Winter Theme Book Winter Theme

The Winter Theme Book Winter Theme

Compiled Internet Sources By Judy Santos Judy’s Kids Family Daycare

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Contents:

Activities and Games

Songs, Poems and Fingerplays

Books

Websites

Fact File

Holidays

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Activities And Games

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Activity and Games Index

Snowflakes Three Dimensional Snowman Frosty Winter scene Whipped Soap Snowman Snowman Craft Ideas Toothpick Snowflakes Snow Idea Snowmen Snow Scenes Jello in the Snow Catch Some Snowflakes Keep Some Snowflakes Make a Snow Gauge Make a Glacier Snow Scene in a Jar Bird Treats Borax Crystal Snowflake Sparkle Snow Paint Three Dimensional Snowmen Ice Painting A "Self-sticking" Snowflake Cereal Snowflakes Snow Scenes Circle Snowmen Snowflakes Shaving Cream Snow Science Animal Tracks Snow Bubbles Thermometer Snow angels Snow Colors Freeze Edible Snowmen Edible Glacier Snow "Slush Cones" Snow "Ice-cream" Popcorn Snowmen Winter Wonderland Make a rain/snow gauge. E-Z Building with Sugar Lumps! Parent Involvement: Home Activities Fishing For Ice Cubes

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Florida Winter Snow Day! Snow: Good For All On Earth Art Activity: Puff Paint Snow Winter In January Mini Winter Books Snow Flakes Snowflake Snacks Valentine Tips Counting Activity: "Snow Peanuts" Extension To Snow Peanuts Preschool Winter Tips Snowball Soap Cooking Popcorn Snowmen Cool Cooking: Snow Ice Cream Science Activity: A Melting Snowman Science: Melting Experiment #1 Science: Melting Experiment #2 Art Activity: Ice Cube Painting Torn Paper Snow Pictures Torn Paper Igloos Torn Paper Polar Animals Sticker Art Stamp Art Paint like a polar animal Sponge Art Vote and Graph it Polar Animal Shape Match Up Polar Animal Shape Hop Polar Animal Hide and Seek Polar Animal Shape Fishing Game Polar Animal Games Mitten Match WINTER SENSORY/SCIENCE Driving On Ice Making Snow People Snow Writing Frozen Treasures Winter Water Wonders Hat Sort Snowman Math Bulletin Board Bulletin Board Igloo Bulletin Board/Display The Jacket I Wear in the Snow Animal Prints

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"The Snowman" Warm Weather Winter “The Mitten “ Graphing Jolly Snow Five Little Snowmen Freeze Science Lab Katy and the Big Snow Graham Cracker Snowflakes Coffee filter snowflakes Snowflake prints Pasta wheel snowflakes Hibernation Clouds Glitter Snowflakes Collage Make A Flake The Snowy Day Marshmallow Snowman WINTER GROSS MOTOR Movement Penguin Bowling or Ice Bowling- WINTER ART Ice Painting Bird Feeders Snowman Winter Hats Sock Snowmen Building a Snowman Right on Target Chanukah crafts Holiday arts and crafts Yummy Igloo Ice Blocks Snowflake Crackers Write About Your Winter Snow balls Icy Cave Make Frost: Footprints Snowflakes Snowman picture Snowman sledding Animals in a Mitten. Winter clothes Snowman

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Polar bear in a snowstorm Sensory table Toy Snowman Area Snowman Color/Number Match Snowman Tactile Cards Snowman Sequencing Cards Dress Up Peter Cooperative Igloo Lace up Mitten cards Sequencing mittens Water table Ice Fishing Frosty Shoe Box Relay Race Snowball Over the Mountain Unwrap the Gift Snowball Relay Race Snowball Making Snowball Throw Ice Melts Ice/Snow Castles Icicles On The Roof Top Marshamallow Sculptures My Snowman Painting On Snow Shiver Warm - Up Signs of Winter Skating Snow Snow Colour Squirts Snow Cone Paper Sculpture Snow Pictures on Window Snow Scene Snow Tracks Snowball Shake/Snacktime Snowball Warm-up Melt-Down Snowballs Snowfall Under Glass Snowflake Mobiles Snowflakes Snowflakes Snowstorm Art Snowy Day Snacks Sounds of Winter Three Dimentional Snowman White On White

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Winter Wonderland Ornaments Warm VS Cold Air Graph Snowfall Snow Activities Counting Book How Tall? Snowman Glyph Snowballs Activity Playing in the Snow Estimation Make Snow Soap Snowmen Snowman Doorstop Penguin Fingerpuppets... Glittery Snowflakes... Bear in Winter... Sock Snowman... Hibernating Bear... Snowflakes... Newspaper Snowmen... Snowman Math... Mitten Match... Snowball On A Spoon... Snowball Shoot Snowballs in the Bucket... Snowball Swap... Christmas Around the World Cookie Cutter Ornaments Paper Plate Wreath Pinecone Ornament Garland Candy Canes Santa Advent Calendar Gingerbread Man Ornament Gumdrop Ornament Cinnamon Ornaments Pretzel Wreath Reindeer Magnet Pipe Cleaner Ornaments Candy Canes Footprint/Handprint Angel COUNTING OBJECTS GINGERBREAD PUZZLE SPIN A GINGERBREAD MAN GINGERBREAD MAN COVER-UP ESTIMATION JAR

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MEASUREMENT GINGERBREAD MAN COOKIES GINGERBREAD MAN SANDWICHES Gingerbread Man Jello GINGERBREAD HOUSES SHOPPING A Gingerbread Man Book Mural Chanukah Ideas

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Snowflakes

Materials: Paper scissors white tempera paint dish detergent toothpicks marshmallows

For paper snowflakes, fold a piece of white paper several times. Then make a variety of cutouts along the folds. Open up the piece of paper and it's a snowflake.

If you want to decorate your windows with painted snowflakes do it with white tempera paint and a squirt of liquid dish detergent to make it easier to wash off the windows later. Use a paint brush and a corner of a sponge.

Makes snowflakes with toothpicks and miniature marshmallows connected to each other.

Three Dimensional Snowman

Materials: Blue construction paper white paint sponge glitter button eyes pompoms popcorn pipecleaners black beans

Sponge paint the snowman shape. Poke two holes to thread yarn through. Cut mittens from folded construction paper and glue to the ends of the yarn. Use construction paper scraps or found objects (buttons, cloth, beans, beads, popcorn) to create a face, hat buttons for snowman. e.g.: cut cloth and pompom for a hat, glue triangle out for a nose, pipe cleaner arms, button eyes, black bean mouth, popcorn buttons.

Frosty Winter scene Color a scene with crayons, press hard, then paint with white paint.

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The paint won't stick to the crayons. sprinkle with clear glitter while paint is still wet.

Whipped Soap Snowman Empty two to three cups of Ivory Soap in a large bowl. gradually add just enough boiling water to soap to make it thick and creamy. Make a picture using the whipped soap.

Snowman Craft Ideas Snowman stick puppets Torn paper snowman cotton ball snowman coconut snowman splatter paint snowflakes

Toothpick Snowflakes Glue and arrange on black or dark blue paper. you could paint them white if desired.

Snow Idea You can use white shoe polish with sponge dispenser for snow.

Snowmen (per snowman) 1 tongue depressor white paint black paint black felt wiggly eyes ribbon round toothpick orange paint

Paint tongue depressor white. When dry - paint the top 1" black (on both sides) Take a small strip of black felt and make a brim for the hat. Glue around the tongue depressor where black and white line up. Glue on wiggley eyes. Paint tip of toothpick orange and break off making it

Page 11 of 213 The Winter Theme Book about 1/2" long - glue in place for nose (looks like a carrot nose). Make 5 dots below nose with a black marker for the smile. Take a length of ribbon and tie on for the scarf. Make 4 larger dots down underneath the scarf for buttons. Take a length of ribbon and glue to the back of the hat to form a loop for hanging on the tree.

Snow Scenes Have children draw and color winter scenes. Then have them paint over the entire picture with a mixture of 16 ounces Epsom salts dissolved in 4 ounces of very hot water. As the picture dries, frosty crystals will appear.

Jello in the Snow Mix jello as per directions on package. Pour into CLEAN baby food jars-one per student. Place containers in a large tub. Together, fill tub with snow. Watch to see when jello sets.

Catch Some Snowflakes What you will need: black velvet or black construction paper Magnifying Glass Snow

Since snowflakes melt so quickly you need to freeze your cloth or paper. Have it ready frozen and ready to go for the next snowfall, and go outside and let some snowflakes land on the dark surface. Quickly, before they melt, examine the flakes with a magnifying glass. Many snowflakes are "broken" and so you don't see the whole six-sided crystal, but with persistence you'll see some beautiful examples.

Keep Some Snowflakes What you will need: Piece of glass Hairspray (aerosol, NOT pump) Snow

You can have a permanent record of your caught snowflakes if you freeze a piece of glass and the hair spray before the next snowfall. (Both may be stored in the freezer until you need them.) When your ready to collect some snowflakes, spray your chilled glass with the chilled hairspray and go outside and let some snowflakes settle on the glass. When you

Page 12 of 213 The Winter Theme Book have enough flakes bring the glass indoors and allow it to thaw at room temperature for about 15 min. Now you have a permanent record of your snowflakes!

Make a Snow Gauge Take an old clear plastic soda pop bottle and cut off the top half. Mark the outside in centimeters or inches with a permanent laundry marker and place it outside in a place where it can collect the falling snow. Measure how much melted snow it takes to make water. Collect some snow in a container and record the level of snow on the container. Let the snow melt. How much water is there? Are you surprised at the difference?

Make a Glacier Fill a bowl with snow and bring it inside to partially thaw, and then add more snow on top. Keep doing this all winter long. You will then have the "layers" of ice and snow like a glacier.

Snow Scene in a Jar empty small jar ((like a baby food jar) hot glue gun epoxy glue small plastic toy animal (they have them in toy stores everywhere) white rocks, big pieces of gravel, plastic tree etc. glitter (some of the new iridescent ones are beautiful & available at hobby stores) water food coloring if desired

Use hot glue gun to glue rocks and animal to the bottom of jar. (have an adult help with the glue gun!) Fill with water and add food coloring if desired. Spoon in some glitter and use epoxy glue to glue lid onto jar. Be sure to have an adult help with the epoxy glue. Shake to make it snow!

Bird Treats Make peanut butter cookie cutter treats for the birds. Take old bread slices and cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Let them dry and harden enough to spread with peanut butter. Cover the peanut buttered shapes with black sunflower seeds and hang outdoors on trees or anywhere birds might come! Use a bird book to identify the birds.

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Borax Crystal Snowflake You will need string wide mouth jar white pipe cleaners blue food coloring (optional) boiling water (with adult help) borax (available at grocery stores in the laundry soap section) pencil

With a little kitchen science you can create long lasting snowflakes as sparkly as the real ones. Cut a white pipe cleaner into 3 equal sections. Twist the sections together in the center so that you have a "six-sided" star shape. If your points are not even, trim the pipe-cleaner sections to the same length. Now attach string along the outer edges to form a snowflake pattern. Attach a piece of string to the top of one of the pipe cleaners and tie the other end to a pencil (this is to hang it from). Fill a wide mouth jar with boiling water. Mix borax into the water one tablespoon at a time. Use 3 tablespoons of borax per cup of water. Stir until dissolved, (don't worry if there is powder settling on the bottom of the jar). If you want you can add a little blue food coloring now to give the snowflake a bluish hue. Insert your pipe cleaner snowflake into the jar so that the pencil is resting on the lip of the jar and the snowflake is freely suspended in the borax solution. Wait overnight and by morning the snowflake will be covered with shiny crystals. Hang in a window as a sun-catcher or use as a wintertime decoration.

Sparkle Snow Paint 1/2 cup flour 1/2 cup salt 1/2 cup water

Mix together and put in a squeeze bottle. Squeeze doughy paint out on to black construction paper. Make anything snowy, snowflakes, snowmen, we made snow covered mountains with the moon and northern lights. Let dry thoroughly and it will sparkle. May also be painted (when dry) and allowed to dry again. This is a great 3 dimensional effect for snow.

Three Dimensional Snowmen Materials: Blue construction paper

Page 14 of 213 The Winter Theme Book white paint sponge glitter button eyes pompoms popcorn pipe cleaners black beans

Sponge paint the snowman shape. Poke two holes to thread yarn through. Cut mittens from folded construction paper and glue to the ends of the yarn. Use construction paper scraps or found objects (buttons, cloth, beans, beads, popcorn) to create a face, hat buttons for snowman. Cut cloth and pompom for a hat, glue triangle out for a nose, pipe cleaner arms, button eyes, black bean mouth, popcorn buttons.

Ice Painting Materials: Ice Cubes Craft Sticks Tempera Paint powder, Several Colors Spoon Heavy paper

To make an ice cube paintbrush poke craft sticks into partially frozen ice cubes. Then continue to freeze solid. Take an Ice cube paintbrush by its handle and rub it back and forth over the powdered color on the paper. Try putting small amounts of other colors on your paper and rubbing those with another ice cube paintbrush. Let dry.

A "Self-sticking" Snowflake Supplies a snowflake pattern dimensional fabric paint (the kind that squeezes out of a bottle) Ziploc baggie glitter

Put the snowflake pattern in the plastic baggie and zip closed. On the outside of the baggie trace over the snowflake pattern with the fabric paint. While the snowflake is still wet sprinkle glitter over the paint. Carefully shake off any excess glitter. Let dry. When completely dry peel off the baggy and put it up somewhere where every one can see it!

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Cereal Snowflakes Honeycomb cereal makes great snowflakes.

Snow Scenes Have the children use white chalk on black paper.

Circle Snowmen Give the kids a table full of different size white circles, black hats, small cutouts or eyes etc unless they use crayons. Use that clear glitter to make it glitter. Use brads to attach the circles

Snowflakes materials needed: wax paper glue q-tips glitter

Put a quarter size dab of glue on wax paper and then give the child 8 q-tips to lay in the glue. Let the child sprinkle with the snowflake with glitter and then let dry for a day. Peel off the wax paper and hang on the window or hang from the ceiling.

Shaving Cream Snow Let the children play with shaving cream and pretend it is snow. They pile it up and make snowmen and all sorts of creations.

Science See what happens to something plastic in the cold. Take an old plastic soda pop bottle and leave it outside for at least an hour. Then squeeze and see what happens. Why do you think it might have done something different than if it was warm?

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Animal Tracks See if you can find the tracks of dogs, cats, birds, and other wildlife in the snow. Check out a book from your local library on animals and animal tracks and see how many different animal tracks you can identify.

Snow Bubbles Blow bubbles outside, they won't pop when it's -30 to -40 degrees below zero outside.

Thermometer Teach the older children to read a thermometer to check the outdoor temperature daily. Chart the temperature.

Snow angels Make snow angels in the snow

Snow Colors Provide children with spray bottles containing colored water, preferably red, yellow and blue. Allow them to spray the snow and mix colors.

Freeze Play music and have the children walk around in a circle. When the music stops, the children freeze by standing still in a stooped position.

Edible Snowmen My kids always enjoyed making edible snowmen. Marshmallows held together by a toothpick, licorice strip for the scarf, pretzels for the arms, raisins for buttons, candy corn for nose. Make and then eat!

Edible Glacier Make a 6 oz. package blueberry flavored gelatin following package directions. Pour into a pan. Put in refrigerator until solid (several hours). Crush about 1/2 package of chocolate wafers or chocolate sandwich cookies. Mix with one container of Cool Whip and spread over the set gelatin.

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This is the icy blue center of the glacier, with silty snow on top.

Snow "Slush Cones" Collect some freshly fallen snow and scoop it into bowls. Put a few spoonfuls of frozen juice concentrate on top, and you have your own slush snow cones.

Snow "Ice-cream" Collect some freshly fallen clean snow and put in a bowl. Sprinkle some sugar in, add some vanilla extract (not too much it's very strong - about 1/4 teaspoon), and milk. Slush it all together. Add just enough milk to make a nice slushy texture and add as much sugar as your parents will let you get away with! In our house we have bottles of coffee flavoring syrup in various flavors like raspberry and licorice. You can use a dash of these instead of the vanilla extract.

Popcorn Snowmen 15 cups popped popcorn 1/2 cup butter or margarine 2 10 oz. packages marshmallows Thin pretzel sticks, raisin, candy corn, mini jawbreakers, red hots, gumdrops, and fruit leather Royal icing Pour the popcorn into a large bowl: set aside. Melt the butter in a nonstick saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the marshmallows, stirring constantly until melted. Pour over the popcorn and stir to coat. When cool enough to touch, rub margarine on your hands and form popcorn balls. Stack three popcorn balls for a snowman. Using icing for glue, add pretzel stick arms, raisin eyes, and a candy corn nose. Arrange mini jawbreakers into a broad grin. For buttons, use gumdrops or red hots. For scarves, cut rectangles out of fruit leather and tie and fringe the ends. Makes about 5 snowmen.

Winter Wonderland Transform your classroom into a winter wonderland! Use thread (or fishing line) to hang paper snowflakes from the ceiling; use transparent tape to hang them on windows.

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Make a rain/snow gauge. Cut off the top of a clear plastic two-liter soda bottle. Use a permanent marker to mark the outside of the bottle in centimeters or inches (measuring from bottom-to-top). Put the bottle outside in a place where it can collect falling snow. Measure and record the depth of snow in the container. Let the snow melt, then measure and record the depth of water in the container.

E-Z Building with Sugar Lumps! During this easy winter activity by Louise S. young children use small motor skills. Materials: White sugar lumps. Description: The children pretend they are snowmen, ice blocks etc. They build igloos with the white sugar cubes that the teacher has put out on trays. It is a wonderful winter activity. Comments: "I have noticed that the children like to make patterns on the trays too."

Parent Involvement: Home Activities Involve parents in the learning process with their children during this activity by Cameilla. Description: Every month I send home a home project with the children. For December I sent home a tree, in January I sent a snowman, etc. I write up a letter asking the parents and children to decorate their project with anything they can find. We have had some original pieces of art. The children are so proud of their projects. We ask the parents to send them back to school so we can display them. For the children who don't make one at home, we let them make one at school.

Fishing For Ice Cubes During this preschool winter activity by Debbie S. pre-k children use visual motor and eye hand coordination skills. Materials: Ice cubes, water table, strainers, spoons and buckets, etc. Description: Float the colored ice cubes in the water. Let the children use the various items to fish for the cubes. They can place them in the buckets and when done place them back into the water.

Florida Winter Snow Day! During this warm weather preschool snow activity by Diane S. young children use large motor skills and learn about science.

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Materials: Ice shavings from an indoor ice rink Description: I called the local ice skating rink to inquire about having ice shavings brought to the school I work at. One of the parents volunteered to take her truck up and bring back a pick-up load. We shoveled it onto the playground and the children had a blast making snowballs and snowmen. We live in Central Florida and everyone enjoyed the snow day! Comments: Make sure the children dress warmly.

Snow: Good For All On Earth Nancy E. shares this early childhood activity saying, "Show the purpose of snow for the earth, people and animals". Materials: Snow, pictures of animals, people, hat, mittens, coat, lake or river and a house. A glass, pot and an empty plastic milk jug. Description: Gather snow for pot and plastic jug. Show how snow can be melted in pot for cooking. Show how snow can melt in the jug (inside) and then put outside in the snow to freeze into ice. We use water for cooking and drinking. We use ice for cool drinks in the summer and for keeping our food cold until we are ready to eat it. We use water daily: cleaning, drinking, cooking, swimming in, for ice skating rinks, making snow for the ski hills. ASK: "What would you use snow for and in what form: Snow, Water (hot or cold), or Ice. Use pictures to ask the children their purpose during the snow season and what happens to the lakes and rivers. And that houses get insulated by the snow too. Comments: Just have fun listening to the children's ideas.

Art Activity: Puff Paint Snow Children from pre-k through second grade can enjoy this creative shared by Luauna. Just remember to keep the shaving cream out of little eyes, it stings. Materials: Turquoise blue construction paper, snowman shape (I use the Elison snowman), collage materials, shaving cream and glue. Description: Have children decorate a snowman with the collage materials; wiggly eyes, buttons, foam shapes, ribbon, etc. Glue to blue paper. Mix equal parts of shaving cream and Elmer's glue. Have the children use popscicle sticks, q-tips, plastic spoons, etc. to add the mixture around their snowman and make hills of snow and snow falling from the sky. When the mixture is dry, it makes beautiful puffy snow.

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Winter In January Melissa G. uses this activity to create a "Winter Wonderland" saying, "I live in West Texas and this is as close as we can get to a winter snow day." Materials: 1 large box, white paper and glue. Description: This is a messy but fun project. Start a few days ahead, paint the box white and cut a U shape on one side of box. Bring the box into class then have the kids (2 at a time), sit inside the box to cut or shred paper. Save the paper at the end of the day in a bag. Keep putting the larger pieces of paper back into the box to be cut into smaller pieces. When you have collected enough paper you announce to the class, "Tomorrow it's going to snow in our classroom." The Next Day: Turn the air on to make it chilly. Add ice to the sand/water center and bring in the bag of collected paper. Start throwing the shredded paper in the air to make a snow storm (you can wad up paper to make snow balls). To clean-up this mess, glue the paper that was on the floor onto the white box and create an igloo. Also cut large paper circles out of butcher block paper and glue on snow (paper) to create snow men.

Comments: You may wish to decorate your classroom with snowflakes, Hang some from the ceiling and add mittens, gloves, hats, scarfs, even an over sized coat to the home center.

Mini Winter Books Young children will have a small book that can help them remember items to use in the winter with this activity by Cheryle H. Materials: Pictures of winter clothes, or pictures of the winter season Description: Make a double sided copy of the mini book pages. Cut the page in half along a solid line. Check to be sure the pages are in the proper order and then staple them together along the book's spine.

Snow Flakes Encourage pre-k children to create Snowflakes as decorations for home or classroom with this easy early childhood activity by Donna M. Materials: Waxed paper, glue, marker and silver glitter. Description : On waxed paper draw a 6 point line. Have the children trace over in glue and add silver glitter. Allow to dry about 2 to 3 days. Peel and hang.

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Snowflake Snacks Cheryle H. shares her recipe for this winter snack. Materials: Peanut butter, hexagonal shaped crackers and coconut. Description: Spread peanut butter on the hexagonal shaped crackers. Roll the crackers in the coconut and serve to the kids. You can use this activity to explain to the children the the coconut sticks to the crackers much like ice crystals stick together to form a real snowflake.

Valentine Tips Jamey C, an early childhood education teacher from Florida, shares this preschool education idea. Make "squishy" bags: Add red and white paint to SEALED zip locked baggies. Let students rub bags to mix paint into pink. Let students discuss and tell their discoveries as it happens.

Counting Activity: "Snow Peanuts" The following preschool education activity can be used to help teach counting. Teachers may provide young children with 16 oz. plastic cups and ask them to count how many "snow peanuts" it takes to fill their cups. Since pre-k children wear mittens during this winter activity, picking up the "snow peanuts" also presents a motor skill challenge. Laurie L. shares her "peanut snow" winter activity saying, "I teach 4 and 5 year old pre-k children in a small church where money and resources are very tight. But, this activity is free and my children have hours of fun with it. Use peanut packing material to make a snow storm in your class. I just throw it out on the floor and give the children scarves and mittens to "play" in the snow. It can get messy but is worth the clean up time!"

Extension To Snow Peanuts

Angela shares this winter activity that encourages young children to estimate, graph and compare. Materials: Same as snow peanuts (above) with black paper and white crayons. Description: Use the snow peanuts activity in this winter theme (above) and have the children estimate how many will fill the cup. Write the number on the black paper and then have the children draw the number given in snowballs. The children can fill the cups and then write the number on a sheet of paper. The students then draw that number. After drawing, the children look at both graphs and compare. Have them count how many snow peanuts they were off.

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Preschool Winter Tips Cheryll teaches preschool education in a Head Start class and is sharing 3 of her teacher tested ideas for winter activities.

1. We read the story The Mitten and then gave the children masks (printed from Jan Bretts web site) and let them pretend to be the animals. We used a blanket as a Mitten and, of course, did the play over until everyone had a chance to be an actor.

2. Let the children make snow scenes with chalk on dark blue paper. Use hair spray to set the chalk on the paper.

3. Bring in a sled and let the children estimate how many can sit on it. Then let them see if they were right. You can do this with dolls too!

Snowball Soap Nana W. shares this fine motor winter activity and her creative rhyme saying, "I made this up. I hope you like it, my kids do!" "Teachers get some ivory soap and soak it in water over night, then break it into halves. Give it to the children to mold like playdough into a snowball. When it dries it flakes up like a real snowball. You can put it into a sandwich bag to send home with a poem that reads:

My snowball soap, I made it just for you. To help me learn about Winter, And keep my hands clean too!

Cooking Popcorn Snowmen Elaine H. shares this delicious preschool education winter treat saying, "I teach 3 - 5 year old preschoolers at Northside in Cincinnati, Ohio. An activity for nutrition that I do with my class is to make Popcorn Snowmen. This activity involves motor skills and the concept of larger and smaller while also helping to distinguish body parts." You will need: Popcorn, marshmallows, butter, raisins (for the eyes and buttons), and gumdrops (for the hat). Descriptions: "Pop the popcorn and melt the butter and marshmallows (just as you would for making rice krispie treats). Once the butter and marshmallows are melted pour the mixture over the popcorn and mix well. After the mixture has cooled, have the children take two handfuls of the mixture, one smaller than the other, then shape them into circles and place the smaller circle on top of the larger one, then they can decorate their snowmen with the raisins and gumdrops. Use wax paper to put the snowmen on. The children will love the sticky texture and the smell."

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Cool Cooking: Snow Ice Cream Sharie L. shares her quick and easy pre-k recipe and tells us, "I've been a licensed family child care provider for the past 15 years, and here in Northern Maine ( Ashland ) we get lots of snow so this is one of our favorite things to make and eat and is so easy."

Snow Ice Cream 1 c. cream 1/2 c. sugar 1/2 tsp. vanilla 1/4 c. egg beater dash salt 1/2 mixing bowl of (very clean) snow. With mixer, mix the cream, sugar, vanilla, egg beater and salt until thickened. Stir in the snow. Mix and eat!

Science Activity: A Melting Snowman

Thanks Suzanne T. from Palm Bay Elementary School for sharing this inventive early childhood education activity, and writing: "I live in Florida where it makes it a challenge for children to understand an abstract concept such as a snowman. Here is how to make a snowman in Florida." Materials: 3 large balloons 1 large bowl 1 medium bowl 1 small bowl salt water table or large plastic container accessories for snowman (hat, scarf) felt cut into shapes for eyes, nose, mouth and buttons Procedure: Fill the balloons with water so each one will fit into the bowls. Freeze until solid. (takes 12-24 hours) Remove the balloon pieces and take the solid ice balls and place them one on top of the other by placing the largest one inside the water table and the other two balls on top. Use salt on the bottom of the table and in between the ice balls to help them fuse together. Now add the felt pieces (they stick right on the ice) as well as the other accessories. This makes an adorable little snowman that the children can watch melt."

Literacy and Art: Snowy Day Picture

Lisa G. from the LABBB Early Childhood Preschool Program in Burlington, MA combines an award winning book with an early childhood education art activity and writes..."I teach in a integrated preschool program. All the teachers have

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"stolen" this idea from each other because it works so well, no matter what the age or skill level of the children. Each child can be successful, and each picture is unique."

"Read A Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, then create a SNOWY DAY PICTURE Materials: Light blue construction paper, glue stick, black crayon, a mixture of Epsom salts and water (approx. 1 teaspoon to 1/3 cup water per child) with brushes. Have pre made red "Peter" shapes cut out, very simple outline (check out the book cover) Description: Provide light blue paper for the children. Show them how to draw a wavy line with a black crayon across the paper for the snow, then glue the Peter shape on. Have the children embellish the picture with something they remember from the book: Peter hitting a tree with a stick, dragging a stick in the snow, throwing a snowball, etc. When their picture is completed, have them brush a mixture of Epsom salts and water across their picture. When it dries, it will glisten lightly, as if in a snowy haze.

Science: Melting Experiment #1

Preschool children will use the scientific skills of observation, prediction and evaluation for this melting experiment. You will need: Paper cups and plates, plastic containers, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, cloth scraps, spoons, sand, paper, crayons and ice cubes. Description: Teachers, with a small group of pre-k children ask, "What do you think happens when you put ice in a glass of water or juice?" "What happens when you leave crayons out in the sun or when you bring a snowball inside?" Talk about the children's responses then ask, "What do you think makes ice melt?" "What makes crayons melt?" Then suggest, "Let's try some experiments to learn more about melting." Next, show preschool children a tray of ice and ask them to think of different ways to melt each cube. Make a list of the methods they suggest and ask youngsters to predict which method will make the ice cube melt the fastest and/or slowest. If needed give these examples, place an ice cube in a container filled with cold water; one with hot water; another in sand, snow (if available). Preschool children may enjoy wrapping the ice cubes in different materials and predicting which cubes will melt the fastest. You can use aluminum foil, plastic wrap and cloth. Remember to write the youngsters predictions down, do the experiment, and then refer back to what children had thought would happen. Talk about which cubes melted the fastest and record the results under the predictions.

Science: Melting Experiment #2

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Pre-k children will continue to use the scientific skills of observation, prediction and evaluation during this second melting experiment. You will need: The same materials as in Melting Experiment #1. Description: Help young children experiment with ice cubes by placing the cubes (or snowballs if available) in various places around the classroom. Ask children to predict which ice cube will melt the fastest, considering where it is placed. Cubes can be placed in sunny windows, a dark closet, out side of a window, near a heater etc. Permit youngsters to offer their suggestions. Make a list or chart of the predictions then test your theories by encouraging preschoolers to check on the various areas every few minutes. When the results are in record the findings on the list or chart. Encourage children to express opinions about why a particular cube melted the fastest and why another melted the slowest.

Art Activity: Ice Cube Painting

This early childhood education winter activity is a wonderful extension to both of the melting experiments. You will need: Finger paint and glossy finger paint paper, ice cubes. Description: Teachers Do not wet the finger paint paper and encourage preschool children to use the ice cubes to spread their paint around on the paper. Help youngsters notice the different effects that are achieved when using cubes rather than fingers. "What happens to the cubes as we use them?"

Torn Paper Snow Pictures

Supply the children with a full sheet of blue paper and half sheet of white paper. Ask them to make a winter scene by tearing pieces of the white paper and gluing them onto the blue paper. Small amounts of other colored paper may be used.

Torn Paper Igloos

Supply the children with a full sheet of blue paper and half sheet of white paper. Ask them to make an igloo by tearing pieces of the white paper and gluing them onto the blue paper.

Torn Paper Polar Animals Supply the children with a full sheet of blue paper and half sheet of white paper. Ask them to make polar bear or penguin by tearing pieces of the

Page 26 of 213 The Winter Theme Book white paper and gluing them onto the blue paper. Small amounts of other colored paper may be used.

Sticker Art

Supply the children with stickers of polar animals and have them place them on a piece of white paper to make a polar scene.

Stamp Art

Supply the children with stamps of polar animals and have them make a polar scene with the stamps.

Paint like a polar animal

Supply the children with paper and paint and have the children paint like a seal or penguin might paint. You may want to have them put a pair of clean socks on their hands to help them imagine not having fingers to use.

Sponge Art

Supply the children with sponges of polar animals and paint and have them make a polar scene with them.

Vote and Graph it

Have the children vote for their favorite polar animal and graph the results. Which animals did most children like the best? Would a bear be a good pet? Have the children vote if a polar bear would be a good pet. Record the results on a graph. What is the result? Discuss with the children that a bear would not be a good pet and reasons why. Ie.. claws, eat a lot of food, they don't like humans, they might hurt us.

Polar Animal Shape Match Up

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There are many ways to set this up depending on the skill level or the particular skill you wish to work on. Try these different set ups: (Use your own Polar Animal Shapes... Penguin, Seal, Bear etc)

---Cut out Polar Animal Shapes from different colors of paper. Give each child one Polar Animal Shape. Ask the children to find one person with the same color Polar Animal Shape.

---Cut out Polar Animal Shapes from different colors of paper. Cut the Polar Animal Shapes in half using a puzzle type cut, like zig zag or interlocking pieces. Give each child one half of a Polar Animal Shape, and ask them to find the person with the other half.

Or Give the children two pieces and have the children make a circle, with one child that has one match on one side and the other match on the other side. You may end up with 2 or more circles depending on how the Polar Animal Shape pieces are distributed.

---Cut out Polar Animal Shapes from one color of paper. Cut the Polar Animal Shapes in half using a puzzle type cut, like zig zag or interlocking pieces. Give each child one half of a Polar Animal Shape, and ask them to find the person with the other half.

Or Give the children two pieces and have the children make a circle, with one child that has one match on one side and the other match on the other side. You may end up with 2 or more circles depending on how the Polar Animal Shape pieces are distributed.

---Cut the Polar Animal Shapes from one color of paper. Label one set of Polar Animal Shapes with numbers, i.e. if you have 20 children, label the Polar Animal Shapes with the numbers one to ten. The other half, draw one dot on one, two on another, and so on until ten. Give each child one Polar Animal Shape and have them find the child with their match.

---Cut the Polar Animal Shapes from one color of paper. Place matching stickers on two Polar Animal Shapes. Give each child one Polar Animal Shape and have them find the child with their match.

---Cut the Polar Animal Shapes from one color of paper. Cut the Polar Animal Shapes in half using a puzzle type cut, like zig zag or interlocking pieces. Place matching stickers on each half of a Polar Animal Shape. Give each child one Polar Animal Shape half and have them find the child with their match.

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---Place matching Polar Animal stickers on separate index cards. Give each child a card and ask them to find the child with their match.

---Try all the above, but in a file folder format. Glue one part of the Polar Animal Shape to the file folder and laminate it's match.

--Cut four or five different Polar Animal Shapes from different colors of paper. Give each child one Polar Animal Shape and have them form groups depending on what color they have... red animals here... or have them form groups depending on what animal they have.. penguins here.

Polar Animal Shape Hop

Cut out large polar animal shapes from colored paper. Laminate them and cut them out. Place them on the floor and ask the children to hop from one shape to another. These may also be used at seat markers for group time. Polar Animal Hide and Seek Have all the children hide their eyes while you "hide" a polar animal in the room. (It should be placed in plain view) Tell the children to find the polar animal, but not touch it. Once they spot it they should sit back down in their spot. The first one to sit down again will get to hide the polar animal.

Polar Animal Hide and Seek

Play the game the same as above, except hide the polar animal. Then tell the chidlren individually whether they are "hot" or "cold" to the relation of the polar animal. Allow the other children to have a change to hide the polar animal, and tell children whether they are "hot or cold". It may be a good idea to discuss the meaning of hot and cold before you play this game.

Polar Animal Shape Fishing Game

Tie 3 feet of string to a wooden spoon. Attach a magnet to the end of the string. Cut and laminate many different colored polar animal shapes from construction paper (not too big though). Attach a paper clip to each polar animal shape. Spread the polar animal shapes on the floor and let your child try to catch the polar animal shape. Have them try to catch the star or the biggest tree. For a twist, label the polar animal shapes with letters or numbers.

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Polar Animal Games

The following games require you to cut out many different polar animal shapes from construction paper. You may choose to laminate these polar animal shapes so they last longer.

Polar Animal Sizing Cut out many different sized polar animal. Ask the children to line up the polar animal from largest to smallest.

Polar Animal Numbers Cut out ten shapes. Number them one to ten. Ask the children to line up the shapes from one to ten.

Polar Animal Colors Ask the children to sort the shapes by color.

Polar Animal Sort: Supply the children with plenty of polar animal shapes of many sizes and colors. Ask the chidlren to sort the shapes by size, color or type.

Mitten Match

Use real mittens. Hang a clothesline with spring loaded clothespins between two chairs. Clip one mitten from each pair onto the clothesline. Put the mitten mates in a bag.Hold up the bag. Have a child come up and pull one mitten out of the bag. Have the child look at the mittens hanging on the clothesline and find the mitten that matches the one that he/she is holding. Have him/her clip it next to the matching one. Continue until all the mittens have been matched.

WINTER SENSORY/SCIENCE

Add water to your sand table to make the sand moldable, like when you make sand castles. Add ice cream scoops, melon ballers, cookie scoops, bowls and other circular objects. Kids can make snowmen, snowballs and even a snow village. Best part is they will not melt!!!

If you have a lot of snow, bring it inside. Put mittens on your children and let them play in it like sand.

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Driving On Ice

Fill three jellyroll pans with water and freeze the day before this activity is planned. Gather small match-box car, spoons, salt and sand. Have children try to drive the cars over the ice. What Happens? Spoon salt over one sheet of ice and sand over another. What happens when the children try to drive the cars over these surfaces? What implications can be drawn for driving on ice. The kids love this activity.

Making Snow People

Make play dough ahead of time. Do not add any food coloring- leave it white. Add the playdough to the sensory table along with small pebbles, fabric, sticks, buttons and scarfs. Allow the children to make snow people any way they wish.

Snow Writing

Cover the bottom of the sensory table with black construction paper. Pour about an inch thick of salt on top of the paper. Have the children make their own winter designs practice, numbers or letters. Mix 1 cup Epsom salts with 1 cup boiling water. Let cool. Use paint brushes to paint mixture over recycled Christmas cards or note cards with pretty pictures. When dry, pictures will have a frosty appearance. Cut a piece of black construction paper to fit the bottom of a clear, flat dish. Pour any remaining mixture in dish and let sit over night to dry. The mixture forms crystals. Children can use magnifying glasses to view the crystals.

Frozen Treasures in plastic milk jugs freeze colored water of your choice, when half frozen drop in several various small toys (animals, legos, etc). After this is frozen add another color of water to fill the jug let freeze half way then add more toys. Children love to chip and melt to find the hidden treasure and the colors blend creating new colors.

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Winter Water Wonders

Give your water table the deep freeze with these exciting winter additions. Fill miniature decorator cake pans with colored water and freeze them. Then add the frozen shapes to the water in the table. Add ice cubes and refreezable plastic ice cubes. If icicles are easily found in your area, add several of them as well. For added fun place plastic arctic animal toys in the water. Brrr!

Hat Sort

Have parents bring in a variety of hats.Look at the hats with your children and talk about how they are alike and different.Have then guess when each hat is worn.

Put the hats in a large box. Let your children take turns sorting then into two piles, one for hats to wear in the summer and one for hats to wear in the winter.

Snowman Math

Ahead of time you will need to cut out ten snowmen from white construction paper. Mount each to tagboard, add scarves, twigs for arms and a hat numbered 1-10. Laminate the snowmen for durability. Provide a container with 55 buttons, have the children decorate the snowmen with corresponding number on hat.

Bulletin Board

Brrr! This wintry bulletin board will get flurries of attention. Provide each student with construction paper, scissors, glue, two craft sticks, and a penguin pattern if desired. Have each child trace or draw a penguin and then cut on the resulting outline. Have him glue craft sticks on the penguin to represent skis. Mount the penguins on a dark blue background along with cotton-batting snowdrifts and snowflake cutouts. Let it snow!

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Bulletin Board

A blizzard of self-esteem boosters is heading toward your classroom! Have each child fold and cut white paper or a doily to make a snowflake. In the center of the snowflake, attach a photograph of the child. Mount the snowflakes on a board that has been decorated as shown. If desired, lightly spray the background paper with artificial snow before mounting the snowflakes.

Igloo

Start saving your gallon milk jugs and make a igloo from them. Just hot glue a bunch together in the shape of a igloo, caps go toward the inside.

Another great idea is using 1/2 gallon milk cartons and make "ice bricks" for your block area. It takes 2 cartons to make one brick. All you have to do is cut the tops off, fill one with newspaper and slip one inside of the other to form the brick. Cover with contac paper, they really last forever.

Bulletin Board/Display

I saw the cutest display at a preschool last year. They had been reading books about Tracks and who makes them. Then they took white paper and each kid made a footprint with paint. The caption said "Whose tracks are these?" Each child had written their name under their footprint and the teacher covered the name with a flap. I saw many adults guessing and peeking! What an authentic reason to read!

The Jacket I Wear in the Snow

After reading this book, we traced a child on butcher paper and added all the warm weather clothing. The kids painted it and together we wrote the text from the book on sentence strips. The whole thing was on the wall and the kids read it far into the spring!

Animal Prints

A really fun activity with tracks is to cut a sponge in the shape of a

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"pretend" animal. Dip the sponge in baking soda and make a few imprints across the carpet in your room. This works best with dark carpet. When the children arrive, let them predict what animal made the tracks, develop a word bank to describe it, let them draw a picture of what they think it might look like and write about the strange animal who visited Kindergarten last night.

"The Snowman"

A beautiful video to watch is "The Snowman"

Warm Weather Winter

I teach in Arizona and wonder what others in warm winter places teach about winter. I think I'll try to send out for some shaved ice and make snow cones when we go back to school.

“The Mitten “

The Mitten by Jan Brett, is great for a play. We use a parachute for the big mitten.

You could study all the various animals and talk about where they live during the winter.

We made a list of winter words from the book.

We read two versions of The Mitten (one by Jan Brett, one by Alvin Tresselt) and the children made symmetrical pairs of mittens. We put them on a bulletin board and the children had to find the matching pairs.

Make a mitten book, "I like Mittens" (endless possibilities here - dictated stories, color words, etc.).

When you read the book "The Mitten" have you ever used a white balloon while you're reading the story? Blow the balloon up little by little as each animal crawls inside. Then, when the mitten pops up from all the animals, let the balloon go whizzing around the room.

We did the Mitten today and used a smallish white parachute as the

Page 34 of 213 The Winter Theme Book mitten. It was fun and hilarious. All the characters could get under it easily and we only had to discuss how to keep from getting too blown up with the Bear's sneeze. We will now do masks for a play of it. In the past I have used a big piece of butcher paper cut into a mitten shape, but found it too stiff and hard to 'explode'.

When we read the story of The Mitten, I cut two pieces of felt into the shape of a mitten. I put velcro around the sides and left the top open. The children counted how many plastic animals fit in the mitten before it burst open. We recorded how many animals fit in the mitten for each person in the group. This activity was from a Mailbox magazine.

Materials Required: The Mitten book, a computer with Internet access and printer Activity Time: 3 30 minute sessons Concepts Taught: Literature, dramatic play, Internet introduction 1. The teacher will read The Mitten to the class. The students could respond to the following questions or to teacher created questions: Why wouldn’t it be a good idea to have white mittens? Do you think that Baba will be upset that Nicki dropped a mitten? What is happening in the border? Who do you think will find the mitten next? What would it be like inside the mitten? How had Nicki’s mittens changed from the beginning of the story to the end? 2. The students will visit Jan Brett’s Website with their teacher. http://www.janbrett.com/ They will look at the following links together: About Jan Brett The teacher will read through the author information with the students. Activities The teacher and the students will print the animal masks from The Mitten on this link. 3. The students will color (if you do not have a colored printer), cut out, and put elastic bands on their animal masks obtained from the Jan Brett Website. 4. The students will retell the story of The Mitten through dramatic play using a white sheet or blanket to represent the mitten. Depending upon the size of your class, they may all participate, or you may let half act while the other half is the audience. Switch groups for a second retelling. 5. The students will brainstorm questions and dictate a letter to Jan Brett together. The teacher will write the letter on chart paper. 6. The teacher will go to the Jan Brett Website again with their students. http://www.janbrett.com/ They will go to the following activity link: E-mail Jan Brett

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The teacher will click on Hedgie and type in the letter to Jan Brett. (You must specify a return address in Mail and Group Preferences before you do this!) Any reply from Ms. Brett would be shared with the students. 7. The students will complete a website evaluation form as a group with their teacher. The teacher can adapt an evaluation tool from Kathy Schrock’s Evaluation Website found at:http://capecod.net/schrockguide/evalelem.gif Evaluation The students will correctly respond to questions during and after the reading of the book. The students will actively demonstrate enjoyment and understanding of The Mitten through their role playing. Conclusion Upon completion of this lesson, students will have been exposed to the use of the Internet and have enjoyed a literature experience with a Jan Brett book. The teacher and students may enjoy looking for more books by this author.

Mitten-If you read Jan Brett's The Mitten, you can download the masks from her web site(www.janbrett.com) and do this activity: Make a huge mitten from bulletin board paper. As you read the story, place the appropriate animal in the mitten. The kids will love this!! After they are familiar with the story, let your students take turns putting the animals in!!

Mitten Snack Need: pita bread, animal crackers, marshmallow creme spread. Cut the pita bread into halves. Spread the creme inside, and on top; sprinkle coconut(snow) on top. Place the animal crackers into the pocket. Enjoy and Eat!! Your kids will play with the animals in this one. They will put them in and out, in and out!!

Graphing

We voted for our favorite winter activity on a class pictograph (first we brainstormed a bunch of winter activities). Then we graphed our favorites.

We made brainstormed a list of winter words.

Jolly Snow

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We read Jolly Snow and made paper snowflakes out of hexagon shaped paper.

Five Little Snowmen

This was a favorite activity. The kids made more during center time. We took the poem "Five Little Snowmen" and made a manipulative. I typed out the five verses to the poem and cut out 5 snowmen from our Ellison machine for each child. They decorated the snowmen, glued them onto a long piece of paper, cut apart the poem and added them in order underneath each snowman. As we read the poem, they folded each snowman so you couldn't see it as it "melted away."

Here's the poem: Five Little Snowmen

5 little snowmen standing in a row. Each had a hat and a big red bow. Out came the sun and shone all day. 1 little snowman melted away. (continue until you have no snowmen left.)

Freeze

For science, I took a glass jar and filled it with water. I added a bit of blue food coloring so we could see the water better (mark the water level on the side of the jar). We predicted what would happen if we put it in the freezer for a week then we tried it (note: put the jar of water in a plastic bowl or on a plate so it won't make a mess). On Friday we took it out of the freezer. The jar was cracked and the water was frozen.

Another science experiment entailed seeing what would happen if we took a bowl of snow and brought it inside (mark the level of the snow on the side of the container). As always we predict first and then do the experiment. Followed, of course, by discussing the results. Try putting different things in the freezer (Jell-O, oil, water, liquid soap, honey, milk) and observe the results.

Students can make own ice paints from food coloring and water in Little containers...freeze outside or in a freezer & paint on to fingerpaint Paper.

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Science Lab

A cool "Science Lab." I had four stations for the kids to rotate through. The stations were:

1. Using thermometers to measure the temperature in four cups (ice water, hot water, snow tap water) The children needed to sequence the containers from coldest to warmest.

2. Weighing and comparing snow and water.

3. Does salt really melt snow? They used snow and salt and mixed it up to see if the snow would melt faster.

4. Attempting to pick an ice cube up with a string (lay the string on top of the ice cube, sprinkle salt on top and wait a minute). It was cute, but only a few of my kids could do it. We talked about how the salt melted the ice then it re froze around the string.

Katy and the Big Snow

We read Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton (it's a long book) then each child completed the sentence (by writing), "During the winter I like to ______."

Graham Cracker Snowflakes

Take graham crackers or other flat cookies, place a doily on top and sprinkle powdered sugar on it. Remove doily for a snowflake design. Discuss # of points on snowflake

Coffee filter snowflakes

Make coffee filter snowflakes (fold and cutout sections, glue on blue paper, sprinkle on glitter glue)

Snowflake prints

Snowflake prints (wooden thread spools dipped in white tempera on blue

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Pasta wheel snowflakes

Make pasta wheel snowflakes (glue together on wax paper)

Hibernation

List Winter animals (Hibernation) Draw your home in winter on blue paper ("brush epsom salts/water mix over picture for frosty look)

Clouds

Observe clouds/discuss shapes -3 Types of Clouds Make cloud pictures with cotton balls.

Glitter Snowflakes Last year, my class made snowflakes that cling to smooth surfaces from fabric paint and silver glitter. Students design their own (approx. 5 inch) snowflake pattern on a small sheet of paper. Slide the paper into a baggie (close the bag) & students trace their snowflake shape right onto the baggie with the fabric paint & add the glitter (adult supervision suggested). Let dry & then peel off & stick somewhere.

Collage Collage snowman like in the book _Snowballs_ by Lois Ehlert. Nice mural for the hallway.

Make A Flake If you have a Macintosh, there is a computer software program (freeware) called "Make-A-Flake". The program allows students to manipulate the designs of 9 snowflake images to create their own snowflake. They can print their own snowflakes & you can type their dictated stories into word processing & print to make a class book. I've done this for the last 2 yrs. and the books are cute.

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The Snowy Day I loved the Jack Ezra Keats suggestion of The Snowy Day. I am a BIG fan of Peter and Keats. Scholastic sells a Jack Ezra Keats video which includes this story in with others of his stories (Peter's Chair, A Letter to Amy, etc.).

I also give the children a page I print from my computer (I copy the frame onto blue paper): ______saw snow ______The children draw using crayons and felts then go to a table with white paint and q-tips (cotton swabs). They daub white paint on top of appropriate places on their picture i.e.: Susie saw snow on Dad's car, Bobbie saw snow on a tree, Rita saw snow in her back yard, Bill saw snow on the roof These are compiled, with a table of contents and put into a book for our 'library corner'.

Footprints in the snow. This is an extension to the " The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats. Place a length of white bulletin board paper on the floor. At one end of the paper, place a tub containing a mixture of light blue paint and dish-washing liquid. At the end, place a towel and a tub contain warm water. Have each student, in turn, step barefoot into the paint/water mixture. While holding his hand, encourage him to take several steps with his feet pointing in, several steps with his feet pointing out, and several steps dragging his feet. Have him rinse his feet in the tub of water. then dry his feet. When the tracks are dry, post the paper on a bulletin board along with a drawing of Peter.

Marshmallow Snowman I make a marshmallow snowman. I use 2 large marshmallows for the body. Cut one in half for the head/ They are put together with toothpicks/ A fine tip marker makes the eyes and mouth, and the snipped off point of a toothpick becomes his nose. I cut out small black hats out of paper and they are stuck on with a small sticky piece of marshmallow. Toothpicks become his arms They are too cute. They harden like rocks!!! I am going to have the kids make them during a center time and then hang them on a snowman tree!!

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WINTER GROSS MOTOR For gross motor the children can play Jack Frost freeze tag. Play tag and the person that is it is Jack Frost. When Jack tags you you have to freeze, when all the children are frozen, begin again giving each child a chance to be Jack Frost

Movement Whirling Twirling Snowflakes Every snowflake is unique in the way it looks and the way it moves. Give the youngsters the opportunity to explore their own unique ways how snowflakes whirl and twirl. Have children move first like soft, fluffy snowflakes that float to the ground; then like hard, icy snowflakes that move swiftly in a blizzard.

You can cut out a pair of tagboard snowflakes, slightly larger than child's hands, for each student in your class. Cut strips from white plastic garbage bags and hook them to the end of the snowflakes. Staple both ends of a tagboard strip to the back of each snowflake cutout to create a place for the child to place his hands. As the children move about, their snowflakes will whirl and twirl through the air.

Suggest music for this activity "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies" from The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky.

Penguin Bowling or Ice Bowling- -Use a 2 liter bottle. -Wrap it with black construction paper. One the front of the bottle make a body and head out of white construction paper. Draw eyes on the head with a black marker. Use orange construction paper triangles to make the beak. Use orange construction paper to make the feet and glue at the bottom of the bottle. -Cut the toe out of bright colored sock. Put the sock on the top of the bottle using a rubber band to hold it in place. From the toe to the neck of the bottle cut strips in the sock. Turn the strips down and you have it's hat. -Use soft balls to roll and try to knock the penguin down. (You can pretend they are snowballs.)

WINTER ART Use equal parts of shaving cream (non-menthol) and Elmer's glue to make winter scenes. It has a "puffy" effect. Snow Scenes Have children draw and color winter scenes. Then have them paint over the entire picture with a

Page 41 of 213 The Winter Theme Book mixture of 16 ounces Epsom salts dissolved in 4 ounces of very hot water (or have an adult do it). As the picture dires, frosty crystals will appear

Sparkle Snow Paint 1/2 cup flour 1/2 cup salt 1/2 cup water

Mix together and put in a squeeze bottle. Squeeze doughy paint out on to black construction paper. Make anything snowy, snowflakes, snowmen, - we made snow covered mountains with the moon and northern lights. Let dry thoroughly and it will sparkle. May also be painted (when dry) and allowed to dry again. This is a great 3 dimensional effect for snow.

Ice Painting Materials: Ice Cubes Craft Sticks Tempera Paint powder, Several Colors Spoon Heavy paper

To make an ice cube paintbrush poke craft sticks into partially frozen ice cubes. Then continue to freeze solid. Take an Ice cube paintbrush by its handle and rub it back and forth over the powdered color on the paper. Try putting small amounts of other colors on your paper and rubbing those with another ice cube paintbrush. Let dry.

Bird Feeders Don't forget the birds in the winter.

Orange Bird Feeders Assist child in scooping the pulp out of orange halves. Poke holes in opposite sides of the orange halves and thread them with yarn. Knot the yarn and fill the halves with bird-seeds.

Pinecone Bird-feeders Roll a pinecone in peanut-butter and then roll in birdseed. Attach a piece of yarn to hand to tree.

Toilet paper Bird-feeders Roll used toilet paper rolls in peanut butter. Roll again in birdseed. Attach a piece of yarn to it and hand in the outside tree.

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Wild Birdseed Cookies 2 cups flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 cup of sugar 2/3 cup vegetable shortening (Crisco) 2 eggs 3/4 cup birdseed (use small seeds) 3 egg whites cookie cutters yarn to hang cookies Sift all the dry ingredients together and cut in the lard with a blunt knife. Add the eggs. Add the birdseed and kneed until smooth. Allow the dough to chill overnight. Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Insert a paper clip into the top of the shape to act as a hanger. Brush the cookie with beaten egg whites and press birdseed into the top of the cookie. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 325 degrees F for 10-15 minutes or until the cookies are hard. String yarn through the paper clip to make a hanger and hang outside.

Bagel Bird Feeder day old bagels shortening (Crisco) birdseed yarn for hanging Spread shortening over the bagel and put the bagel into a bag of birdseed. Shake and remove. Loop yarn through the bagel to make a hanger and hang outside.

Pine Cone Bird Feeders 2 cups bread crumbs 1/2 cup unsalted nuts 2 - 3 chopped apples 2/3 cup of raisins 1 cup sugar 1/4 cup cornmeal 1/2 pound ground beef suet 1/2 cup flour 18 oz. jar of peanut butter 1 cup wild birdseed (small seeds) Mix ingredients together. Press into pine cones. Hang them outside and watch the birds feast!

Peanut, Popcorn, and Cranberry Strings Using a needle, string unsalted, unshelled roasted peanuts, fresh

Page 43 of 213 The Winter Theme Book cranberries, and popped popcorn on cotton string. String them around the trees and watch the birds enjoy! 2

Liter Bottle Feeders Make a water feeder or seed feeder out of an empty plastic two liter bottle. Cut a hole just above the base and put water or birdseed inside the bottle. Punch a pencil or a wooden dowel through the bottle just under the hole to make a perch. Cut a wire coat hanger and bend both ends to make a hook. Insert the hook into each side of the bottle near the top. You can decorate the bottles using paint pens.

Nest Building Bags This is not for feeding the birds, but it is still fun to do. Get an empty bag that they use to sell onions in at the grocery store. Fill it with pieces of string, yarn, dryer lint. Hang it outside for the birds to use when building their nests.

Snowman -Cut white felt (or maybe cheaper on clearance white sparkly snow sheet or tree skirt ) to fit. Kids glue fabric to TP roll. Add 3 buttons (or other decorations) Add head for snowman and Black pipe cleaner arms or twigs. Follow up with the book SNOWBALLS

-We painted the toilet rolls white, made hats out of the top of old childrens socks. We cut the tops off, tied the cut edge about 1/4 inch down from edge with string/yarn. The finished edge we rolled up to look like a stocking hat. We added a scarf out of felt/fabric. Draw on face, buttons. One year we added small twigs for arms, one year they were armless.

Winter Hats

Materials: Construction paper, paste, crayons, paint, brushes, cotton balls Preparation: Draw a stocking cap shape for each child on a piece of construction paper. A half circle with a cuff across the bottom and a tassel at the top is simple to do. Cut out shapes. Have the children decorate their cap shapes with crayons or paint or by pasting on scraps of colored paper? Sponge painting. Let them each paste a cotton ball on the tassel area. While the children are working, talk about the changing weather and how hats help keep heads and ears warm. The children may make mittens to match caps. Together they make great bulletin board display.

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Sock Snowmen

Each child needs: 1 long white tube sock polyfil (enough to stuff in one sock) buttons for eyes, etc. on snow man rectangular piece of fabric for snowman's scarf

Child stuffs his/her sock with polyfil. Adult ties end shut with rubber band. The toe end of the sock is the snowman's head. Children can made the snowman's face, etc. but using craft glue to glue buttons and other miscellaneous items to the snowman. The fabric scarf is then tied around the snowman's neck. These are really cute! :-)

For younger children: First you need to make sure you have a picture of all your children. I had a small pattern of a snowman. put glue on all of it but the face and hand part. Put it in a pringles can sprinkle white glitter in the can and put the lid on. Have the children roll it back and forth to you. Take out the snowman and it will be sparkly. Color the gloves with a marker and cut out the face of the children and put it on the snowman head. The parents just love these. We decorated our room with them until winter was over then sent them home.

Building a Snowman Delight your youngsters with an indoor snowman. Make and laminate a Large paper snowman; then cut it into puzzle pieces. (Adapt the number of Pieces according to skill level.) With a permanent marker, program the back of each piece with a skill of your choice such as color words, numerals, or letters. In turn, a child chooses a puzzle piece, reads the color word (for example) and then places it on the floor. Continue in this manner until the snowman is complete. To "melt" the snowman, take a puzzle piece away for each correct response. When you wish to change the skills, a spritz of hairspray will remove the original marker.

Right on Target

Place 3 laundry baskets outside. Invite the kids to take turns packing snow into a snowball and then from a specific distance, throw their snowball into one of the baskets. Have the child name which basket he would like to throw into.

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Chanukah crafts

We make dreidels using invitation sized envelopes. Take two envelopes, and open the flaps so that they are the shape of a driedel. I have the children color the outsides of both envelopes by coloring and adding glitter and sequins. then we glue the two envelopes together, decorated sides facing out. with a craft stick(the tongue depressor size) in between the two. Lastly, I have cut outs of the Hebrew symbols that are on a dreidel (nun, hey, gimmel and shin). The children select the symbol they want, cut it out and glue it to one side of their dreidel. I hope this makes sense.

Holiday arts and crafts

For Christmas, I do the following: I take a Christmas wreath pad (Carson-Dellosa), take out the center (Carefullly!). Then I take the child's photo (Santa comes to visit our K and 1 classes), mount it on oaktag, and position it so that the picture is visible through the middle of the wreath. I have the children sign their names, date them and then laminate the whole thing. I punch a hole in the top and add a ribbon so that it can be hung from a Christmas tree or a door knob.

For children that did not observe holidays, I took their picture in the classroom, mounted it on oaktag and laminated it. The children were able to take the picture home whenever they wanted to...

I have also done the footprint and handprint reindeer, but used oaktag in brown and black to make them more durable.

Yummy Igloo Ice Blocks

Have the children pour a drink of their choice, such as apple juice, orange juice, or fruit punch, into an ice cube tray. Children should place a small swivel stick into the cube container so one end of the stick stays immersed in the liquid. Put the juice tray into the freezer section of the refrigerator. Ask children to predict what will happen to their juice

Page 46 of 213 The Winter Theme Book when it is kept in the freezer. When the liquid is frozen, remove the tray from the freezer. Pop out each cube, and you've got yummy igloo blocks for the class to enjoy!

Snowflake Crackers Materials: Peanut butter, hexagonal shaped crackers and coconut.

Description: Spread peanut butter on the hexagonal shaped crackers. Roll the crackers in the coconut and serve to the kids. You can use this activity to explain to the children the the coconut sticks to the crackers much like ice crystals stick together to form a real snowflake.

Write About Your Winter

If you live in the north Winter means cold snowy weather, heavy coats, boots, scarves and mittens. IF you live in a warmer climate it may mean warm sunny days, short sleeves and shorts. What is winter like where you live. What do you like about it. Is there anything you don't like? Write about your winter

Snow balls Make balls from foil. Use to toss, roll and catch.

Icy Cave Place a refrigerator box on its side. Remove one of the long panels to create an opening. Tape lengths of foil to the sides top and back of the cave. Decorate the opening with strips of silver garland. Provide flashlights.

Make Frost:

1 empty 16 oz can for each child, tape inside edges to prevent cuts crushed ice, to fill each can 1 cup water per child 1 cup measuring cup 3 T salt per child 1 plastic spoon per child

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Ask the children whether they have heard of Jack Frost or seen his icy work on cold days. Next explain that you have found out one of Jack’s secrets for making frost. To begin the activity give each child a small can to fill with crushed ice. Ask the students to observe how the outside of the cans feel. Help each child measure 1-cup water to pour over crushed ice. Ask the children to watch the outside of their cans for several minutes. When the water forms on the outsides of the cans ask some questions: What did the water do to the crushed ice? How does the outside of the can feel now? What do you think makes the water on the outside of your can? Record each child’s answer. Tell the children that you have the secret for making frost. Then help each child add 3T salt to their cans. Have them gently stir the salt into the ice water. Wait about 5 minutes. Once a thin layer of frost forms on the outside of the cans, ask the children what they think Jack’s secret is. How was the frost made? Record their ideas. When the salt is added to the ice water, it makes the water inside the can get colder. When the water gets colder the can gets colder. The water on the outside of the can freezes, covering the can with frost.

Footprints When you set up snow theme, place snowy footprints on the floor leading from center to center. Or place them in the hallway leading outside to play in the snow. Trace a footprint from a child’s shoe onto light blue paper. Stamp them with snowflake stamps, then sprinkle them with glitter. Laminate and use double stick tape to place them on the floor or on a bulletin board.

Snowflakes

Using snowflake diecuts, the music therapist lets our children "dance" like snowflakes, and then drop their snowflake onto the snow. Snowbird-Using a white snowbird puppet, snow blanket, and sponge crumbs, he sings this song: When all the ground, is white with snow, the hungry snowbird comes, and hops about with great delight, to find the

Page 48 of 213 The Winter Theme Book scattered crumbs. He flies the snowbird down to the snow and hops the bird around; then lets the bird pick up a crumb. The children all get a chance to do this! They LOVE it!

Snowman picture

Our therapist has a picture of a snowman watching a little boy slide down a hill on a sled. He talks to the children about the things they see in the picture, then he sings them this song: I wish I were a snowman, so fat and round and still, then I could watch the children, sledding down the hill. He uses a small xylophone and pulls the stick "down" the keys. He let the children have a turn doing this too.

Snowman sledding

This activity is done after the snowman picture activity and song. He shows the children a snowman on a miniature sled and then puts the snowman at the top of a posterboard hill and then lets it slide down the hill. The children then all have a turn.

Animals in a Mitten.

Using a real mitten and plastic animals, the children choose which animal they would like to put in the mitten, when it is their turn. "It's frosty cold here outside, let me in, let me in, where it's nice and warm". We sing this each time an animal is added.

Winter clothes

Using real winter clothes (jacket, snow boots, mittens, pants, hat, scarf) he lets the children pick which item they would like to wear outside in the cold, while singing this song: "What do we wear in the wintertime, hey, hey, hey".

Snowman

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Using a snowman with a removable hat, and three styrofoam balls, he lets the children try to knock the hat off the snowman after singing this song: Here is a snowman, big and white, Isn't he a funny sight?

Polar bear in a snowstorm

Need: white paint, blue paper, cotton balls. Let children paint their blue paper with white paint, any way they would like. Then glue in the middle a cotton ball or two. Label the picture, "Polar Bear In a Snowstorm". Make sure to read Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear, by Eric Carle to the children, before you do this activity.

Sensory table

Fill your sensory table with white packing foam pieces and confetti. Or..... if it snows where you teach, bring in a couple of buckets of snow; put the buckets in the sensory table and have children "color" the snow. Use paintbrushes and food coloring. Tint the brush with color, and let them go!!

Toy Snowman Area

For your game area, tape an outline of a snowman on the floor. Use the white adhesive vinyl tape, or plain masking tape. Add black tape eyes, buttons, and hat. Don't forget the orange tape nose. The vinyl tape comes in lots of colors.

Snowman Color/Number Match

Make snowman cutouts, add raised dots (easier for visually impaired children, and great tactile for others) to match the number written on the snowman. Make sure the number and dots are color coded to match the next step. Then, color the clothespin the same color. Either string the snowmen from a small clothesline, or put the clothespins in a small basket and the snowmen in the other. Have children match the number clothespins to number, or dots, on snowmen, or just the color.

Snowman Tactile Cards

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Make snowmen from various textures. I use long pile fur, short pile fur, sandpaper, aluminum foil, glitter, paper coated with "sticky", corduroy, buttons, bubble wrap, etc; We talk about how each snowman feels. Some children are tactile-defensive, and it takes a while to build up to touching all of the textures. Please be patient with them, and do this gradually, if this is the case.

Snowman Sequencing Cards

Make snowmen from various colors, or sizes. Then have children make patterns or sequences from the snowmen. Shake up bottle-Fill a small coca-cola plastic bottle with water, irridescent glitter, snowmen or snowflake confetti. Shake up!! The kids love this!!

Dress Up Peter

Make a large Peter, from Snowy Day. Make clothes for Peter (snow suit, mittens, pants, sweater, boots, scarf, etc;). Let the children dress Peter for playing in the snow.

Cooperative Igloo

Save the kids' milk cartons from lunch, fill with water and freeze. Remove for the containers and have children stack the blocks to make an igloo. Pour salt on the igloo pieces to make them stick together. Then if desired, using tempera paint watered down, or food coloring, and brushes, let the children paint their igloo.

Lace up Mitten cards

Make lacing cards, using a mitten pattern, hole punch, and yarn. Match up Mittens-Cut/color various patterns on mittens, have children match the same patterns.

Sequencing mittens

Cut mittens from various colors and make various sizes. Have children create patterns (ab, ab, a,b,a,b) with the mittens.

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Water table

Place frozen ice sculptures in table. Supply a pair of mittens for children to play with at table.

Ice Fishing Supplies: Blue sheet or cardboard painted blue Dowel sticks String Clothes pins Hang sheet or cardboard from ceiling. Construct fishing pole by tying one end of the string to the dowel and tying the other end of the string around the clothes pin. You may want to glue gun them in place so they don't slide off. How To Play: A parent stands behind the sheet/cardboard with a basket full of little goodies/gifts to attach to the clothes pins. Kids cast their fishing lines over the "ice" and know that they've caught something when they feel a tug on their line.

Frosty

Supplies: A roll of toilet paper for each team Sheet of orange, black, red and yellow construction paper for each team Hat for each team Scissors for each team How To Play: Have several teams of four or five children. When you say, "GO" they should wrap one of the people on their team up in toilet paper (leaving an opening for nose and eyes). Once they've built their "Frosty" they can utilize the hat and construction paper to decorate him with. Put a time limit on decorating. Give a prize for the first completed Frosty, most unique Frosty, ugliest Frosty, cutest Frosty, etc.

Shoe Box Relay Race

Supplies: Tootsie Rolls (1 for each child) Shoe box for each team Bell for each team 2 mittens for each team 2 bowls for each team Place tootsie rolls, in a bowl, at the opposite end of the room. Hang a bell, from the ceiling, over the tootsie roll bowl. How To Play: Divide the children into two or more relay teams. Explain that when you say, "GO" the first person on each team will put on the mittens, step into the shoe boxes and race to the other end of the room where they will ring the bell with their nose. They are then to pick up a tootsie roll out

Page 52 of 213 The Winter Theme Book of the bowl and race back to their team still wearing their mittens and shoe boxes. Pass the mittens and shoe box to the next person in line, sit down, eat your tootsie roll. The first team to finish eating their tootsie rolls wins!

Snowball Over the Mountain

Supplies: Sheet White balloons blown up 4 adults to help How To Play: Children are divided into two teams. A sheet (the mountain) is held above eye level between the two groups by the 4 adults (holding each end). Each side throws snowballs (white balloons) over to the other side.

Unwrap the Gift

Supplies: Box filled with candy Box wrapped many times with different paper Music How To Play: Children sit in a circle on the floor. While the music is playing the "present" is passed around the circle. When the music stops, one layer of wrapping paper is removed. The music begins again and the process continues until the box is completely unwrapped. The box is then opened and everyone shares the candy.

Snowball Relay Race

Supplies: Styrofoam ball for each team Pencil for each team How To Play: Divide into teams. First child on each team will be given a styrofoam ball (snowball) and a pencil. On your mark they are to bend over, place the ball on the floor, and push the ball with the pencil across the room, around an obstacle, and back to next child on team. First team to finish wins.

Snowball Making

Supplies: Large sheets of tissue paper, one for every child Bucket for each team How To Play: Divide the children into two teams. The first person on each team gets a piece of tissue paper and crumples it into a ball using one hand (this keeps them soft). Child then places the snowball in the bucket. The next child repeats the first childís actions and the process continues until the team has all their snowballs made. Follow this game with a Snowball Throw.

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Snowball Throw

Supplies: A line drawn or taped on the floor How To Play: Set a time for 2-3 minutes. Yell, "GO"! Each team throws their tissue paper snowballs back and forth across the lines. When the timer goes off, the team with the least amount of snowballs on their side wins.

Ice Melts

Materials: Ice Cubes, Paper Towels and Cups 1. Discuss hot and cold objects, such as ice, stoves, heaters, ice cream, snow and fire. Let children observe process of an ice cube melting. Ask 'Where does it go? How does it feel in your hand? In your mouth?' Have them pretend to be ice cubes melting.

Ice/Snow Castles

Pour water into different size plastic containers (ie cottage cheese, small yogurt, large ice cream buckets.) Add food colouring to water - different colours - red, blue, green. Freeze in freezer. On a nice sunny (not 'biting' cold) winter's day, bring containers out of freezer and sit containers in water long enough to loosen 'coloured ice'. Let children take containers of coloured ice outside to make snow castles or other creations. This will keep the children fascinated with the coloured ice and white snow! Children can also play indoors with this activity...Put snow in a square plastic tub with the coloured ice.

Icicles On The Roof Top

Materials: Dark blue construction paper cut into the shapes of different houses, white tempera paint, straw

Carefully pour the white paint along the roof line. Next take straws and blow the paint down the roof line to make icicles. To pretty up the houses attach the poem 'Winter Morning'

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Marshamallow Sculptures

Materials: Marshmallows (mini size and large, Toothpicks or pretzels Create sculptures by using toothpicks or pretzels to hold sculpture in place. Enjoy or eat.

My Snowman

I have fun when it snows. I can make a snowman as round as a ______. I can make a face for my snowman with ______. I can make arms for my snowman with______. I know my snowman is happy because ______. I am going to name my snowman ______. My snowman is my friend.

Make a book with a page for each sentence. Have the children create art work and fill in the blanks.

Painting On Snow

Materials: Watercolours, tempera paint or food colouring mixed with water, brushes, paint containers, snow Preparation: Pour paint into containers suitable for use outdoors. Activity: Take the children outside when the snow is few inches deep. Allow them to freely explore the effects of paint on snow, using both small and large brushes. The colours will spread as the paint touches the snow. Encourage creating splashed colours with wide, sweeping movements or making snow sculptures and painting them. The snow will hold the paint cans and brushes firmly in place, so you won't need to worry about upsets.

Shiver Warm - Up

This activity will help your children warm-up on a cold day. Pretend you are controlling the heat in the room. Tell the children you are going to turn the heat down to make them all shiver. When their bodies are all shaking in the make-believe cold, turn the heat back up so their shivers gradually stop. Continue turning the heat up and down. The lower you turn the heat, the harder the children should shiver. Finally, turn the heat off altogether so that they 'freeze' in position.

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Signs of Winter

Have your children help you look for signs of winter where you live. Examples : Weather: Cold weather brings ice and snow. Daylight is short. Sometimes it is still dark when we get up in the morning. Plants and Animals: All but the evergreen trees are bare. Many animals are gone, some flying south and some hibernating. The fur of some animals changes colour to camouflage them in the snow. People: We wear heavier clothing. We take out our gloves, boats, and hats. We play inside more. Many people have fires in their fireplaces. We play in the snow and must shovel our walkways.

Skating

You and your children can pretend to join some winter skaters, skating on a frozen pond. Let the children skate around the room. Have the children take off their shoes and put on their make-believe skates. Play some waltz music and have the skates glide in time to the music.

Snow

Snowflakes fall as softly as ______, and as quietly as ______. The snow is as cold as ______. I love to watch the snow cover up______. I love walking in the snow like a______. I think I will save some snow in my ______. The snow makes me happy because______. Sometimes the snow makes me sad because______. make a book with a page for each sentence.

Snow Colour Squirts

Materials: Foodcolour, Water, Spraybottles Fill empty plastic squeeze bottles with water and different colours of food colouring. Let the children squirt the colours onto the snow. Watch the excitement as the snow becomes a rainbow of colours. The next day, examine the snow to observe the melting process.

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Snow Cone Paper Sculpture

Materials: Art paper (9 in. X 12 in. white body, 3 in. X 5 in. black hat, 4 in. black circle hat, 3/4 in. X 12 in. red scarf, 1 in. X 5 in. pink hat band, 1 in. X 2 in. yellow gloves, scissors, paste, stapler and black felt pen Procedure: Roll 9 in. X 12 in. white paper into a cone and staple,trim,paste. Make hat by rolling 3 in. X 5 in. black paper into cylinder and taping to the circle. Put hat onto cone. Cut and paste in place pink hat band, red scarf and yellow gloves. Draw face with felt pen.

Snow Pictures on Window

Paint windows using pale blue and white paint to create a beautiful winter scene.

2 Tbsp powdered tempera paint 1 Tbsp warm water 1 tsp Joy dish washing liquid

Measure powdered paint into a container. Mix in water thoroughly to achieve a smooth paste. Add Joy, mising completely, but gently, to avoid making paint too sudsy. Dries on window in 5 - 10 minutes. Washes off easily with a solution of water and vinegar.

Snow Scene

Give each child a sheet of pale blue construction paper and styrofoam packaging chips. Let them create a winter scene. These turn out to be lovely three dimensional projects.

Snow Tracks

Encourage your children to be snow detectives by looking for tracks in the snow and trying to identify who made the tracks. Examples: dog tracks cat tracks people tracks bird tracks other animal tracks

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Snowball Shake/Snacktime

Materials: Milk, Vanilla ice cream, shredded coconut

1. Fill a large cup 3/4 full of milk. 2. Add 1 scoop ice cream 3. Sprinkle coconut on top.

Snowball Warm-up Melt-Down

Have the children lay on the floor, stretch out, and form a blanket of snow. Then out, and form a blanket of snow. Then have them pretend that other children are rolling them up to make large snowballs. The children roll across the floor, finally becoming so large they have to stand up and become jolly snowmen.

Snowmen are frozen and must stand rigid all day and night. One day the sun shines so long and so brightly that the snowmen begin to thaw. Call out body parts, starting at the head and working down to the toes. The children begin moving these bady parts slowly. As the day continues to get warmer; the snowmen gradually melt away. Have the children slowly/gracefully melt to floor.

Snowballs

Bring three snowballs inside. Put them in different locations. The refrigerator, the freezer and on a table. Predict how long the snow will last in each place, and check the results.

Snowfall Under Glass

Materials: eggshells, cleaned and dried, peanut butter or pickle jar with screw-on lid, felt, tiny evergreen branches, mini-pine cones, red berries, sequins, small round stones, and moss if you have it, mineral oil, glue Proceedures: Crush some eggshells into very fine pieces and set aside. Cut a piece of felt to vocer the jar lid. Glue the felt into place to protect the table top. On the inside of the jar lid, arrange the small stones and moss into a 'forest floor' for the evergreen trees. Glue into place. Decorate the tree branches with pine cones, berries, and sequins, and glue these into place on the forest floor. Let dry for 1/2 hour. Fill the jar with mineral oil. Add eggshells. Screw on lid. Shake.

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Snowflake Mobiles

Materials: Hangers, Yarn, white paper squares, lightweight paper for ease in cutting 4 in. X 4 in. squares, scissors, hole punch Procedure: Round off the corners to create a circle. Fold the circle. Create your design with scissors and/or a hole punch. Open the finished snowflake. Paste several snowflakes to a length of yarn. Tie yarn to a clothes hanger.

Snowflakes

Materials: Paper, scissors, white tempera paint, dish detergent, toothpicks, marshmellows Procedure: Paper snowflakes. Fold a piece of white paper several times. Then make a variety of cutouts along the folds. Open up the piece of paper and it's a snowflake. If you want to decorate your windows with painted snowflakes do it with white tempera paint and a squirt of liquid dish detergent to make it easier to wash off the windows later. Use a paint brush and a corner of a sponge. Makes snowflakes with toothpicks and miniature marshmallows connected to each other.

Snowflakes

Let the children examine snowflakes with a magnifying glass. They should note that snowflakes are frozen water crystals and each flake is unique with its own design. A good way to catch snowflakes for examination is to set out a piece of cardbard covered with dark felt. Place your felt board in the freezer before setting it out to catch snowflakes. Snowflakes will last longer before melting on the cold board.

Snowstorm Art

Material: liquid starch or glue, brush or q-tips, construction paper, rice

1. Generously brush starch or glue onto paper 2. Sprinkle rice on paper 3. Shake off excess

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Snowy Day Snacks

Tell the children that today we are only going to eat snowy day snacks that must be white just like snow. Brain storm for ideas. Here are a few things that you should have on hand for this special snack day. Marshmallows, vanilla ice cream, milk, peeled apple slices, cauliflower, white cheese....

Sounds of Winter

Go on a winter walk. Listen for sounds of winter. Examples: boots crunching in snow, rain splashing, wind whistling An interesting aspect of winter sounds in the relative lack of sounds. Many birds are gone and snow makes the world seem more quiet.

Three Dimentional Snowman

Materials: Blue construction paper, white paint, sponge, glitter, button eyes, pompoms, popcorn, pipecleaners, black beans Procedure: Sponge paint the snowman shape. Poke two holes to thread yarn through. Cut mittens from folded construction paper and glue to the ends of the yarn. Use construction paper scraps or found objects (buttons, cloth, beans, beads, popcorn) to create a face, hat buttons for snowman. eg: cut cloth and pompom for a hat, glue triangle out for a nose, pipecleaner arms, button eyes, black bean mouth, popcorn buttons.

White On White

Create a snowy day picture by using only white materials. Give each child a styrofoam tray to be used as a base for the picture. Provide an assortment of white material (cotton balls, white string, rice, white straws) to glue on to the tray to create snow day scene.

Winter Wonderland

Materials: newspaper, fern fronds or evergreen branches, dark blue construction paper, straight pins, toothbrush, white tempera paint, clear liquid glue, silver glitter, clear plastic wrap

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Procedure: Cover a flat work space with newspaper. Lay the construction paper flat on the newspaper and arrange the greenery on the paper to form a design you like. Pin in place. Dip toothbrush into paint and 6 in. away from paper run your thumb across the bristles repeatedly in an upward direction. Allow the paint to dry. Dab clear liquid glue on the white surfaces and sprinkle with glitter. Remove pins and cover with clear plastic wrap for protection. Fold edges of wrap over and glue.

Ornaments

Materials: Felt pens (waterbase), White glue, Flat meat trays, Fishing line, Hole punch Procedure: Day 1 - Give each child a meat tray. Let children make designs with pens. Pour enough glue on tray to cover design. Let stand overnight. Day 2 - Peel off edges and let dry another day. Day 3 - Peel off tray completely. You can cut a design out of dried and peeled glue. Punch hole in dried glue. Hang by fishing line.

Warm VS Cold Air

This activity can be used to teach students that warm air is lighter than cold air. (plus it is fun to blow bubbles during those cold winter months!) Material Bubbles Bubble blowers (you can make your own with pipe cleaners) Have students blow bubble in the room and note how high they go. On a cold day let them go outside to blow bubbles and see how high they rise outside. Ask them why they think the ones inside float higher.

Graph Snowfall

If you live where it snow, graph your winter snowfall. If you do not get snow, why not get email pals from another class in a cold state and then can email you there info!

Snow Activities

Go outside and collect snow on a piece of black paper then:

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Measure and record the temperature Weigh a measuring cup and record, then put all the snow collected in the cup and weigh Use hand lenses to look at a flake of snow and draw what you see Get a cup of snow. Cover another cup with a paper towel and pour the snow on top. This will test to see if white snow is clean.

Counting Book

Make a snowman counting book with the frame I see ______on my snowman, on snowman shaped papers. Examples I see one orange nose, I see 2 blue mittens, I see 3 red buttons, etc.,

How Tall?

Graph how many mittens tall every student in your class is.

Snowman Glyph

Here are the directions for your kids to follow for this wintery glyph! 2 snowballs for girls, 3 for boys Cut out your color eyes for your snowman Carrot nose if you like reading best, celery nose for math black top hat if winter is your favorite season, winter cap (ski cap) if another season is 1 button if you come to school in a car, 2 buttons if you walk, 3 buttons if you come by bus. Scarf to the left if you are left handed, to the right if you are right handed.

Snowballs Activity

After reading Snowballs by Lois Elhert, provide each student with a poster board snowman to decorate at home. You can supply decorations, or let the kids use stuff from home. Send home a letter...Dear Parents, Today in class we read Snowballs by Lois Elhert. We saw that you can use your imagination and decorate your snowman will all sorts of things. Please decorate this snowman with your child using things around your house and return by ______.

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Playing in the Snow

Tell your parents that you will be going out in the snow and to pack all their snow clothes. As you read the story The Jacket I wear in the Snow, have the children put each item of clothing on...when the story is finished it is time to go out in the snow and have some fun!

Estimation

I have my students do an estimation activity with a paper snowball. I make a drawing of a snowball about 12 inches in diameter. Then I have them estimate how many small snowballs (cotton balls) it will take to fill up the area of the snowball. They write their estimates in their math journals. As we find out, we glue each "snowball" on and keep a record of how many there are by using tally marks. This is done over a short time each day and I have each child glue on one "snowball" a day. At the end of each day they are allowed to make a new estimate until the snowball is filled in. I use to do this same activity with my third graders, but we would cover a snowman instead.

Make Snow

Make snow to paint on pictures with this easy recipe Materials 1 cup salt 1/2 cup flour 3/4 cup water large bowl Light blue construction paper paint brushes Mix all the salt, flour and water in the large bowl. Draw a winter scene on the light blue paper. Then paint the snow on top. When it dries you will see the snow.

Soap Snowmen

Materials 4 parts soap flakes (not laundry detergent) 1 part water hand mixer large bowl

Page 63 of 213 The Winter Theme Book toothpicks small twigs embellishments such as cloves, candy corns, raisins, material scraps. Whip water and soap until the mixture is the consistency of dough. Give each student a small amount. Have them shape into 3 balls and stack them using the toothpicks to hold them together. Then use the embellishments to decorate the soap snowman. The soap will turn white as it dries.

Snowman Doorstop

Materials One white athletic sock (adult size) One child colored sock rice rubber bands glue orange pompons wiggly eyes Felt scraps buttons pipe cleaners(brown) twist ties Students fill 3/4 of the white sock with rice. Rubber band into 3 sections. The top part that flops over is a hat cover it with the child's sock. Glue a pompon nose, twist tie mouth, felt scarf, wiggly eyes and buttons. Have them stick in the pipe cleaner eyes with tiny felt mittens. (A special thanks to Tina for this neat art activity!) Use the packing bubbles to make a snowman. Cut the bubbles in to a snowman shape, then the kids paint the bumpy side with white tempera and press onto dark paper. You could add button eyes and use felt scraps for the other snowman essentials!

Penguin Finger puppets...

Use film canisters and cut the lid in half. Hot glue them to the sides for wings. Finish up by adding a white foam belly and an orange beak and two googly eyes.

Glittery Snowflakes...

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Mix two parts glue to one part water. Dab snowflake shaped sponges into the glue mixture and place onto blue construction paper. Have the children shake glitter on top of their snowflakes. Set aside to dry.

Bear in Winter...

Tear a semi-circle out of a styrofoam cup. Decorate the cup with felt-tipped markers to resemble a cave. Glue a brown pom pom inside on the back edge of the cup.

Sock Snowman...

Put a jar lid in the toe of a sock. Crumple newspaper into three balls. Put the largest one in the sock on top of the lid. Tie string around the sock above the ball. Add the other balls, tying string above each one. Cut off the rest of the sock above the last piece of string. To make a hat brim, trace around a water glass onto paper. Cut out the circle. Set an empty film canister in the center of the circle and trace around it. Cut out the small circle to form a ring. Slide the paper ring over the canister and tape it in place. Glue the hat over the cut end of the sock. Glue on button eyes and buttons on the body. For a scarf, tie a fabric strip around the neck. Place twig arms under it. Glue on a sequin mouth. Glue on a button nose.

Hibernating Bear...

Make a brown bear by adding arms, legs, and head with brads. Have the children find a special place until spring. The teacher sends home a note then and reminds them to send them back to school. The children think it is great to find a dark place to let their bear hibernate.

Snowflakes...

Cut a green pepper in half crosswise. Let the children dip the pepper into white paint and press down onto dark colored construction paper. Add glitter or embossing glitter for texture before the paint dries.

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Newspaper Snowmen...

Out of newspaper draw a snowperson shape, make sure that you have two shapes when you trace and cut. Let the children decide on the size, within reason. Have the children paint the snow people white..making sure to paint both sides. After drying have the children help you staple the two sides together, leave a opening so you can stuff. Stuff the snow person using more paper. Finish stapling the rest of the figure. Add scarves out of scrapes of fabric and put out a variety of other materials for eyes, nose, mouth,and buttons. Let the children create their own master pieces.

Snowman Math...

Ahead of time you will need to cut out ten snowmen from white construction paper. Mount each to tagboard, add scarves, twigs for arms and a hat numbered 1-10. Laminate the snowmen for durability. Provide a container with 55 buttons, have the children decorate the snowmen with corresponding number on hat.

Mitten Match...

Use real mittens. Hang a clothesline with spring loaded clothespins between two chairs. Clip one mitten from each pair onto the clothesline. Put the mitten mates in a bag.Hold up the bag. Have a child come up and pull one mitten out of the bag. Have the child look at the mittens hanging on the clothesline and find the mitten that matches the one that he/she is holding. Have him/her clip it next to the matching one. Continue until all the mittens have been matched.

Snowball On A Spoon...

Give each child a Styrofoam ball to carry on a large spoon. Encourage each child to try walking as slowly and they as rapidly as they can without jarring the ball from the spoon.

Snowball Shoot

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Give children opportunities to toss snowball bean bags into basket.

Snowballs in the Bucket...

Group children in pairs and provide each pair with a small container and a pile of Styrofoam snowballs. Position a bucket at an appropriate distance from all of the pairs. Ask the partners to work together to fill their container with snowballs and, carry it to the bucket, and empty their container of snowballs into the bucket.

Snowball Swap...

Group children in pairs: then provide each pair with a beanbag. Encourage the children to gently throw the snowball beanbag back and forth.

Christmas Around the World

I did "Christmas around the world" last year. I gave every child a "passport". In the passport they drew the flag and wrote something about how Christmas was celebrated in that country/or not celebrated.

I borrowed from the folks at EPCOT. I made a mini-passport booklet for each child that could be stamped after the class "visits" each country. I have been looking for stampers that might be from a collection of countries that have interesting holiday traditions. They're not easy to find! Sometimes you have to substitute other icons for a country--like a pine tree to represent Germany. The passport can look like the EPCOT one--it also has room for the country's sticker and handwritten messages.

I haven't done this for some years, but we used to spend a day on each country, and have a treat from each one. Often parents have had some experience in certain countries, so I would always send home a little survey asking who could come in and share some of the holiday customs with us. I think it is Holland who leaves their shoes out? We put all our shoes outside our door in the hallway, and my aide would fill them with candy, pencils, etc. For Mexico we always did a pinata, and read the Christmas posada story..."Nine Days Until Christmas" I believe is the title. The Teachers's Friend book for December has some good

Page 67 of 213 The Winter Theme Book pictures and info you can use to make a little book featuring each country you use.

I have a stocking pattern that I have parents trace, cut, and punch holes all around the outside edge. (It's easier to have parents do it so they end up perfectly matched) The kids then "lace" them with white yarn, add cotton balls or batting that have been spread out for the top. They write their name down the front in pencil, then trace it with glue. We sprinkle glitter over the glue. (This is about the only time I glitter all year!) It's great fun, and the stockings all are mysteriously filled the last day before the holidays. We also make wreaths out of green paper hands....we trace a jillion of our hands and glue them around a circle cut-out to make a great wreath. Add red circles for berries. You can make gingerbread men out of brown butcher paper, decorate them with white and pink tempra, then stuff them to look fat. We also make poinsettias. Use a large petaled flower pattern for kids to trace two. Cut, and then overlap them on top of each other on a black background, and add a yellow center. Glitter it if you want....they are so striking and very easy. We make pinatas out of 2 styrofoam cups taped together (after you have filled them with goodies). They cover them with colorful crepe paper strips, with streamers on the end. Easy and fun for them to take home and break with their families. This is also a good one if you are doing Christmas Around the World

Cookie Cutter Ornaments

Trace cookie cutters on to heavy paper. Decorate with markers, glue and glitter. Poke a hole and add a string to hang on tree.

Paper Plate Wreath

Cut the middle out. Glue small squares of green tissue paper (scrunched) all over plate and add a red bow.

Pinecone Ornament

Have the children paint glue onto a pinecone. Drop into bags of glitter and shake! Add a ribbon to hang.

Garland

Using plastic needles and string, thread Cheerios, Apple Jacks and Fruit Loops. Decorate a small tree.

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Candy Canes

Twist red, white and green pipecleaners into candy cane shapes

Santa Advent Calendar

Draw a picture of Santa. Draw circles on the beard...one for everyday until Christmas. Every morning have the children glue a cotton ball onto the beard. When full it will be Christmas Eve.

Gingerbread Man Ornament

Take paper bags and cut into a gingerbread man shape (trace a cookie cutter) cut 2. Have kids add eyes and rick rack Glue both pieces together with batting in between. Cut around sides with pinking shears.

Gumdrop Ornament

Take a toothpick and stick gumdrops into a Styrofoam ball add a ribbon in the center to hang

Cinnamon Ornaments

Mix 1 (3.5 oz) can of Ground Cinnamon with 1 - 2 Tbsp Applesauce. Mix well. The consistency should be like a stiff dough. Knead it slightly to make it smooth and then roll it out to 1/8" thick. Cut with small metal cookie cutters. Use a plastic drinking straw to cut a hole in the top so the ornament can later be strung. Allow to dry at room temperature for a day or so. Paint with fabric paint if desired.

Pretzel Wreath

Glue little pretzels in a circle like a wreath

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Glue a second layer on top of the first layer. Weave ribbon between the holes. Hang with a ribbon.

Reindeer Magnet small dog biscuits, small wiggly eyes small red pom poms (for the nose), brown pipe cleaners, cut in 2 inches length strips (for antlers) magnet strip Take a dog biscuit Place vertically Glue a red pompom near the bottom Then hot glue the wiggly eyes above the pompom nose Twist the pipe cleaners into antlers and hot glue onto the back sticking up Attach magnetic backing to the biscuit

Pipe Cleaner Ornaments Candy Canes

You need pipe cleaners and red and white beads. Alternate red and white beads onto the pipe cleaner. Shape into a candy cane shape.

Footprint/Handprint Angel

Trace around Childs foot ~ this will be the angels body (toes down) Trace around the Childs hand ~ this will be the angels wings Cut a round circle for the head or paste a picture of the Childs head on the Angel

COUNTING OBJECTS

Have a parent volunteer count Gingerbread erasers (available through Oriental Trading Company 1-800-228-2269) with each child recording how far they can count.

As a center activity, give the students small paper plates with one numeral written on each plate. Ask the students to place the number of Gingerbread cookies (erasers) on each plate or card, according to the numeral written

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NUMERAL CARDS - Make numeral cards 0-5 or 0-10 depending upon the level of your students. Put cards at a center with the appropriate number of erasers. Children must arrange numerals in correct order and then place the correct number of erasers below the numeral card.

NUMBER MATCH GAME – Create and duplicate two sets of numeral cards and play the direct match game. Pass out one card to each student in the class. Chant the following: Find someone who is holding a number just like yours. Find someone who is holding the same number. Once each student has found their match, direct them to say the number they are holding. Tell them to clap the number of times to represent their cards. Next, chant: Find someone who has a number that's not like yours. Find someone who's holding a different number. Once the students are again paired with different numbers, ask them to name each other's numbers.

GINGERBREAD PUZZLE

Cut out a Gingerbread Man shape and cut apart into puzzle pieces. Place a number and the correct number of dots on each piece. Children put the puzzle together by matching the number with correct number of dots.

SPIN A GINGERBREAD MAN

Each student has a plain Gingerbread Person paper and spinner . To make Gingerbread Person features, the child must first spin a numeral one, in order to draw the eyes and keep spinning until each number in sequence is reached and each feature is drawn.

GINGERBREAD MAN COVER-UP

Each child has a small paper Gingerbread Man cut out. Children predict how many of a certain object (small marshmallows, jelly beans, raisins, or Unifix Cubes, etc.) will cover the inside area of the paper Gingerbread Man cut out. Then the child covers the Gingerbread pattern with the objects to find out the answer. Compare prediction with answer.

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ESTIMATION JAR

Fill a jar with plastic Gingerbread Man erasers (Oriental Trading Company 1-800-228-2269). Children record an estimation. Count erasers and record answer. Compare answer with the estimations. Begin with an estimation in a range rather than an exact amount, for example, "I estimate there are between 5 and 10 Gingerbread Men in the jar." or "I estimate there are between 25 and 30 Gingerbread Men in the jar."

MEASUREMENT

Lay two pieces of 7 foot long brown butcher paper on the floor. On the top sheet, trace around a tall person (6 feet of taller). Cut out the two pieces of paper together and glue around the edges. Cut a slit in the back for paper stuffing. Add features and trim to turn this person into a Gingerbread Person. Display in the classroom for a day or two. Ask students to estimate how many Unifix Cubes tall the Gingerbread Person is and write down their Predictions. You can also make a Gingerbread family by making two additional cut-out figures, medium and small, and can have fun measuring heads, arms, legs, etc.

GINGERBREAD MAN COOKIES

Make Gingerbread Man Cookies. Use your favorite recipe. Allow the children to decorate them with icing and candy. Read the book “The Gingerbread Man”.

GINGERBREAD MAN SANDWICHES

Find a Gingerbread Man cookie cutter that will fit on a piece of bread. Cut out the Gingerbread shape. Carefully spread it with peanut butter. Use raisins, red hots and string licorice to decorate. YUM! YUM!

Gingerbread Man Jello

Use Jello Jiggler recipe or this one for cinnamon gelatin . . . 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin, 1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon, 3 Tablespoons sugar, 1/2 cup cold water, 1 1/2 cups boiling water. In a large bowl, sprinkle the cold

Page 72 of 213 The Winter Theme Book water over the gelatin. Let the mix stand for one minute; then stir in the cinnamon and sugar. Add the boiling water and stir the ingredients together until the gelatin and sugar dissolve (the cinnamon will remain grainy). Chill until firm and then cut out Gingerbread Man shapes with a cookie cutter.

GINGERBREAD HOUSES

This is a big project and is best done in small groups with parent help or with older student buddies. For each child you will need: 1 student size milk carton, four squares of graham crackers, 1 cup of frosting for each child, one spoon, a sturdy plate, candy (cinnamon red hots, chocolate chips, M&M's, etc.) portion cups to hold candies and frosting, 3"X5" white index card for roof, crayons and napkins. Children will use the back of their spoon to put frosting on the sides of the milk carton to "glue" the graham crackers. Use additional frosting to add decorations to the house. To add a patterning lesson, ask the children to make a pattern with their decorations.

Frosting recipe: Beat 3 egg whites and 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar until frothy. Gradually add one box of powdered sugar and beat on low until mixed. Beat on high for 3-5 minutes. Store frosting in tightly sealed container and it will keep for up to two weeks. One recipe is enough for 8 children.

SHOPPING

Give each child 10 pennies. Tell them they will need to shop at the classroom store to purchase the candy they will use to decorate their houses. Vary the price of the candy, for example; 5 jelly beans may cost 2 cents, 10 chocolate chips may cost 1 cent, etc. for 1st and 2nd graders, give the students a dime and a nickel or a quarter and require them to make change with each purchase.

A Gingerbread Man Book Mural

- Students are given decorating items and told to choose to use more of one kind and less of another type of decoration such as bows or buttons, etc. Once they decorate a Gingerbread Man, direct the students to sort their GB Men and to make a true statement about their GB Man. For example.

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I have more buttons and less bows. OR I have more sprinkles and less buttons. Mount their GB Men and statements on a large strip of butcher paper, and display as a class mural. Once finished with the mural, fold as a book and place in the class library for future enjoyment.

Cut large Gingerbread Man paper dolls from butcher paper. Ask the students to write a description of each doll as they add one feature at a time. For example, One nose, Two eyes, One smile, Two buttons, Our Gingerbread Man. Display as a class mural and when finished, fold as a book.

Chanukah Ideas

Also called the Festival of Lights or the Feast of Dedication, Chanukah has been celebrated by people of the Jewish faith for centuries. This is a time for family gatherings, reciting the Chanukah blessing, lighting the candles of the menorah, and sharing meals together.

Also, gifts are exchanged, one on each night of the eight-day festival. You can have fun making art and you'll save money by designing your own wrapping paper and gift containers. If you recycle paper to do this, you'll help save trees and landfill space, too. Try to be creative by thinking of a different way to recycle paper to wrap gifts for each night of Chanukah.

You can use many papers without decorating them at all. A travel book can be wrapped in an old map, for example. There are many ways to hand decorate paper and other materials, however. The following are some ideas:

Oodles of Doodles Using ink or a marker, make loops all over a piece of scrap paper, newsprint, or pre consumer waste paper. Choose symbols, such as a menorah or a dreidel, and draw them inside the loops. Add other Chanukah icons, and fill the page with the symbols. Color some of the designs with markers or crayons.

Repeat Design Recycle the back side of a computer print out sheet, a piece of newsprint, or a sheet of preconsumer waste paper. Divide the paper into long rectangles, and using pens and markers, draw two, three, or four Chanukah symbols or designs over and over. Color some of the designs.

Polished Crayon

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Make a stained glass design by dividing a piece of preconsumer waste paper into many sections or shapes with a black marker. Color the shapes heavily. Polish the design by gently rubbing the colors with a soft rag.

Wet-in-wet Watercolor Tape a heavy piece of absorbent paper to an old board. Soak the paper by brushing or sponging water onto it. Using watercolor, choose either cool colors (blues, greens, and purples) or warm colors (reds, yellows, and oranges) to paint an abstract design. Add interest to your painting by sprinkling rice or kosher salt into the puddles here and there. When it's dry, brush off the rice or salt.

Resist Painting Choose a piece of white waste paper. Using crayons or oil pastels, draw a picture or fill the page with Chanukah symbols, leaving some of the paper untouched. Color the symbols heavily. Wet the entire page with a sponge, and paint watercolor over everything.

Spatter Painting Wear a paint shirt for this one, and cover your work area with newspapers! Cut out some simple shapes from scrap paper. Lay the shapes on a piece of paper like newsprint or preconsumer waste paper. Dip an old tooth brush into poster paint, and spatter paint the page by drawing a craft stick across the bristles toward yourself. Continue till the whole sheet is covered. Remove the shapes.

String Painting Dip all but two inches of a fourteen-inch length of string into acrylic, poster paint, ink, or watercolor. Lay it across a piece of paper, leaving the "clean" part hang over the edge. Place another paper on top of the first one, and holding your hand on top of the paper and string, pull the string back and forth and then out. Repeat with other colors, if you wish. Be sure to use a clean string for each new color!

Printmaking Newspaper pages with very small type like a stock exchange report page or want ads from the newspaper make good paper for prints. Have an adult help you cut a simple design into a carrot or potato, and make repeat design prints. You can use objects like sponges, spools, and sticks to make prints, too. Be sure to use water-based printing inks. Red ink looks especially attractive on black and white newspapers.

Stenciling Cut a simple shape from wax paper or the backing from a self-adhesive label. Place over a piece of scrap paper, and use acrylic, poster paint or watercolor to paint the shape's edges with a stencil brush or a sponge.

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Repeat till the paper is covered with designs.

Rubbing Lay a piece of newsprint or other thin type of paper over a raised surface such as linoleum or other texture. Remove the paper covering from a crayon. Holding the paper down with one hand and using the broad side of the crayon, make a rubbing by coloring the sheet. Use many colors side by side for a more interesting effect.

Rubber Stamping Rubber stamps are available in many different designs. Find some with Chanukah symbols like the menorah or the dreidel. Before stamping, decide if you want an overall pattern or one which is more formal. When you have a plan in mind, stamp away on newsprint or other piece of waste paper. If you wish, use markers or colored pencils to color the designs when they're dry.

Aluminum Foil Recycle clean aluminum foil by loosely wadding it up into a ball. Carefully undo the foil, and smooth it out onto your work surface. The foil will be left with an interesting wrinkled texture.

Decorate an Oatmeal Carton Empty oatmeal cartons make great containers for gifts. Just use a glue stick to adhere a paper covering to the box. The container can be reused to give someone else a gift or used for another purpose.

Wrap a Cardboard Tube Place a small gift inside a tube like a paper towel or a section of a gift wrap tube. Wrap with paper and tie the ends with ribbons or curled paper.

Make a Cardboard Box Anew Carefully take apart small paper cartons, like the boxes in which tea bags or aspirin are packaged. Many of them are plain inside. Decorate them on the white side, and then glue them back together again with your design on the outside. Line them with tissue or shredded paper. You can also study how boxes are folded and constructed, and use them as patterns to make more boxes.

Baskets Visit second-hand stores to buy baskets at reduced prices. Line the basket with tissue or shredded paper and place your gift inside. The person who receives your present can use the basket for something else later.

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Flower pots Place shredded paper inside clean terra cotta flower pots and use as gift containers. If you wish, paint designs on the pot with acrylic paints.

Tips and Tricks: A good source of clean, pre consumer waste paper is your local print shop. Ask the printer to save end rolls and sheets of leftover paper for you. Go to the shop on a regular basis to pick up the paper, so it will not take up needed space at the business.

The funny papers or comic section of the Sunday newspaper are very colorful, and they will do as wrapping paper. In addition, your local newspaper will sell or give you end rolls of plain newsprint which you can decorate in many ways.

Interior design and paint stores receive wallpaper sample books on a regular basis. When their suppliers introduce new papers, the old books are no longer useful. You can use pages from a wallpaper sample book to wrap small gifts. Ask the decorator at your local paint store to save books for you.

Department and specialty stores often sack merchandise using bags decorated with beautiful designs. Save them, and when you're ready to wrap gifts, cut them open and use them like regular wrapping paper. Whether you celebrate Chanukah (also spelled Hanukkah), Christmas, or Kwanzaa, recycling paper to make gift wrap and containers will save money, natural resources, and landfill space. Use the suggestions as they are or change them to fit your needs. However you celebrate this time of the year, have a happy holiday!

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Songs, Poems and Fingerplays

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Song Index

My Snowman Sledding SNOWFLAKES The First Snow Winter Winter Days Winter Winter Sun Five snowmen SNOW SNOW WINTER Winter Clothes Warming Up Silver Bells Mittens WALKING IN THE SNOW SNOWMAN FINGER PLAY Snowman, Snowman Here's a little snowman Five Little Snowmen Snowfriend January poem: Boot Prints FIRST SNOW SNOWMAN THINK OF CHILDREN AS SNOWFLAKES Dressing for Winter Ice Skating Icicles Melting Snowmen Merry Snowflakes Mittens Dance Like Snowflakes Frost Snowflakes Snowflakes Falling Down The Wintery Wind Making A Snowperson Zippers Two Little Snowflakes There’s a Little Elf

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Winter Rain Song Winter Is Coming Song I'm a Little Teapot Snowflakes... Frost... Puttin' on Mittens... Walking in the Snow... Snowflakes Falling Down... Snowy Surprise... I'm a Friendly Snowman... Winter's Coming! Seven silly snowmen Snow (Tune: "This Old Man") Snowman (Tune: "I'm a Little Teapot") S is for Snowman S is for Snwoman Where do they go? Five little men all made of snow, SNOW FIRST SNOW Snowmen Song I'm A Little Snow Person... Dance Like Snowflakes... January... I Love Snow... mitten song How did you get that little red nose? A chubby little snowman The day is cloudy Snowman Flannel Story WINTER CIRCLE Ring a ling a ling Think Snow! Happy New Year! Reindeer on Rooftops The Flakes Sing a song of seasons Polar Bear The Bear Went Over the Mountain The Penguin Song The Mitten Song Flannel Board Snowman 10 little snowmen- Penguin Song Build A Little Snowman Build A Snowman

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Dressing for Winter (Flannel Story) Five Little Snowmen Hibernation Song How Much Is That Penquin? I Can Make A Snowman I'm A Little Penquin I'm A Little Snowman I'm a Little Snowman (Movement) Ice Skating Icicles It Is Snowing Melting Snowmen Merry Snowflakes Mitten Song Mittens Sledding Sliding Snowflakes Snowflakes Falling Down Snowflakes Falling From The Sky Snowfriend Snowman, Snowman The First Snow The Snowman The Snowman Ran And Ran Winter Winter Morning Poem Winter Poem Winter Sun Winter's Coming Blue Days February In February Five Little Penquins Bear Coat Winter Snow Icicles Frost... Walking in the Snow... Snowflakes Falling Down... Snowy Surprise... I'm a Friendly Snowman... I'm a Little Penguin... Mr. Raccoon... Hibernation Song...

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Winter's Coming! Each Mitten Has A Mate... Marco the Polar Bear I Wish I Were a Walrus Aussie Jingle Bells Six White Boomers Song of Hanukkah Hanukkah Treats I Celebrate Hanukkah Hanukkah Lights Family Hanukkah Hanukkah Harmonica Hanukkah Hanukkah Dreidel Song Hanukkah Quiz The Dredel For Hanukkah Happy Hanukkah! Let's be Happy Joyous Hanukkah! At Hanukkah My Hanukkah Candles Candy Cane Story The True Meaning of Christmas Christmas Secrets An Alphabet of Christmas A Mother's Christmas Wish The Net Before Christmas Jolly Old Saint Nicholas Jingle Bells Frosty The Snowman I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas Santa Claus Is Coming To Town Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer White Christmas C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day Far, Far Away On Judea's Plains Santa Santa's Sleigh Santa's Lap Santa Santa's Reindeer Guess Who!! If I Could Find Old Santa

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When Santa Claus Comes Christmas Poem Old Santa is an Active Man A Christmas Card for Santa

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My Snowman

I have fun when it snows. I can make a snowman as round as a ______. I can make a face for my snowman with ______. I can make arms for my snowman with ______. I know my snowman is happy because ______. I am going to name my snowman ______. My snowman is my friend.

Sledding

High hills, Spins, spills. Winter thrills We're sledding!

Gliding, riding, Slipping, sliding Flying, crying, 'We're sledding!' Snow

SNOWFLAKES book Snowflakes fall as softly as ______, and as quietly as ______. The snow is as cold as ______. I love to watch the snow cover up ______. I love walking in the snow like a______. I think I will save some snow in my ______. The snow makes me happy because ______. Sometimes the snow makes me sad because ______.

The First Snow

Watching. Hoping. Sighting the first flake. Watching. Wondering. What will I make? A snowman, a fort? Angels in the snow?

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A thousand flakes are falling. Let's go! Let's go!! Let's go!!!

Winter

Gray days Freeze my feet, The world has Curled up tight To wait for spring.

Winter Days (Flannel Story)

Five little snowmen round and fat. Each one wearing a funny hat. In the morning, out came the sun. It looked down and melted one.

Repeat with 4,3,2,1 snowmen

Winter

Runny nose, Sniff, snort! cold toes, I've caught Walking in the rain Another cold again.

Freezing air, Damp coat, Wet hair, Sore throat, Fingers dropping off. Listen to my cough.

Winter Sun

Recite the poem below and let the children fill in the blanks.

Winter sun, don't you run, Stay with me and have some fun. Shine on the______, shine on me, Shine on the______, shine on the tree.

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Shine on the______, shine so fair, Shine on the______, shine everywhere!

Five snowmen

Five little men all made of snow, Five little snowmen in a row Out came the sun and shone all day One little snowman melted away. (Act this one out, and decrease the number each time)

SNOW by Mary Ann Hoberman

Snow Lots of snow Everywhere we look and everywhere we go Snow in the sandbox Snow on the slide Snow on the bicycle Left outside Snow on the steps And snow on my feet Snow on the sidewalk Down the street.

SNOW Snow makes whiteness where it falls. The bushes look like popcorn balls. And places where I always play, Look like somewhere else today.

WINTER Where do the ___ go when the leaves turn red? They crawl in their ___ and go to bed. They hibernate, they hibernate, And they don't come out till SPRING! ---from Kristin Schlosser's book

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(Plug in words and pictures for foxes and dens, porcupines, squirrels, etc.)

And adapted for "Migrate": Where do the ___ go when leaves turn red? They fly away south to find some "bread". They migrate, they migrate and they don't come back 'til SPRING!

Winter Clothes

Woolly hat upon my head- My head stays warm, but my nose is red!

My boots are nice, my boots are neat. They keep my feet from ice and sleet!

Mittens, mittens, warm and furry. You keep my hands from each snow flurry!

Warming Up

What warms me up on a cold, cold day? Cocoa warms me up in a chocolaty way. What warms me up on a cold, cold day? A fire warms me up in a toasty way. What warms me up on a cold, cold day? A quilt warms me up in a snugly way. What warms me up on a cold, cold day? A hug warms me up in a loving way!

Silver Bells

Five silver bells ringing in the air. The first on said, "Ring me everywhere." The second one said, "Ring me every day." The third one said, "Ring me on a sleigh." The fourth one said, "Ring me loud and clear." The fifth one said, "Wintertime is here!"

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Mittens

Here is a mitten, a snug, fuzzy one- With a place for my fingers, and a place for my thumb.

Here are two mittens, a colorful sight. One for the left hand, and one for the right.

Here are our mittens, as soft as can be, A warm pair for you and a warm pair for me!

WALKING IN THE SNOW

Let's go walking in the snow, (Walk.) Walking, walking on tiptoe. (Tiptoe.) Lift your one foot way up high (Hop on one foot.) Then the other to keep it dry. (Hop on other foot.) All around the yard we skip. (Skip.) Watch your step, or you might slip. (Pretend to fall.)

SNOWMAN FINGER PLAY

There's a chubby little snowman (put arms rounded out in front of you) With a long carrot nose (put both pointer fingers on nose and move one hand forward) Along came a bunny (make bunny ears and move hands up and down like hopping) And what do you suppose? (shrug shoulders) That hungry little bunny (make bunny ears and move hands up and down like hopping) Looking for some lunch (put hands up to eyes like glasses and move head from left to right) Bit OFF that carrot nose (snap hand together like in a sock puppet) Nibble, nibble, CRUNCH!

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(put hands together palms facing each other, on nibble; just put your hands together, then on crunch, slap them together)

Snowman, Snowman (sung to daisy, daisy)

Snowman, Snowman, I can't come out to play. Aren't you freezing? I'd like to help out in some way. I thought you could wear my sweater. To warm you from this weather. But Mommy felt That you would melt, So the sweater's inside to stay.

Here's a little snowman (Tune is "I'm a little teapot")

Here's a little snowman Short and fat Here is my broom and here is my hat When the sun comes out I tremble with fear 'cause soon I'll melt and disappear!

Five Little Snowmen

Five little snowmen Hold up five fingers) On a winter's day- The first one sail, (wiggle thumb) "Wake up, so we can play." (Clap hands)

The second one said, (Wiggle pointer finger) "Let's stomp on the ground." (Stomp on ground) The third one said, (Wiggle middle finger) "Let's roll all around."

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(Roll hands over one another)

The fourth one said, (Wiggle ring finger) "Let's run and run and run." (Run in place) The fifth one said, (Wiggle pinkie) "I'm afraid I feel the sun." (Shake head; circle hands above head for sun)

"Oh dear," cried the snowmen, As they looked toward the sky. (Look up toward the sky) And the five melting snowmen (Hold up hand showing five fingers) Waved a fond good-bye. (Wave good-bye as you sink to ground)

Snowfriend

Pack a snowball. Make it round. Roll it, roll it, along the ground. Make one big ball, and one of middle size; Then roll a smaller ball. Add a nose and eyes. Give him a broom and a scarf of blue. Now there's a friend to play with you! (point)

January poem:

"In January it's so nice To skate on skates and sled on ice And stomp our feet so they will show Monster footprints in the snow!"

Boot Prints

Up and down the yard we go Making boot prints in the snow Big steps, little steps Around and around Oh what fun with snow on the ground! Black boots, white boots Red boots bright

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Isn't it strange our boot prints are white?

FIRST SNOW

Snow makes whiteness where it falls. The bushes look like popcorn balls. The places that I always play look like somewhere far away.

SNOWMAN

A snowball, when it's rolled through snow, will rounder, rounder, and rounder grow. What can we do with this great big ball? Make a snowman towering tall!

THINK OF CHILDREN AS SNOWFLAKES Cynthia R. Sanchez

A small snowflake falls to the ground in a huge field. Another snowflake falls beside it. One more comes and many follow. Each is different, has its own forms and size but, oh the beauty of each one! There is much mystery in each. We must cherish the sparkle of all of them. One is not more beautiful than another. They are all unique, special, and magnificent.

Dressing for Winter (Flannel Story)

This is how we dress on a cold Winter's day. We put on our snowsuits to go out to play. Then we put on our boots for walking in the snow. Next, our hats and our mittens. 'Cause the wind begins to blow. And now we're all ready to go out and play. We'll stay nice and warm on this cold Winter day.

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Ice Skating

Slip, Slide, A fast ride. I can't wait, Let's skate!

Icicles

As I was playing all alone, I made an icicle ice cream cone. With an icicle cone you won't need a dish, And you can have snow cones whenever you wish!

Melting Snowmen

Here's a snowman round and fat; (make circle with arms) Out comes the sun and melts his hat. (touch head) Here's a snowman with a scarf of red; Out comes the sun and melts his head. (touch head) Here's a snowman, fit as a fiddle; Out comes the sun and melts his middle. (touch stomach) Here's a snowman who waits for dawn; Out comes the sun and he's all gone!

Merry Snowflakes

Merry little snowflakes falling to the ground, (fingers flutter life falling snow) They're landing on the treetops, covering our town. (fingers flutter) They softly fall on noses (touch nose) And make our hair look white. (touch hair) They seem to call, 'Come out and play!' ('come here' motion) As they fall throughout the night. (repeat first action)

Mittens

I have three pairs of mittens; Yellow, red, and blue. If I ever lose a pair, I will still have two.

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But it never works that way, That's not the way it's done. I never seem to lose the pair All I lose is one! And at the end of winter, I have three mittens there: One blue, one red, one yellow, But not a single pair!

Dance Like Snowflakes (Sung to Are You Sleeping)

Dance like snowflakes, dance like snowflakes In the air, in the air Whirling, twirling snowflakes Whirling, twirling snowflakes Here and there, here and there

Frost (Sung to The Farmer In The Dell)

The frost is on the roof (point hands over head) The frost is on the ground (point to the floor) The frost is on the window (make a window with your hands) The frost is all around (make large circles with hands)

Snowflakes (Sung to Sailing, Sailing)

Snowflakes, snowflakes Falling to the ground Each one rests so gently They never make a sound

Snowflakes, snowflakes Are so pure and white The special thing about them is No two are alike

Snowflakes Falling Down (Sung to Row, Row, Row Your Boat)

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Snowflakes falling down Falling to the ground Big white fluffy flakes That do not make a sound

The Wintery Wind (Sung to Happy Birthday)

The winter wind blows The winter wind blows It gives me the shivers From my head to my toes!

Making A Snowperson

Roll it, roll it, get a pile of snow. (make rolling motion) Rolling, rolling, rolling, rolling, rolling we will go. Pat it, pat it, face it to the south. (patting motion) Now my little snowperson's done, eyes, nose and mouth (point to each)

Zippers

Three little zippers on my snowsuit, (hold up three fingers) Fasten up as snug as snug can be. It's a very easy thing as you can see Just zip, zip, zip! (do three zipping motions) I work the zippers on my snowsuit. Zippers really do save time for me I can fasten them myself with one, two, three. Just zip, zip, zip! (do three zipping motions)

Two Little Snowflakes

Way up high in the winter sky, 2 little snowflakes caught my eye. Down to the ground they fell without a sound. And before very long, It was snowing all around.

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There’s a Little Elf (Sung to "if You're Happy and You Know It"

There's a little elf that's sitting on my nose, There's a little elf that's sitting on my nose. He is sitting on my nose, Then off away he goes. Now there's no little elf on my nose.

There's a little elf that's sitting on my knee, There's a little elf that's sitting on my knee. He is sitting on my knee. Just watch and he will flee. Now there's no little elf on my knee.

There's a little elf that's sitting on my head, There's a little elf that's sitting on my head. He is sitting on my head, Then away he goes to bed. Now there's no little elf on my head.

Winter Rain Song A song for the beginning of winter. Raining, raining, big dark clouds, Lightning, thunder, oh, so loud! Splashing, splashing on my nose, Great big puddles splash my toes. Running, laughing, in the rain, Winter's finally come again.

Winter Is Coming Song (Tune: Frere Jacques)

Winter is coming, winter is coming, How do I know, how do I know? The snow is on the ground, The snow is on the ground. That's how I know, that's how I know. The seasons are changing, the seasons are changing, How do I know, how do I know? I can look around me, I can look around me. That's how I know, that's how I know.

I'm a Little Teapot I'm a little snow pal running by you,

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I'm made of snow, this is true. But when the children ask me to play I just cannot sit all day.

Snowflakes... Sailing, Sailing Snowflakes, snowflakes, Falling to the ground. Each one rests so gently, They never make a sound! Snowflakes, snowflakes, Are so pure and white, The special thing about them is- No two are alike.

Frost... The Farmer in the Dell The frost is on the roof, (Point hands over head) The frost is on the ground. (Point to the floor) The frost is on the window, (Make window with your hands) The frost is all around! Make large circles with hands)

Puttin' on Mittens... (The farmer in the Dell) The thumb in the thumb place, Fingers all together! This is the song we sing When it is mitten weather.

Walking in the Snow... Let's go waking in the snow, Walking, walking on tiptoe. Lift your right foot way up high, Then your left foot keep it dry! All around the yard we skip, Watch your step, or you might slip.

Snowflakes Falling Down... (Row, row, row Your Boat) Snowflakes falling down, Falling to the ground. Big, white fluffy flakes That do not make a sound.

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Snowy Surprise... Sometimes the snow falls when I'm sleeping, (Rest cheek on folded hands.) I'm so surprised when I awake. (Stretch and yawn.) I look out at the world around me, (Look around.) It looks like a frosted birthday cake! (Rub tummy and lick lips.)

I'm a Friendly Snowman... I'm a friendly snowman big and fat, (Stretch arms out at sides.) Here is my tummy and here is my hat. (Point to tummy, then top of head.) I'm a happy fellow, here's my nose, (Smile, then point to nose.) I'm all snow from my head to my toes. (Point to head, then to toes.)

I have two bright eyes so I can see (Point to eyes.) All the snow falling down on me. (Flutter fingers downward.) When the weather's cold I'm strong and tall, (Stand up tall.) But when it's warm I get very small. (Crouch down low.)

Winter's Coming!

Sung to: "Frere Jacques"

Winter's coming. Winter's coming. It is dark. It is cold. I am bundled snug and warm. Animals sleep safe from harm. Sleds and snow. Cold winds blow. S-s-s-s-s-s-

Seven silly snowmen

Seven silly snowman Sitting side by side. Out came the sun

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And they had to hide. Two behind the small skidoo, Two behind the tree, Two behind the snowbank, And one behind me.

Snow (Tune: "This Old Man")

Snow is falling on the ground. We can make things all around. Like snowmen, snowballs, snowforts too. There are lots of things to do. Snow is falling come and see. You can have fun with me. Sliding, skating, skiing too. There are lots of things to do.

Snowman (Tune: "I'm a Little Teapot")

I'm a little snowman, Round and fat. I have a broomstick. I have a hat. With my friends I l ike to play. But when the sun comes out I run away.

S is for Snowman

S is for snowman, skis and sled. S is for snuggling safe in bed. S is for scarf, socks and sun And snowflakes melting on my tongue.

S is for Snwoman

S is for snowman, Round and fat. Sitting outside wearing a hat. I brought him inside and Sat him on the mat. And before very long the Snowman was flat.

Where do they go?

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Where do the ___ go when the leaves turn red? They crawl in their ___ and go to bed. They hibernate, they hibernate, And they don't come out till SPRING! ---from Kristin Schlosser's book (Plug in words and pictures for foxes and dens, porcupines, squirrels, etc.) And adapted for "Migrate": Where do the ___ go when leaves turn red? They fly away south to find some "bread". They migrate, they migrate and they don't come back 'til SPRING!

Five little men all made of snow,

Five little men all made of snow, Five little snowmen in a row Out came the sun and shone all day-- One little snowman melted away. (Act this one out, and decrease the number each time)

SNOW by Mary Ann Hoberman

Snow Snow Lots of snow Everywhere we look and everywhere we go Snow in the sandbox Snow on the slide Snow on the bicycle Left outside Snow on the steps And snow on my feet Snow on the sidewalk Snow on the sidewalk Snow on the sidewalk Down the street.

FIRST SNOW by Mary Louise Allen

Snow makes whiteness where it falls. The bushes look like popcorn balls. And places where I always play,

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Look like somewhere else today.

Snowmen Song Music, movement and melting all in this action winter song by Melissa.

Ten happy snowmen dancing all around. Dancing all around (spin in place). Ten happy snowmen dancing all around, The sun came out and one melted to the ground (make sun with arms, one slides to the ground). Nine.... Eight.... Seven.... and so on. No little snowmen dancing in the sun. First there were ten and now there are none!

I'm A Little Snow Person...

(I'm A Little Teapot) I'm a little snow person, Short and fat. Here are my buttons, Here is my hat. When the sun comes out, I cannot stay. Slowly I just melt away.

Dance Like Snowflakes... (Frere Jacques)

Dance like snowflakes, Dance like snowflakes, In the air. In the air. Whirling, twirling snowflakes, Whirling, twirling snowflakes, Here and there. Here and there.

January...

January's a very cold month, Shiver, shiver, shiver, (Hug yourself and pretend to shiver.) Button up and cover your ears,

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(Pretend to button coat: cover ears with your hands.) Or quiver, quiver, quiver. (Shake all over.)

I Love Snow... Three Blind Mice

I love snow. I love snow. Soft, white snow; soft, white snow. It falls on the ground so soft and white. Sometime it falls all through the night. Did you ever see such a beautiful sight As soft white snow?

Mitten song chant thumbs in thumb place fingers all together this is the song we sing in mitten weather.

How did you get that little red nose?

How did you get that little red nose? Jack Frost kissed it I suppose He kissed it once, He kissed it twice, Poor little nose is cold as ice.

A chubby little snowman

A chubby little snowman Had a carrot nose Along came a bunny and what do you suppose? that hungry little bunny looking for some lunch ate that snowman's carrot nose nibble nibble crunch

The day is cloudy

The day is cloudy and the wind is bold.

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Dress up warmly, you mustn't get cold! Put on your coat and zip it up tight, put on your left boot, put on your right. Put on your scarf and put on your hat, put on your mittens and clap-clap-clap! Go outside and play and play. Come in again, and then we'll say- Take off your coat that was zipped up tight, take off your left boot, take off your right. Take off your scarf, take off your hat, take off your mittens, and then take a nap!

(Act out each line, indicating the various body part the article belongs on

Snowman Flannel Story

(Use: Flannel board, flannel snowmen pieces, flannel sun) Five little snowmen went out to play, Out came the sun, And one snowman melted away. Four little snowmen went out to play, Out came the sun, And another snowman melted away.

Continue until no snowmen are left. Put sun above the snowman, and let him "melt" as a child takes the snowman off the board.

WINTER CIRCLE Instrumental Snowstorm Explore the concepts of loud, soft, fast and slow with this blizzard of an idea. You will need instruments that make ringing sounds such as bells, finger cymbals, and triangles, as well as instruments that make swishing sounds, such as sand blocks and shakers. Give each child an instrument. After providing an opportunity for free explorations of the instruments, help the children separate into groups based on instruments sounding alike. Create a snowstorm by having the children begin to play their instruments slowly and softly. To create the effects of a building snowstorm, encourage the children to gradually play faster and louder. As the storm peaks, direct the children to begin playing slowly and softly again. Whew! What a storm!

Ring a ling a ling (sung to the tune of If You‘re Happy and You Know It

If it’s Christmas and you know it,[ring a bell ]!

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If it’s Christmas and you know it,[ring a bell ]! If it’s Christmas and you know it, Then your face will surely show it! If it’s Christmas and you know it, [ring a bell ]! Sing additional verses, replacing the underlined phrase with trim a tree, wrap a gift, and say Ho!Ho!Ho! in turn.

Think Snow! ( sung to the tune of Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush)

What shall we do in wintertime, In wintertime, in wintertime? What shall we do in wintertime On [Monday ] when it’s snowing? We’ll build a snowman round and fat, Round and fat, round and fat! We’ll build a snowman round and fat On [Monday ] when it’s snowing! Sing the song again, using different days of the week and activities such as the following: Tuesday, take a sled ride down a hill Wednesday, find some food to feed the birds Thursday, skate around a frozen pond Friday, pack some snowballs round and tight Saturday, make some angels in the snow Sunday, build a snow fort in the yard

Happy New Year! (sung to the tune of Head,Shoulders,Knees,and Toes)

There’s a new year on the way, On the way! There’s a new year on the way, On the way! Let’s celebrate the year and give a cheer! (Say, Hooray!) There’s a new year on the way, On the way!

Reindeer on Rooftops (Sung to the tune of up on the housetop)

Who’s on the rooftop? Can you hear? Sounds just like a small reindeer! Oh, but the reindeer just can’t stay.

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He jumps off and flies away! Off and on! Can’t stay long. Off and on! Can’t stay long. Oh! Up on the rooftop, Hey! Hey! Hey! He jumps off and flies away!

The Flakes

Three white snowflakes ,fancy free, Each as pretty as could be. The first one said I’m so small The smallest snowflake of us all The second one said, with a twinkle in his eyes, I’m bigger than you I’m medium size The third one said, Hey,this is fun! Can you see I’m the biggest one?= Three white snowflakes in the sky, Small, medium, and large all say Good-bye

Sing a song of seasons

Sing a song of seasons Something bright in all Flowers in the summer Leaves in the fall Snow in the winter Birds in the spring Aren’t all these changes A wonderful thing?

Polar Bear Polar Bear, Polar Bear, Turn around. Polar Bear, Polar Bear, Touch the ground. Polar Bear, Polar Bear, Shine your shoes. Polar Bear, Polar Bear, Skidoo. Polar Bear, Polar Bear, Go upstairs. Polar Bear, Polar Bear, Say your prayers. Polar Bear, Polar Bear, Turn out the light. Polar Bear, Polar Bear, Say good night.

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The Bear Went Over the Mountain Tune: For He's a Jolly Good Fellow

The bear went over the mountain, The bear went over the mountain, The bear went over the mountain, To see what he could see To see what he could see, To see what he could see The other side of the mountain, The other side of the mountain, The other side of the mountain, Was all that he could see Was all that he could see, Was all that he could see, The other side of the mountain, Was all that he could see!

The Penguin Song sung to "Mary Had a Little Lamb"

Penguins like the cold weather, (song by, from http://123child.com) cold weather, cold weather, Penguins like the cold weather, And they like to play.

Penguins like to swim and play(song by from http://123child.com) swim and play, swim and play, Penguins like to swim and play And they rest at night

Penguins eat a lot of fish,(song by://123child.com) a lot of fish, a lot of fish, Penguins eat a lot of fish, Each and every day.

The Mitten Song Sing to the tune of "I know an old lady" I know a mouse that jumped in a mitten, I don't know why he jumped in the mitten, perhaps it will bust. Continue on adding all the characters in The Mitten story by Jan Brett.

Flannel Board Snowman

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Make a large snowman from white posterboard. Make a hat and scarf from each color: Red, yellow, green, orange, blue, purple, pink, brown, and black. Add velcro to the snowman and to the hats and scarfs. Each day, at circle, let a child put on the appropriate colored scarf to match the hat. On our snowman, we put each button a different color and shape. We talk about this too, as we do our activity.

10 little snowmen- (Tune: Little monkeys jumping on the bed)

10 little snowmen riding on a sled, one fell off and bumped his head, Frosty called the doctor and the doctor said, No more snowmen riding on that sled!

Continue until none are left. I make a sled on posterboard, snowmen diecuts and then attach them on/off with velcro.

Penguin Song

I'm a Little penguin Look at me Fishing and swimming In the deep sea My wings are black and my tail is white I like sliding down the snow so white

Build A Little Snowman

Sung to 'I'm a Little Teapot'

Build a little snowman, starting with his feet. Put on lost of snow, and pat it all so neat. Then make a round ball, and put it up on top. The the sun will come out, and make the snowman hot.

Build A Snowman

Sung to: 'Frere Jacques' ('Are you sleeping?')

Build a snowman, build a snowman, Big and round, big and round, Sun is shining on him

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Sun is shining on him He's all gone, he's all gone.

Dressing for Winter (Flannel Story)

This is how we dress on a cold Winter's day. We put on our snowsuits to go out to play. Then we put on our boots for walking in the snow. Next, our hats and our mittens. 'Cause the wind begins to blow. And now we're all ready to go out and play. We'll stay nice and warm on this cold Winter day.

Five Little Snowmen

Five little snowmen standing in a row (hold up 5 fingers) Each with a hat and a big red bow (point to head and neck) Five little snowmen dressed for show (smooth clothes with hands) Now they are ready, where will they go? (put hand across brow and look) Wait til the sun shines and then they will go (hold arms in circle over head) Down through the fields with the melting snow (pretend to melt away)

Hibernation Song

Sung to 'Are You Sleeping'

Bear is sleeping, Bear is sleeping In a cave, In a cave, I wonder when he'll come out, I wonder when he'll come out. In the spring, In the spring.

How Much Is That Penquin?

Tune: How Much Is That Doggy In The Window

How much is that penguin in the window? The one is the black and white suit. How much is that penguin in the window? I do think that penguin's so cute.

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I Can Make A Snowman

Sung to: 'Mary Had A Little Lamb'

I can make a Snowman Snowman, Snowman, I can make a Snowman, My Snowman will be white.

I'm A Little Penquin

Tune: I'm A Little Teapot

I'm a little penquin in the snow. I slide on my tummy to and fro. I eat the fish from the deep blue sea. I'm black and white, just look at me.

I'm A Little Snowman

I'm a little snowman round and fat. Here is my broom and here is my hat. When the sun comes out it's time to say 'This is the end of me today!'

Get Ready, Set, Grow!

I'm a Little Snowman (Movement) sung to I'm a Little Teapot

I'm a little snowman, short and fat; Here is my broomstick and here is my hat. When the sun comes, I melt away. Down, down, down, down, whoops..... I'M A PUDDLE!!!

Ice Skating

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Slip, Slide, A fast ride. I can't wait, Let's skate!

Icicles

As I was playing all alone, I made an icicle ice cream cone. With an icicle cone you won't need a dish, And you can have snow comes whenever you wish!

It Is Snowing Sung to: Frere Jacques

It is snowing, it is snowing, All around, all around, Soft and quiet snowflakes, Soft and quiet snowflakes, Not a sound, not a sound.

Melting Snowmen

Here's a snowman round and fat; (make circle with arms) Out comes the sun and melts his hat. (touch head) Here's a snowman with a scarf of red; Out comes the sun and melts his head. (touch head) Here's a snowman, fit as a fiddle; Out comes the sun and melts his middle. (touch stomach) Here's a snowman who waits for dawn; Out comes the sun and he's all gone!

Merry Snowflakes

Merry little snowflakes falling to the ground, (fingers flutter life falling snow) They're landing on the treetops, covering our town. (fingers flutter) They softly fall on noses (touch nose) And make our hair look white. (touch hair) They seem to call, 'Come out and play!' ('come here' motion)

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As they fall throughout the night. (repeat first action)

Mitten Song

Tune: Twinkle, Twinkle Thumbs in the thumb place, Fingers all together, This is the song we sing in mitten weather. When its cold, It doesn't matter whether, Mittens are wool, Or made of fine leather. This is the song we sing in mitten weather. Thumbs in the thumb place, Fingers all together.

Mittens

I have three pairs of mittens; Yellow, red, and blue.If I ever lose a pair, I will still have two. But it never works that way, That's not the way it's done. I never seem to lose the pair - All I lose is one! And at the end of winter, I have three mittens there: One blue, one red, one yellow, But not a single pair!

Sledding

High hills, Spins, spills. Winter thrills - We're sledding!

Gliding, riding, Slipping, sliding - Flying, crying, 'We're sledding!'

Sliding

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Sung to: Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Crunch, Crunch, Crunch, Crunch, Crunch, Up the hill we go - Sliding, sliding, sliding, sliding, Down the hill we go.

Snowflakes Sung to 'Grey Squirrel'

Snowflakes, snowflakes, falling on the ground. Snowflakes, snowflakes, falling all around. I am bundled to my chin. See my footprints where I've been. Snowflakes, snowflakes, falling on the ground.

Snowflakes Falling Down Sung to: 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat'

Snowflakes falling down, (wiggle fingers downward) Falling on the ground. Great, big white flakes (make circles with thumbs and forefingers touching) That do not make a sound. (Finger to lips and shake head 'no')

Snowflakes Falling From The Sky Sung to: Mary Had a Little Lamb

Snowflakes falling from the sky, from the sky, from the sky. Snowflakes falling from the sky, to the earth below, Watch them as they dance and whirl, dance and whirl, dance and whirl, Watch them as they dance and whirl, soft white winter snow.

Snowfriend

Pack a snowball. Make it round. Roll it, roll it, along the ground. Make one big ball, and one of middle size; Then roll a smaller ball. Add a nose and eyes. Give him a broom and a scarf of blue.

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Now there's a friend to play with you! (point)

Snowman, Snowman Sung to: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Snowman, snowman, where did you go? I built you yesterday out of snow. I built you high and I built you fat. I put on eye and nose and a hat. And now you're gone - all melted away. But it's sunny outside, so I'll go and play.

The First Snow

Watching. Hoping. Sighting the first flake. Watching. Wondering. What will I make? A snowman, a fort? Angels in the snow? A thousand flakes are falling. Let's go! Let's go!! Let's go!!!

The Snowman

Roll him and roll him until he is big. Roll him until he is fat as a pig. He has two eyes, and a hat on his head. He'll stand there all night, While we go to bed.

The Snowman Ran And Ran Sung to: 'Row Row Row Your Boat'

The snow, snow, snowman, Came out to play. But the children cried, 'Get back inside, The sun is out today.'

The snow, snow, snowman,

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Started to run away, But when he ran, he ran and ran Until a puddle lay.

Winter

Grey days Freeze my feet, The world has Curled up tight To wait for spring.

Winter Morning Poem

Winter is the king of showmen, Turning tree stumps into snow men And houses into birthday cakes And spreading sugar over lakes. Smooth and clean and frosty white, The world looks good enough to bite. That's the season to be young, Catching snowflakes on your tongue Snow is snowy when it's snowing. I'm sorry it's slushy when it's going.

Winter Poem

Winter

Runny nose, Sniff, snort! cold toes, I've caught Walking in the rain Another cold again.

Freezing air, Damp coat, Wet hair, Sore throat, Fingers dropping off. Listen to my cough.

Winter Sun

Recite the poem below and let the children fill in the blanks.

Winter sun, don't you run,

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Stay with me and have some fun. Shine on the______, shine on me, Shine on the______, shine on the tree. Shine on the______, shine so fair, Shine on the______, shine everywhere!

Winter's Coming Sung to'Frere Jacques'

Winter's coming, Winters Coming. It is dark, It is dark, I am bundled snug an warm. Animals sleep safe from harm. Sleds and snow. Cold winds blow.

Blue Days

In February there are days Blue, and nearly warm, When horses switch their tails and ducks Go quacking through the farm.

When all the world turns round to feel The sun upon its back - When winter lifts a little bit And spring peeks through the crack!

February

Here is February Such a tiny thing It's the very shortest month That the year will bring.

In February

*In February* It's cold and it's wet and it's windy And the sky is as sad as can be So nobody came out playing Well, nobody else but me.

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It's cold and it's wet and it's windy And the sky is as sad as can be But something is out, how lovely, One shy little snowdrop with me!

Five Little Penquins

Five little penguins, I once knew, Short ones, fat ones, skinny ones, too. But, the one little penguin with the Red bow tie, He led the others sliding up and down, He led the others, sliding up and down.

Especially good when done with five felt board penquins - one with a red bow.

Bear Coat

The polar bear, the polar bear - He has a handsome coat to wear

But, while it's thick and warm and white He has to wear it day and night.

And when the summer comes, poor brute, He wears it for his swimming suit.

Although his coat is thought so fine, I'm very glad that it's not mine.

Winter by Meish Goldish

Brrr! It's winter! Make me shake! Snow on the ground And ice on the lake! Look what's falling! Another snowflake! A big round snowman Is what I'll make! Some nice hot cocoa Is what I'll take! Don't even think about Ice cream cake!

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Brrr! It's winter! Give me a break!

Snow by Meish Goldish

Tiny ice crystals In freezing weather, Tiny ice crystals Sticking together. What do they make? A single snowflake!

Icicles by Meish Goldish

I see icy icicles Hanging off the trees. I see icy icicles Forming in the freeze! Here, oh here's the way That an icicle will form: A stream of water drips While the air is still warm. When the air turns colder And water starts to freeze, It forms a stick of ice That hangs from the trees! I see icy icicles!

Frost... The Farmer in the Dell

The frost is on the roof, (Point hands over head) The frost is on the ground. (Point to the floor) The frost is on the window, (Make window with your hands) The frost is all around! Make large circles with hands)

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Walking in the Snow...

Let's go waking in the snow, Walking, walking on tiptoe. Lift your right foot way up high, Then your left foot keep it dry! All around the yard we skip, Watch your step, or you might slip.

Snowflakes Falling Down... (Row, row, row Your Boat)

Snowflakes falling down, Falling to the ground. Big, white fluffy flakes That do not make a sound.

Snowy Surprise... Sometimes the snow falls when I'm sleeping, (Rest cheek on folded hands.) I'm so surprised when I awake. (Stretch and yawn.) I look out at the world around me, (Look around.) It looks like a frosted birthday cake! (Rub tummy and lick lips.)

I'm a Friendly Snowman...

I'm a friendly snowman big and fat, (Stretch arms out at sides.) Here is my tummy and here is my hat. (Point to tummy, then top of head.) I'm a happy fellow, here's my nose, (Smile, then point to nose.) I'm all snow from my head to my toes. (Point to head, then to toes.) I have two bright eyes so I can see (Point to eyes.) All the snow falling down on me. (Flutter fingers downward.) When the weather's cold I'm strong and tall, (Stand up tall.)

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But when it's warm I get very small. (Crouch down low.)

I'm a Little Penguin... ( I'm a Little Teapot)

I'm a little penguin On the ice. I think cold is very nice. I can hop around first once, then twice, I think ice is very nice.

Mr. Raccoon... ( Frere Jacques)

Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping? Mr. Raccoon? Mr. Raccoon? All the snow is falling; All the snow is falling Sleep, sleep, snooze;, Sleep, sleep, snooze Other verses: Mrs. Bear, Mr. Snake, etc.

Hibernation Song... (Are You Sleeping) Bear is sleeping, bear is sleeping In the cave, in the cave. I wonder when he'll come out, I wonder when he'll come out In the spring, In the spring.

Birds are flying, birds are flying In the sky, in the sky. I wonder when they'll come back, I wonder when they'll come back, In the spring, in the spring.

Winter's Coming! (Frere Jacques)

Winter's coming. Winter's coming. It is dark. It is cold. I am bundled snug and warm. Animals sleep safe from harm.

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Sleds and snow. Cold winds blow.

Each Mitten Has A Mate... ( If you’re happy and you know it)

Each mitten has a mate, has a mate. Each mitten has a mate, has a mate. Can (child's name) find the pair? (He/She) is looking here and there. Can (child's name) find the mate. Find the mate?

Marco the Polar Bear

Marco the Polar Bear, (make circle in front of body with arms) White as the snow, (extend out arms proudly) Sat down on the ice (sit down) Near the cold water's flow. (shiver) "Lunch! I need lunch" he said; (rub stomach) "I'll make a wish." (put hands together to make wish) He stuck in his paw (put right hand down) And came up with a fish! (hold up right hand and smile)

I Wish I Were a Walrus

I wish I were a Walrus A waddling on the shore. I'd say, "Move over, here I come!" And bellow out a "ROAR!"

I wish I were a Walrus A basking in the sun. I'd flap my flippers, oh so loud To show I'm number one!

I wish I were a Walrus A strutting all my stuff. If anybody picked on me I'd show them my big tusks!

Aussie Jingle Bells

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Dashing through the bush in a rusty holden ute Kicking up the dust Esky in the boot Kelpie by my side Singing Christmas songs summertime and I am in my singlet shorts and thongs

Chorus Jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way Christmas in Australia on a scorching summer's day Oh! Jingle bells jingle bells Christ-mass time is beaut Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty holden ute Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden ute

Engine's getting hot we dodge the Kangaroos The swaggie climbs aboard he is welcome too All the family is there sitting by the pool Christmas day in the Aussie way by the Bar-bque Oh!

Chorus Jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way Christmas in Australia on a scorching summer's day Oh! Jingle bells jingle bells Christmas time is beaut Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty holden ute Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden ute followed by a chorus of laughter: Ha ha ha

Come the afternoon grandpa has a doze The kids and Uncle Bruce are swimming in their clothes The time comes round to go we take a family snap And pack the car and all shoot through Before the washing up Oh!

Chorus Jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way Christmas in Australia on a scorching summer's day Oh! Jingle bells jingle bells Christmas time is beaut Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty holden ute Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden ute

Six White Boomers

Early on one Christmas day, a Joey kangaroo Was far from home and lost in a great big zoo. Mummy, where's my Mummy? They've taken her away! We'll help you find your mummy son, just hop up on my sleigh! Up beside the bag of toys little Joey hopped But they hadn't gone far when Santa stopped

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Unharnessed all the reindeer and Joey wandered why Then he heard a far off booming in the sky.

Chorus Six White Boomers Snow-white boomers Racing Santa Claus through the blazing sun Six white boomers Snow White boomers On his Australian Run

Pretty soon Old Santa began to feel the heat Took his fur-lined boots off to cool his feet Into one hopped Joey, feeling quite okay While those old man kangaroos kept pulling on the sleigh CHORUS

Joey said to Santa, what about the toys? Aren't you giving some to these girls and boys? They've all had their presents son, 'cause we were here last night, This trip's an extra trip, Joey's special flight

CHORUS

Soon the sleigh was passing right over Marble Bar Slow down there, said Santa, it can't be far. Come up on my lap here, son, and take a look around There she is, that's mummy! Bounding up and down!

CHORUS

Song of Hanukkah Eva Grant

Come and sing a Hanukkah song. Sing of heroes, brave and strong - Maccabeus and his band, Who rescued Israel's ancient land.

Sing a song of candles burning, Dreidel spinning, pancakes turning, Hanukkah presents tucked away To open on the holiday.

Sing a happy Hanukkah song Every day for eight days long.

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Hanukkah Treats Elbee Jay

Come, children, come, Come quick as you can. Latkes are sizzling Hot in the pan. Soon they'll be browning, Ready to eat. Come, children, come For Hanukkah's treat.

Come, children, come, Come merry and bright. Presents are waiting, Hidden from sight - Secrets in wrappings. Need I repeat? Come, children, come For Hanukkah's treat.

I Celebrate Hanukkah

I light my own menorah. I watch the candles blaze. I say the Hanukkah blessings. I celebrate eight miracle days.

I sing the hymns of freedom. I eat latkes for a treat. I spin the dreidel and try to win Nuts or raisins so sweet.

I exchange presents with my relatives. Little gifts that say we care - - Our smiles shine like the candles, And our happiness we share.

I light my own menorah. I watch the candles blaze. I'm celebrating Hanukkah In lots of loving ways!

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Hanukkah Rainbow Eva Grant

Eight little candles in a row, Gaily colored, All aglow. Scarlet, purple, Green, white, blue, Pink and yellow, Orange, too. The menorah, Shining bright, Holds a rainbow Hanukkah night.

Eight little candles in a row, Waiting to join the holiday glow.

The first night we light candle number one. Hanukkah time has now begun.

The second night we light candles one and two. Hanukkah's here--there's lots to do.

The third night we light up to three. Hanukkah's here---there's lots to see.

The fourth night we light all up to four, Each now a part of the Hanukkah lore.

The fifth night we light all up to five, Helping our Hanukkah come alive.

The sixth night we light all up to six. Happy candles---happy wicks.

The seventh night we light all up to seven. The glow of each candle reaches to heaven.

The eighth night we light all up to eight. Hanukkah's here----let's celebrate!

Hanukkah Lights

Nine little candles in my Hanukkah light, Burning brightly throughout the night. But one little candle is taller than the rest,

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We call that candle the Shamash.

We light the candles one by one, We play with dreidels and have some fun. We dance the hora and tell the story, Of Judah Maccabbee and his glory.

Family Hanukkah Eva Grant

Mother's in the kitchen frying Potato pancakes, crisp and light, Father hides the children's presents To be opened every night. Amy shines the brass menorah Till it glitters like the sun, David counts the tiny candles, He will light them one by one. Grandma bustles round the household, Then Grandpa joins the Hanukkah fun, He tells the Maccabean story, A family Hanukkah has begun!

Hanukkah Harmonica Mimi Brodsky

Last Hanukkah was the best - full of stories and of laughter, latkes, dreidels, candles bright, shiny gelt. And then right after we opened our presents, neatly wrapped: a book from Mom, a shirt from Dad, and from my cousin Monica a wonderful harmonica!

I learned to play it right away, took it with me everywhere - played horas after Hebrew school, played polkas for the Purim Fair, played mayim for our Parents' Night, played lullabies by campfire light.

I must take time out from this day to write a note long overdue. Here is what I want to say

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(Don't you think that you would, too?) "Dear cousin Monics, I love the harmonica You sent me last Hanukkah!"

Hanukkah Jean McKinney

My friends down the street Are happy and gay! Hanukkah is starting - It's starting today!

The lovely menorah Shining and bright, Is waiting with candles All ready to light.

Hanukkah, Hanukkah How well you've begun With gifts and with pancakes For everyone!

Hanukkah Hap Palmer

Hanukkah, Hanukkah, festival of lights Candles glow in a row, Seven days, eight nights.

Hanukkah, Hanukkah, make your dreidel spin Round and round, round and round, everyone join in.

Hanukkah, Hanukkah, what a merry time Cakes to eat, what a treat, see the faces shine.

Hanukkah, Hanukkah, sing and dance this way Round and round, round and round, happy holiday.

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Dreidel Song Efraim Rosenzweig

Twirl about, dance about, Spin, spin, spin! Turn, dreidel, turn -- Time to begin!

Soon it is Hanukkah -- Fast, dreidel, fast! For you will lie still When Hanukkah's past.

Hanukkah Quiz Eva Grant

Why is the story of Hanukkah told? To honor the brave Maccabeans of old. What makes our mouths water, handed around? Platefuls of pancakes, deliciously browned. There are the Hanukkah gifts hidden? Well . . . That is a secret which no one should tell! What do we place on the table to hold The gay-colored candles? It's polished gold. The shining menorah! What comes once a year? Hanukkah fun! At last it is here!

The Dreidel

Nun, gimel, heh, and shin, See the wooden dreidel spin. Nes gadol hayah shin, If I'm lucky I will win!

I play with my new dreidel upon the shiny floor. I ask some friends to play with me- we must have two or more.

I give the players pennies- the same amount to each. We sit down in a circle, the pennies within reach.

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Each player puts a penny in the proper spot. The middle of the circle is what we call the pot.

Next I take the dreidel and spin it round and round. Which letter does it land on? What fortune have I found?

I read the letter facing up- it tells me how to play. The letters are in Hebrew, and here is what they say.

Nun means I do nothing- I neither give nor take. Heh means I take half the pot- what a lucky break!

Gimel means I take it all. It looks as if I'll win! But I must put a penny back when it lands on shin.

We go around the circle- it's lots and lots of fun, till one has all the pennies. Then the game is done!

Nun, gimel, heh, and shin, See the wooden dreidel spin. Nes gadol hayah sham, If I'm lucky I will win!

For Hanukkah H. N. Bialik

Father lighted candles for me; Like a torch the Shamash shone. In whose honor, for whose glory? For Hanukkah alone.

Teacher bought a big top for me, Solid lead, the finest known. In whose honor, for whose glory? For Hanukkah alone.

Mother made a pancake for me,

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Hot and sweet and sugar-strewn. In whose honor, for whose glory? For Hanukkah alone.

Uncle had a present for me, An old penny for my own. In whose honor, for whose glory? For Hanukkah alone.

Happy Hanukkah! Eva Grant

Outside, snow is slowly, softly Falling through the wintry night. In the house, the brass menorah Sparkles with the candlelight.

Children in a circle listen To the wondrous stories told, Of the daring Maccabeans And the miracles of old.

In the kitchen, pancakes sizzle, Turning brown, they'll soon be done. Gifts are waiting to be opened, Happy Hanukkah's begun.

Let's be Happy Malvine P. Hoenig

Let's be happy, let us cheer, Hanukkah again is here. All the lights are shining bright, Isn't it a lovely sight?

You know these lights remind us Of the time long, long ago, When God caused one, tiny light, for eight long days to shine so bright.

Joyous Hanukkah! Eva Grant

At last! At last! Hanukkah is here!

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The whole house is bursting with holiday cheer.

Pancakes are sizzling as hard as they can, Browning delectably crisp in the pan.

The dreidels can scarcely wait to be spun; Presents are hidden for Hanukkah fun;

And there, on the table, polished and bright, The shining menorah gleams through the night,

Like the oil lamp in ancient history, That burned on and on miraculously!

And each flaming candle proclaims the great story Of the Maccabean heroes, their deeds and their glory.

At Hanukkah Vivian Gouled

Lighting Hanukkah candles and watching them burn and glow; Listening to the story of Hanukkah long ago; Giving and getting presents each day, and theat means eight... Hanukkah is a happy time, fun to celebrate.

My Hanukkah Candles Philip Raskin

Eight little candles, All in a line; Eight little candles Glitter and shine.

Eight little candles Eight little flames, Whispers a legend Of honor and fame.

Eight little candles Bashfully hide The soul of people Its hope and its pride.

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Eight little candles Sparklets of gold, Stories of battles, And heroes of a old.

Heroes undaunted, And noble, and true; Heroes who knew How to dare and to do;

Heroes who taught The ages to be That man can be brave, And that man should be free.

Modest and frail Is their lights, yet it cheers A people in exile Two thousands years

Eight little candles Their guttering gleams Speak to my heart In a language of dreams.

Light to my eye Is their smile and their cheer, Sweet to my ear Is their whisper to hear.

Courage but courage, Maccabee's brave son, Fight for light And the battle is won.

Candy Cane Story

Jesus Gentle Shepherd, this cane of red and white proclaims the sweet love story born on Christmas night.

This cane, you see, when turned around begins your name of Love and now becomes a symbol of peace proclaimed above. The lively peppermint flavor is the regal gift of spice. The white is your purity

Page 130 of 213 The Winter Theme Book and the red your sacrifice.

And so this cane reminds us of just how much you care and like your Christmas Gift to us it's meant for all to share.

The True Meaning of Christmas

Teach the Children ... Teach them the old meaning of Christmas That seems to have been forgotten

Teach them that ...

The shining star is ... the heavenly sign of promise long ago. The countless stars at night now show that God sent us a Savior long ago

Red is the first color of Christmas To remind us of the blood Christ shed for all of us

The Christmas Tree ... is the second color of Christmas Green all year long to symbolize hope Needles pointing heavenward to remind us to turn our thoughts toward heaven

The Christmas Bell ... Used to find lost sheep Now reminds us To return to the "fold" for guidance

Candles and Christmas lights ... show our thanks for the star long ago Small lights to mirror the star light long ago

Bows on our presents ... represent Good Will Forever Just as the bows tie our packages together so are all men tied together in good will

Candy canes ... A shepherd's crook To bring the strays back to the fold and remind us that we are our brother's keepers

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A Christmas Wreath ... A perfect round Never beginning and never ending Just like love ... ours and God's

Christmas Secrets (Author: Marie Irish)

Think of the thousands of secrets That are tucked securely away, All sorts of wonderful secrets To be revealed on Christmas Day.

Secrets large and secrets small, Secrets short and secrets tall, Secrets thick and secrets thin -- Won't the folks who get them grin?

There are secrets flat on their backs, There are others hanging up high, Some are standing smack on their heads, Some in pitch-black corners lie.

Secrets round and secrets square, Secrets dark and secrets fair, Secrets sour and secrets sweet, Secrets to wear and secrets to eat.

And if all these secrets were one, An laid out on a long, long shelf, I think it would surely surprise Dear old jolly Santa himself

An Alphabet of Christmas (Traditional)

A for the Animals out in the stable. B for the Babe in his manger for cradle. C for the Carols so blithe and gay. D for December, the twenty-fifth day. E for the Eve when we're all so excited. F for the Fire when the Yule log is lighted. G for the Goose which you all know is fat. H is the Holly you stick in your hat. I for the Ivy, which clings to the wall. J is for Jesus, the cause of it all.

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K for the Kindness begot by this feast. L is the Light shining far in the East. M for the Mistletoe. Beware where it hangs! N is the Noel the angels first sang. O for the Oxen, the first to adore him. P for the Presents wise men laid before him. Q for the Quiet that comes in the night, as stars in the heavens shine joyously bright. R for the Romps and the Raisins and nuts. S for the Stockings that Santa Claus stuffs. T for the Times we always will treasure. U is for Us, sharing Christmas together. V for the Visitors, happy boys and girls. W for Wishes for peace in our world. X is for Xmas, the day Jesus was born. Y for Yuletide, the season we adore. Z for Zzzzzs, as children sleep tight, resting until Christmas morning's first light.

A Mother's Christmas Wish (Author: Suzanne Dean)

Come dear family, gather 'round our Christmas tree; Let us spend a little time in love and harmony. Tomorrow we will celebrate the birth of Christ our Lord, But I've a wish this year to see it's meaning's not ignored.

The gifts are neatly set about with names and tags and bows. And Christmas goodies are in sight, the stockings are in rows. But as I look into your faces, what I wish to see. Is a love for Christ our Savior, not "What's Santa bringing me?" Each time one of you were born and laid here in my arm, I thought about the Christ child in the manger safe and warm. I thought of how his life began, and all the things he taught. I thought of how he died for us--that death could conquer not.

I wonder how his face would look, if these gifts to him we gave-- A shirt, a train, a story book. .which of these would he save? I think he'd rather see us give kindness to each other, To say our thanks and give our love to him, our oldest brother.

So, as the colored Christmas lights are blinking in your heads, I hope to find you each with love, kneeling at your beds, And giving him a birthday wish that will be sure to please: Just vow to love your fellow man, and promise from your knees.

Then in the morning when you pass your Christmas gifts around, Give the gift of love and joy. .let true peace here be found. For Jesus will be here to join, he's told us so, you see.

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"If you do it unto the least of these. .you do it unto me."

The Net Before Christmas (By: Jim Trudeau & Jay Truedeau .. 1991 With apologies to Clement C. Moore)

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the nets Not a mousie was stirring, not even the pets. The floppies were stacked by the modem with care In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there. The files were nestled all snug in a folder The screen saver turned on, the weather was colder.

And leaving the keyboard along with my mouse I turned from the screen to the rest of the house. When up from the drive there arose such a clatter I turned to the screen to see what was the matter. Away to the mouse I flew like a flash, Zoomed open a window in fear of a crash...

The glow from the screen on the keyboard below Gave an electronic luster to all my macros. When what to my wondering eyes should appear But a little sleigh icon with eight tiny reindeer And a tiny disk driver so SCSI and quick I knew in a nano it must be Saint Nick.

More rapid than trackballs his cursors they came, He whistled and shouted and faxed them by name. "Now Flasher! Now Dasher! Now Raster and Bixel! On Phosphor! On Photon! On Baudrate and Pixel! To the top of the stack. To the top of the heap." Then each little reindeer made a soft beep.

As data that before the wild electrons fly, When they meet with a node, mount to the drive, So up to the screentop the cursors they flew With a sleigh full of disks and databits, too. And then in a twinkling I heard the high whine Of a modem connecting at a baud rate so fine.

As I gazed at the screen with a puzzling frown St. Nicholas logged on though I thought I was down. He was dressed all in bytes from header to footer And the words on the screen said "Don't you reboot 'er." A bundle of bits he had flung on his back And he looked like a programmer starting his hack.

His eyes how they glazed, his hair was so scary,

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His cola was jolt, not flavored with cherry. His droll little mouth was drawn up like a GIF And the pixels of his beard sure gave me a lift. The stump of a routine he held tight in his code And I knew he had made it past the last node.

He spoke not a word but looked right at me And I saw in a flash his file was .SEA. He self-decompressed and I watched him unfold, Into a jolly old elf, a sight to behold. And the whispering sound of my hard drive's head Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He went straight to his work without saying a word And filled all the folders of this happy nerd. And 'tis the whole truth, as the story is told, That giving a nod up the window he scrolled, He sprang to the serial port as if truly on fire And away they all flew down the thin copper wire.

But I heard him exclaim as he scrolled out of sight "Happy Christmas to All, and to all a good night."

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas

Jolly old Saint Nicholas lean your ear this way! Don't you tell a single soul what I'm going to say: Christmas Eve is coming soon; now you dear old man Whisper what you'll bring to me; tell me if you can

When the clock is striking twelve when I'm fast asleep Down the chimney, broad and black with your pack you'll creep All the stockings you will find hanging in a row Mine will be the shortest one you'll be sure to know

Bobby wants a pair of skates Suzy wants a sled Nellie wants a picture book yellow

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Jingle Bells (By: James Pierpont - 1857)

Dashing through the snow On a one-horse open sleigh Over the fields we go Laughing all the way; Bells on bob-tail ring making spirits bright What fun it is to ride and sing A sleighing song tonight

Jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way! O what fun it is to ride In a one-horse open sleigh

A day or two ago I thought I'd take a ride And soon Miss Fanny Bright Was seated by my side; The horse was lean and lank; Misfortune seemed his lot; He got into a drifted bank And we got upsot

Jingle Bells Jingle Bells Jingle all the way! What fun it is to ride In a one-horse open sleigh

A day or two ago the story I must tell I went out on the snow And on my back I fell; A gent was riding by In a one-horse open sleigh He laughed as there I sprawling lie But quickly drove away

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Jingle Bells Jingle Bells Jingle all the way! What fun it is to ride In a one-horse open sleigh

Now the ground is white Go it while you're young Take the girls tonight And sing this sleighing song; Just get a bob-tailed bay two-forty as his speed Hitch him to an open sleigh And crack! you'll take the lead

Jingle Bells Jingle Bells Jingle all the way!

Frosty The Snowman

Frosty the snowman was a jolly happy soul With a corncob pipe and a button nose and two eyes made out of coal Frosty the snowman is a fairy tale they say He was made of snow but the children know how he came to life one day There must have been some magic in that old silk hat they found For when they placed it on his head he began to dance around O Frosty the snowman was alive as he could be And the children say he could laugh and play just the same as you and me Thumpety thump thump thumpety thump thump Look at Frosty go Thumpety thump thump thumpety thump thump Over the hills of snow

Frosty the snowman knew the sun was hot that day So he said "Let's run and we'll have some fun

Page 137 of 213 The Winter Theme Book now before I melt away " Down to the village with a broomstick in his hand Running here and there all around the square saying Catch me if you can He led them down the streets of town right to the traffic cop And he only paused a moment when he heard him holler "Stop!" For Frosty the snow man had to hurry on his way But he waved goodbye saying "Don't you cry I'll be back again some day " Thumpety thump thump thumpety thump thump Look at Frosty go Thumpety thump thump thumpety thump thump Over the hills of snow

I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas (By: John Rox)

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas Only a hippopotamus will do Don't want a doll, no dinky Tinker Toy I want a hippopotamus to play with and enjoy

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas I don't think Santa Claus will mind, do you? He won't have to use our dirty chimney flue Just bring him through the front door, that's the easy thing to do

I can see me now on Christmas morning, creeping down the stairs Oh what joy and what surprise when I open up my eyes to see a hippo hero standing there

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas Only a hippopotamus will do No crocodiles, no rhinoceroses I only like hippopotamuses And hippopotamuses like me too

Mom says the hippo would eat me up, but then Teacher says a hippo is a vegetarian

There's lots of room for him in our two-car garage

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I'd feed him there and wash him there and give him his massage I can see me now on Christmas morning, creeping down the stairs Oh what joy and what surprise when I open up my eyes to see a hippo hero standing there

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas Only a hippopotamus will do No crocodiles or rhinoceroses I only like hippopotamuseses And hippopotamuses like me too!

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (By: J. Fred Coots & Henry Gillespie)

You better watch out You better not cry Better not pout I'm telling you why Santa Claus is coming to town

He's making a list And checking it twice; Gonna find out who's naughty and nice Santa Claus is coming to town

He sees you when you're sleeping He knows when you're awake He knows if you've been bad or good So be good for goodness sake! O! You better watch out! You better not cry Better not pout I'm telling you why Santa Claus is coming to town Santa Claus is coming to town

Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donder and Blitzen, But do you recall The most famous reindeer of all?

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Had a very shiny nose, And if you ever saw it, You could even say it glows.

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All of the other reindeer Used to laugh and call him names; They never let poor Rudolph Join in any reindeer games. Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say: Rudolph with your nose so bright, Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?" Then how the reindeer loved him As they shouted out with glee, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, You'll go down in history."

What fun it is to ride In a one-horse open sleigh

White Christmas (By: Irving Berlin - 1942)

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas Just like the ones I used to know Where the treetops glisten and children listen To hear sleigh bells in the snow

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas With every Christmas card I write May your days be merry and bright And may all your Christmases be white

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas With every Christmas card I write May your days be merry and bright And may all your Christmases be white

C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S (By: Jenny Lou Carson and Eddy Arnold)

When I was but a youngster, Christmas meant one thing That I'd be getting lots of toys that day

I learned a whole lot diff'rent When Mother sat me down And taught me to spell Christmas this way:

"C" is for the Christ Child born upon this day

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"H" for herald angels in the night "R" means our Redeemer "I" means Israel "S" is for the star that shone so bright "T" is for three wise men, they who traveled far "M" is for the manger where He lay "A" is for all He stands for "S" means shepherds came And that's why there's a Christmas Day

I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day

I heard the bells on Christmas day Their old familiar carols play And mild and sweet the words repeat, Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how as the day had come, The belfries of all Christendom Had roll'd along th' unbroken song Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bow'd my head: "There is no peace on earth," I said, "For hate is strong, and mocks the song Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, With peace on earth, good will to men."

'Til ringing, singing on its way, The world revolved from night to day, A voice, a chime, a chant sublime, Of peace on earth, good will to men!

Far, Far Away On Judea's Plains (By: John Menzies Macfarlane)

Far, Far away on Judea's Plains Shepherds of old heard the joyous strains

Glory to God. Glory to God Glory to God in the highest Peace on earth, good will to men

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Peace on earth, good will to men!

Sweet are these strains of redeeming love Message of mercy from heav'n above

Glory to God. Glory to God Glory to God in the highest Peace on earth, good will to men Peace on earth, good will to men!

Lord with the angels we too rejoice Help us to sing with the heart and voice

Glory to God. Glory to God Glory to God in the highest Peace on earth, good will to men Peace on earth, good will to men!

Hasten the time when, from ev'ry clime Men shall unite In the strains sublime

Glory to God. Glory to God Glory to God in the highest Peace on earth, good will to men Peace on earth, good will to men!

Santa

Two merry blue eyes A queer little nose A long snowy beard And cheeks like a rose A round chubby man A big bulging pack Hurrah for Old Santa We're glad he's come back!

Santa's Sleigh

Have you ever wondered Where Santa leaves his sleigh, When he brings toys for the girls and boys To find on Christmas Day?

For reindeers, all the roof-tops are much to smooth and steep! One slip, and they'd fo sliding down,

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But if they were in the garden, How could Santa, with his sack, Climb right up to the roof-top, Then down the chimney stack?

There's too much danger in the road... So, where CAN he leave his sleigh? Perhaps you'd like to ask him, When he comes round your way!

Santa's Lap

I like to visit Santa Claus When Christmastime is near. It's fun to climb up on his lap And whisper in his ear.

He says, "My dear, have you been good? Have you done what Mother said you should? Do you brush your teeth and hair each day? Are you kind to others when you play?

I listen to each question And answer every one. Although I am ashamed to say I must say no to some.

But Santa never scares me; He doesn't even scold. He just says, "Try again, my dear, You're a fine lad, I am told."

Gee, I like to visit Santa Claus When Christmastime is near. It's fun to climb up on his lap And whisper in his ear...

Santa

Santa's sometimes called Kris Kringle. His merry eyes--oh how they twinkle. His nose and cheeks are red as a rose, Which match all his bright red clothes.

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Wearing a white beard and boots of black, He's a jolly elf carrying his sack. When he laughs, he "ho, ho, hos," From the tip of his hat to the end of his nose.

Santa's Reindeer

"Come Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, and Vixen. Come Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen." Santa said, "My reindeer number eight. We need to go. We can't be late! It's dark this Christmas Eve night. We need someone to carry a light. Rudolph, of course you'll be fine. Now my reindeer number nine."

Guess Who!!

F is for the Fur trim round his big black boots and hat A is for his Apple cheeks, so cuddly, round and fat! T is for the Toys he brings, and H his Happy smile! E is for his Eyes, so bright, and - R each Reindeer mile!

C is for the Chimney stack, and H - the Hearth below. R for his Red cloak and hood, and I the Ice and snow! S is for the Stockings, T is for the Tree - and M is for the Mistletoe, which we all love to see! A is for the Angels, who on Christmas cards appear - and S for dear old Santa Claus, who comes to us each year!

If I Could Find Old Santa

If I could find old Santa I'd ask him for a ride. Under the fur-trimmed blankets I'd nestle by his side. But when he went a climbing

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Down, down the chimney tall I'd wait for him upon the roof For fear that I might fall. I'd sit and hold the reindeer And if they tried to go, I'd call out to them loudly, Whoa! Reindeer, whoa!

When Santa Claus Comes Author Unknown

A good time is coming, I wish it were here, The very best time in the whole of the year; I'm counting each day on my fingers and thumbs -- the weeks that must pass before Santa Claus comes.

Then when the first snowflakes begin to come down, And the wind whistles sharp and the branches are brown, I'll not mind the cold, though my fingers it numbs, For it brings the time nearer when Santa Claus comes.

Christmas Poem Gregory A. Bagshaw

When the night is still and snow is down And Santa Claus is coming ‘round We close our eyes and flirt with sleep We’re real quiet , not a peep

We left some cookies on a plate A glass of milk, it sure tastes great He'll drink the milk and munch a while And then leave presents with a smile

He comes around but once a year And works his heart out, without a tear He’s Santa Claus and he is good I believe in him and know you should

For what he brings is not only toys For all the little girls and boys He brings a thought of times gone by A thought that always makes me cry

Loving and giving, our hearts abound This is the time we turn around We stop and think about the past

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And open up our hearts at last

Old Santa is an Active Man Lois Lenski

Old Santa is an active man, He slides down chimneys black. Fills stockings while his reindeer wait, And then goes climbing back!

A Christmas Card for Santa Bobbi Katz

We all hung up our stockings, and we left you a nice snack. By now, I guess, dear Santa, you have filled your heavy pack. Your reindeer must bew ready to take you for a ride. Do you have both your mittens? It's so very cold outside. Be careful, please, dear Santa, on the rooftops where you go. They're slanty and they're slippery with a crust of ice and snow. I guess I should be tired, but I cannot fall asleep. Tonight I'll count some reindeer, instead of counting sheep. I think you are the nicest man to do the things you do. Merry Christmas, Santa dear, and a happy New Year, too!

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Winter Books

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Winter Books Index

A for Antarctica Ahoy There, Little Polar Bear All About Snow And Ice Andy Bear Animals in Winter Annie and the Wild Animals Antarctica The Big Snow The Biggest Snowball of All Black Snowman, The Boots Brave Irene Caps, Hats, Socks, and Mittens The Children’s Book of Kwanzaa Jan Brett’s Christmas Treasury Clifford's First Snow Day Counting Penguins (Science Emergent Readers) Curious George in the Snow Do Like Kyla Dream Snow Ellie the Evergreen Every Autumn Comes the Bear 50 Below Zero First Snow The First Snowfall Footprints in the Snow Fox's Dream Froggy Gets Dressed F-Freezing ABC Frosty the Snowman George in the Snow Geraldine's Big Snow The Gifts Of Kwanzaa Gingerbread Baby Grandma's Promise The Hat Hello Snow Hopper Ice Cream Larry In the Snow: Who's Been Here? In the Snow The Jacket I Wear in the Snow Katy and the Big Snow

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Little Penguin's Tale Little Polar Bear and the Husky Pup Little Polar Bear Look Snow Meg and Jim’s Sled Trip Making Tracks The Mitten Mouse That Jack Built, The Norman The Doorman The Nutcracker Owl Moon Pancakes for Breakfast The Penguin (Animal Close-Ups) The Poky Little Puppy’s First Christmas Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? Polar Bear, The The Polar Express Puffin's Homecoming Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Shoveling Snow The Singing Snowbear Sledding Snip, Snip, SNOW! Snow Snow Day Snow on Snow on Snow Snow is Falling Snow Speaks, The Snowballs Snowed In at Pokeweed School Snowman Storybook, The Snowman, The Snow Dance The Snowy Day Snow Day Snow is Falling The Snowman The Snow Lambs Snowshoe Thompson Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening Tacky the Penguin Tacky and the Emperor Thomas' Snowsuit Trouble With Trolls Very Merry Snowman Story, A What Makes a Snowflake Grow?

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When it starts to snow When Winter Comes Whiteblack the Penguin Sees the World White Snow, Bright Snow Winter Winter White Winter across America Winter Harvest Winter is Here Winter Rabbit Winter Noisy Book, The Winter Day, A Winter in the Big Woods Wintertime Word Bird's Winter Words

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A for Antarctica Jonathan Chester

Ahoy There, Little Polar Bear Hans de beer In Hans de Beer's Ahoy There, Little Polar Bear (now in a sturdy board-book format), Lars jumps in the sea to catch a fish, but it is he himself who gets caught in a giant net! Dumped into the hold of a ship with piles of slimy fish, he is taken away from his icy home in the North Pole. Up on the ship's deck, he meets the ship's cat Nemo, whom he asks to help him get home. They both creep ashore at the next port, to a town where Lars's white fur gets very dirty, and another cat arranges for him to hop aboard a ship heading back to the North Pole. Soon enough, the young cub is reunited with his loving parents.

All About Snow And Ice Stephen Krensky

Andy Bear Ginny Johnson and Judy Cutchins

Animals in Winter by Henrietta Bancroft and Richard G. VanGelder

Annie and the Wild Animals by Jan Brett Annie's cat Curious is missing, and she puts out corn cakes hoping for a new friend. But the wild animals are not good pets!

Antarctica Helen Cowcher

The Big Snow Berta and Elmer Hader The story of how the animals prepare for the winter and the big snow is told in simple text and beautiful pictures."--Instructor. A Caldecott Medal Book. Full-color and black-and-white illustrations

The Biggest Snowball of All Jane Belk Moncure Little Bear's tiny snowball turns into such a large snowball as it rolls down the hill that she and her animal friends decide to use it to make a snowbear.

Black Snowman, The Phil Mendez

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A disillusioned black boy discovers his heritage as well as his own self-worth with the help of a magical snowman made from city slush. An ALA Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field Social Studies. Full color.

Boots Anne Schreiber

Brave Irene William Steig

Caps, Hats, Socks, and Mittens Louise Borden This is my absolute favorite title on the four seasons, as the approach is from a kid's perspective. The language is simple, but there is a rhythm to the text that is poetic, making it appealing for a wide age range. I have found myself saying the words from the book out loud in different situations: while bundling up my son, "Winter is a lot of stuff to put on and a lot of stuff to get off!" The book is an excellent launching point for kids to talk about what the different seasons mean to them and what they like best about each one.

The Children’s Book of Kwanzaa Dolores Johnson Each year on December 26, the African American holiday of Kwanzaa begins. What is the purpose of Kwanzaa? How did it get its start? Dolores Johnson's easy-to-follow guide gives detailed descriptions of Kwanzaa's principles and symbols. This comprehensive resource also includes recipes and craft and gift ideas, as well as suggestions to help young readers and their families create their own special Kwanzaa celebration

Jan Brett’s Christmas Treasury Jan Brett Her many fans will welcome Jan Brett's Christmas Treasury. This oversize gift edition gathers together seven complete, previously published stories, including The Mitten and The Hat as well as The Twelve Days of Christmas.

Clifford's First Snow Day Norman Bridwell Not long ago, Clifford the Small Red Puppy experienced his first autumn. Now he leaps into his first winter with fluffy white snow, a sled ride, and exciting winter fun.

Counting Penguins (Science Emergent Readers) by Betsey Chessen, Pamela Chanko

Curious George in the Snow Margret Rey H. A. Rey

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Curious George plus snow equals all kinds of mischief.

Do Like Kyla by Angela Johnson A little sister imitates an older sister in the snow.

Dream Snow Eric Carle On Christmas Eve an old farmer wonders how Christmas can come without snow. He takes a nap and dreams of a snowstorm and when he awakes finds that his dream has come true. The old farmer puts on a red suit and all kinds of surprises happen.

Ellie the Evergreen Jean Warren All the trees in the park are turning beautiful colors except Ellie. Ellie feels left out until winter comes and something special happens to her.

Every Autumn Comes the Bear Jim Arnosky In a brief, conversational narrative, Vermonter Arnosky describes a bear arriving on the rocky, wooded hill near his home, disturbing a bobcat in his explorations, taking a last drink from the spring, clawing a tree, and choosing a den for the winter (``Nestled there against cold rock, with only fat and fur to keep him warm''). In Arnosky's luminous watercolors, many other species appear, not all named but all identifiable in his carefully observed art--raccoon, fox, porcupine, deer.

50 Below Zero Robert Munsch Jason's dad walks in his sleep, and Jason finds him in the most unlikely places. ". . . The humorous illustrations are large and colorful

First Snow Emily Arnold McCully First Snow was a delightful story about a mouse family that goes sledding on the first day it snows. One little mouse is frightened but eventually learns how fun it is to sled down a big hill. It is a wordless picture book, which allows children to "read" this book a little differently every time. This book is my 3-year-old daughters favorite. It's wonderful to see how she translates the pictures into words based upon the expressions on the faces of the mice. She imagines what they are saying and how they are feeling. I thoroughly enjoy "reading" it with her every night to see what different ideas she finds. I believe it is a great learning tool for preschoolers.

The First Snowfall

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Anne and Harlow Rockwell Snow falls and falls all through the night. And when morning comes, it's time for fun! Watch the snowplows sweep the streets. Shovel walkways through the snow. Build a snowman! Sled! Ski! There are so many wonderful things to do in this magical snow-covered world!

Footprints in the Snow Cynthia Benjamin A perfect book for intrepid young naturalists, this level 1 Hello Reader! Introduces young children to the tracks that different animals leave in the snow as they hurry to their homes. Children first see the tracks and then follow the footprints into the homes of animals such as a deer, an owl, and a bear--as well as a little girl.

Fox's Dream Tejima

Froggy Gets Dressed Jonathan London In his first appearance, Froggy awakens from his winter hibernation to the joy of small children everywhere -- SNOW! He hops out of bed and dresses for action, with plenty of fun to hear sound effects (zip! zup!). First his mom tells him to go back to sleep. Then, realizing that that's a losing battle, she does her best to make sure he dresses warmly. This entails reminding Froggy of articles of clothing he forgot to put on, so Froggy gets dressed and undressed a few times. After Froggy finally makes it outside, Mom reminds him of one important item he forgot -- UNDERWEAR! The magic word -- it makes Froggy blush and gives his friends, and his readers, the giggles.

F-Freezing ABC Posy Simmonds Freezing at home, an anteater, bear, cat, and duck search for warmer quarters. In their alphabetized adventures, they try a haunted house, a lighthouse, and a skunk's house before returning home. Because of the constraints of the alphabetized format, the story feels forced and disjointed at times, but the colored-pencil illustrations add bits of humor

Frosty the Snowman

George in the Snow Margret Rey H. A. Rey Curious George plus snow equals all kinds of mischief.

Geraldine's Big Snow by Holly Keller Geraldine the pig can't wait for the snow to come.

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The Gifts Of Kwanzaa Synthia Saint James Join this family as they get ready to celebrate Kwanzaa

Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett What happens when you peek into the oven before the gingerbread is fully baked? You can't catch him, or can you? A fun retelling of the tale set in winter.

Grandma's Promise Elaine Moore The illustrations are very calming and pleasing to the eye, the story has a consistant, assuring flow of the grandmother's love of her grandchild as well as her love for nature.

The Hat by Jan Brett When Hedgie gets a stocking stuck on his head, he starts a new fashion trend.

Hello Snow Wendy Lewison Join an exuberant cast of multi-ethnic children as they celebrate the first snow of the season--shaking snowy branches, following footprints, making snow angels, and enjoying the wonder of a world made new by snowfall. With lighthearted illustrations and funny, rhyming text, this appealing book will be a hit with young readers.

Hopper Marcus Pfister Hopper, a mildly rebellious young white hare, learns about cleanliness, snow, falcons, and winter food from his mother. Detailed endpapers and soft-edged watercolors.

Ice Cream Larry Jill Pinkwater Larry is a polar bear who, as we discover in Young Larry, falls asleep on a chunk of ice in Baffin Bay and wakes up in Bayonne, New Jersey. Stranded on a beach, what else can he do but become a lifeguard to earn money to buy the blueberry muffins he loves?

In the Snow: Who's Been Here? Lindsay Barrett George Accurately rendered and dramatically presented, the gouache paintings by Lindsay Barrett George in In the Snow: Who's Been Here introduce children to

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a series of common woodland animals: squirrels, a porcupine, a cardinal, chipmunks. Stunning, realistic illustrations of the two children -- and the wildlife they encounter while sledding -- are so meticulously detailed that they radiate with an almost tactile quality.

In the Snow Huy Voun Lee Ages 4-8. Xiao Ming and his mother head out into the snowy world to take advantage of the "canvas of white" on the ground. Using a stick to write in the snow, Xiao Ming's mother teaches him 10 Chinese characters beginning with tree: "It looks just like a tree. I can see its trunk, branches, and roots." As the characters begin to build on one another, children will be able to see and appreciate the pictorial nature of Chinese writing. The text reads awkwardly, but it communicates clearly, and what the words don't convey, the pictures clarify in wintry vignettes.

The Jacket I Wear in the Snow Shirley Neitzel Written in cheerful, cumulative verse, the book recounts the problems of a young girl and her bulky winter clothing.

Katy and the Big Snow Virginia Lee Burton Katy, a brave and untiring tractor, who pushes a bulldozer in the summer and a snowplow in the winter, makes it possible for the townspeople to do their jobs. "Bright, vigorous pictures with plenty of action and endless detail portray Katy at work for the Highway Department of the city of Geoppolis."

Little Penguin's Tale Audrey Wood Seven little penguins snuggle together in a cozy huddle as their Grand Nanny Penguin tells them a story of long ago. "Once there was a little penguin just like you," she begins. "Just like you--except he didn't listen to his Grand Nanny's tales." But wait! One of the seven little penguins isn't listening now, either.

Little Polar Bear and the Husky Pup Hans De Beer, Rosemary Lanning

Little Polar Bear Hans De Beer, Rosemary Lanning

Look Snow Kathryn O. Galbraith A group of schoolchildren, their teacher, and the bus driver joyfully anticipate the first snowfall of the season, in a vivid celebration of the magic of winter.

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Meg and Jim’s Sled Trip Laura Appleton Smith, Carol Vredenburgh Piontek A book for beginning readers, pre-K through age 8, Meg and Jim speed down hills and slide over snow drifts in this delightful winter's tale. Laura Appleton- Smith's reality based story and Carol Vredenburgh Pointek's classic watercolor illustrations follow Meg and Jim through freshly fallen snow as they enjoy the drifts and hills produced by a recent storm.

Making Tracks David Hawcock Colorful illustrations and a clever pop-up design help young readers take part in a delightful chase to find out whom the animals are following, teaching children to recognize different animal tracks along the way.

The Mitten by Jan Brett How many animals can fit in a boy's lost mitten?

Mouse That Jack Built, The Cyndy Szekeres Inspired by the nursery rhyme "This Is the House That Jack Built, " this delightful poem tells the story of Jack the bunny and the snowmouse he builds on a winter afternoon.

Norman The Doorman Don Freeman Norman the doorman is also a mouse. Most important of all he is also a sculptor. He designs a sculpture and enters it into the competition in the museum.

The Nutcracker Rita Balducci

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, illustrated by John Schoenherr Join a young child and father in winter owling trek.

Pancakes for Breakfast Tomie DePaola What’s more delicious for breakfast than pancakes?

The Penguin (Animal Close-Ups) Beatrice Fontanel, Andre Fatras, Yves Cherel

The Poky Little Puppy’s First Christmas

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Justine Korman The Poky Little Puppy’s adventures at Christmas.

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? B. Martin, Jr. After twenty-five years, this team has produced a companion volume to their ever-popular Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (Holt). Although this newest title doesn't work as perfectly as the earlier book, it will earn its own place in storytime collections.

Polar Bear, The Valerie Tracqui Follows a Polar bear through a year of its life, showing how it hunts, raises its young and is threatened by pollution.

The Polar Express Chris Van Allsburg Late one Christmas Eve after the town has gone to sleep, the boy boards the mysterious train that waits for him: the Polar Express bound for the North Pole.

Puffin's Homecoming Darice Bailer Follows the activities of an Atlantic Puffin as he returns to the island where he was born, meets his mate, and raises a lively chick.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Shoveling Snow Pat Cummings

The Singing Snowbear by Carol Grigg Snowbear keeps hearing a faraway magical song, so one day he leaves his Arctic home to find its source. He finally discovers the singer is a beluga whale who is stuck in the ice. Snowbear saves him, and the grateful whale teaches Snowbear how to sing.

Sledding Elizabeth Winthrop The mild adventure of getting geared up for sledding is related in rather pedestrian verse and illustrated with round-eyed, overly adorable children.

Snip, Snip, SNOW! Nancy Poydar

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Disappointed when a forecasted snowstorm doesn't materialize, Sophie and her classmates make their own snowflakes out of paper. Later, when the snow finally comes, Sophie is delighted. Her responses to both the lack of snow and its arrival are appealing and childlike, and the illustrations show Sophie's joy at the storm. Directions for making paper snowflakes are included

Snow Nancy Elizabeth Wallace As a boy, grandpa loved playing in the snow with his little brother. Now, he enjoys telling his grandson all about the fun they used to have.

Snow Day Betsy Maestro Most of the book is devoted to the details of snow removal, including the different trucks and machinery used. A book for the very young truck and machine lovers.

Snow on Snow on Snow Cheryl Chapman Inspired by a poem by Christina Rossetti, Chapman uses repeating prepositional phrases to tell the story of a little boy who goes sledding with his dog, Clancy. When Clancy gets lost, the boy and his friends must find the beloved pet. Although the simply designed illustrations in brilliant colors complement the text, they are sometimes inconsistent with the season.

Snow is Falling Franklyn Branley Snow is falling. Snow is wonderful - for sledding, for skiing, and for building snowmen. But did you know that snow can actually keep things warm? Find out how snow helpf plants, animals, and people to survive. But when a blizzard blows, watch out! The snow that is so useful can be dangerous too.

Snow Speaks, The Nancy White Carlstrom Quiet free verse, full of similes and the various sounds of snow, reveals a childhood understanding of snow magic, from the first snowfall through the visitation of what seem to be Christmas snow angels. Attractive watercolors, alternating between insets and double-page spreads, capture the real and fantastic wonders experienced by a brother and sister.

Snowballs Lois Ehlert A good snowfall means terrific snowballs and great snow play. Birds probably know when snow is on the way, but kids anticipate a big snow by saving all kinds of "good stuff" like seeds, nuts, corn kernels, and colorful yarn. When snow does come, so can a "perfect snowball day" when the collected good stuff is used to

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create wonderful snow characters: a snow dad with raisin eyes and a corn kernel mouth; a snow dog named Spot, dotted with colorful buttons.

Snowed In at Pokeweed School John Bianchi

Snowman Storybook, The Raymond Briggs The enchanting story of a young boy and a snowman who share a magical night of friendship, fun and flying.

Snowman, The Raymond Briggs The enchanting story of a young boy and a snowman who share a magical night of friendship, fun and flying.

Snow Dance Lezlie Evans In this lyrical celebration of one of the most awaited days of the year, two young children anticipate a snowstorm and all the joy, wonder, and excitement that it promises. As the flakes begin to fall, their wish comes true and the two cavort in the freshly fallen snow. Lively, bright watercolors capture the exuberance and enchantment children experience at the first snowfall.

The Snowy Day Ezra Jack Keats The Snowy Day, a 1963 Caldecott Medal winner, is the simple tale of a boy waking up to discover that snow has fallen during the night. Keats's illustrations, using cut-outs, watercolors, and collage, are strikingly beautiful in their understated color and composition. The tranquil story mirrors the calm presence of the paintings, and both exude the silence of a freshly snow-covered landscape. The little boy celebrates the snow-draped city with a day of humble adventures--experimenting with footprints, knocking snow from a tree, creating snow angels, and trying to save a snowball for the next day. Awakening to a winter wonderland is an ageless, ever-magical experience, and one made nearly visceral by Keats's gentle tribute.

Snow Day Lynn Plourde “Snow, Covering trees. Blanketing bushes. Burying road. White, Glorious white, Everywhere!

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There's no day like a Snow Day!”

Snow is Falling Franklyn M. Branley Snow is falling. Snow is wonderful - for sledding, for skiing, and for building snowmen. But did you know that snow can actually keep things warm? Find out how snow helpf plants, animals, and people to survive. But when a blizzard blows, watch out! The snow that is so useful can be dangerous too.

The Snowman by Raymond Briggs The snowman comes to life. One of the few books that is beautifully done in video form as well. The book does not have Christmas images in it, but the video does.

The Snow Lambs by Debi Gliori Sam loses his sheepdog, Bess, in a snowy storm. Mom and Dad say Bess can take care of herself, but Sam is not so sure.

Snowshoe Thompson Nancy Smiler Levison Based on the exploits of a real person, this richly illustrated, easy-to-read slice of social history re-creates the difficulties of living in northern California during the 1850s. Norwegian-born John Thompson skis across the treacherous Sierra Nevada mountains - previously thought to be impassable - to deliver a Christmas letter from a young boy to his father, who is digging for gold in Nevada. A good story as well as a useful one.

Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening Robert Frost Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening with Susan Jeffers's 1978 illustrations plays up a festive family atmosphere. Jeffers warms the snowy b&w scenes by accenting coats, blankets and birds with muted colors. A frosty vellum cover evokes a wintry feel.

Tacky the Penguin Helen Lester Tacky's perfect friends find him annoying until his odd behavior saves the day. "Droll facial expressions, which still retain their animal quality, add more humor to a perceptive text about being different."

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Tacky and the Emperor Helen Lester, Lynn Munsinger Tacky, the delightful penguin who marches (or is it waddles?) to a different drummer is back in another funny and charming tale-this time involving a royal visit from the emperor. When Tacky and his five iceberg-mates learn that the emperor is coming to visit, they enter into frenzied preparations....

Thomas' Snowsuit by Robert Munsch Thomas really doesn't want to put on his snowsuit.

Trouble With Trolls by Jan Brett Treva's dog gets stolen by the trolls, and she keeps trading warm clothing for her dog. How will she get them all back?

Very Merry Snowman Story, A Joanne Barkan A delightful Christmas tale follows Santa as he makes his Christmas Eve rounds, bringing toys to all good girls and boys, a work whose illustrations sparkle in the light and glow in the dark.

What Makes a Snowflake Grow? Nancy Carpino Nana, what makes a snowflake grow? Follow along on this adventure to find out.

When it starts to snow Phillis Gershator, Martin Matje (Illustrator) "What if it starts to snow? What do you do? Where do you go?" So lilts the refrain in this delightful ode to winter wonderlands and freshly fallen snow. As the young narrator repeats his curious query, all manner of creatures answer in their own voices. "'I keep watch,' says the shiny black crow. 'Caw Caw Caw' when it starts to snow."

When Winter Comes Robert Maass In his third photographic evocation of a season as enjoyed by children in different settings, Maass strikes a quieter tone than he did in When Summer Comes (p. 787), emphasizing winter's somber blues and grays; here, snow scenes are muted under clouded skies, and the occasional bright hat, or a cozy interior with Chanukah candles or a soft red Navaho rug beneath an unlit Christmas tree, counterpoint the duller tones rather subtly.

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Whiteblack the Penguin Sees the World Margret Rey, H. A. Rey Originally created in 1937, this recently discovered manuscript has been published for the first time. Like the beloved Curious George, Whiteblack has a propensity to get into trouble--but never for long. With a thirst for adventure and an easygoing nature, he travels the world in search of stories. The illustrations are rendered in Rey's trademark opaque watercolors outlined in heavy black charcoal.

White Snow, Bright Snow Alvin Tresselt First published in 1947, White Snow, Bright Snow captures all the fun, magic, and mystery of a snowfall. The enchanting illustrations are a perfect enhancement to the lovely story. Full color.

Winter Nicola Baxter

Winter White Ryder

Winter across America Simon

Winter Harvest Jane Chelsea Aragon

Winter is Here Kimberly Weinberger

Winter Rabbit Patrick Yee How do you get ready for bed when bedtime lasts all winter long? Squirrel and Bear know just what to do when the long Northern night begins to fall. With bold, bright, and contemporary art work, Patrick Yee tells an endearing tale of a cold world kept warm by the power of friendship and imagination.

Winter Noisy Book, The Margaret Wise Brown Welcome reissues of three of Brown's seven Noisy Books about the little dog Muffin and the sounds he hears in various situations. The books invite

Page 163 of 213 The Winter Theme Book participation, tempting interrogation, and deliciously ridiculous possibilities, and contain a final revelation. The bright, boldly designed books feature strikingly modern, angular, posterlike illustrations. Ageless and timeless, these treasures from the past have retained all their freshness and appeal

Winter Day, A Douglas Florian

Winter in the Big Woods Laura Ingles Wilder Laura helps Ma and Pa make the little log cabin snug and cozy for the snowy days ahead.

Wintertime Ann Schweninger A dog family explores the changes that happen in nature during the winter.

Word Bird's Winter Words Jane Belk Moncure

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Websites

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WINTER MISC... http://www.thefamilycorner.com/dir/Family/Kids/Coloring_Pages/Seasons/W inter/ http://www.niksula.cs.hut.fi/~mnikkane/ http://miavx1.muohio.edu/~Dragonfly/snow/index.htmlx www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/winter/index.html http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/christmas/ http://www.icomm.ca/daycare/cardsi11.html#CIR1041 http://www.billybear4kids.com/holidays/winter/fun.htm http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/preschool-winter.htm http://hometown.aol.com/iteach345/page2/ http://daycare.about.com/cs/winteractivities/index.htm http://www.abcteacher.com/catalog-ec1.shtml http://media.fastclick.net/w/pc.cgi?mid=6734&sid=2863 http://atozteacherstuff.com/themes/winter.shtml http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/preschool-winter.htm http://hometown.aol.com/iteach345/page2/ http://daycare.about.com/cs/winteractivities/index.htm http://www.abcteacher.com/catalog-ec1.shtml http://media.fastclick.net/w/pc.cgi?mid=6734&sid=2863 http://atozteacherstuff.com/themes/winter.shtml

Perpetual Preschool - songs and some activities for different holidays. http://www.perpetualpreaschool.com http://www.abcteach.com/abcbabysit/seasonal/snowflake.htm Snowflake pattern activity

DLTK's Winter Crafts for Kids http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/winter/index.html

Holdiay Shape Book Patterns - Different Seasons http://abcteach.com/Shape%20books/Holidays/HolidayTOC.htm

Winter Writing http://abcteach.com/MonthtoMonth/December/winter.htm

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abcteach - Winter http://abcteach.com/index.html

December activities http://abcteach.com/MonthtoMonth/December/decemberTOC.htm abcteach - winter Concentration Game http://abcteach.com/index.html

January Activities http://abcteach.com/MonthtoMonth/January/januaryTOC.htm

The mailbox winter theme book with sample pages http://www.theeducationcenter.com/cgi- bin/tec/productDetail.jsp?OID=536929088&BV_SessionID=@@@@0279973729.100 4569190@@@@&BV_EngineID=dadccgggjdeebefmcgigcghldhjl.0

When you click on the link, you will type winter themes in the "search" box at the top. You should get a page full of resources. http://www.edhelpernet.com/cgi-bin/ednet.cgi

Subject: SANTA'S CHRISTMAS PAGE http://www.santaschristmas.ca/

Winter Fun at Kid's Domain http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/winter/

Antartica Animals http://www.enchantedlearning.com/school/Antarctica/Animalprintouts.shtm l

Circle Polar Bear Craft - Shapes, Scissor Skills, Colors, and Counting Practice http://www.enchantedlearning.com/school/Antarctica/Animalprintouts.shtm l

Info on Chinese New Years along with lesson plans http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-6603.html lesson plans for Christmas http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-6604.html http://www.123child.com/winter/xmas.html http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/xmas/index.html http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/xmas/index.html http://www.childfun.com/christmas/index.shtml http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/1133/christmas/santa.html

Page 167 of 213 The Winter Theme Book lesson plans for December Holidays http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-6609.html lesson plans for Hunukkah http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-6627.html http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/1133/holidaypoems/hanukkah2.html lesson plans for Kwanzaa http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-6638.html

lesson plans for Valentine’s Day http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-6673.html lesson plans for winter theme http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-6677.html http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/winter/index.html http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/winter/index.html lesson plans for the Artic Region http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-6598.html lesson plans for New Years http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-6598.html lesson plans for Thanksgiving http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-6670.html http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/thanksgiving/index.html http://www.first-school.ws/theme/h_thanksgiving.htm http://www.123child.com/fall/thanks.html lesson plans for Pilgrims http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-6654.html lesson plans for Native Americans http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-6648.html lesson plans for Martin Luther King Jr http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-6643.html lesson plans for Black History Month http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-6602.html animal info, virtual zoo, animal pictures, live animal cams http://www.exzooberance.com/ seasonal lesson plan sites http://www.lessonplanspage.com/SeasonalThemes.htm snow lesson plans http://www.123child.com/winter/snow.html

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http://www.childfun.com/themes/snow.shtml lesson plans for polar animals http://www.123child.com/winter/polar.html children’s songs – several holiday pages http://members.home.com/veeceet/index.html

Danielle’s place – Christian site with lots of holiday theme ideas http://www.daniellesplace.com/index.html

Australian Christmas Website http://www.ozkidz.gil.com.au/Christmas/

Australian Cultural Network: http://www.acn.net.au/articles/1998/11/xmas.htm

Australian Christmas Site - Australian Cultural Network http://www.can.net.au

Merry Christmas in Over 100 Languages http://www.flw.com/christmas.htm

Christmas in....Aussie Christmas Traditions http://www.gil.com.au/ozkidz/Christmas/poppytra.html

Child's Christmas in Wales http://www.bfsmedia.com/MAS/Dylan/Christmas.html

Christmas Down Under http://www.gil.com.au/ozkidz/Christmas/

Christmas in Finland http://virtual.finland.fi/finfo/english/xmas.html

Christmas in France and Canada http://www.chin.gc.ca/christmas/

Christmas Mexican Traditions http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/christmas.html

Christmas in New York City http://www.nyctourist.com/xmas_in_nyc.htm

Christmas in Norway http://w1.2515.telia.com/~u251500183/christma.htm

Christmas in the Philippines http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Peaks/8345/

Christmas in Poland http://www.polishworld.com/christmas/

Christmas in Slovakia

Page 169 of 213 The Winter Theme Book http://iarelative.com/xmas/

Christmas in the UK http://www.rmplc.co.uk/eduweb/sites/wickham/xmas/xmastory.html

Dutch Celebrations http://www.worldaccess.nl/~jagerjh/dutch/sinterkl.htm

FINFO: Finnish Christmas Table http://www.vn.fi/vn/um/finfo/english/joulreng.html

Icelandic Yule http://www.itn.is/~gunnsi/yule.htm

O Da Kine Christmas Tree Hawaii http://www.aloha-hawaii.com/hawaii_magazine/christmas/index.shtml

Polish Christmas in the Polar Regions http://hum.amu.edu.pl/~zbzw/ph/xmas/pcpra.htm

Season's Greetings -- Christmas in Poland http://www.infocom.net/~romanm/xmas.html

Swedish Christmas Chemistry http://www.santesson.com/christ/chemhome.htm

Sinterklaas http://www-astro.physics.ox.ac.uk/~erik/sint/sint.html

Sinternet: Dutch http://amsterdam.park.org:8888/Guests/Sint/

SurfNet Christmas page 1997: Finland http://www.surfnet.fi/xmas.htm

UDA - Christmas in Norway http://odin.dep.no/ud/nornytt/uda-502.html

Subject: countries at this Christmas around the World Site http://www.santas.net/aroundtheworld.htm Christmas in African America, Christmas in Alaska, Christmas in America, Christmas in Argentina, Christmas in Australia, Christmas in Austria, Christmas in Bangladesh NEW, Christmas in Belgium Christmas in Bulgaria, Christmas in Canada, Christmas in Chile, Christmas in China Christmas in Denmark, Christmas in Egypt, Christmas in England Christmas in Ethiopia, Christmas in Finland, Christmas in France Christmas in Germany, Christmas in Great Britain, Christmas in Greece Christmas in Greenland, Christmas in Guatemala, Christmas in Holland Christmas in the Holy Land, Christmas in Hong Kong, Christmas in Hungary, Christmas in India, Christmas in Ireland, Christmas in Italy Christmas in Japan, Christmas in Latin America, Christmas in Lebanon Christmas in Malta, Christmas in Mexico, Christmas in Netherlands And more

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Posada - Mexico http://www.nacnet.org/assunta/nacimnto.htm http://www.demon.co.uk/mexuk/dic95/navidad.html http://www.californiamall.com/holidaytraditions/traditions-mexico.htm

Diwali - Hindu http://ruchiskitchen.com/festivals/deepavali.htm http://www.rumela.com/events/festival_diwali.htm http://www.diwalimela.com/

Winter Olympic curriculum http://www.uen.org/2002/ http://www.city.nagano.nagano.jp/ikka/e-gakkou/country/ http://www.usatoday.com/olympics/owg98/venues/owv00.htm http://www.olympics.coke.com/

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Fact File

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Polar Profiles

POLAR BEAR Ursus maritimus size: males-2.5 to 3 m (8.2-9.8 ft.); 350 to over 650 kg (770- 1,500+lb.) females-2 to 2.5 m (6.6-8.2 ft.); 150 to 250 kg (330-550 lb.) distribution: arctic coasts, islands, and adjacent sea ice of Eurasia and North America. prey: ringed seals, sea birds, carcasses of stranded marine mammals, small land mammals, reindeer, fish, and vegetation. predators: No natural predators. fun fact: At birth, polar bear cubs weigh only about 900 g (about 2 lb.)!

BELUGA WHALE Delphinapterus leucas size: 3 to 4.5 m (10-15 ft.); 680 to 1,497 kg (1,500-3,300 lb.). males are larger than females. distribution: arctic and subarctic areas prey: squids, octopuses, shrimps, and a variety of bottom- dwelling fishes. predators: killer whales and polar bears. fun fact: The beluga whale was given the nickname "sea canary" by early scientists and sailors, due to the birdlike sounds it makes.

PACIFIC WALRUS Odobenus rosmarus divergens size: males-2.7 to 3.5 m (9-11 ft.); 800 to 1,700 kg (1,760-3,750 lb.) females-2.3 to 3 m (7.5-10 ft.); 400 to 1,250 kg (880-2,750 lb.) distribution: Arctic Pacific prey: clams, mussels, fishes, snails, crabs, shrimps, and squids. Some eat seals and small whales.

Page 173 of 213 The Winter Theme Book predators: killer whales and polar bears. fun fact: The sensitive, bristly whiskers (or vibrissae) of the walrus are used to feel for molluscs on the ocean bottom.

HARBOR SEAL Phoca vitulina size: males-1.5 to 2 m (5-6.5 ft.); 70 to 170 kg (150-375 lb.) females-1.2 to 1.5 m (4-5 ft.); 50 to 150 kg (110-330 lb.) distribution: temperate, subarctic, and arctic waters of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. prey: fishes, shrimps, squids, and octopuses. predators: killer whales, sharks, and Stellar sea lions. Coyotes and eagles sometimes eat pups. fun fact: Unlike a sea lion, a harbor seal can't rotate its hind flippers underneath its body. On land, a harbor seal moves by undulating its body in a caterpillar-like motion.

ARCTIC FOX Alopex lagopus size: .7 to 1.1 m (2.3-3.6 ft.); 1.4 to 9 kg (3.1-19.8 lb.) distribution: arctic regions of Eurasia, North America, Greenland, and Iceland. prey: lemmings, voles, seabirds, ringed seals, and remains of marine mammals. predators: very few natural predators. Young foxes may sometimes be hunted by birds of prey. fun fact: The den of an arctic fox usually has 4-12 entrances and covers about 30 sq. m (323 sq. ft.). Some dens may be used for centuries, by many generations, and eventually become huge, with over 100 entrances!

ARCTIC CHAR Alvelinus alpinus

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size: 45 to 63.5 cm (17.7-25 in.); up to 96 cm (37.8 in.) distribution: circumpolar; inshore marine waters, lakes, and rivers around the northern hemisphere, including northern North America, northern Asia, northern Europe, Iceland, Greenland, and various arctic islands. prey: crustacean zooplankton, amphipods, capelin, seasnails, sculpins, and other fishes. predators: seals, terns, and loons. Young char are often eaten by their larger relatives. fun The arctic char is the most northerly species of freshwater fishes. fact: (They may move downstream to the sea in spring, returning in autumn, or they may remain permanently in fresh water.)

Winter Sports Ice skating Skiing Sledding Tobogganing Hockey Winter Olympics

Snowflakes

SCIENCE Snowflakes are six-sided! Dendritic snowflakes (more ornate snowflakes) form when the air temperature is between 10°F and 3°F (-12°C to -16°C) [refer to air temperature versus ice crystal shape,]. So, where is it cold enough for dendritic snowflakes to form? High in the atmosphere (usually air temperature decreases with increasing altitude). Access the latest Upper Air Text Data for Selected Cities in the US. [Note: IAD = Dulles, VA. Upper air temperatures are reported in degrees Celsius; convert Celsius temperatures to Fahrenheit using The Weather Calculator.]

Did you know that most precipitation (including rain) starts as snow?

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Reindeer / Caribou Rangifer tarandus

Description Although they are called by different names in North America, wild caribou and domestic reindeer are considered to be a single species throughout the world. Caribou are rather large members of the deer family. Their broad, concave hoofs spread to aid walking on soft ground and are good for digging in snow. Both sexes grow antlers that in males serve as sexual ornaments and weapons for fighting rivals during the breeding season. Alaskan caribou are clove-brown with a white neck and rump. Chukotkan reindeer, as a result of domestication, have varied pelt combinations of brown, grey, black and white in the same herd.

Evolution and Range Caribou live in tundra and boreal forest regions of both Eurasia and North America, on Greenland and on large northern islands. Within Beringia, they occupy eastern Yakutia, the Anadyr highlands and much of western Alaska, but are absent on most of the Chukotka and Seward peninsulas, where they have been supplanted by reindeer. During the great Ice Age caribou were members of the remarkable array of large mammals inhabiting Beringia. Many Ice Age animals are extinct; others live only in more southerly regions. Caribou have persisted, but like other surviving ungulates (bison, elk, muskox) they are much smaller than during the last glacial period.

Caribou Life History, Status Caribou are social animals living in herds; herds are defined by their use of the same general area as calving grounds. In spring pregnant cows lead the migration to the calving grounds, where each will give birth to a single calf. Newborns can walk within an hour and in a few days they can outrun a person. Spring finds the herd feeding on succulent new vegetation; grasses, sedges, flowering plants, horsetails and the leaves of willows. In mid-summer the harassment of mosquitoes and flies can drive the animals to windy coastal areas or old snow patches for relief. In late August or early September the herd begins to drift toward its winter range. Mating occurs enroute during late September and October. Caribou are well adapted to winter conditions. To cope with scarcities and hardships they reduce food intake and lower their metabolic rate. Lichens (including "reindeer moss") are their most important winter food. Caribou shift winter ranges from year to year, which minimizes overgrazing. Since

Page 176 of 213 The Winter Theme Book heavy snow or ice conditions can make it difficult to dig down to food, they often winter in forested areas where snow cover may be less and lichens growing on trees can be eaten. The great migrations of wild herds in groups of thousands are an inspiring sight. But much of their movement is simply the gradual drifting of a widely dispersed herd. The most concentrated and directed movement occurs in the spring migration of cows and one-year olds to the calving grounds, and the migration of both sexes to wintering grounds. Sometimes caribou shift to new areas or routes, causing privation for hunting peoples who depended on their presence.

Caribou that winter on the eastern Seward Peninsula are part of the Western Arctic herd. In spring this herd migrates to calving grounds in the northern foothills of the Brooks Range. In fall they return south in spectacular migrations. This herd has experienced drastic fluctuations. During a low point in the late 1800's caribou disappeared from the Seward Peninsula. The herd then increased to about 240,000 in 1970, declined again to 75,000, then increased to 340,000 in 1988. It is now the largest in Alaska and part of the herd, as many as 50,000, can again be found on the eastern Seward Peninsula in winter.

In the Anadyr highlands west of the Chukotsk Peninsula are small bands of caribou, the remains of much larger herds described by 17th century Russians. In those times Native hunters intensively pursued caribou as they swam across the Anadyr and other rivers during annual migrations. Wild populations declined as hunting, made more efficient with firearms, intensified during the 18th century.

Reindeer

In Eurasia people long ago began to tame wild caribou. Some anthropological studies suggest that this occurred in the southern Altai mountain region about 5,000 years ago. All domesticated reindeer may have derived from those stocks, for modern attempts to domesticate animals from wild caribou populations have not succeeded. It is speculated that initially hunters learned that tamed deer on a leash could help them sneak closer to wild herds. Later tame animals were used to pull sleds, and in some cultures they were saddled and ridden. Eventually people kept herds as a dependable source of food, hides and transport. Today, from the Sami (or "Lapps") in Scandinavia, all across northern Eurasia to the Bering Strait, there are Native peoples who base their economies upon the herding of reindeer. Modern uses include the former

Page 177 of 213 The Winter Theme Book ones, plus commercial sales of meat and some hides. Recently, the sale of antlers to the Orient has become important. In the Russian Republic today, reindeer number about 2,250,000.

Different reindeer varieties have been developed in Asia to suit local conditions and human needs, including transportation. Chukchis have a breed that appears to be the product of longer domestication than most. Excellent for meat production, they are not so good for pulling sleds. The Chukchis may have begun keeping larger herds for commercial meat and hide production in response to the 17th century arrival of Russians. Under the Soviet system Chukotkan herders were organized into brigades, each responsible for 500 to 2,000 reindeer. Larger numbers of reindeer were kept on the Chukotsk Peninsula and the long migrations to the west discontinued. There are no forests on the peninsula and winter can be particularly difficult; nearly half the reindeer died in the winter of 1984. Life in a reindeer camp remains traditional in many ways, based on the mutual dependence of reindeer and people. Reindeer hides supply beautiful, light and warm clothes enabling people to work in the severe cold. Winter hides, one of the best available natural insulators, furnish tents, provide bedding and, sewn together with sinew, become the winter coverings of the large round tents called yarangas.

Despite the long history of cultural contacts and movements across Beringia, reindeer Husbandry was evidently not transmitted to North America until Chukchi and Sami herders and Chukotkan reindeer were brought to Alaska in the late 19th century to teach herding to Eskimos. The Seward Peninsula is home to most of Alaska's reindeer, about 17,000 in herds owned by local Eskimos and Native corporations. Herds range throughout the peninsula, including within the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, where the continuance of herding is allowed by law.

Ecological Concerns Because of their sheer numbers, caribou and reindeer can have considerable effects on their habitat. For instance, during the 1960's the number of reindeer on the Chukotsk Peninsula rose to 100,000, exceeding the capacity of the winter range. The essential lichens were seriously overgrazed and have not fully recovered. The present population is about 45,000.

Domesticated herds have displaced Chukotkan caribou. The wild animals have difficulty subsisting in areas already grazed by reindeer. In addition, herders tend to shoot caribou present near their herds, since caribou compete with reindeer for forage and make herding difficult. Still, there are signs of recent increases in the caribou population of western Chukotka. Other effects of reindeer herding are not as obvious. Herds can threaten ground-nesting birds by trampling nests and eggs, and even eating eggs.

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Potential predators like wolves are often killed to protect the herds. Mechanized assistance to herding has its price as well. Vezdehodi, tank- like tracked vehicles used to supply reindeer camps in Chukotka, destroy tundra and leave many long-term scars on the land when used on bare tundra in summer.

Other human activities, including human-caused tundra fires, can degrade reindeer/caribou habitat. To the west of the Chukotsk Peninsula vast land areas have been destroyed by large-scale placer mining for gold. The areas are so large that reindeer may be unable to cross them. Until now the peninsula has been spared but one mine has begun operating in its southwest part. Mining and oil development activities also threaten to disrupt and fragment the habitat of Alaska's caribou. Another threat to the tundra, particularly to lichens on which caribou and reindeer depend, comes from atmospheric pollution generated locally and in distant regions.

Management In Alaska hunters harvest more caribou than any other big game species. Although in recent years over-harvest does not seem to be a major threat, management of the hunt is difficult because of a poor understanding of the great natural fluctuation of caribou populations and fragmentation of management authority among different governmental agencies. Allocations are sometimes controversial, particularly because caribou remain the basis of subsistence in much of the rural North.

Even more serious and controversial is management of caribou range. The future of caribou is central to the question of opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge near the northeastern fringe of Beringia to oil development, an issue receiving national attention The future of the reindeer industry is an important question in Beringia, especially on the Chukotkan side, where it is a mainstay of subsistence and economic life. Some believe that it has reached unsustainable proportions and that it impacts other values of the region too seriously. Recent steps to restrict the use of vendehodi and to reevaluate herd sizes reflect that concern. The arctic fox lives farther north than any other fox. They are well adapted for the cold harsh weather of the Arctic. The arctic fox can hunt lemming that they can't see beneath the snow, but if the arctic fox can't kill enough to eat, it will settle for leftovers from other animals.

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Characteristics and Physical Features of the Arctic Fox

Identification: Height: Height at shoulder 10-12 in. (25-30 cm.) Weight: They weigh from 6 to 10 pounds. Color: Normally white in winter and brownish grey in summer. Distinguishing Characteristics: The arctic fox has the warmest fur of any mamma, even warmer than the polar bear and arctic wolf. Breeding: Mating occurs in early March and early April. Gestation lasts 52 days. Litters average seven pups but may contain as many as 15 pups.

Habitat: Range: Northern and western Alaska and Canada Northern Canada south to northern Northwest Territories, northeast Alberta, northern Manitoba, northern Quebec, Russia, and Greenland; a few records indicate presence farther south. Diet: Arctic fox feed primarily on small mammals, including lemmings and tundra voles. Fox denning near rocky cliffs along the seacoast often depend heavily on nesting seabirds such as auklets, puffins, and murres.

Can arctic fox be different colors? Arctic fox can be either gray-blue or white. The blue coloration is not as common as the white. Young of each color may occur in the same litter.

How do arctic fox stay camouflaged in the summer if they are white? As summer begins, the arctic fox sheds its white coat for a brown one, perfect cover for summer. The change back to a winter coat occurs in September and October. By November the white winter coat is complete. Foxes of the blue coloring remain dark or charcoal colored all year but become a little lighter in winter.

How do arctic fox find food if there are no birds or lemmings? Arctic fox are scavengers, and will eat almost anything, including what polar bears have left behind when they have feasted. Also, when food is plentiful they will bury it for later.

How has the arctic fox adapted to the Arctic? The arctic fox's adaptation to its subzero habitat include a compact body with short legs, short ears, dense fur, and thickly haired foot pads, which insulate against the cold and provide traction on ice.

How do arctic fox use things other animals have made? Arctic fox sometimes will enlarge ground squirrel burrows with several entrances and use the burrows for dens.

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How do arctic fox catch lemmings and small rodents that are under the snow? Arctic fox walk along on top of the snow listening for the small creatures under the snow. When they hear one they jump up and down to break through the snow with their front paws. Once the snow is broken they can grab their prey.

Polar Animals

Theme goal: To understand which animals live in the polar regions, that polar regions are cold and where polar regions are located.

Group time: Talk to the children about polar animals. Can anyone name some? Write them down. What does "polar" mean? What is the weather like in the polar regions? Record answers. Have a globe ready to show the children where the North and South pole is. Discuss that it is very cold in the regions around the poles. These areas are called the polar regions. The land is covered by snow and ice, also known as glaciers, all year round. Ask the children what they need to wear when it's cold outside. Ask the children if animals wear coats, mittens and gloves. How do you think the animals keep warm. The fur and fat keeps them warm. Dicuss that polar bears, penguins, schrews, seals and walrus live in the polar regions. You may want to take some time to learn other useful facts in the book Questions and Answers About Polar Animals, or A Polar Bear Journey from Amazon.com. Another great book is called Polar Dance : Born of the North Wind. This book includes over 250 photos of polar bears, and arctic wildlife captured in the beautiful frozen landscape. Although not intended for children this book has wonderful pictures that can teach younger children.

GROUP TIME THOUGHTS

The World Outdoors... The weather is colder. In some places, snow or rain may fall from the sky. Daylight is shorter. Sometimes it is still dark when we get up in the morning. Along with a variety of special winter activity sports. Plants And Animals... Some trees lose their leaves in the winter. Other plants seem to disappear during the winter months. Animals undergo many changes. Their coats thicken to protect them from the cold weather. Many birds migrate to

Page 181 of 213 The Winter Theme Book warmer climates; other animals store food to have abundance in the winter months. People... We wear different types of clothing during the winter months. In many places the children play indoors more during the winter. Encourage children to name other changes.

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Jan Brett

Jan Brett's exquisite art is universally recognized as being among the finest in children's books today. Enter her world and experience the stunning natural settings and the endearing characters she creates in gloriously detailed paintings. From her decorative borders to her impish trolls to her warm and loving animals, she draws upon the cultures of the countries in which her stories are set and brings us both original stories and classics as charming, lively, and timeless as her art. The Christmas Treasury combines seven of her most famous, highly acclaimed, best-selling books, The Mitten, The Wild Christmas Reindeer, Trouble with Trolls, The Twelve Days of Christmas, The Hat, Christmas Trolls, and The Night Before Christmas. The Mitten is based on a Ukrainian folktale about a lost mitten that becomes the home and refuge for all kinds of forest animals. In the borders, reader can follow the adventures of the boy Nicki as he searches for his lost mitten. The Wild Christmas Reindeer, set at the North Pole, features eager Teeka, who has been charged by Santa to get his reindeer ready to pull the sleigh. But the reindeer keep making trouble for Teeka. Will they be ready to go on Christmas Eve? Trouble with Trolls is also set in the snowy north, where Treva and her faithful dog, Tuffi, must defy a group of trolls--trolls whose one desire is to have a dog! Will Treva be quick thinking enough to keep fending off the tricky trolls? In The Twelve Days of Christmas Jan Brett presents the reader with a visual feast based on the traditional Christmas song. All the splendid images of Christmas come joyously alive. The music for the song is included. In The Hat, the delightful, original companion to The Mitten, Hedgie the beloved hedgehog has become stuck in a sock. All the other animals laugh at him, but he convinces them of his cleverness--and gets the last laugh. Treva and the trolls return in Christmas Trolls, and this time she must teach them the meaning of Christmas. The trolls try to capture Christmas itself--by stealing toys and food. But when Treva shows them how to have fun, and give, it is the best Christmas ever! In her beautiful and lavish edition of the classic Christmas poem The Night Before Christmas, Jan Brett glorifies each important element of the season, from the elves who pack the sleight to the wonder of each toy, each child, and each magical moment. Her fans and critics agree, "No one can render snow and Scandinavian winter more gorgeously than Jan Brett." (The New Yorker) And indeed, Jan Brett celebrates the magic, the beauty, and the wonder of Christmas in every detail of her work.

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Winter Holidays

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Ramadan

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. During the month, Muslims fast (do not eat) from sunrise to sunset. In the evening and in the morning before the sun comes up, they eat small meals. During this month, they take extra time for family, inner reflection, and spiritual growth. Ramadan begins November 27, 2000 in North America.

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Kwanzaa - A Celebration of Heritage

Kwanzaa was created by Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966. It is celebrated through singing, speaking, dancing and reciting traditional. Kwanzaa is built on seven principles that are commonly known as "Nguzo Saba".

These principles are: umoja - unity kujichagulia - self-determination ujima - collective work and responsibility ujamaa - cooperative economics nia - purpose kuumba - creativity imani - faith

Kwanzaa was developed from elements of the African heritage. The African celebration of Kwanzaa was a ceremony of appreciation for the "first fruits of harvest". The four elements that made up the original African meaning of Kwanzaa were unity, awareness of ancestry and heritage, recommitment to traditional values, and reverence for creator and the creation.

The modern celebration of Kwanzaa lasts seven days, from December 26 to January 1. Each of the seven days of the celebration is dedicated to one of the seven principles. Each day one candle is lit that represents each principle.

Day 1 - middle candle - Black - Umoja - Unity

Day 2 - innermost red candle - Kujichagulia - Self-determination

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Day 3 - innermost green candle - Ujima - Collective Work and Responsibility

Day 4 - middle red candle - Ujamaa - Cooperative Economics

Day 5 - middle green candle - Nia - Purpose

Day 6 - outermost red candle - Kuumba - Creativity

Day 7 - outermost green candle - Imani - Faith

There are many symbols of Kwanzaa. The Kwanzaa candleabra is called a kinara. The straw mat that the kinara is placed on is a mkeka. Ears of corn are also placed on the mat, one to represent each child in the household. They are called the vibunzi (or muhindi). A fruit basket is placed on the mkeka, and is called the mazao. The unity cup is also placed on the mkeka, and is called the kikombe cha umoja. The seven candles that are placed in the kinara are called the Mishumaa Saba. Finally, all the gifts are called the zawadi and are traditionally given on Imani - the last day of Kwanzaa.

On the evening of Kuumba (December 31) there is a feast called Karamu. This is the main focus of Kwanzaa where cultural expression is encouraged. This is practiced to bring all participants closer to their African roots. The program for the Karamu generally involves a welcome, a remembrance of ancestry, a reassessment of situations, a recommitment to values, a rejoicing, a farewell statement, and a call for greater unity.

The last day of Kwanzaa, or "Imani", focuses on honoring traditions and reaffirming self worth through gift giving. Gifts are often made rather than bought because Kwanzaa emphasizes creativity or "kuumba" - one of the seven principles.

The point of Kwanzaa is not one of gift giving or religious celebration, but a commemoration of heritage and togetherness. Family and friends should find Kwanzaa to be a time of sharing and pulling together. The guiding principles teach values we tend to lose in a more modern and solitary society. Since the original ideas were to bring forth the harvest, the guiding principles bring people together to remind us how important we are to each other.

by Laura Walker [email protected]

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Christmas in the USA By Erin Burnett

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the United States of America! Here in the U.S. we have inherited customs, traditions, and legends that are actually from many diverse cultures. We celebrate in every possible way! We include many of the wonderful activities, songs, and stories from all over the world. Just like her people, an American Christmas is a rainbow of culture!

Sometimes, though, we form new traditions! American Christmas characters like Rudolph and Frosty are as highly recognized as old St. Nick himself. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" is a legend in book, animated movie, and a new movie version. We have also created cultural Christmas icons in advertising, like the Coca-Cola Polar Bears. And just go ahead and ask Americans how many "would like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony"?

For our hopping holiday fun, we do many of the things everyone else in the world does. We have a Christmas tree that we decorate with ornaments and lights, topping it with a star or angel. We have a big holiday dinner and get pinched and hugged ferociously by relatives we haven't seen in ages! There are gifts and sometimes religious services. Festive songs play a huge part in the holiday, permeating from every speaker in our homes, cars, malls, and yes, even the telephone. Some especially American holiday tunes are Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and of course who could forget Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer! Since the United States is such a big place, we have people celebrating in the snow and others exchanging gifts on a sunny beach. Many of us get snow, ice, or at least cold weather. Then we get snowstorms, we get to build snowmen, and play fun winter sports. Although the snow is always fun, sometimes it causes problems with transportation. When it gets really slick, there is a chance that we will hear on the radio that school is called off. (Oh, shucks! I was looking so forward to that math quiz.)

Unfortunately for the people of the U.S., Christmas has become very commercialized. In many ways this makes the holiday very stressful and

Page 188 of 213 The Winter Theme Book expensive for Americans. We have to remember the meaning, toss away our cares, and enjoy the holiday in traditional American style. Embrace brothers and sisters of all shapes, sizes, colors, countries, and cultures and snuggle up with some popcorn for a fifth or sixth showing of "The Grinch"!

American Christmas Legends Here are a few examples of some totally American stories! Yes, Virginia There is a Santa Claus Read an editorial from the New York Sun in 1897. This little girl's innocent question sparked the interest of a new generation of believers.

The Night Before Christmas Celebrate poetically with this well-known Christmas poem!

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Christmas in Canada By Cindy Caldwell

First for a little history, Canada was claimed by England in the 1400's later in the 1600's a French explorer by the name of Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec City, and Canada became a country with two distinctive backgrounds living as one.

Christmas Eve for the French Canadian was the highlight of the holidays preparing for days for the reveillon, the evening meal. They would the decorate the tree and place the creche, a Nativity scene under the tree before going to midnight mass. They would then come home from church to a feast of la tourtiere, a meat pie and various other dishes. Topping off the meal was the Yule log, a chocolate cake in the shape of a log to symbolize the birch log burned in the fireplace on reveillon before the French came to Canada. The children would open their gifts from their stockings during reveillon saving the big gifts for New Year's day. Christmas day for the French was a day for relaxation and for children to play and have fun.

Christmas for English Canadian's focused on Christmas day, with the exchanging of presents on Christmas day in the morning, and then off to church, and back later for a great feast. Dinner consisted of roast goose or beef and plum pudding. One fun tradition they had was the kissing ball -- a ring of evergreen boughs with candles, apples and nuts hung in doorway. Although it really represented the return of light after the winter solstice, young men used this opportunity to steal a kiss from any single lady standing under it, hence the name of kissing ball.

Christmas today in Canada is a conglomerate of cultures and traditions from all over the world. As in the United States, our country was populated with people emigrating from other countries searching for a better life. The Christmas tree came from Germany, as well as the Advent Calendars and gingerbread House, the English introduced greeting cards, from Ireland came the custom of decorating our windows with lights, the United States gave us Santa Claus, and the French introduced the creche (Nativity) scene

Page 190 of 213 The Winter Theme Book and carols. So really a Canadian Christmas is a mixture of various cultures combined to create the festivities we have come to know.

When I sat down to write this article, I was not sure what to write about, since Christmas in Canada is basically the same as Christmas in the United States. As I was doing research, I came across articles on the Boston Christmas tree. Growing up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, I had taken this tradition for granted, and had not really taken a look at the significance behind this tradition. This seems to be a habit we all can to fall into around the holidays, getting caught up into the shopping and commercialism Christmas has become, and forgetting what Christmas is all about. For those of you that have not heard of the Boston Christmas Tree tradition, it started over eighty years ago with the Halifax Explosion. On December 6, 1917, two ships collided in the harbor and caused a large explosion heard over 100 Km away. The explosion and the tidal wave in its aftermath destroyed over 325 acres of the north end of the city, killing over 1900 people, and injuring over 9000 more. In response to this devastation, the people of Boston sent help in the form of doctors, nurses, food and supplies. And as a small token of appreciation, Canadians send a special Christmas tree to Boston every year.

Christmas is a time for tradition and goodwill toward others. The story of the people of Boston helping others in their time of need, even though it was not actually Christmas, still exhibits the true spirit of Christmas. And because of the kindness of strangers, a celebration between two cities in two separate countries has become a holiday tradition.

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Christmas in England By Maria Georgiou

Celebrating Christmas in England is much like celebrating it in any other Western country. Even though many of the cultures in England do not actually believe in what the hoiliday represents, everyone seems to take part in the giving and receiving of gifts, as a sign of friendship and goodwill toward others. With so many different cultures living so closely together, Christmas is the only time people tend to celebrate together.

Preparing for the big day

Throughout the month of December, people busy themselves preparing for the Christmas festivities. There are the mince pies and Christmas cakes to bake and decorate as well as the all-important Christmas pudding. In England over the years many superstitions have surrounded this popular festive dessert. It is said puddings should be made by the 25th Sunday after Trinity, prepared with 13 ingredients to represent Christ and His Disciples, and that every member of the family take turns to stir the pudding with a wooden spoon from east to west, in honour of the Three Kings. A silver coin is always dropped into the pudding mixture before it is cooked. This is said to bring wealth, health and happiness to whomever is lucky enough to find it when the pudding is cut.

People decorate their homes and a tree, with baubles, tinsel and fairy lights, placing a star or an angel in pride of place, on the top of the tree. The decorating of Christmas trees, though primarily a German custom, has been widely popular in England since 1841 when Prince Albert had a Christmas tree decorated with candles, set up in Windsor Castle for his wife Queen Victoria and their children. Children hang stockings on the fireplace or at the end of their beds so when Father Christmas pays a visit, they are stuffed full of goodies, but only if they have been good! Children also send letters to Father Christmas, which legend has it, if they are tossed in the fireplace, the smoke from them burning gets carried up the chimney directly to the man

Page 192 of 213 The Winter Theme Book in the red suit! Advent Calendars help us count down to Christmas Day and people give Poinsetta plants as gifts because the general shape of the plant and the arrangement of leaves are seen as a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem, which led the wise men to the baby Jesus. The red coloured leaves symbolise the blood of Christ. The white leaves represent his purity. In primary schools, the younger children re-enact the nativity story, dressed as Mary and Joseph, angels, wise men and the occasional sheep, watched by proud parents and relatives.

An English Christmas

The English have much to thank Charles Dickens for because we will be forever linked with the tale of A Christmas Carol. A truly wonderful story about the old miser suddenly realising the true spirit of Christmas, thanks to a few ghostly visions. This is a truly remarkable story and each and every Christmastime you'll find people glued to their television screens when it is on because it is a Christmas story that still has a lot of emphasis, especially today when Christmas has become so commercialised. One word of warning though, not ALL English people are as bad as Ebeneezer Scrooge!

Another very English tradition at Christmas is the family visit to see a Pantomime. The English 'panto' is based on traditional stories like Cinderella, Peter Pan and Puss in Boots and developed into the form we know today during the reign of Queen Victoria. It is a play of a fairy tale where the hero is played by a young woman, the comic characters are men dressed in outrageous drag, the bad guy is really, really bad and the cow is obviously two people dressed as a cow. The humour is topical (and FULL of double-entendres) and the play involves audience participation, (Oh No it Doesn't! Oh Yes it Does!!). Strange, I know, but Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without our pantos.

In the days leading up to Christmas, groups of carol singers holding candle lanterns, dressed in their hats and scarves to fight off the cold, go from door to door performing traditional Christmas songs for a small charitable donation to their cause. On Christmas Eve night, children leave out a glass of brandy and a mince pie for Santa, and a carrot and bowl of water for the reindeer.

Christmas Day

On Christmas morning the first task of the day is to dive under the tree and open the huge pile of gifts that Father Christmas has left, making as much mess as you possibly can with all the wrapping paper! Then for many people it's off to church for the morning service to give thanks. Back home,

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Christmas dinner is usually had between 2 and 4 in the afternoon. The Christmas table is decorated with festive candles and crackers, and we always use the best dinner service at Christmas! Christmas is very much a time for families to be together, so everyone gathers for the Christmas meal. A traditional english Christmas dinner is roast turkey with all the trimmings, like stuffing and cranberry sauce, washed down with a little mulled wine. For dessert there's mince pies, Christmas cake, Christmas pudding served with brandy sauce and cream and even sherry trifle! At 3pm on Christmas Day it is time to watch the Queen's speech to the Nation and Commonwealth. This is probably the only truly modern tradition that we have.

In 1922, Lord Reich, General Manager of the BBC, felt that the King, George V should use the powerful new medium of radio to speak to the nation as one family. Initially the King refused as he felt that radio was still too experimental to be used for a royal message. Lord Reich did not give up though, and asked the King again in 1932. By this time the BBC has begun its overseas service, and the King had the opportunity to talk to his subjects around the world. At 3:00pm on 25th December 1932, the King made the first broadcast live from Sandringham. Since then King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II have continued the tradition and in 1957 the broadcast moved to television.

Over the years the format has changed from a formal speech delivered live, to a pre-recorded Christmas message, to the current more relaxed broadcasts.

However, Christmas in England wouldn't be the same without the anticipation of opening the curtains on Christmas morning, in the hope of seeing a beautiful blanket of white snow covering everything in sight. We can but dream of our perfect white Christmas, until then "Merry Christmas to One and All!"

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Christmas in Germany

By Erin Burnett

Froehliche Weihnachten!

Take a few minutes with me to explore Christmas in a country that really knows how to celebrate! As an American, I have been lucky enough to study German for a few years. Although I still have trouble speaking the language, I am completely fascinated by the culture! There is a strong sense of tradition and family. As I can only imagine, Christmas in Germany must be as captivating as its people and customs!

One of the things I have learned, is that German people like to celebrate! They make merry with style, and Christmas is no exception! To keep up with the revelry, it is a good idea to have an advent calender to count the days. Compared to many other countries, the festivities start nearly a month early! On the eve of December 6, St. Nicholas makes his rounds carrying a list of all the children. According to legend, he leaves gifts for the good little kids, and coal for the naughty ones!

The Tannenbaum is a very good way to uphold German tradition! Brought to life in the Folk Tale "The Christmas Fairy of Strasburg", a Christmas Tree represents many ideas and beliefs! Whatever its true origin, this evergreen certainly demanded special attention in the dead of winter after most leaves in Europe had turned brown and withered. In this seemingly everlasting glory, the tree spent several hundred years traveling through Europe. Prince Albert, who was German, made the tree famous in England when he married Queen Victoria, and eventually the idea traveled around the world. Although it has changed somewhat through history, shedding it's dangerous open-flame candles in favor of safer electric lights, the Tannenbaum still represents Christmas in a most German way! Gingerbread figures are another great tradition from Deutschland! We find examples of the famed Gingerbread House in a well-known German folk story- Hansel and Gretel. As a charming Christmas treat, the famed construction cookie has survived many years in the form of Gingerbread people and their tasty homes!

In the joyous merriment, who could forget the enchanting carols? Germans celebrate the simple genius of their evergreen decoration in "O Tannenbaum", which many of us know as "O Christmas Tree". The spirit of Christmas is also carried through the ages one of the most translated Christmas songs in the world! Austrians Franz Gruber and Joseph Mohr

Page 195 of 213 The Winter Theme Book created a masterpiece in their native German language, and "Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht" (otherwise known as "Silent Night"!) became another steadfast Christmas tradition.

Germany is one of several countries that celebrates Christmas on Christmas Eve, which is the night before Christmas. Santa must schedule his trips to visit those countries first....

It seems that Germans are an exceptional people in holding to their time honored celebrations, but they also include new ideas from other countries to make the most of the holidays! My hope for the future is a world that respects and honors everyone's beliefs and traditions. We have a great beginning with our acceptance of each other's Christmas traditions! Maybe someday all the world's cultures will be able to join hands and sing "Stille Nacht" in a spectacular choir of all the different languages!

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Christmas Down Under by Hilary Williamson

I was lucky enough to experience an Aussie Xmas some time ago, in Melbourne, Victoria. And it is a different experience. Everything is topsy turvy since Christmas is in the middle of summer. But the Australians have a great time anyway, exchange Chrissie presies (not sure I have the spelling right, but those are the words) with each other, and often enjoy a barbie (not the doll, a barbecue) on the beach on December 25th. And they have a good laugh about it all, and celebrate their differences, as they do many things, with a joke on themselves.

Decorations include traditional European wreaths, but native plants called Christmas bush and Christmas bells are also widely used. Santa may be seen depicted in swimmers (a swimsuit), and arrives at Aussie beaches on a surfboard - quite a change from sliding down a chimney! Decorations can include Aussie images like kangaroos and koala bears stifling in Santa hats or red scarves! Christmas cards reflect the same extremes from traditional Victorian images to a summer Santa!

Christmas is a family occasion and, as in other countries, people try to be together for Christmas Day. Australia is similar to the United States and Canada, in that it is a big country with long distances between cities, so that people often need to travel far for the holidays. Also as in North America, Australia's people come from diverse cultures and many bring their own traditions to the holiday celebrations.

Just as holiday decorations vary in style, there are also different approaches to Christmas dinner - traditional or a meal adjusted to local weather! A traditional Xmas dinner can end up feeling very heavy in hot summer weather, and I speak from experience! Many people opt out and have a more sensible meal of a buffet with seafood or cold ham, turkey and salads. One unique and excellent Aussie dessert is Pavlova, which is wonderful with strawberries, passion fruit and whipped cream.

A special tradition started in 1937 in Melbourne. Carols by Candlelight is held each Christmas Eve there and involves tens of thousands of people. They spread blankets on the ground, light their candles and sing Christmas songs together. This is a wonderful experience which I almost participated in - unfortunately there was a heavy summer rainstorm after the first carol. Although songs about it are popular, a white Christmas is not anticipated in Australia. However, Melbourne does claim to often have four seasons in one day, so you never know!

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Speaking of Christmas carols, Aussies have their own versions with titles like Santa never made it into Darwin, Australians Let Us Barbeque and Santa's Moving To The South Pole. Since it is summer, Christmas Day activities often include a picnic, swimming, beach fun or a game of Cricket. It is also the beginning of the school summer break, so kids sure have a lot to celebrate down under!!

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Christmas In Mexico

By Erin Burnett

Feliz Navidad y Prospero Año Nuevo!

Have a totally tropical Christmas and a blazing New Year's blast in Mexico! Getting a great head start on the rest of the world, Mexicans start celebrating on December 16. It seems that there are so many Christmas activities, they have to take several weeks to enjoy them all!

Nativity Scenes are very common. In fact, Mexicans revere the Nativity so much that they recreate it with "Las Posadas". This is a time of grand celebration and gathering. Many people take part in a reenactment of the Birth of Christ. Many will also attend "Pastorelas" or plays about the shepards and their visit from the angel. In the spirit of a warm holiday, the outdoor markets offer sunny shopping and cool Christmas crafts. And to think, all these festivities last through 9 days!

Some Mexican children will get a visit from St. Nick this year, but many have another special Christmas spirit who brings gifts and joy. On Christmas Eve, kids can expect a visit from "el Niño Dios". The Holy Child brings gifts to the good girls and boys. Then on January 6, the three wisemen come to visit for "Reyes Magos". The Magi leave more gifts for the children, sometimes in their shoes!

Many Mexican families attend a midnight mass on Christmas Eve. The Birth of Christ is very much the central theme to the Mexican celebration, and this is a grand change from the commercialized American Christmas. The Christmas trees have to travel a good way, and that drives up the price. Usually, full sized trees are only found in the homes of the wealthy, but many others find a way to honor the evergreen by adding ornaments to a small branch or shrub.

To decorate for a Mexican Christmas, be sure to add some of the beautiful red poinsettias or "La Flor De Noche Buena". They have been a Christmas tradition throughout much of the world since an American ambassador introduced it to South Carolina in the 1820's. A well-dressed Mexican Christmas home would also have to have a piñata! As part of the fun, the children gather around and smack it with sticks until they are showered by the candy explosion!

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The Mexican Christmas festival is an impressive sight, with elaborate decorations and celebrations for nearly a month! The holiday is overwhelming in its magnitude, but amazingly, in all this revelry the people rarely lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas!

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Christmas in Ireland by Hilary Williamson

Nollaig Shona Dhuit is Merry Christmas in Irish Gaelic, which is still taught in schools in Eire, the Irish Republic. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom. Christmas is a traditional holiday in both parts of the island, and very much a family and religious celebration! As in French Canada, Roman Catholic families attend Midnight Mass together on Christmas Eve. Christmas is the important celebration, rather than the New Year, which has more emphasis in Scotland. The festivities last from Christmas Eve until January 6th, when decorations are put away.

Christmas Preparations

Most homes have fireplaces with mantelpieces and these are often decorated with holly and ornaments. It is common to hang mistletoe in a doorway (and to kiss under it!). Many children are given Advent Calendars, and each day in December they open one of the slots for a chocolate treat. It is traditional to give gifts (usually money) before the holidays to people who perform services during the year, for example to the milkman who delivers milk bottles to the door. People also clean their houses thoroughly and in the past, it was common to whitewash as well, as a means of purification.

During December, people bake Christmas cakes, puddings and mince pies. As a child I used to make shortbread, which my grandfather particularly enjoyed! Hospitality is a way of life in Ireland, and anyone who visits the house, is entertained with tea and cakes, especially during the holidays. Trees are decorated with a star or an angel on top. Children put a stocking (or a pillowcase!) at the bottom of their beds for Santa Claus. I remember waking up on Christmas morning and going through pillowcases of toys in my own or my brother's bedroom. Gifts usually include an apple, an orange or tangerine, and chocolate coins. My mother recalls receiving a piece of coal or peat (used as fuel in fireplaces) in lean years. This was not given for bad behavior but simply because there was nothing else.

Christmas Eve to St. Stephen's Day

In many areas, on Christmas Eve, a lit candle is placed in a window (nowadays it can be an electric light!). This goes back to traditions of hospitality in ancient times. The idea is to help light the way of the Holy Family or any other poor traveller who is out on that night. There can be a White Christmas, but snowfalls are rarely heavy. As in many countries, it is

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very important for family members to be together for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

People often have Christmas dinner in the afternoon, any time between 1 and 3 p.m.. As a child, I remember being served more than one 'fowl' for Christmas dinner - usually a goose and sometimes chicken, duck or pheasant as well, along with stuffing, roast potatoes and gravy. Now turkey is much more common along with a ham, and sometimes spiced beef. Dessert is Christmas pudding with rum sauce or brandy butter and cream. Sometimes a trifle is served as well! Christmas Crackers are on the table, and everyone pulls one with the person next to them. Whoever ends up with the longer end gets the contents, which include a party hat, a small toy and a riddle.

December 26th (Boxing Day in England) is celebrated as St. Stephen's Day in Eire and is a public holiday. A wren supposedly betrayed the presence of St. Stephen when he was in hiding. He was then caught and executed. Wren boys go from door to door with a wren on a stick (today the wren is not a real one), singing a traditional song and begging for treats. Pantomines, such as Babes in the Wood or Puss in Boots, are performed at this time also.

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Christmas In The Netherlands

By Anise Hollingshead

Christmas is a special time of year in the Netherlands as in many countries, but there are some differences in the manner in which it is celebrated. For one thing, there is no Santa Claus or Father Christmas delivering presents on Christmas Eve. Instead, Sinterklaas (St. Nicholas) hands out presents to good children on the eve of his feast day, which is December 6th. This is a very special time for Dutch children, who set out their shoes in anticipation of the candy and presents they will receive in them in return for putting out hay for Sinterklaas’s white horse.

Because the children receive presents and candy on Sinterklaas, gift giving is not as common on Christmas as it is in some countries, although it is becoming more customary as time goes on due to influences from other cultures. Special dinners and spending time with families is more the focus this time of year and people try to relax and enjoy each other’s company. After Sinterklaas has gone back to Spain, people start preparing for Christmas by decorating their homes and shops. Christmas trees (a German custom) are a common sight in many homes, but not every house has one. Poinsettias, which are called Kerststers (Christmas Stars), are popular items this time of year, and everyone loves to sing Christmas carols. There aren’t many ‘white Christmas’s” though!

Prior to Christmas, a custom known as Midwinter Horn Blowing is still practiced in parts of the rural east, which starts on Advent Sunday and continues until Christmas Eve. At dusk, farmers take long horns made from elder trees and blow them while standing over wells, which lends an eerie sound to the call, which is an announcement of the coming Christ.

Christmas is celebrated on 2 days, rather than just one. On the eve of First Christmas Day, the Christmas tree may be lit for the first time, sometimes with real candles. People may attend church that evening, or on First Christmas Day morning. Families will gather together to eat dinner First Christmas Day at a candle-lit table that has been decorated with green, white and red trimmings. Venison, hare, goose or turkey are traditionally served as the main dish, with Kerstbrood (Christmas loaf), Kerstkrans (Christmas Ring) and different kinds of puddings as desserts. Christmas carols may be sung, the birth of Jesus narrated, or favorite Christmas tales read. Second Christmas Day is spent in leisurely activities, which may include attending plays or symphonies, or eating dinner out at a nice

Page 203 of 213 The Winter Theme Book restaurant. School children receive 2 weeks vacation from school during this time.

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Boxing Day by Alecia Dixon

BOXING DAY

When is it? December 26th, Boxing Day takes place on December 26th or the following Monday if December 26 falls on a Saturday or Sunday.

Where did it come from? Boxing Day began in England, in the middle of the nineteenth century, under Queen Victoria. Boxing Day, also known as St. Stephen's Day, was a way for the upper class to give gifts of cash, or other goods, to those of the lower classes.

Where is Boxing Day celebrated? Boxing Day is celebrated in Australia, Britain, New Zealand, and Canada.

How is Boxing Day celebrated? There seems to be two theories on the origin of Boxing Day and why it is celebrated. The first is that centuries ago, on the day after Christmas, members of the merchant class would give boxes containing food and fruit, clothing, and/or money to trades people and servants. The gifts were an expression of gratitude much like when people receive bonuses, from their employer, for a job well done, today. These gifts, given in boxes, gave the holiday it's name, "Boxing Day".

The second thought is that Boxing Day comes from the tradition of opening the alms boxes placed in churches over the Christmas season. The contents thereof which were distributed amongst the poor, by the clergy, the day after Christmas.

Today, Boxing Day is spent with family and friends with lots of food and sharing of friendship and love. Government buildings and small businesses are closed but the malls are open and filled with people exchanging gifts or buying reduced priced Christmas gifts, cards, and decorations.

To keep the tradition of Boxing Day alive, many businesses, organizations, and families donate their time, services, and money to aid Food Banks and provide gifts for the poor, or they may choose to help an individual family that is in need.

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What a great extension of the Christmas holiday spirit. You might consider making this holiday a tradition in your family. No matter where you live the simple principle of giving to others less fortunate than yourself can be put into practice.

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The Legend of St. Nicholas

By Anise Hollingshead

The Legend

Strictly speaking, the tradition of St. Nicholas is not synonomous with the role of Santa Claus in the U.S.. As practiced in many European countries, the celebration of St. Nicholas is separate from the Christmas holidays, and occurs during the 2 weeks prior to December 6th, which is St. Nicholas's day. Sometimes St. Nicholas Day is the main holiday for gift giving, and not Christmas.

In the Netherlands, legend has it that Sinterklaas (Dutch name for St. Nicholas) arrives in the Netherlands by way of steamboat from Spain 2 weeks before his traditional birthday, December 6th, along with his helper, Zwarte Piet (Black Pete), who will help disperse the gifts and candy to all the good children. Sinterklaas, along with the zwarte piets, will go abroad at night and stride about the countryside wearing his red mantle, his mitre, and his golden crosier and sporting a long, white beard. Referring to his book that lists all the good and bad children, Sinterklaas will deliver presents to all the good children, but watch out if you've been bad! The bad children may be taken back to Spain with him. The Low Countries (Belgium and Luxemburg) have basically the same traditions surrounding St. Nicholas, but not to the extent of the Netherlands. Children in Luxemburg call him Kleeschen, and his helper is Ho˜seker (Black Peter). Belgian children know him as Sint Niklaas.

In Germany, St. Nicholas is also known as Klaasbuur, Sunnercla, Burklaas, Bullerklaas, and Rauklas, and in eastern Germany, he is also known as Shaggy Goat, Ash Man and Rider and is more reflective of earlier pagan influences (Norse) that were blended in with the figure of St. Nicholas, when Christianity came to Germany. After the reformation, St. Nicholas's

Page 207 of 213 The Winter Theme Book attire began to change, maybe as a reflection of the change from the Roman church, and he started to wear a red suit with fur. His dark-skinned helper is most often known as Knecht Ruprecht. Although he still visits many homes on Dec 5th/6th and leaves candy and gifts in the children's shoes, more recently St. Nicholas has begun showing up on Christmas Eve in Germany and is called Father Christmas.

In France, he is now called Pere Noel (Father Christmas) and his helper is Pre Fouettard. Pere Noel only sometimes leaves presents on St. Nicholas day, more often now on Christmas. St. Nicholas day was celebrated formerly in Russia, but under Communism he was changed to Grandfather Frost and wore blue instead of red. In Sicily, he comes on Dec 13th and is called Santa Lucia.

The History

St. Nicholas was born in 271 AD and died around December 6, 342 or 343 AD near the Asia Minor (Turkey) town of Myra,. where he later became Bishop. He performed many good deeds and was a friend to the poor and helpless, and upon his death, myths soon sprang up about him all around the Mediterranean Sea. He was reputed to be able to calm the raging seas, rescue desperate sailors, help the poor and downtrodden, and save children. He was soon named as the patron saint of sailors, and when Myra was overthrown, his bones were transported by sailors to Bari, a port in Italy, where a tomb was built over the grave and became the center of honor for St. Nicholas. From here the legend spread on around to the Atlantic Coast of Europe and the North Sea to become a European holiday tradition regardless of religion.

The Holiday Today

In anticipation of St. Nicholas's nightly visits, children in several European countries put their shoes in front of the fire place. They sing traditional songs and provide a carrot or hay for the horse. At night Black Pete puts gifts and candy in the shoes.

In the Netherlands, families celebrate St Nicholas's birthday the night before his feast day (December 6th). At one point during the evening, a

Page 208 of 213 The Winter Theme Book loud knock will herald the arrival of Sinterklaas and at the same time candy may be thrown from upstairs; when the door is opened, a bag of gifts will be on the doorstep.

For families with older children and adults, different twists are added to the gift giving and may include gag gifts or the drawing of gift ideas or names, and most times are accompanied by poems with a "personal touch" that poke fun at the recipient in a gentle way (or not, depending on the families ;) ). Wrapping the presents up in odd packages and planting a trail of clues is also part of the general fun, and can sometimes be pretty tricky to get to, depending on the squeamishness of the recipients.

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Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day is on February 2nd. It is said that if the groundhog sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of bad weather, and if he doesn't, that spring will be here soon.

Page 210 of 213 The Winter Theme Book Chinese New Year On February 12, 2002, we will ring in the Year of the Horse (Year 4700). Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade.

The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven years out of a 19-yearcycle). This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year. This is why, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year.

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration was traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors.

The sacrifice to the ancestors, the most vital of all the rituals, united the living members with those who had passed away. Departed relatives are remembered with great respect because they were responsible for laying the foundations for the fortune and glory of the family.

The presence of the ancestors is acknowledged on New Year's Eve with a dinner arranged for them at the family banquet table. The spirits of the ancestors, together with the living, celebrate the onset of the New Year as one great community. The communal feast called "surrounding the stove" or weilu. It symbolizes family unity and honors the past and present generations.

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President's Day

President's Day is February 21st! This holiday was created to celebrate the deeds of two legendary American Presidents: George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Learn about these great leaders in this collection of sites and activities.

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Valentines Day

Every February we celebrate Valentines Day by giving flowers, candy and cards to those we love. We do this in honor of Saint Valentine. You may be wondering, "Who is St. Valentine"?

Legend has it that Valentine was a priest who served during third century Rome. There was an Emperor at that time by the name of Claudius II. Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those that were married. With this thought in mind he outlawed marriage for young men in hopes of building a stronger military base. Supposedly, Valentine, decided this decree just wasn't fair and chose to marry young couples secretly. When Emperor Claudius II found out about Valentine's actions he had him put to death.

Another legend has it that Valentine was an imprisoned man who fell in love with his jailor's daughter. Before he was put to death he sent the first 'valentine' himself when he wrote her a letter and signed it 'Your Valentine', words still used on cards today.

Perhaps we'll never know the true identity and story behind the man named St. Valentine, but this much is for sure...February has been the month to celebrate love for a long time, dating clear back to the Middle Ages. In fact, Valentines ranks second only to Christmas in number of greeting cards sent.

Another valentine gentleman you may be wondering about is Cupid (Latin cupido, "desire"). In Roman mythology Cupid is the son of Venus, goddess of love. His counterpart in Greek mythology is Eros, god of love. Cupid is often said to be a mischievous boy who goes around wounding both gods and humans with his arrows, causing them to fall in love.

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