H would enjoy adding extras for a more 3-D effect. This  means painting in the morning so it will have time to dry, and then designing in the afternoon. I like projects that we can come back to in the same day.

At the end of the month I want to introduce her to Groundhog Day. I have to admit ... most of what I found didn't thrill me. But I still have some groundhog books from my teaching days : note to Grandma ... find them! All Kids Network has a very simple groundhog shadow project that even includes the groundhog template. I already picked up  Mickey's Silly Shadow book for a Science project so I could combine both that day.

Science:

I found a cute project that demonstrates what happens to snow
when you bring it in the house over at Teach Preschool. We'll
get to make a snowman in a bag once it snows. I'll have to get
some black buttons and I can use orange craft foam for the nose.
Will she be surprised when it melts????

Now if I am feeling really brave or just a little crazy one day,
we'll have to make Frozen Erupting Snow! PagingFunMums  takes you step-by-step through the process. It looks like a LOT of fun but also
quite messy. I would definitely need to buy a LARGE tub of some sort
to contain the erupting snow! Better make myself a shopping list: baking soda, shaving cream, blue glitter, vinegar, and a BIG tub!

Fingerplays & Songs:

Five Little Snowmen

Five little snowmen on a winter’s day.

The first one said, “Wake up so we can play.”

The second one said, “Let’s stomp on the ground.” 

The third one said, “Let’s roll around.”

The fourth one said, ”Let’s run and run and run.”

The fifth one said, “I’m afraid I feel the sun.”

“Oh dear,” cried the snowmen, 
As they looked toward the sky.

And the five melting snowmen waved a fond goodbye. 

Snowman Surprise

(to the tune of: “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”) 

Roll, roll, roll the snow,

To just the perfect size.

A nose, a mouth, and two black eyes – 

You made a snow surprise! 

Snowy Pokey

(to the tune of: “Hokey Pokey”)

You put your right mitten in. You take your right mitten out,

You put your right mitten in and you shake it all about.

You do the snowy pokey and you turn yourself around. That’s what it’s all about.

Other verses:

~ You put your left mitten in.

~ You put your scarf in.

~ You put your right boot in. 
~ You put your left boot in.
 ~ You put your hat in.

~ You put your snow self in. 

Itsy-Bitsy Snowflake

(to the tune of: “The Itsy-Bitsy Spider”) 

The itsy-bitsy snowflake

Fell down from the sky.

It landed on my nose

And bounced upon my eye. 
It slid down to my chin

And it landed on my tongue. 
Then it melted all away.

My snowflake song is done! 

The Wintery Wind

(Sung to the tune of "Happy Birthday")

The winter wind blows

The winter wind blows

It gives me the shivers

From my head to my toes!

Videos:

Biggest, Best Snowman (story)
Groundhog Day (story by Gail Gibbons)
Groundhogs
I'm a Little Snowman Song
Little Snowflake Song
Polar Bear Mom and Cubs
Snowmen at Night
The Snowman
Why Is Winter So Cold?
Winter Preschool Songs-Let's Get Dressed