Yesterday Niagara finally joined the rest of Canada as we experienced our first snowfall of the season. Mr. B’s eyes were full of wonder as this is the first snowfall he’s ever really “experienced” since he was just a few months old last winter. Of course, being in one of Canada’s “hot spots”, none of it stuck and all we have is green grass covered in crunchy leaves again, but that first snowfall is all it takes to put people in the right frame of mind to face winter and get into the Christmas spirit!
Miss J is learning words left, right and center, but still insists that she “can’t read the story” on her own. Sometimes, to encourage her to participate in the storytelling, we scrap the text and just tell the story by “reading the pictures”. This can be a TON of fun – interpreting the images can lead to wild and crazy adventures (and can also give you a break from reading the same old text over and over again too!).
Some stories are actually wordless. This week’s children’s book is one of our family’s “winter favourites”. It’s about a little boy and his snowman and th
e adventures the go on as they explore each other’s worlds. In the award winning story The Snowman, author Raymond Briggs takes his readers on a wonderful adventure using more than 175 gently coloured images that are neatly arranged to illustrate this awesome little winter adventure that starts in the yard and home of the little boy and continues on a grand adventure. It’s a beautiful story and, as promised, one that can be extended in any number of fun ways to increase the learning for your little ones!
Extended Learning for Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman
Get Active: Build a snowman!
Dig Deeper: Mark Cassino’s The Story of Snow answers your snow-related questions!
Be Creative: Visit Lisa @ 5 Orange Potatoes and make your own Ivory Soap Snow!
Read More: Read the poem “The Snowman” by Shel Silverstein.
Watch: The Snowman on DVD or on Blu-Ray – story set to beautiful music!
Please share your favourite “Snowman Activies” in the comments below or on our Facebook Page and I’ll add them! If we pool our ideas together – favourite poems, stories, crafts, games, activities, we’ll have a TON of fantastic ideas to draw from when the “snowman” mood strikes this winter!
