Snowmen at Preschool

Snow is rare in Southern California and non-existent in my area, so when we want to build snowmen, we have to be a little creative. Today at my son's preschool we built "snowmen."  It was a fantastic collaborative project and the kids had a great time.  Of course, this can be built at home too!  Simply modify my directions to suit your needs.  Here's what to do:

Materials:

• 6 white trash bags (3 for each snowmen)
• Lots and lots of newspaper
• Tape- Wide masking tape is preferred
• Clothing items- hats, scarves, mittens, dress-up clothes, etc
• Twigs

 Directions:

1. Wad-up lot's of newspaper.  Let the children help, give it to room helpers, etc...whatever you need to do to have a giant pile of newspaper.  
2. If you have a large class and at least 1 co-teacher, break the children into two groups.  This is not a race!  It simply makes life easier if you have a large class.  Our kids were divided into boys and girls.  Give each group 3 trash bags.  
3. Talk about building a snowman.  How many balls do you need?  Are they all the same size?  What are the sizes (small, medium, large)?  
4. Hold the trash bag while the children fill it.  Once you have a large ball, tie it shut.  Hold the next trash bag and fill it slightly less full as it's the medium ball.  Repeat making a small ball for the head.  
5. Using tape, attach the balls to each other in proper order.  Use whatever technique you find easiest.  
6. Send your kids around the classroom to find items for the eyes, nose, mouth, buttons, etc.  One of our groups used coins for eyes, while the other used legos.  Let the kids be creative.  Attach the items with tape.
7. Dress your snowman. 
8. Name your snowman
9. Bring the class back together and talk about what's the same (two eyes, a nose, etc) and what's different.  

As you can see from the picture above, the girls team designed a female snowperson who was "getting married".  They used coins for the eyes, legos for buttons, gave her a skirt, cowgirl hat, scarf, and veil.  Her name was Melody and she was ready to marry Eric.  Their snowperson had a complete story line, providing extra personality.

The boys, on the other hand, created a male snowman.  He had legos for eyes, plastic piping for a nose, a train track for a smile (which I think was very creative), a costume tied around his neck for a scarf, twigs stuck into the bags for arms, and a wizards hat adorned his head.  The boys named their snowman Tree.

What the children learned:

• Proportions
• Cooperation
• Same & Different
• Creativity
• Pride in a job well done!

Have you made a snowman at home or school?  Tell me about it and/or share your link in the comments below!  

Need a book to share with your little snowmen?  

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