Top 5 Pinterest Winter Finds

Puffy Paint Snowflake Painting
by Frugal Family Fun Blog
Great For: Art

Shredded Snowman

by Babycenter

Great For: Sensory, Art

Borax Crystal Snowflakes

by Delia Creates

Great For: Science

Build A Snowman Sensory Tub

by Our Cup of Tea

Great For: Sensory, Fine Motor

Number Snowman

by Kindergarten Hoppenings

Great For: Numbers

You can see more learning activities I have found and pinned or repinned here: http://pinterest.com/valplowman/learning-ideas/

Egg Carton Snowman

I had extra egg cartons (cardboard) from the grocery store and I was convinced that something fun could be done with them. I had an idea, but when Val posted the Puffy Paint snowman ( http://learningdevelopmentactivities.blogspot.com/2012/01/puffy-paint-snowman.html ), I knew that my idea just got a new twist!

Prep: Cut cardboard egg carton compartments out. They will stand up on their own, and they don't need to be pretty. :)
Make puffy paint (equal parts glue and shaving cream). I used 1/4 cup of each and it was WAY too much for 3 snowmen. Maybe try 1/8 cup (2 T) of each to start. I felt like I wasted a whole bunch of glue.
Gather supplies: paintbrushes, cut out carrot nose (construction paper), buttons, beads, wiggly eyes (or cut out of paper), small squares or circles for the mouth, ribbon for scarf, glitter. The decorations are optional, so go wild with what you have on hand. Oh, and you'll need toilet paper.

Directions:
I put down a coffee filter for them to paint on so it didn't get on the table. It's easy to clean up, so that part is not necessary.
Stuff one carton w/ toilet paper for stability. Paint with puffy paint.
Stuff 2nd carton with toilet paper (this allows for stacking like a snowman is built). Either paint in hand or while on the 1st carton.
Stuff 3rd carton (head). Paint. Decorate!! Allow to dry before moving. Should take about 12-24 hours to dry, depending on the amount of paint used.

Winter Books 2012

Time for some great winter books! These really are all must-haves in our home.

The Big Snow by Berta Hader and Elmer Hader

Caldecott winner of 1949. This is my four year old's favorite winter book right now. She is my major animal lover and this book is right up her lane as a story about the animals preparing for winter.




Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner and Mark Buehner

This is a great story for sparking the imagination of children. What do snowmen do at night? Why do their shapes change over time? It must be that they are out playing with their friends.




The Snowman by Raymond Briggs

This is a total classic. It is a wordless picture book, which is great on so many levels. My two year old loves this for telling herself the story.




Here Comes Darrell by Leda Schubert

This has been a favorite of my six year old son's for several years. It is about Darrell and the various service he does for his neighbors. It isn't all about winter, but part of it is and it is definitely worth taking note of. Anyone who loves equipment like plows and tractors will love this book.


A Polar Bear Journey by Debbie S. Miller

This is another favorite of my animal-loving four year old. This book is factual and offers lots of information on polar bears told in a way that is interesting to children.

Blast from the Past: Snowman Projects

I was going to post these a while ago, but I never got them off my camera. Then things got warm and I was too busy enjoying 60 degree weather to talk about snowmen. Then the weather turned and I have over two feet of snow on the ground again, and I know many of you are sitting in snow, too, so let's acknowledge it and maybe enjoy some last snow projects for the year.

This first one is the Cotton Ball Snowman I posted about last year. This year, I used scrap fabric for the scarves, which I thought was fun. Above is Kaitlyn's (age three) and below is McKenna's (age one). For McKenna, I pointed to tell her where to put the cotton balls. Kaitlyn did something new and fun. After making her bottom "ball," she decided to pull the cotton balls apart to make her snowman.

Next is the Snowman Shape Picture. I did this with Kaitlyn's playgroup and every single mom asked, "Did he/she really do this alone?" Yes they did! And here are the three my kids did. Top is McKenna's (age one--it lost an eye between being done and getting a photo), bottom left is Brayden's (age five), and bottom right is Kaitlyn's (age three). Brayden and Kaitlyn both have a "house" that Brayden cut out and made for them.

I love how crooked McKenna's is. That is a picture I will keep forever I think.

Snowbox

In light of the blizzard that just blew across the entire country and the ridiculously cold temperatures we're all experiencing, I thought I'd first share a great way to enjoy the snow AND the warmth of the indoors.

While I currently live in the north, I am a southerner at heart.  One thing I learned after moving is that it takes a lot of time dressing a toddler for snow!  Do I dress him up first or get dressed myself?  Once we got dressed (probably overdressed!), how is he supposed to play with those crazy mittens on!  Bottom line, it is just too cold and windy outside.

Something clicked in my brain one day, why not bring the snow inside!  A snowbox solved all my problems.  I just bring the blow up pool inside and fill it up with snow. Easy to set up, easy to clean up.  Add some shovels and dump trucks and J is in heaven.  He could enjoy the snow and the blessings of a heated home at the same time (and mom can too)!  We dug, dumped, built a miniature hill for his rubber ducky to sled down, built a snowman, a snow wall (that of course was crashed a couple dozen times), and of course he loved letting a snowball melt in his mouth.  J didn't want to get in the "snowbox" and I didn't push it.  He had plenty of fun working from the outside in.  I was also surprised at how long the snow lasts inside too. When it hits the icy stage, it just made it easier to build with.  Set it up near a door and it's easy to refill with fresh snow. 

You know it's a success, when they continually ask for more snow in the pool.

22 months

22 months

21 months

Surviving Winter: Snow Sculptures

Anything you can do to get your kids outside during the winter is great. Having some fun ideas for them to do will get them moving so they are warm and get that exercise in. I have already shared the ideas of building a snowman and sledding. Last year, Raegan shared the fun idea of Snow Painting.

Another great idea is to build snow sculptures. You could do shapes for the children who are not as coordinated. As children get older, you can do more complicated items. Above you can see the couch we made--kind of. If you didn't realize, they are sitting on a couch :).

Surviving Winter: Sledding

Another great way to get exercise during the winter and also enjoy the snow is to go sledding. You are outside. You have to walk up the hill again if you want to go down it again. Great exercise, and great fun!

Surviving Winter: Once There Was a Snowman

Making a snowman is a great winter activity. It gets you outside and can really be a great workout. Last weekend, we spent two hours making this beauty--which is indeed over 6 feet tall. 

The process is simple--so long as you have snow that will stick to itself. You just start a little snowball and start rolling it. You can actually make a snowman with a small amount of snow (inch-wise) if you have the square footage to do it. Or acreage. After we were done, the kids were tired and my arms hurt.Great winter fun!

 You also might enjoy licking your giant snowball. That can be fun, too :)

Nutter Butter Snow Man

My mother-in-law randomly gave us some Nutter Butter cookies. As I looked at them, I thought, "snowman!" So we took our best shot at creating a snowman out of our Nutter Butters. I think they kind of ended up looking more like ghosts than snowmen...but we had fun and the kids enjoyed eating them.

AGE RANGE
Old enough to be able to decorate the snowman. Kaitlyn is 2.5 and spread the frosting and decorated herself. If your child is too young for spreading frosting, you could spread for her and let her decorate.

SUPPLIES

• Nutter Butter cookies
• Chocolate chips or other candy for eyes and buttons (like raisins--thanks Kristy!)
• Pretzels, Tootsie rolls, or some other candy for the arms
• White frosting
• Knife for spreading frosting

ACTIVITY

1. Spread or have your child spread frosting on the Nutter Butter.
2. Decorate as desired.
3. Eat!

Marshmallow Snowmen

Materials: Large marshmallows, pretzel sticks (or toothpicks), mini chocolate chips or raisins, craisins (something for the nose), fruit leather/fruit roll-up/pull-and-peel licorice for the scarf, marshmallow fluff (for "glue").

Directions: I built one first to show my daughter how to do it. Take one marshmallow and stick a pretzel in it. Some of the pretzel will still be sticking out. Take another marshmallow and stick it on the pretzel piece sticking up. You now have 2 marshmallows stacked. Stick another pretzel stick in the 2nd marshmallow and add the 3rd marshmallow on top.

Add 2 pretzel sticks for arms.

Twist around whatever you decided to use for the scarf. They'll need help with this!

I let my daughter use a pretzel stick to smear on some marshmallow fluff (we used ricemallow creme) on the face or on the individual chips. The chocolate chips/raisins/craisins will all stick to it and you won't be able to see the fluff since it's also white. :)

Ta-da!

Then eat! Yum.

Skills: fine motor, hand-eye coordination, hand strength, building and stacking, self-control not to eat :)

Defrosty the Snowman

Snow melting? Ours is! Instead of mourning, we're celebrating! Everyday Fun magazine had this cute idea last winter, and I thought I'd share it with you!

What you'll need:
-White candy melts (one 14-ounce package makes 16 snowmen)
-Miniature chocolate chips
-Light cocoa candy melts
-Rolos
-Candy corn (I used a piece of a real carrot for lack of candy corn)

Here's the directions they give:

For each snowman, you'll need 6 mini chocolate chips, a light cocoa candy melt, and a Rolo. To make the nose, cut the orange section from a candy corn, then slice it in half lengthwise. Roll the piece between your fingers to form a carrot shape.
To assemble your snowman, melt the white candy in a bowl according to the package instructions, then scoop a rounded tablespoon onto a sheet of wax paper. With the back of a spoon, smear the candy into a puddle. Working quickly, stick on the light cocoa candy melt, add a dot of white melted candy, then place the Rolo on top. Finally, add the candy corn nose and mini chocolate chip eyes and mouth.

Have fun!

Paper Plate Snowman

This activity is pretty straight forward. My little girl asked if we could make a snowman, so I dug up a few supplies. It's super quick and really fun to let them put together. You just need buttons, wiggly eyes, construction paper (or foam), glue, and tape.

I cut all the pieces and let her decide where she wanted to place everything. She was so tickled that there is a button on the snowman's carrot nose. Fun craft in a pinch, especially if you want to keep the winter theme going. We're trying, despite the 61 degree weather today.

We also made snowflakes! I cut them out and she unfolded them and helped decide where to hang them.

Winter Games

Supplies: toilet paper, streamers (optional), old clothes, construction paper buttons, carrot nose (cut out of construction paper)

Directions: Break off into teams and see which team can decorate their snowman the fastest. Use TP to wrap (even the head, if you want!), tape on nose and buttons, use a real scarf or streamers for the scarf, and old clothes to dress.

This is a silly game that I think kids will really enjoy! It's fun to get a little crazy with your kids and a great game for your first snow day (like we recently had!).

Icy Winter Scenes

Drawing winter snow scenes is a fun thing to do with your kids. For a new twist on the usual snowmen, snow forts, and trees with snow, add some salt!

For glistening and glittery snow, painting with Epsom salt is the way to go! Here's what you do:

Mix about 1/2 cup Epsom salt with 1/2 cup of hot water. I prefer to do it on the stove top, but that's your choice!

Have the kids draw a winter scene (or cut out snowflakes) on dark paper. It doesn't have to be black, just darker than a white or yellow. Blue works great! You can also draw with white chalk for ease in drawing. This is fun to do with your kids and talk about things you see outside in the winter, what happens to the trees. A great book to read with this is When Winter Comes by Nancy Van Laan.

After drawing, let them paint the mixture (cooled) on the paper wherever they want that snow crystal effect. Let dry! I wish I could do the pictures justice on film. I'm just not that talented with a camera. It's really amazing to see how the snowy pictures transform into snow crystals that glisten like snow. Have fun!

Snow Painting

Thanks to Val for the great idea!

For our first real snow in possibly 20 years, Val gave us the great idea to do some snow painting. It's easy and really fun!

All you need is a spray bottle or 2, water, food coloring, and snow!

Mix together and have fun! The more food coloring the better, in my opinion. I made 2 mistakes: not dark enough (but I wasn't going back inside to fix it at that point) and I chose blue. If I'd gone darker, blue would have been fine. But since everything takes on a blueish color anyways when it snows, it didn't show up as well as I'd hoped.

Giving her snowman a snow scarf!

Cotton Ball Snowman

Winter is alive and well at my house, so we are still celebrating snow. Celebrations make you happy :) This cotton ball snowman is a fun texture activity. You can learn about snow, "soft", and circles all while making a cute art project. Pictured are Kaitlyn's (age 2.5--left) and Bradyen's (age 4.5--right)

SUPPLIES

• Cotton balls
• Glue
• Paper to put snowman on
• pen/pencil
• Items for buttons, nose, eyes, hat, and arms. We used paper for everything on the body and Do-A-Dot for the arms and hat.

PREP

1. Gather supplies
2. Draw three circles on paper.

ACTIVITY

1. Have your child put glue on the bottom circle. If your child isn't old enough for doing glue herself, do it for her. Oh, and take notice of my nice table cloth. I got this at the dollar store so I could protect my table from things like glue and paint. It is the craft table cloth, it cost a dollar, and I don't care what happens to it. Everyone has more fun.
2. Have your child put the cotton balls all over the circle.

3. Repeat for other two circles.
4. Create your arms, hat, nose, eyes, and buttons.
5. Allow dry and display!

Be sure to talk about how soft the cotton balls are as well as the shapes you are using to create your snowman. Talk about the biggest circle and the smallest circle to get some spacial relationships learning in there.

Snowman Rice Krispie Treats

I got this idea from the Preschooler's Busy Book and added some decorations for fun.

1. Make a batch of Rice Krispie Treats.
2. Put coconut in a bowl.
3. Spray hands with cooking spray or wet with water.
4. Have your child roll three balls for the snowman.
5. Have your child roll the balls in the coconut.
6. Stack balls on top of each other to form the snow man.
7. Put eyes, nose, buttons, arms, etc. on snowman. We used chocolate chips for eyes and buttons, pretzels for arms, and candy corn for noses.

This is a great activity for learning about circles, spheres, and size relationships. You need three different sized balls for each snowman. If you have your child help with making the rice krispie treats, it will be good math practice. These are also easy to do so the finished product looks nice. Brayden (4.5) and Kaitlyn (2.5) made the ones pictured. Brayden's is on the left, Kaitlyn's in the middle, then they both worked on the third.

We made three snowmen then put the rest in an 8x8 pan for normal treats.

Slippery Roads: A science lesson

In our neck of the woods, we don't see much snow. Ice, however, seems to be a winter staple. School is canceled much more frequently for ice than for snow and the roadways here see their fair share of accidents and chaos thanks to the slippery sheets of mayhem.
A fun activity to teach about the effects of salt on ice is just a baking sheet away!

What you'll need:

• rimmed baking sheet/cookie sheet
• water
• Matchbox cars or something of the like
• salt (table salt is fine!)
• freezer
• ice
• sandwich bag

To prep:

1. Fill a baking sheet up with a thin layer of water. Place in freezer and let it freeze completely.
2. Put ice cube in a bag.

Activity:

1. I started by filling an ice tray with her and freezing it. This way she could see that ice is just frozen water.
2. Give a bag with 1 cube of ice. Let them roll it around. Instruct them to rub it, blow on it, etc. Ask questions like, "What is happening to the ice? Why do you think it's melting?" Make sure you explain after that it was the heat from the air and their hands that helps it melt.
3. Pull out tray of frozen water. Let them roll and skid cars across it. Point out how slippery it is, asking what would happen if there was ice on our roads outside? If there isn't heat to melt the ice, our cars would slip.
4. I then made comments like, "I wonder if we can put something on the ice to help it melt. What do you think?"
5. If desired, try other items in the house like cornstarch, flour, cocoa powder. Let them pour salt on the ice. Make observations together about what happens when the salt is put on top of the ice.
6. Let them roll the cars. You should find some traction, as well as the ice melting. Explain that we also put salt on the roads to help melt the ice and keep cars from slipping. Point it out next time you see it!

This is a fun activity to do, especially if your kiddos are into cars.

Snowball Fight

I was going to try to do all of my snow ideas in one post, but I won't. Why? I live in a cold climate with lots of snow, so we will be learning about snow all month long. If I wait until the end of the month for it all, it will A) make for one very, very long and overwhelming post and B) be too late for those of you living in warmer climates to possibly apply...and I am jealous of you :)

I got this idea from my children. They come up with lots of fun ideas on their own--two heads are better than one :)

AGE RANGE
Old enough to enjoy being a bit crazy...probably about 1 or so. It goes on up to adulthood if you are willing to be crazy.

SUPPLIES

• People
• Tissue paper

ACTIVITY

1. Take your tissue paper and crumple it up into lots of balls. Let the children help with this part--they will love it! This could be a fun activity to do following a big present unwrapping day.
2. Throw them at each other. You can make forts to hide behind using couch coushins.
3. Once they are all thrown, gather them up and start all over again.

Snowman Shape Pictures

I was thinking about Manda's post on Shape Pictures and realized that I could easily do a snow man shape picture!

AGE RANGE

I would say two and up. Prior to two and your child would need a lot of asssistence, but you can always do it!

SKILLS TAUGHT

• shapes
• art
• fine motor skills

SUPPLIES

• Pieces of paper cut into shapes. With the older preschooler, you can draw the shapes and let him cut them himself.
• Glue
• Scissors
• Optional: Glitter

PREP

1. Cut out shapes or draw shapes for your child to cut out. For each picture, I used three white ciricles (three different sizes), one large white square, one black square, one black regtangle, five black small circles (eyes and buttons), one yellow circle, one green triangle, one brown rectangle, two brown rectangles (for arms), one orange triangle, and one blue rectangle.
2. Set out supplies

ACTIVITY

1. Introduce the shape pieces to your child. Talk about what shape each piece is.
2. Tell your child you are going to use these shapes to create a snowman picture.
3. You might need to put the pieces together to show the child how they will all come together.
4. If using glitter, apply glitter to snowman pieces or snow piece. I used glitter to be able to see the snow man better since he was white on white.
5. While the glitter dries, assemble the other pieces.
6. Glue the picture together!