Bring on the Snow!

Snack Activity: 

http://frostmeblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/brrr-winter.html

Powdered donuts, candy corn and mini chocolate chips.  Kids decorate the powdered donuts like snowmen (candy corn nose in hole, chocolate chips as eyes/mouth) before book reading and then eat it while book being read.

Group Activity: Snowball Throw (put blue tape down middle of room)

·         Have kids line up in two lines. Explain rules (no aiming at faces/heads, if you throw a snowball before we say go, you sit out the entire game).  Hand each kid a snowball.  Teams throw balls back and forth. Team with fewest balls on their side at end of time (2-3 minutes) is winner.

o   Snowballs made of plastic grocery bags

Group Activity: Snowman relay

·         Each participant gets a piece of a snowman (eyes, mittens, hat, etc.) to put on.  First team to build a complete snowman wins.

Group Craft: Marshmallow Popper: cup, balloon, mini marshmallows.

http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/entertainment/crafts-hobbies/make-a-mini-marshmallow-popper-00000000039219/index.html

·         While they are making these, one of us or volunteers will set up the two games below.

Individual “Free” Time (choose one of the activities below; rotate around)

Activity: Marshmallow Popper Game 1. Try to get all the mini marshmallows into the center of a hula hoop using your marshmallow popper.

Activity: Marshmallow Popper Game 2. Try to pop the ping pong ball off the soda bottle without knocking the bottle over.

Activity: Marshmallow Popper Game 3.  Try to get all your mini marshmallows into a bin using your marshmallow popper.

Craft: Snow Painting. 

http://spoonful.com/crafts/its-a-wrap

  Dip evergreen “branch” in white paint to make snowflakes on blue paper.  Also have paint and brushes for adding other wintery features (snowman, snow on trees).

Activity: Ice experiment (can you lift a piece of ice with only a string?—shows how salt melts the ice and then when the ice refreezes, string sticks)

http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/10086/science-experiment-with-salt/

Activity: Instant Snow Fun (have 2oz water into one large cup and one scoop snow in small cup.  Have kids pour small cup into large cup)

http://artfulparent.com/2012/11/making-fake-snow-indoor-fun-for-kids.html

Activity: Human Snow Blower Table Game.  

http://hobnobbranson.com/hobnobbin/human-snowblower-table-game/

Tape three large cups even with the end of one table.  Using a paper towel tube, two participants try to blow their ping pong ball (snowball) into one of the cups.  If the ball rolls off the table, their turn is over.

Evaluation:

            The Insta-Snow was a HUGE hit.  They were amazed by it and how large and cold the fake snow became.  The Ice Experiment didn’t work real well.  I think it may have been the string used (or the cups or the salt).  The Evergreen painting didn’t work well either.  The paint was too thick and even when we thinned it out with some water, we still didn’t get the cool prints like in the picture above.  The marshmallow poppers and snowman donuts were also well received.  We had to help with the poppers as the balloons kept slipping off the cup (due in part to the powder inside the balloon).