This week it snowed...... and snowed some more...... and the twins were super excited. I am not sure if Roman was more excited by the snow or by the fact that he informed me that if it snowed Santa was coming. This little sweetie steals my heart every day!
The one day of snow has turned into a week of staying at home and just keeping warm inside. Our activities for the week have centered around the book "A Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats. We have read this book before many times but they love it and I just thought it was really appropriate for this weather.
I read the book to them and we talked about the snow and what the little boy, Peter, did when he went out to play in the snow. I asked them what they would do when they went out to play in the snow. We had a really good conversation centering on comprehension of the book and applying it to our life. Next, we played a game using white panty house that I stuffed with cotton balls and tied to make "snowballs." We spent a lot of time having a snowball fight. They really enjoyed this activity and we have actually done this several more times this week.
On day two, we read the book again. After reading the book we painted a picture of snow using white paint on a blue background. I cut out a figure out of red paper to resemble the boy in the book and we glued our boy in the snow picture. We again talked about all the things Peter saw.
The third day we read the story. The activity for this day included snow. I filled two pans with snow and placed a few random small toys in the snow and covered them. I gave each of the twins one of the pans along with spoons, fork, and a sand shovel. They enjoyed finding the objects. We also took a handful of snow and packed it into a snowball. In the story, Peter witnesses a snowball fight but thinks he is to small to join. We had a very short discussion on why they thought Peter was to young to join. Renley said it was because he was a boy. Finally, we came to the conclusion, with much direction, that snowballs are hard and would hurt if you were hit by one.
In the book, Peter puts a handful of packed snow in his pocket and it was gone when he was finished with his bath. We also packed some snow and put it in a bowl during bath time. It was mostly melted when they hoped out of the tub. We talked about why it melted and how that was similar to the snow in Peter's pocket.
The last activity we did for this week utilized shaving cream. I thought shaving cream resembles snow in that it is white and you can play with it. After reading the book twice, because they didn't think once was enough, the twins had free time to play with shaving cream and toys. I gave them each a cookie sheet with a huge pile of shaving cream and let them have at it. They loved it!
Some of the other activities we did this week included:
1. Using our crayon canisters to sort objects by color. I had them take the lid off and put it on each time they added an object to help with motor skills.
2. Drawing lines with a marker. I had them draw a line from "Peter" to the house on a "worksheet" I created.
3. Cutting paper. They aren't at the stage to be able to cut along a line but they love cutting pieces of paper. We use toddler scissors.
4. We played stop and go in the house.
5. Danced and danced to the "Frozen" songs. Snow theme...I think so!
6. Lots and lots of free play!
I have to say that I really enjoy doing these activities with my twins and being their teacher. Thanks for letting me share my lessons with you.
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