1, 2 3, Go! Spectaular Snow

Snowmen, snowballs, snowforts!  Does your little one like to create things in the snow?  Incorporating snow themed playtime into singing rhymes and songs makes for a fun time learning to get ready to read!  Action rhymes such as those below encourage interaction with your child through movements and activity.  Through such playtime, children ask questions and search for answers, which also helps them learn new information.  Children also love to count and compare, as displayed in the counting and color rhymes below,  which help them continue to learn.


Here is a Hill Rhyme
Here is a hill all covered with snow (Put one hand on hip and make it “snow” with the other hand)
We’ll take our sleds up.  (Walk fingers up the arm on the hip)
And zoom down we’ll go! (Fly fingers quickly down arm)

A Funny Little Snowman
A funny little snowman had a carrot nose.
Along came a bunny and what do you suppose?
That hungry little bunny looking for his lunch,
Ate the snowman’s carrot with a nibble, nibble, crunch!

The Itsy Bitsy Snowman  (To the tune of Itsy Bitsy Spider)
The Itsy-Bitsy snowman was standing in the snow.  (Hold arms in circle)
Down came some snowflakes...they made the snowman grow.  (Wiggle fingers downward)
Out came the sun to shine its golden rays, (Hold arms to make sun)
Which warmed the little snowman and melted him away.  (Hug self and slump to floor)

Five Friendly Snowmen 
Adapted from Five Little Snowmen on Karen for Kids CD by Karen Banks Lubicz

5 friendly snowmen white and round,
Made with snow that fell on the ground.
Out came the sun and melted one,
Now the one with the yellow scarf is all done.

4 friendly snowmen white and round,
Made with snow that fell on the ground.
Out came the sun and melted one,
Now the one with the orange scarf is all done.

3 friendly snowmen white and round,
Made with snow that fell on the ground.
Out came the sun and melted one,
Now the one with the green scarf is all done.

2 friendly snowmen white and round,
Made with snow that fell on the ground.
Out came the sun and melted one,
Now the one with the blue scarf is all done.

One friendly snowman white and round,
Made with snow that fell on the ground.
Out came the sun,
So the one with the red scarf decided to run!

Let's Make a Snowman
Adapted from I Can Make a Snowman on Highly Usable Music (HUM) CD by Carole Peterson

I can make a snowman,
A snowman, a snowman.
I can make a snowman,
My snowman will be white!

Anyone can make a white one! Let’s make ours different colors.
Close your eyes and think of the color of grass.

I can make a snowman,
A snowman, a snowman.
I can make a snowman,
My snowman will be: GREEN!

Now let’s do it again.
Repeat the song with additional colors such as:
Close your eyes and think of the color of the Sun. My snowman will be YELLOW!
Close your eyes and think of the color of the Sky. My snowman will be BLUE!
Close your eyes and think of the color of a Strawberry:. My snowman will be RED!


We also read these books about snow:

The Snowy Day be Ezra Jack Keats
Winner of the 1963 Caldecott medal.  The adventures of a little boy in the city on a very snowy day. 
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Millions of Snowflakes by Mary McKenna Siddals
As snow begins to fall, a child counts the flakes, enjoying every one. 
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Story Mix for Three to Six: Snow!

Brrrr.  It's cold out there!  However, I bet your little one loves to play in the snow!  Include these rhymes in your outdoor playtime fun as you crunch your feet in the snow or slide down a hill!  Or take some of those winter elements and bring them indoors where it's warm with these great rhymes and stories.  Through the songs and rhymes, consonance and dissonance are incorporated in words such as 'crunch' and 'straps', which help children hear the sounds letters and words make.  This language technique builds language so that words like 'feathery' become part of a child's vocabulary.

Put On Our Mittens Rhyme
Let’s put on our mittens and button our coats
Wrap a scarf snugly around our throats
Pull on our boots and fasten the straps
And tie on tightly our warm winter caps
Then open the door and out we go
Into the soft and feathery snow

Crunch Crunch Sliding Rhyme
Crunch crunch crunch crunch up the hill so slow
Sliding, sliding, sliding, sliding down the hill we go

Crunch crunch crunch crunch up the hill so slow
Sliding, sliding, sliding, sliding down the hill we go

Have more wintertime fun when you read these books we enjoyed at Story Mix this week:

The Hat by Jan Brett
When Lisa hangs her woolen clothes in the sun to air them out for winter, the hedgehog, to the amusement of the other animals, ends up wearing a stocking on his head. 
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A Hat for Minerva Louise by Janet Morgan Stoeke
Minerva Louise, a snow-loving chicken, mistakes a pair of mittens for two hats to keep both ends warm.
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The Mouse that Jack Built by Cyndy Szekeres
Jack the bunny builds a wonderful snowmouse, decorating it with his own ragged hat and scarf, which he is able to leave on the snowmouse when his mother surprises him with a new hat and scarf.
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Please Let it Snow by Harriet Ziefert
New boots, new jacket, new hat, but no snow! The charmingly impatient boy in this book just wants winter to arrive. But, day after day, the sun keeps on shining, until one day...
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Wonderful Ones: Wonderful Wintertime

Babies are usually bundled up in the winter, but take those hats, mittens, and coats off for fun stories, singing and fingerplays. The beginnings of communication are often through hand motions and movements. Through these songs like 'The Itsy Bitsy Snowflake',  'Winter Sun' and 'Snow is Falling Down', making hand motions and movements while you sing the songs helps babies learn eye-hand coordination, flexibility and even critical thinking skills.  Language represents the foundational basis for literacy learning in the early stages of development and helps babies get ready to read for when they do start school.

Itsy-Bitsy Snowflake Rhyme
The itsy-bitsy snowflake
Fell down from the sky.
It landed on my nose
And it bounced upon my eye.
It slid down to my chin
And it landed on my tongue.
Then it melted all away.
Now my snowflake song is done.

Winter Sun Rhyme
Winter sun, don’t you run,
Stay with me and have some fun.
Shine on my face, shine on me,
Shine on my arms, shine on my knee. 
Shine on my legs, shine on my hair,
Shine on my toes, shine everywhere!

Winter sun, don’t you run,
Stay with me and have some fun.
Shine on my face, shine on me,
Shine on my arms, shine on my knee. 
Shine on my legs, shine on my hair,
Shine on my toes, shine everywhere!

Snow is Falling Down Rhyme
Snow is falling down, shhhh.
Falling to the ground, shhhh.
Slowly, very slowly,
Snow is falling down, shhhh.

Snow is falling down, shhhh.
Falling to the ground, shhhh.
Slowly, very slowly,
Snow is falling down, shhhh.


We read these snowy books at Wonderful Ones this week:

Spot’s Snowy Day by Eric Hill
Spot has lots of fun in the snow with his family and friends. 
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What Can You Do in the Snow? By Anna Grossnickle Hines
Snow provides the opportunity to catch a snowflake, stamp a trail, or swoosh an angel.
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Animal Kisses by Barney Saltzberg
Introduces words which name textures associated with various animal kisses, such as scratchy cat kisses, velvety cow kisses, and rubbery fish kisses.
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Story Mix for Three to Six: Penguins

We are having some wintertime fun at Story Mix!  Our winter theme this week is penguins.  To become skilled readers, children need rich language and broad vocabulary to understand messages conveyed in print.  Word knowledge can be developed through exposure to new words, such as 'snowflake' or 'penguin'.  Creative playtime included in the dress up rhyme helps children use those new words in their everyday speech. The more language experiences children have, the more words they learn. 


Snowflakes, Snowflakes Song
Snowflakes, snowflakes, dance around
Snowflakes, snowflakes, touch the ground
Snowflakes, snowflakes, on my nose
Snowflakes, snowflakes, on my toes
Snowflakes, snowflakes, twirl around
Snowflakes, snowflakes, touch the ground

Penguins Dress Up Rhyme
Penguins dressed up black and white
Really make a fancy sight
Sometimes I get dressed up too
I wear a __________ and look like new!  Use different items to dress up and fill in the blank

Penguins In the Snow Rhyme (sung to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot")
I’m a little penguin in the snow
I slide on my tummy to and fro
I eat fish from the deep blue sea
I’m black and white, just look at me

For more Penguin fun, check out these books we read at Story Mix this week:

Turtle’s Penguin Day by Valeri Gorbachev
After hearing a bedtime story about penguins, Turtle dresses as a penguin for school and soon the entire class is having a penguin day.
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Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester
Tacky the penguin does not fit in with his sleek and graceful companions, but his odd behavior comes in handy when hunters come with maps and traps. 
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If You Were a Penguin by Wendell and Florence Minor
Pictures and rhyming text present some of the many extraordinary things penguins can do. Includes facts about penguins as well as related websites. 
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Story Mix for Three to Six: Trains and Games

It's our last week of Story Mix until the new year, and we want to share some fun holiday themed, as well as more toy themed, stories and rhymes.  Remember over the winter break you and your child can engage in many activities to help bring early literacy skills home.

• Read together!  Shared reading is valuable because your child has your full attention, and you are enjoying the experience together. 
• Sing and Rhyme together! Stories and songs in rhyme encourage new vocabulary, listening and oral language skills. 
• Talk and Play together! Talk and ask questions about what you and your child do during the day such as baking cookies or shopping for presents. 
• Write or Draw a picture together! Help your child draw a picture and write captions of your favorite snow activity to do together, such as making a snowman.  This helps connect the spoken words to the ideas, and creates a visual representation of your child's imagination to share.

Baby Mice Counting Rhyme
Where are the baby mice?
“Squeak, squeak, squeak”
I cannot see them
Peek, peek, peek
Here they come
Out of their hole in the wall
1,2,3,4,5 – that’s all!

This Little Train Christmas Rhyme
This little train – on the tree
Santa put it there for me
With a chug-chug, choo-choo
Rummy-tummy-tum
Christmas Day is so much fun.
Drum – boom-boom, rat-a-tat…
Doll – Ma-ma, Ma-ma…

We read these books at Story Mix this week:

Two Little Trains by Margaret Wise Brown
Two little trains, one streamlined, the other old-fashioned, puff, puff, puff, and chug, chug, chug, on their way West. 
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Ten Play Hide-and-Seek by Penny Dale
A little boy and nine stuffed animals play hide and seek before going to bed.
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What Am I? Christmas by Anne Margaret Lewis
Lift the flap to find a Christmas surprise on every page of this book. 
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Terrific Twos: The Color RED

We are featuring the color RED this week at Terrific Twos!  The color red is often associated with the Christmas holiday and you'll notice some of the books we read are Christmas themed to help you celebrate.  The rhymes and stories below help your child with a variety of literacy skills. Rhyming helps children understand word construction and meaning based on sound. Children will begin to think symbolically and develop oral language skills. The fun actions you can perform in each song such as the movements of a little red bird flying, or a snowman who is big, round and has a lovely scarf of red, make these activities memorable and entertaining. 

Little Red Bird Rhyme
Little red bird, fly around
Up to the sky and down to the ground.
Little red bird, flap your wings
And let me hear you sweetly sing.
Little red bird, go to your nest
Now it’s time to take a rest.

Little red bird, fly around
Up to the sky and down to the ground.
Little red bird, flap your wings
And let me hear you sweetly sing.
Little red bird, go to your nest
Now it’s time to take a rest.

I Made a Little Snowman Rhyme (thanks to our friends at King County Library System)
I made a little snowman,
I made him big and round.
I made him from a snowball,
I rolled upon the ground.
He has two eyes, a nose, a mouth,
A lovely scarf of red.
He even has some buttons,
And a hat upon his head.

Check out these books we read at this week's Terrific Twos: 

Who Said Red? by Mary Serfozo
A little girl and her brother introduce red, green, blue, yellow, and other colors as they wander about their farm.
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We Love Christmas by Marilyn Janovitz
Join two lovable cats as they celebrate Christmas. 
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Mouse's First Christmas by Lauren Thompson
While exploring the house on Christmas Eve, a little mouse discovers the tree, a candy cane, a stocking, a jingle bell, and Santa Claus. 
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