We had a blast this week embracing winter! While we did get outside a few times to play in the snow, we also took advantage of the warmth and brought “winter” indoors for a variety of our activities. Below are a few of the books that we used to kick off our learning each day.
We began our week of winter themed fun with a snow sensory experience. I snagged some snow from outside while Asher was eating breakfast and then after our story, we dug in. He loved filling the measuring cup with the spoon and his dump trunk and then dumping it out to do all over again. You could certainly fill your tub with just about anything you have on hand.
I’ll admit the next few days I got a little q-tip happy. On Monday we created our very own snowflake by doing a little q-tip painting on a pre-cut snowflake I had glued onto a piece of construction paper. On Tuesday we created a winter outdoor scene on our window using contact paper, q-tips and cotton balls. Find the full tutorial for setting up this activity here.)
On Wednesday we practiced using our snow shovel. I rolled up several pieces of white computer paper into balls, and Asher practiced scooping them up. I’ll admit we had fun tossing them at one another a time or two as well. It was nice to do this indoors as he has a hard time using his shovel still outside with those “pesky” mittens on. After playing for a bit, we created a little corresponding shovel craft using cotton rounds. I cut out and glued the shovel ahead of time, trying my best to make it resemble his, and then we glued the rounds on the shovel together. It was great to have his real shovel and snowballs on hand so we could work to make the connection between the two.
We have been working on basic concepts like colors, numbers etc. simultaneously with our learning themes each week, so I decided to incorporate some additional practice with our color names into our theme as well. I used construction paper to cut out several different colored shovel pairs and added the color name to each. I then laminated the shovels for durability using my at home laminator. Once laminated, I hung one of each color shovel up with clips on some twine on our hallway wall. I then placed the remaining shovels on the floor for Asher to select from. He then worked to pair the shovels with their corresponding hanging pair. He still needed me to open the clips for him (although he had no problem ripping them off the twine himself ;)). Hoping the more we practice similar tasks he will start to be more and more independent with them.
On Thursday we focused on winter snow gear. While Asher certainly gets practice with this on a daily basis as we spend what feels like forever getting ready to head outdoors these days, I thought it would be fun to really take some time to hone in on the names of each item and where they belong. Prior to the morning of this activity, I snapped photos of all of his winter gear. I then printed and laminated all of them along with a blank body print out upon which I pasted that adorable tooth-grinned face of his. Similar to the mittens above, I then laminated each of the pieces, including his body. From there, I added velcro to each of the items and the corresponding area on the body sheet. Asher got the biggest kick out of it, and I was actually amazed with how much he already knew about where each item went.
To wrap up our week on Friday we took some time to relax after all of our hard work and learning. What better way to do so in the winter than with a cup of hot chocolate? Am I right? I snagged a Paleo Hot Chocolate recipe that I whipped together for us after nap that afternoon, and we indulged and “enjoyed” one another’s company. To go along with our hot chocolate theme for the afternoon, I wrote out the lyrics to the fun little Mexican song, “El chocolate”, and we practiced singing them together with our dear friend Jose Louis Orozco playing in the background about a dozen times. What can I say – we love a good dance party around here.
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