Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! After a record-breaking snowstorm on the East Coast a few days before Halloween this year, the holidays seem even closer at hand than before. Start celebrating cooler weather in your classroom with a fun-filled, snowy theme that can carry you through until Spring. The quick and easy ideas below are perfect to get you started.
Snowman Activities
Sensory Snowmen Mini-Bulletin Board
This pre-school/early-elementary mini-bulletin board can be used as a stand alone station or as a discussion point during large group. Cover a portable bulletin board with light blue fabric and trim it with a scalloped snowman border. Cut snowmen out of different materials (i.e. – sandpaper, cardboard, bubble wrap, plastic, fabric, carpeting, etc.) and hang them on the board. Have students think of adjectives to describe each snowman. Create a mini-word wall or place the adjectives in a pocket chart. Students can then use the adjectives in their writing.
Snowman-Inspired Writing Prompts
So many times we use questions as creative writing prompts, but for many students there is more inspiration in a picture. Let students select a snowman sticker and write a short poem, story, or riddle using the picture on the sticker as inspiration. It is a great way to get them interested and it helps them begin to see that anything can be a starting point for writing inspiration.
A Snowman-Inspired Service Project
Teaching children to give back and care about their community is just as important as teaching basic facts. While it may not be a skill that is tested on a standardized form, it is a life lesson that will stick with them long into adulthood. Using the snowman coloring page as a starting point, discuss with your students ways that people keep warm. Lead the discussion toward clothing and how scarves are used to not only decorate a snowman, but to keep people warm in the cold weather. Kick off a scarf collection drive and ask students and families to collect them for donation to a local homeless shelter. Keep track of how many scarves have been donated by hanging up a small cut-out scarf-clad snowman for each donation. Make it a school-wide drive and challenge other classes to a collection amount.
What are some of your favorite snowman-inspired activities? Share with us below!
Natalie Goodwin says
GREAT IDEAS!!
Diane Keller says
I have my students create a snowman every year – I just let them go wild with my craft cabinet! After the snowmen are done I have students write about finding the snowman they created in the woods/forest/park or other place and practice using elaborative details to describe what the snowman is wearing, what kind of facial features it has and what it might be holding.
Emily Appelman says
Being as I am a snowman collector, I love the idea of incorporating them into a lesson. Thanks for the ideas!
Emily Clary says
What cute ideas. Thank you!