A Very Merry Preschool @ Home Part 2

Wow!  Jenn had some AMAZING activities to really bring the holidays to life with the little ones in Part 1 of this fun series yesterday.  Not sure how I will ever be able to top that, but I’ll make a feeble attempt at it…

Winter has always been a really hard concept to teach children down here in the South.  I mean, how do you describe snow when a child has never even touched it?  And how do you explain freezing temps when you are running around in shorts and flip-flops??  Thankfully, this month has been uncharacteristically cold, so it has really helped me in trying to teach my littles about the changing seasons and all of the fun holidays and activities that come with it.  But the whole snow thing…well, we have yet to get some hands-on experience with that one.  So I decided to lay out a full day of snowman fun in our pajamas that incorporates lots of great skills and activities that will maybe give my little ones a sneak peek at this mysterious substance they see plastered on every book and television show they see…

Very Merry Preschool at Home Part 2

 Book :: All You Need for a Snowman by Alice Schertle

Like I had said in my fall post, I LOVE starting things off with a good book.  And this one is so much fun because it illustrates not only the different steps it takes to create a snowman, but also all of the different ways you can make it too.  My two year old loved pointing out the simple details in the pictures, “Look mommy – a red button!”  And we all had so much fun reenacting the story and building an imaginary snowman after the book came to an end.  {Even the baby giggled at how silly we were!}  But what really impressed me was how this one little book left such an impression on my little guy.  He kept talking about snowmen and recalling different parts of the book all throughout the day.  Guess he likes this one just as much as I do!

Skills – increasing focus, listening, building language, following directions, investigating seasons, pre-reading skills, print concepts, reading comprehension, retelling

All You Need for a Snowman

Arts & Crafts :: Homemade Puffy Paint Snowman

Materials

  • Construction Paper – any color will do!
  • Shaving Cream
  • Glue
  • Black Marker
  • Felt – cut in a hat shape
  • Yarn – cut and tied like a scarf
  • Buttons
  • Orange Triangle {I only had construction paper on hand, but fun foam would be great too.}
  • Small Twigs {We ran outside and broke them off of a bush.  Shhh…don’t tell the hubs!}

Homemade Puffy Paint Snowman (1)

Directions

1.  This project has lots of little pieces and can be will be a major mess, so I decided to make it a one-on-one project for just me and the big boy.  So we gathered our supplies, sat at the table, and I helped him to carefully write his name.  This is a habit I picked up in my years of teaching public school {because 24 of the EXACT same project all start to look the same}, but it is one that I plan to hang on to as I teach my own kiddos too.

2.  Next is my favorite part – making the homemade puffy paint!  Y’all, this stuff is AMAZING!  You just mix about 3 parts shaving cream to 1 part good ol’ fashion school glue, and voila!  Homemade puffy paint.  It goes on just like shaving cream but dries in the most beautiful 3-dimensional fluffy way.

Homemade Puffy Paint Snowman (2)

3.  Okay, this is where it gets messy.  {But trust me, mamas…it’s worth it when you see how much fun your child has, and they will be so proud of the finished project at the end!} I scooped out one big dollop of the homemade puffy paint, and together we used our fingers to make a big circle at the bottom, medium circle in the middle, and small circle up top.  Snowman built!

Homemade Puffy Paint Snowman (3)

4.  Time to accessorize!  I let my guy do this step all by himself, and as he carefully placed each little piece on the snowman, we labeled each item and discussed where it belongs.

Homemade Puffy Paint Snowman (4)

In retrospect, I wish I would have just given him a pile of craft supplies and let him go to town decorating it just as he sees fit.  But oh well.  He loved it nonetheless, and his sweet snowman turned out perfectly!

Skills – fine motor control, creativity, self-expression, writing, letter formation, sensory exploration, following directions, identifying colors, investigating seasons, recreating stories

Homemade Puffy Paint Snowman

Cooking :: Banana Snowman Pops

{Modified from this recipe.}

Ingredients

  • Banana – cut in circles
  • Wooden Skewer
  • Strawberry – washed and cut in half
  • Raisins
  • Candy Corn
  • Cheerios

Banana Snowman Pops (1)

Directions

1.  Little Miss reallllly likes to eat, so we waited until she woke up from her morning nap for this activity.  We all gathered at their play table, but unlike previous experiences – I knew to keep the ingredients out of reach until I was ready for them. {One point for mom this round!}

Very Merry Preschool at Home Part 2 Intro

2.  Okay, ready for the wooden skewer.  Against the big boy’s protest that he could do it “all by self,” I decided to chip in and help him poke three banana rounds onto the skewer.  Meanwhile, I tossed some Cheerios on the table for Little Miss to snack on.

Banana Snowman Pops (3)

3.  All snowmen need a hat, so we carefully poked half of a strawberry on top of the banana rounds to give ours just that.

4.  After reading the book and doing the craft, the two year old thought that he was a pro at making snowmen and whipped on the raisin eyes, candy corn nose, and Cheerio buttons so fast that I could only snap one picture while he did it.

Banana Snowman Pops (2)

And ta-da!  Banana snowman pop complete…

Skills – fostering independence, healthy eating habits, iinvestigating seasons, recreating stories

Banana Snowman Pops

Song ::

Sooo, there aren’t a whole lot of snowman songs out there I have come to find out.  But I did stumble upon this little ditty that works…

“I’m a Little Snowman”

Tune :: “I’m a Little Teapot”

I’m a little snowman

Short and fat.

Here are my buttons,

Here is my hat.

 

When the sun comes out,

I run away.

Before I slowly

Melt away!

Skills – music and movement, gross motor skills, following directions, rhyming, investigating seasons

Ready to start doing some preschool activities at home with your little one?  We hope this post helps!  Remember – feel free to use the ‘Pin It’ buttons on each picture to save these ideas for later, or click on the Shareaholic buttons below to show a friend you think might want to check these out too!  And if you have any other very merry ideas, we would love for you to link up or share them in the comments below.

Previous articleA Very Merry Preschool @ Home Part 1
Next articleHolidays in Houston :: Stockings Hung with Care
Kelly D
Kelly is the founder of Houston Moms Blog and has lived in this beautiful city nearly all of her life. She has a degree in education from Texas State University and was honored to teach special education for eight years to some of the cutest little kiddos you could ever meet. While teaching, Kelly met Cody – a tall drink of water and country boy to the core – and together, they fell in love, got married, and decided to start a family. In March 2011, they welcomed Hayes into the world, a silly but smart little boy with a story you have to read to believe. And in April 2013, their family was complete with the addition of Hadley, a super gregarious and oh-so-cute baby girl. Now, Kelly devotes her days to caring for her own little ones…and would not trade this new job of hers for the world! In her not-so-spare time, Kelly loves meeting up with her girlfriends for margaritas, failing miserably at Pinterest projects, and exploring this big old city with her two favorite little side-kicks in tow.

1 COMMENT

  1. Love his snowman! We might give this one a shot this week. At least we had “some” cooler temps this December to relate a little bit. Since it’s a bit warmer now, take it outside and mix some shaving cream and corn starch to create some “snow.” W loved making tracks in it with his cars. People have said you can save it, but ours rotted. Maybe you have to store in refrigerator. I love the banana craft too. The raisins make it look like he’s one cool cat of a snowman!

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here