Winter...A Chilly and Beautiful Season

CIRCLE TIME

The official beginning of Winter is December 21st. Winter is our coldest season of the year. The daylight hours are much shorter and our part of the Earth is farther away from the Sun, which causes it to be cold.

In the winter, many animals go to sleep for many weeks or months. This is called hibernating. Other animals travel to warmer parts of the Earth for the winter. This is called migration. People just put on warm clothes like sweaters, gloves and hats in order to stay warm!






BIBLE

"Don't be afraid, for I am with you."  Isaiah 41:10a

Click the link to Danielle's Place for an awesome lesson! The concept is learning that God is in control of everything. We don't have to be afraid because God has a plan for our lives. He wants us to follow Him!

http://www.daniellesplace.com/html/FreeWinterSundaySchoolLesson.html

LETTER/ READING

Vowel Review!

Reading  - click HERE and print the Vowel Review Worksheet from KidZone.com. Pronounce the short vowel sound and then pronounce the word with the short vowel sound.


Starfall.com - http://www.starfall.com/n/level-a/learn-to-read/load.htm?f
Click the "Short Vowel" button next to the "Ug" lesson. This is a fun matching game using words with short vowels!

**BONUS - Click the Gingerbread Man on the right side of the screen for a fun game!

Readingbear.org - http://www.readingbear.org/Presentation.aspx?Review=1-6
Review the short vowel sounds!

SCIENCE

Ice Melting Activity

Each test can be done on a different day in order to make it more exciting to see what happens next!

Print the graph HERE

Make a bunch of ice cubes. Show the graph to the kids and ask them which they think will melt the ice fastest. You can record their answers so you can see who might have been right at the end of the week!Each day try one of the experiments. Use a stopwatch or the stopwatch function on your smart phone and record exactly how long each thing takes to fully melt the ice cube. Record your findings on the graph. Once all of the experiments have been completed, use the orange circles to number them in the order of fastest to slowest. Who had the right answer?

MATH

Snowman Puzzle

About.com has a cute printable snowman puzzle! Print on cardstock and cut the pieces out. Puzzles help children build the skills they need to read, write, solve problems, and coordinate their thoughts and actions—all of which they will use in school and beyond.

http://homeschooling.about.com/od/holidays/ss/santaprint_6.htm

Playdough Math Mats

Pre-kinders.com has some adorable printable math mats with a snow theme! These are great for math skills and also fine motor skills. Print the mats and allow the kids to make the number of snowflakes that each mat asks for!

http://www.prekinders.com/snowman-play-dough-mats/

ART/CRAFT

Art - Snow Painting!

Recipe:
Mix equal parts of shaving cream and white school glue!

Give the kids a piece of grey or grey-blue paper and allow them to create a winter masterpiece!
(You may want to read one of the suggested books to get them in the mood!)

Craft - Noodle Snowflakes

You need:
"Wagon wheel" style dry noodles
Shell noodles
(Other noodle shapes, use what you want!)
Glue
Paper
Silver glitter
Snowflake Template

Print a copy of the template for each kid. Provide a bowl with the noodles and glue. Allow the kids to fill the template with the noodles however they like! Once done, cover the surface of their noodle snowflakes with glue and sprinkle the silver glitter over them. Allow to dry.

Once dry, you can put these up in the classroom. They are so pretty!

BOOKS

http://www.amazon.com/Biggest-Best-Snowman-Reindeer-Scholastic/dp/B0054R89YS/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386347891&sr=1-3&keywords=the+biggest+best+snowman

A really sweet book that helps us remember that even the smallest of us can make big things happen if we believe in ourselves (and get a little help)!




http://www.amazon.com/When-Winter-Comes-Nancy-Laan/dp/0689817789

"What happens to fish, flowers, field mice, and other living things when ponds freeze and the air turns blustery? Walk with a curious child and his parents as winter's first snow falls and find out"

MOTOR SKILLS

Fine - Play with Home Made Snow!

from bathactivitiesforkids.com

You Need:

Baking Soda

Water

Large tub (one of those dish tubs from Walmart work great)

Slowly mix the baking soda with little bits of water at a time. Mix well using your hands to get it to incorporate. When it is finished it should be crumbly and moldable. Place it in the freezer for about an hour.

Put the snow in a large tub and give the kids the chance to mold it! You can make snowballs, snow forts, snow men (all miniature, of course!). This is really great for those of us who don't get much snow, and also for those of you who do!



My kid playing with it in the bathtub!

Gross - Winter Wonderland Obstacle Course

This is the time of year when it is tough to keep kids from going bananas because they are cooped up inside a bunch.

It is pretty simple to do this. You just have to make sure it is safe and not too difficult for the kids. You can use sofa pillows, small chairs, big cardboard boxes, blankets, masking tape, hula hoops and many other items to make a course through the room. Make them have to go up and over, under and through, around, etc. In order to make it winter-like, add snowflakes, snowmen, and other winter-y items! You can also make it harder by having them put on all their winter clothing so it is harder to move around. Give a pack of winter stickers as a prize at the end.

MUSIC

The Winter Song

(tune: Farmer in the Dell)
Let's sing a winter song,
Let's sing a winter song,
The days are short, the nights are long.
Let's sing a winter song.
The winter wind is cold,
The winter wind is cold,
It freezes noses, ears, and toes.
The winter wind is cold.
Winter now is here,
Winter now is here,
Put on your coat, your hat, your gloves, Winter now is here.



Weather and Seasons (Jan 21-25)

We have talked about winter and cold weather, now we should step it up and discuss all the seasons and the basic weather that goes with them! This lesson will go hand in hand with your daily calendar discussions!

In South Texas the seasons are a little fuzzy. What I mean is, we really only have 2 seasons, hot and cold. I think it is important for our kiddos to understand what is happening in the rest of the country and to try to pinpoint the various seasons here as best we can!



SPRING:
Spring is when it begins to get warmer outside, snow on the ground will melt away. The flowers will begin to grow again and the leaves on the trees will begin to show up. You will hear birds singing much more! It rains often in the spring to help the flowers and trees grow. Easter, Memorial Day and Mother's Day are in spring.

SUMMER:
In the summer the weather is warm or hot. You can go swimming, go to the park, go on vacation, and go to the beach during the summer. We wear shorts and tank tops and sandals to help keep us cool. It is fun to eat ice cream and popsicles. The flowers are pretty, the grass and trees are green and the birds have lots of fun playing.  Independance Day and Father's Day are in summer.

FALL:
Fall is when the weather becomes cooler. The leaves on the trees begin to change color and fall off the trees. Flowers will begin to disappear and the grass will start to turn brown. The birds are now storing food for the winter.  Labor Day, Halloween and Thanksgiving are in fall.

WINTER:
Winter is the coldest part of the year. The trees will not have any leaves on them. There are no flowers. The grass will be brown. The birds will be sleeping or have flown to a place that is warmer for them. We get to drink hot chocolate to keep us warm. We wear long sleeved shirts and pants, and even coats, hats and mittens to keep us warm. Christmas, New Year and Valentine's Day are in winter.


SEASON MATCHING

Print out the cards and cut out the pieces at the bottom. I suggest doing two seasons at a time so you don't overwhelm the kiddos. Pick 2 that are opposites, like summer and winter. To make it harder, pick 2 that are close, like spring and summer. Lay out the cards and give them the pictures. Ask them to decide where each picture falls in the seasons. Talk about their answers.

If you are having trouble printing the above matching activity, you can print the below worksheets and use them in the same way. Cut out each item and have the children match them by placing them together. I am working on the link for the matching activity now...
http://www.tlsbooks.com/allkindsofweather.pdf
http://www.education.com/files/95001_95100/95099/weather-wear-matching.pdf



WEATHER CHART

If your calendar does not have a weather piece, this chart can be used with your daily circle time discussions. Cut out a large circle, you can use a paper plate!  Either draw or cut out and paste on the 2 lines to bi-sect the circle, making 4 equal parts. Use a brad to attach the arrow so that you can easily point the arrow at the weather of the day. Attach the 4 different types of weather using a picture and the word in each of the 4 spaces. We do not use the snow, since we only rarely get any here. I used wind instead, since we do have some very windy days! Make it work for your class!

MATH

Raindrop Counting and Sequencing:
Cut out the 10 numbered rain drops. The second page will be where the children will place their drops. Begin by counting the numbered rain drops with the kids. Make sure they can see the numbers on them. Once you have counted them, ask the children to tell you which number comes first. You can give the numbered drops to the kids to place on the second page if they are ready for that, or you can hold them while you do this. When a child has given you the correct answer, let that child place the drop in its place on the second page. Go through each of the numbers. If they get any out of order, you can use your fingers to count and discover which number should actually come next.   raindrop sequencing sheets

 

 

 

GROSS MOTOR

Tornado in a Bottle

Make one of these for each child! Use a 2 liter bottle or use an individual water sized bottle, whichever you want. Clean out and fill with water. Add blue food coloring or glitter. Screw the caps on really well! You can even use duct tape to make sure they won't open. Talk to the kids about what a tornado is. Tornadoes are really fast wind which swirls around and around in a circle. They cause what is called a "vortex" or a tornado. Allow the children to spin around and around in circles. Be careful that they do not make themselves sick! Now demonstrate the vortex you can make with the bottle. Swirl the bottle around and around until they can see the tornado! Let them try to make one too.




SCIENCE

Rain Cloud in a Jar

In order to demonstrate how rain falls from the sky, we will use this really fun experiment.

Materials:

Glass Jar

Blue Food Color

Shaving Cream

Fill the jar with water to about an inch from the top. Squirt shaving cream on top of the water. Explain to the kiddos that they should pretend that the water is the air and the shaving cream are clouds up in the sky. Clouds are made up of water. Remember when we talked about steam rising up? Water can become vapor, which is like steam, and rise up into the sky. The water in the sky becomes clouds. When these clouds become really heavy and full of water, rain falls. Demonstrate this by squirting some blue food color onto the top of the shaving cream. The color will soak through the "clouds" and drip down into the water, or sky.

Wind in a Cup

Materials:
Large, clear cups

Tissue paper, shredded up

Straws
Tape

Make one of these for each child. Shred up some tissue paper. Put it in the cup. Place a straw in the cup and then tape over the top to make a lid. Have the kids blow into the straw in the cups to make wind. They will be able to see the effects of wind on the shredded paper! This is a really fun activity! Discuss how the wind blows the trees, the grass and the flowers.

ART

Rainbows

Materials Needed:

Coffee Filters

Markers

Q tips

Talk about rainbows and how they are made up of the colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Show the kids a picture of a rainbow. Rainbows are formed when rain drops shine through sunlight.

Tape the coffee filters to a larger piece of paper. Draw a rainbow in the correct colors on the coffee filters. Give the children a small container of water and a Qtip. Allow them to dip the Qtip in the water and then let water drip onto the rainow. The colors will spread! The end result is very pretty. Hang these around the room for the week.

 FINE MOTOR

Match the Seasons

Use this Seasons worksheet from Education.com. They will trace a line that connects the weather to the season.

CRAFT

Cloud Craft

There are 2 really fun crafts you can do with clouds! Pick the one that works best for your class. These are fun to hang from the ceiling (if you can!)

#1 - Cotton Ball Clouds

Cut out the cloud template. Provide cotton balls and a glue stick and let the kiddos make theirs as fluffy as they wish!

#2 - Puffy Paint Clouds
Cut out the cloud template OR just print it on paper. Make the puffy paint and allow the kids to paint as they like!

Directions for Puffy Paint:
1 TBSP self-rising flour
1 TBSP salt
Food coloring (blue)

Combine the flour and salt. Drop 3-4 drops of food coloring into it and add about 1-3 TBSP of water to make a smooth paste.

**Once done painting, microwave the painting for around 30 seconds or until the paint puffs up and is dry.

COMMUNITY

Meteorologist

Meteorologists are the scientists who study the weather and predict (make an informed guess) what the weather will be like a few days from now. These scientists examine the wind, rain, and temperatures and report to everyone what they think will happen. People can make plans to be outside if it will be sunny and warm or plans to stay inside if it will be rainy and cold.

MUSIC

Mr. Sun  Lyrics and Sound!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Come again another day

Little _______ wants to play

Rain, Rain Go Away!

COOKING

Mud Pies

Ingredients:
Instant chocolate pudding
Oreo cookies
Milk
Gummy worms

Mix instant chocolate pudding according to the directions on the package. The children help add the “dirt” (pudding mix) and “rain” (milk) to make “mud.” To make this part extra fun, I punch holes in a styrofoam bowl and when the children pour the milk into the bowl it drips like rain into the mixing bowl. The children help mix the mud with a spoon. Put 2 Oreos in a ziplock bag for each child to crush. Put the crushed Oreos in a clear punch cup, add a gummy worm and 3-4 spoonfuls of pudding.

LETTER J j

J is for Jacket! We wear jackets when it is cold outside. Have the kids trace the letter with their finger. Then allow them to color it in. Talk about which Jackets are the same in the picture.

http://www.kidsunder7.com/2011/07/letter-j-worksheets.html