1-2-3 Come Do Some Activities For "Sneezy the Snowman" With Me

Do you read the story “Sneezy the Snowman” by Maureen Wright?

It’s one of my students’ favorite winter books, and perfect for practicing the “sequencing and retelling a story” standards.

With that in mind, I designed three, quick, easy and fun activities that you can make.  

I love that YouTube often has children's books being read.  It helps me decide if I want to purchase it. 

These short clips are also fun to play for my students as a review, after I have read the story. Here's a link featuring a family of voices reading "Sneezy" (4:35 minutes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J6uZLX9tqg

First up is a "Sneezy the Snowman" flip booklet. There are two options to choose from.

Since Sneezy ultimately solves his “too cold-too hot” problem, by eating ice cream, one of the options is an ice cream cone topped with a “scoop” of snowman. Sneezy’s “head” flips up to reveal pages that have been sequenced from the story.

The other option, is a full-bodied snowman, where a big snowball at the base of Sneezy is the cover, which also flips up.

As always, all of my patterns come in black & white for students, as well as full color, so that teachers can quickly & easily make a sample to share.

So that you can diversify your lessons, there are also two page options available.

Choose the set of 6 pages, which have 2 graphics on a page, for younger students, while older students can opt to sequence and assemble 12 pages featuring a single graphic.

Besides sequencing and retelling, students can also get in some writing practice, as there is room to write a sentence at the bottom of the single-graphic pages, and if you need more room, students can finish on the back of the page. If you're using the double-graphic pages, students can write at the top of the flipped-up page.

When everyone is done, “read” the booklet as a whole group, calling on a student to explain what’s happening on that page; they choose another classmate to continue.

Afterwards, for more reinforcement, students can partner up and take turns retelling the story.

Next up is a "Sneezy the Snowman" storytelling wheel. 

There are three wheel “cover” options to choose from.

One features Sneezy, another shows children building the snowman, and the 3rd is a full-bodied snowman, where the wheel is the big “snowball” base.

The snowman’s “head” is easily trimmed and glued to the top.

Choose your favorite, or give students a choice. Obviously the "head topper" takes a bit longer, but is my personal favorite.

For more reinforcement, as well as another way to assess comprehension, I’ve also included “color, cut & glue” puzzle worksheets.

Use the full-color versions for an independent center, and print the black and white pattern, so children can arrange their own puzzle.

Another super-fun thing for students to do is to play “Speed”. They pick a partner and race to see who can sequence their puzzle first.

Finally, a storytelling "slider" is another super-fun way to practice these standards. I named this craftivity a slider because students slide a strip filled with graphics through a "window" to retell the story.

Like the wheel craft, there are 3 “outside” slider options available: Sneezy sneezing, a snowman, and one with children building a snowman.

Pick your favorite or give children a choice.

All of them are easy-peasy to cut, as they are in a rectangular shape; however, you can also choose to cut around the snowman. The “slider strip” fits all of the patterns.

Children color, cut & glue their slider strips together, then insert it into the “slits” of their cover.

As they pull on the end of the “slider” the various pictures go through the “window”, so that children can take turns retelling the story with a classmate.

I’ve included full-color patterns for you, as well as a black & white templates for students.

As an easy & interesting way to assess comprehension, I’ve also included a “Let’s sequence the story” worksheet, where students color and trim the picture tiles then glue them in the correct order. 

The slider, as well as the wheel and booklet packets, also include a “Here’s What Happened”  worksheet to help check comprehension. They are different in each one.

The black & white versions can be completed by older students. Use the colorful pattern as a whole group activity, to review the story before little ones begin making their craftivity.

Since Valentine's Day is just around the corner, today's featured FREEBIE is a sweet "I love you" ABC activity, which can be a card, magnet, bookmark or writing prompt. 

If you've already got Valentine's Day covered, you can use this for Mother's, Father's, or Grandparents Day.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by.

I'm literally chilling out here in Michigan, as the "Polar Vortex" continues to put us at minus degrees one day, then in the 40s with everything melting on another. 

Today everything is beautifully wrapped in dripping ice, as Mother Nature continues to drive us bonkers.  Wishing you a warm and wonderful week.

"She's fire and ice. You'll fear the cold and crave the burn." - JM Storm

1-2-3 Come Do Some "There Was A Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow" Activities With Me

There Was A Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow by Lucille Colandro, is one of my favorite winter books. My kiddos LOVE it.

It's perfect for practicing sequencing and a variety of other standards.

With that in mind, I designed There Was A Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow Literacy Packet, with quick, easy and fun "print & go" activities, games, and even a class-made book “We Swallowed Some Stuff Too!.

The packet includes:

* A "label the cover" worksheet, with completed sample.

* Characters, setting and events pocket chart cards.
* Story elements, plus Beginning-Middle-& End parts of the story, worksheets.

* Worksheets for sequencing the story.
* Several writing prompt worksheets, for summarizing the story and explaining your favorite part.

* Who-What-Why-When-Where-How? worksheet.
* Several games, including a set of Memory Match cards that you can play 3 additional games with.

*Venn diagram worksheets, which are a fun way to practice comparison & contrast.
* A graphing extension.

* 27, pocket chart, sentence cards, which help review the story, as well as practice capitalization & end punctuation.
* There's a matching set of mini cards, to use for several other activities.

* “Ask me to tell you the story." bookmarks.
* "Ss is for snowman and . . ." beginning letter sound worksheet.

* Rhyme time worksheet, with matching answer-key poster
"How Many Words Can You Make?” worksheet with an answer-key poster, plus
A class-made, writing prompt book: "We Swallowed Some Stuff Too". 

Since the story telling "slider" that I made for The Mitten, by Jan Brett, was such a hit, I decided to make one for The Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow too. 

There are two choices. One is vertical, the other horizontal, plus I’ve included a full-color pattern for you, as well as a black & white template for students. 

Students color, cut and glue their slider together. 

As children pull on the end of the “slider”, the various pictures go through the “window”, so that it looks like the cold lady is swallowing these things just like in the story.

I introduce the lesson by reading the story, then share my sample with the children.  We retell the tale together, using the picture prompts on the slider.

My students now know what’s expected of them, and are excited to transition to making a "cold lady" of their own. 

Finally, another quick, easy and fun option for sequencing and retelling the story, is The Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow story Wheel and Puzzle Packet, which also helps assess comprehension.

There are full color patterns to use for centers, as well as a sample to share, plus a black and white pattern, so your students can make their own.

When everyone is done with their story wheel, take a moment to retell the story as a whole group, by turning the wheel.

As a comprehension-assessment tool, and for fine motor practice, another option is to have students cut up the picture sections, then glue them to the blank wheel in the appropriate order.

To practice ordinal numbers, have children write 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc. on each piece.

I've also included "Sequence the Story” Puzzles.

Use the full-color versions for an independent center, and print the black & white pattern, so children can color, cut and arrange their own puzzle.

There's also a writing prompt worksheet, where students write what happened in the story.

If you’re studying fractions, be sure and take a teachable moment to review that vocabulary and information.

I know a lot of teachers will be celebrating 100 Day soon, so the featured FREEBIE today is a packet of 18, 100 Day Certificates, in color as well as black and white.   I hope you find them useful.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for visiting.

I hope your students enjoy The Little Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow and the certificates as much as mine do. 

Wishing you a carefree and cozy day.

"Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself!"  - John Dewey

1-2-3 Come Do Some More Snowman Activities With Me  

The flurries are swirling and twirling outside my window, so it's the perfect morning to blog about some of my favorite snowman-themed activities.

We all know that “Practice makes perfect”, but sometimes those worksheets get a bit tiresome. With that in mind, I wanted to create a wintry math activity that children would enjoy.

Dominic, the domino snowman, is a quick easy and fun math game with a variety of options that practice addition and subtraction.

I’ve also provided a simple work mat, for PK kiddos, so that they can practice rolling the dice, counting the dots, finding the matching dominos, then tracing & writing those two numbers.

You can play the game with real dominoes (They sell them at The Dollar Store) or run off the paper dominoes provided, so each student has their own set. The PK paper dominoes, only have one number on them.

The game can be played as an entire class, by having children work in small groups or with a partner. 
You can also set this up as an independent math center.

I’ve provided colorful math mats that you can print and laminate, as well as black & white versions in a large, as well as a smaller, 2-on-a-page size, so that children can color their own.

The recording sheets provide practice writing equations horizontally, while the math mats are vertical. 
It’s important to practice both directions because standardized tests include both, and can otherwise be confusing to children.

 The snowman clock matching game, can be used for an independent math center as well. Students match the analog and digital clocks with the appropriate hatband, arranging them on the snowman.  You could also use the snowman and his puzzle pieces, as an interesting and fun way to individually assess a child, or . . .

Make a snowman clock as a whole-group craftivity, and have students each make one of their own. 
To use the snowman as a whole-group assessment tool, run the blank clocks off on glossy photo paper and trim. Students glue it to their snowman to create a mini dry erase board.   Do the same thing for the digital time square.

Call out a time.  Using a dry erase marker, children draw the hands to show that time, then write it digitally in the rectangle.  You can see at a glance who is having difficulty.  To use the snowman as a clock, print off the blank clock pattern and trim.

Students glue it to their snowman and poke a hole in the center. Attach card stock "hands", or use a large and small paperclip, attached with a brass brad, that children manipulate to show whatever time is called for.

I’ve also included a set of mitten-themed telling time cards, which you can also use in a variety of ways: flashcards, games, a bulletin board display or snip in half to make puzzles. The cards reinforce digital, as well as analog time to the hour and half hour.

The packet also includes: two assessment templates, a blank set of cards to program with whatever, as well as a black and white clock page, with a cover, so that your kiddos can make an “Itty Bitty” Telling Time booklet.   

Another quick, easy & fun little snowman craftivity is the name snowman, which is very versatile.  Children can spell out their entire name, or simply do just their initial.

Studying winter vocabulary words, working on CVC or sight words? Those are other options. Give children a choice, or assign them a word to spell out. 
I’ve also included a writing prompt worksheet with a winter border: “I like winter because . . . However, I don’t like winter when . . .”

Children will be excited to get down to the business of writing, so they can make the snowman “topper” to put above their paper.  
I’ve also included a blank pattern so you can program with a different prompt. Completed projects make a sweet winter bulletin board too.
There's also a blank, black and white template, so students can make up their own puzzles, or you can program with whatever.

Besides the craftivity, you can mix and match the 5 sets of upper and lowercase letter cards to create alphabet games & centers. 
I’ve also included a 3-page tip list of ideas, which includes the “Kaboom!” game. 

Finally, I just finished these sweet snowman vowel pair puzzles.They are an interesting and fun way to practice those tricky vowel pair words.  

Use them for an independent literacy center, where students put them together as puzzles or sort them alphabetically or as groups of rhyming words.

You can also partner children up to play a Memory Match game, or use them for a whole-group, “I Have; Who Has?” game.
I’ve included a sorting mat, as well as two different worksheets for students to write the words on, as they complete the center activities.

There's also a blank, black and white template, so students can make up their own puzzles, or you can program with whatever.

Besides the craftivity, you can mix and match the 5 sets of upper and lowercase letter cards to create alphabet games & centers. 
I’ve also included a 3-page tip list of ideas, which includes the “Kaboom!” game.

The featured FREEBIE for today is a "Snowman on a Roll Dice Game" which reinforces number sense, counting, plus addition if you play with 2 dice.  Well that's it for today. 

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you found something to make winter a bit more fun.  Wishing you a special day filled with lots of smiles.

"Life is like a blanket of snow.  Be careful how you step on it, as every step will show." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Do Some More Snowman Activities With Me

 Whenever I toss in a bit of craftiness to our learning, I grab my kiddos' attention and they can't wait to get down to business. It's an absolute joy to see them so happily engaged. 

The little bit of extra prep time is well worth the effort, as everyone is focused and on task, with no wasted time with discipline problems or re-explaining things to students who were not listening. 

Plus, completed projects make wonderful bulletin boards and hallway displays, which promote pride in their work and increased self-esteem.

With this in mind, I designed a variety of snowman-themed activities, that practice a variety of standards.

"The Snowman's Nose" is a quick, easy and fun way to practice: upper & lowercase letters, numbers to up to 20 or backwards from 31, plus skip counting by 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s, and can also be a way to whole-group assess. 

There are 8 different snowman heads to choose from. Simply choose which one is appropriate for your kiddos.

"Snowy's Nose" by Kelly Asbury, is a sweet book to read before or after this craft.

Another way to practice upper and lowercase letters, counting forwards and backwards, as well as skip counting by 2s, 3s, 5s, and 10s, is with Pete the Puzzling Snowman.

Print, color, laminate and trim a set, keeping each puzzle in its own Baggie, and use them for an independent center activity, or do as a whole-group craftivity.

Children can color my snowman face, or they can draw one of their own, on the blank pattern. 

After children cut up their puzzle template, they arrange the pieces on a blue sheet of construction paper, leaving a little gap in-between each strip, creating a cool mosaic effect.

For more alphabet practice, try my Dollar Deal Alphabet Wheels, which build the vocabulary needed to give an example of a word, with that beginning sound.

They feature 6 nouns that begin with that letter, and come in black and white, for individual word work, as well as color, so that you can use them as an independent center activity.

I've also included a worksheet where students trace & write the words in alphabetical order. 

We revisit the letter Ss in January, with the Ss is for Snowman alphabet wheel.

To practice 2D shapes, make a set of "Shapely Snowmen". 

Look closely at the photo, and you'll see that the snowman's facial features match the 2D shape of his head. 

I put a sprig of holly on my hats, but a paper punched snowflake would also look cute.

Use them as giant flashcards, (Hold one up. Children call out what shape it is, along with its attributes, like the number of vertices), use them as a 2D bulletin board display, independent math center, or do as a craftivity, and have students make one of their own.

You can also play a variety of games with them. I've included directions in the packet.

My kiddos absolutely LOVE playing  "4 Corner Freeze" . 

It's easy-peasy for me, and only takes a few minutes, so it’s perfect for the end of the day, or when you want to give your students a brain break or get the wiggles out. 

Finally, if your kiddos need some review with color and color words, the Colorful Snowman Games packet is an interesting and fun way to practice.

Students can play the color-matching game as an independent center, or choose a partner and play a spinner game.

Make an extra set and glue the puzzle hat and scarf pieces to the appropriate snowman and use them for your winter word wall, or a bulletin board display.

I’ve also included a plain set, for students to draw in their own snowman face, if you want to do this as a whole-group craftivity, where each child makes their favorite color snowman.   The packet also includes a “Colors on a Roll” dice game. 

The other snowman color activity is Snowman Colors, which features an emergent reader that covers lots of standards, as students read the repetitive sentences, circle capital letters, add end punctuation, trace and write the words, and color the pictures.  Days of the week + color words are also reinforced.

The packet includes 3 graphing extensions, a game, bookmark and a worksheet, plus a cute snowman craftivity, where the “scarf” is a little flip booklet, featuring color words.

The featured FREEBIE today is a set of "I Spy" snowface worksheet games, which help reinforce upper and lowercase letters + numbers from 1-20.

I did "I Spy" daily, as a fun way for my Y5's to practice, as well as a quick and easy way for me to whole-group assess.

Well that's it for today.  Hope you found something here that tickled your fancy. The sun is shining outside my office window and making the snow sparkle.

As Mr. Rogers used to say: "It's a wonderful day in the neighborhood." Wishing you a carefree day filled with Brrrrr-illiance!

"Some people are so much sunshine to the square inch." -Walt Whitman

1-2-3 Come Do Some Snowman Activities With Me

No matter what grade I taught, my students LOVED making glyphs. They are a quick, easy and fun way to practice listening and following directions.

With that in mind I designed a snowman glyph.  Completed projects make an adorable bulletin board, and provide an interesting way to get to know your kiddos too.

To practice data collection & analysis, as well as process of elimination, have students try and figure out who made some of the snowman glyphs. I've also included 3 graphing extensions to practice another math standard. 

Another super-fun snowman activity, is Silas, the 3D Cylinder Shaped Snowman.

I've found that if I toss a bit of craftiness into our lesson, I not only grab my students' attention, but they learn and retain those concepts better. 

The cylinder shape was a bit of a toughie for some of my kiddos, so this really helped solidify the concept.

Silas does double duty, as his facial features practice and review 2D shapes, which can be drawn on, or cut and glued.

Finally, my kiddos needed more place value practice. To put a bit of zippidy-doo-dah in reinforcing this math standard, I designed  Petey, a super-fun place value snowman.

Simply print the worksheet filled with an assortment of place value blocks. (There's 2 on a page).

Students decide which pieces they want to use to decorate their PV snowman with, then color, cut and glue them to the pattern.

Afterwards, they figure out the value of their snowman, then fill out the "My Place Value Snowman" worksheet.

I've included a blank template as well, if you think this is too much information for younger kiddos.

Children can fill out the black and white version, with whatever information is appropriate for their level. 

I've included one in color, so that teachers can quickly and easily make a sample to share.

Completed projects make an awesome bulletin board or hallway display. 

For more wintry place value practice, I designed a snowman, whole-group assessment game, which can also be used as an independent center activity.

I’ve included both a full page snowman, as well as a two-on-a-page pattern.  Students can draw in their own snowman face, or color my pattern.

To turn these into dry erase “boards”, cut squares out of glossy photo paper.  Each student needs 4 to glue on top of the squares on their place value snowman.   My students keep their snowman in their math journals, as we play the game once or twice a week. 

Students, don’t really seem to get tired of it, and the place value “light bulbs” go on rather quickly in their heads.   Despite the fact that many of my kiddos can't count past 100, they still can wrap their brains around place value, when shown visually, by playing this game.

Print; laminate and trim the number cards (0-9) and toss them in a mitten or winter cap.  Choose 3 students to pick a card.  This will become the 3-digit number that students write in the number squares of the snowman’s hat, using a dry erase marker.

Today's featured FREEBIE is a "Rip & Tear" snowman craft. Ripping and tearing paper is a super-fun way for kiddos to strengthen those finger and hand muscles. 

The packet includes a pattern for a mosaic snowman, as well as a whole, torn paper one. 

My kiddos do one the first week of January, then the other at the end of the month. 

Completed projects make an awesome bulletin board or hallway display, which we keep up through February. 

In the photograph, you can see Silas, the 3D cylinder shaped snowman, hanging with our rip and tear snowmen.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by. 

Even tho' it's a chilly 33 degrees outside, the sun is shining, so I think I'll take my poodle pup Chloe for a walk.  Wishing you an energizing day.

"The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body. The more efficient your body, the better you feel and the more you will use your talent to produce outstanding results." - Anthony Roberts

1-2-3 Come Snip Some Snowflakes With Me

During the last few days before Christmas break, we took down all of our December bulletin boards and hallway displays featuring my students' work.

Because everything looked so bare, I always liked to do a craftivity on party day, that we could hang up for January. "Snippy, the 2D Snowflake", is perfect for that.

When it comes to practicing our scissor  skills, is there any cutting activity more fun than snipping a paper snowflake?

My Y5s absolutely LOVE making them, as there seems something almost magical about gently unfolding their creation, to reveal a lovely lacy snowflake.

With that in mind, I designed Snippy, the Shapely Snowflake Snowman, as a way to practice and review 2D shapes.

Although they look pretty awesome, they are no more difficult than cutting a regular paper, just follow my simple directions. 

If you opt to just make a regular snowflake, using coffee filters, instead of paper, is much easier for PK kiddos to cut.

The more "chunks" you snip, the more intricate your snowflake. Snipping chunks in the various 2D shapes, will also help reinforce this Common Core Standard.

I show my kiddos how to cut squares, rectangles, circles, triangles, a diamond rhombus, as well as a heart. 

Although each snowflake will be unique, just like real ones, the various shapes will be the same for everyone. 

Those snowflakes then becomes Snippy's body, with the hatbands stating the name of the shape.

Even if you choose not to do this as a whole-group, listening and following directions craftivity, make a set for a lovely "Winter Wonderland Wall", to use as shape review.

The packet includes directions, patterns and photographs of the folded steps, plus pictures of the completed projects.

Before we make our snowflakes, I read Snip Snip Snow by Nancy Poydar.   It’s one of my favorite snowflake books and my Y5’s really enjoy it. 

They always asked if they can make a snowflake too, which provides the perfect segue to our paper cutting activities.  

For almost all of them, this is a first-time experience, so they are extremely excited to begin.  To save time, you can prefold the paper for little ones, otherwise you can do the folding portion as a "monkey-see, monkey-do" following direction activity.  

While you are demonstrating, remind students to keep their snowflake folded and to have a space in-between each cut or they will have a snowflake with big holes that will likely fall apart. 

I always had a few kiddo's who got caught up in snipping and failed to follow directions.  For this reason, it’s a good idea to run off a few extra shapes. 

I hope your kiddos have a blizzard of fun as they snip snip away. The results are truly amazing!

Finally, while researching paper snowflakes, I came across the lovely idea of using a snowflake as a paper tutu for a ballerina, over at Krokotak What little princess wouldn't want to make one of these! 

There's also a connet-the-dots snowflake over at Calvary Kids with numbers to 78. 

The featured FREEBIE today is another shape craftivity.  I call them snowman name stackers.

They are a quick, easy and fun way to practice name recognition, letters, circles, squares and rectangles. 

My kiddos also make these before break, so that we can hang them on our lockers.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by. I'll be watching Kaiden (3) and Kaitlyn (1) today.

My grandchildren are certainly rainbows in my life.

Maybe we'll make some snowflakes and attach them to the packages that still need wrapping.  Wishing you "fun-tastic" day. 

"Good friends are like snowflakes.  Each different and beautiful in their own way." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Do Some Creative Christmas Writing With Me

No matter what your age, pretending is so much fun, particularly with children.  It's easy for them to become princesses and pirates. 

With that in mind, I designed 7, creative, Christmas-themed, writing prompts. 

They are easy-peasy "print & go" worksheets, that I'm sure your students will enjoy.

The more creative aspect, has students "think outside the box" and really try and become an elf, reindeer, snowman or gingerbread cookie.

What would these "characters" say, or what might they overhear in a conversation that Santa is having? 

You can simply give students a choice, and only do one, or add the cute journal cover, and have students write a new one each day.

Another option, is to have students do a non-fiction prompt, using factual information that they've learned about penguins and snowflakes.

What would they say, that would tell us factual information?

When everyone is done, go around the room, and have each student share one thing.

No time to complete them all in class? They make fun "homework" that your students will enjoy doing.

To add a bit of technology to the lesson, give them the sites you want them to visit to get some facts about penguins, reindeer, or snow, that they can then include when writing their sentences.

My full-color, completed samples, will give you an example that you can share with your students, to help explain what you want them to do. They match the black & white templates for students.

Click on the link to pop on over to my TpT shop to have a look at the Now You're Talkin' Christmas Writing Prompts/Journal.

Here's hoping your kiddos enjoy "pretend writing" as much as I did creating the samples.

The featured FREEBIE today, is another form of writing.  Using a Venn diagram helps your students learn to compare and contrast in a fun way. 

There are 7 Venn diagrams in this packet, all featuring an elf. I've included color as well as black and white templates. 

Use the black and white copy for students to write their own, then call them up for a whole-group discussion and add everyone's ideas onto the colored Venn diagram. 

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by. 

It's a chilly, but sunny morning, and I'm in the mood and energized to start decorating for Christmas!  Wishing you a festive day.

"The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family, all wrapped up in each other." -Burton Hillis

1-2-3 Come Do Some Snowman Activities With Me

We didn't have much snow in December, but January is certainly making up for it. There's certainly enough to make a few fat snowmen; so I wanted to feature some of my favorite snowman-themed activities.

A snowman's head is perfect for reviewing 2D shapes.  I had a lot of fun making these shapely snowmen.  You can make a set for a winter bulletin board, anchor chart-posters, large flashcards to review and assess the shapes, a center matching activity, or have students choose their favorite and make one. 

Look carefully and you'll see that the snowman's facial features also match the 2D shape of his head.  Click on the link to view/download the shapely snowman packet.

Reinforce a variety of standards with these 7 snowman puzzles that cover upper and lowercase letters, counting backwards, plus skip counting by 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s.  Make a set to use as puzzles for an independent center.

These also make a lovely bulletin board.  Caption: Learning is “snow” much fun!  Have students choose a snowman that they want to make.  Run off copies, they trim and glue to a sheet of blue or black construction paper. 

For a mosaic appearance, tell students to put a small space in-between.  Add a bit more pizazz by having students make “snowflakes” with a Q-tip dipped in white paint.  For that finishing touch, sprinkle the wet paint dots with opalescent glitter.

If you are working on colors or color words with your students, I think you'll enjoy the Snowman Color Match packet. Students can play the game as an independent center, or choose a partner and play a spinner game. 

Make an extra set and have students glue the puzzle hat and scarf pieces to the appropriate snowman and use them for your winter word wall. There's a plain set for students to draw in their own snowman face, as well as an illustrated set.

The snowman-themed emergent reader, covers lots of standards, as students read the repetitive sentences, circle capital letters, add end punctuation, trace and write the words, and color the pictures. 

Days of the week + color words are reinforced. Three graphing extensions, a game, bookmark and a worksheet are all included as well.

Finally, help review analog and digital time to the hour and half hour, with the snowman clock matching game. 

Print the snowman template on white construction paper; laminate and trim. 

Run off the hatband-time words, the digital time-rectangles and the analog clocks; laminate and trim.

Students choose a time and then match all of the pieces and parts to complete that snowman.  Make an extra set and glue together for a "Time For Winter" bulletin board. 

Students can also make their own snowman clock to use as an assessment tool.  Run off the analog clock and digital time box templates, on glossy photo paper.  Children trim and glue to their snowman. They now have a dry erase digital and analog clock! 

Teacher calls out a time. Using dry erase markers, students draw hands on the clock and write the digital time in the box, then hold up their snowman when they are done. 

This is a quick, easy and fun way to whole-group assess, as you can see at a glance who is having difficulty. Children use a tissue to wipe off that answer, so they can play another round.  Continue the game 'til you have covered/assessed all of the time options.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for visiting.  I hope you found some useful activities to help bring out the brrrr-illiance in your kiddos.  As for me, it's time to brave the wintry artic to buy a few groceries, as Mother Hubbard's cupboard is indeed bare, and I'm clueless what to make for dinner.

Hopefully it won't take too long to find my car under the avalance of snow it's frosted with.  Wishing you a stress-free happy day.

"I get a special feeling when I walk on snow that no one else has.  It's a mixture of awe, adventure and amazement; and makes me wonder if this is something akin to what explorers and astronauts experienced, when they left their footprints on places yet to be discovered by others.  Certainly a pleasant feeling of accomplishment at being first." - Diane Henderson

1-2-3 Come "Build" A Snowman With Me

I was really on a creative roll the other day.  All one needs to do is spend a little time on Pinterest and if you're like me, the brain shoots into over drive!  So many ideas and not enough time in my life to do everything I'd like to.  Sound familiar?

While browsing, I found a wooden snowman used as a countdown to Christmas.  Versions of this idea were all over the Internet, from crafty moms to companies; I'm not sure who was the originator, so I can't link up or give appropriate credit.

All of them though, had just 25 numbers on them, because they were using the snowman as a countdown activity. 

I LOVE the idea of the moving carrot nose, so I thought I'd write "stuff" around the snowman's face that would make him perfect for the classroom, as an educational manipulative in December or January. Thus "Snowy" the ed-venturous educational snowman was born.

It was fun designing a paper snowman face that can review upper and lowercase letters and numbers to 31.  I've also included a face for skip counting by 2's, 3's, 5's or 10's.  Or... You can simply make one for your calendar center and countdown the days in January.  

These make a quick, easy and fun way to whole-group assess too. 

Call out a number/letter and have students move their snowman's nose to that position or... move your teacher sample to an uppercase letter, and have students find the matching lowercase letter on theirs. 

For added pizzazz, I ran the carrot noses through my crinkle machine.  My Y5's called this the "Cruncher Muncher." 

It provided great fine motor practice, as students turned the crank to get the paper through the rollers. 

Jam paper carries this awesome tool called a "corru-gator"  which easily crimps paper.  They have a "wave" pattern as well as a straight line one.  Once you roll your paper through, it comes out looking like corrugated cardboard, and really adds that finishing touch.

Poke a hole at the end of the carrot and use a brass brad to fasten the nose to the snowman.   Click on the link to view/download the Snowman's Nose packet.

An adorable book to read before or after this activity, is entitled: Where's Snowy's Nose? by Kelly Asbury. It was one of my Y5's favorites.

Thanks for visiting today.  I need to get going, as I have a few more things I need to run out and get for tomorrow's family gathering. 

Love having a full house, which means 14 adults, 5 grandchildren, 3 dogs and a partridge in a pear tree... Wishing you a glorious day filled with everything and everyone you enjoy the most.

 "Wisdom from a snowman: It's OK to be a little bottom heavy.  Don't get too much sun.  Everyone "nose" carrots are good for you.  Be a jolly happy soul.  It takes a few extra rolls to make a good midsection.  It's fun to hang out in your front yard.  Remember, we're all a bit flakey and that's what makes things interesting. Have a pure heart. White goes with everything.  We are all unique and special.  Accessorize, accessorize, accesorize." -Unknown

1-2-3 come Enjoy Winter Wonderland With Me!

Oh my!  It's  really snowing hard, and the winter wonderland swirling outside my office window is spectacular!  We are supposed to get 17 inches! Woo hoo!  As long as it's winter it might as well snow.  There's always the added excitement of a snow day right? So bring it on!

Making templates for my daily tabletop lessons, was a real time saver for me.  The repetition empowered my Y5's, as they were familiar with the format and could get right down to business, without wasting time with a lot of directions.  To keep things fresh and interesting, I simply changed the clip art. 

With this in mind, I designed monthly Fun With Number Worksheets.  They review a variey of standards in an interesting way.  I used a graphic organizer-format, that's especially beneficial for visual learners. The different clip art (snowmen, snowflakes, mittens, Martin Luther King, penguins, New Years etc.) added variety.

Print, laminate and trim the number cards 1-120.  Toss them into a basket.  Have a child choose one, as the number students will use to fill in their worksheet with.  When kiddo's are done, they can exchange their paper with another child to correct.  (Saves you time, and provides extra practice for your kiddo's.)

You can also use these for your sub folder, homework practice, something for early finishers, or assessments.  Click on the link to view/download the January Number Fun Packet.   If you'd like the Big Bundle number fun packet (105 pages!) that includes all of the months, click on the link.

If you're working on +1 simple addition with your little ones, I think you'll enjoy the snowy +1 Snowman booklet. 

Students trace and write the numbers, circle the number in the sequence, add +1 to arrive at a new number and then cut and glue X number of snowflakes around the snowman. 

I've also included a graphing extension.  Click on the link to grab it. +1 Snowman Addition booklet. 

Finally, help review analog and digital time (to the hour and half hour) with the Time For Snow snowman clock matching game.  Print the snowman template on white construction paper; laminate and trim.  Run off the hatband-time words, the digital time-rectangles and the analog clocks; laminate and trim.

Students choose a time and then match all of the pieces and parts to complete that snowman.  Make an extra set and glue together for a "Time For Winter" bulletin board. 

Run off the analog clock and digital time box templates, on glossy photo paper.  Children trim and glue to their snowman, to make a dry erase digital and analog clock. 

Teacher calls out a time and students draw hands on the clock and write in the digital time in the box, using a dry erase marker. 

Children hold up their snowman when they are done.  This is a quick, easy and fun way to whole-group assess. Students erase that answer and the teacher calls out another time. 

Play continues 'til you have reviewed all of the times to the hour or half hour.  Click on the link to view/download the Time For Snow matching game.

Thanks for visiting today.  I'm off to unbury my snow shovel.  Wishing you a warm and snuggly day.

"Snow provokes responses that reach right back to childhood." -Andy Goldsworthy