Snow

The snow has finally arrived here on the North Shore of Massachusetts and Emmy is delighted! We've had a great time sledding, building snowmen, having snowball fights and stomping through the snow.

Here are a few of Emmy's observations about snow:

*Snow is freezing cold. It's like a freezer for the Earth.

*Look at the tiny crystals. The snow fairies must make those sparkly colors.

*Where do the trucks put all of the snow? Maybe they

take it to the North Pole.

*Somebody's shaking the clouds!

*It's so quiet. Is the snow sleeping?

There's no doubt that children love rhyme and Emmy is no exception. She frequently plays with words and can be heard going around the house saying, "cat-hat; yes, those rhyme" "cake-bake; yes, those rhyme." Adding poetry into our day is something that I am trying to be more mindful of. I love the rhythm and rhyme of poetry and the extraordinary pictures that are formed in your mind when poems are spoken aloud. Here is the latest poem that I have shared with Emmy. I hopeit has you "in stitches" as it does for Emmy and me.

Snowball

by Shel Silverstein

I made myself a snow ball

as perfect as could be.

I thought I'd keep it as a pet

and let it sleep with me.

I made it some pajamas

and a pillow for it's head.

Then, last night it ran away.

But first -- it wet the bed.

In the book, Snow, Cynthia Rylant charms us once again with her poetic interpretation of a winter wonderland. Rylant makes the reader aware that there are different types of snow...soft, fat, a little, a lot, etc. and in her masterful way she creates images so vivid that you feel like part of the story. "The best snow is the snow that comes softly in the night, like a shy friend afraid to knock." Emmy enjoys the page where the snow falls so heavy it buries cars up to their noses. As we walk around town, Emmy will point out the cars covered with snow and just laugh and laugh. Adding to the glory of the words in this book are the illustrations by Lauren Stringer. They are filled with blue-white crystal creations showing snow flurries, snow drifts and snowflakes (no two alike).

Creating art with snow and representing snow through a variety of art materials allows Emmy to explore with all of her senses and bring about a deeper understanding of the magic of snow.

Building a baby snowman.

Working with "squirt" glue and cotton balls to create an indoor snowman.

The finished product.

Add a little bit of snow to your pancakes with powdered sugar dusted on with a sifter!

One of my all time favorite movies is White Christmas starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney. I am looking forward to sharing my love of "old" song and dance movies with Emmy and in the meantime will show her bits and pieces of my favorites like this scene highlighting Irving Berlin's song Snow.

Emmy and I hope you've enjoyed our celebration of snow! If you're looking for more books and poems on winter, take a look at these posts:

The Snowy Day

Duck at the Door

Winter Books

Snowflake Bentley

And for another gorgeous book by Cynthia Rylant, check out this post and look for the book In November.

Winter Books

With the winter cold air comes time for snuggling up with a good book! Here are two of Emmy's favorite picks for books that are just right for snuggling.

Winter is the Warmest Season by Lauren Stringer is an enjoyable book that helps the reader see that although the temperatures may be colder in winter, there is a lot of warmth to be found. At first the idea of

winter being warm was confusing to Emmy, but as we looked at the marvelous artwork in this book it began to make perfect sense. It helped that we tried out some of the suggestions in the book such as: feeling the puffiness of our winter coats, burying ourselves under the blankets on Emmy's bed, sipping hot chocolate, eating grilled cheese sandwiches, and wearing pajamas with feet.

When winter comes, my jacket puffs warm with feathers, my hat grows earflaps, my pants hide deep in fuzzy boots, and my hands wear warm wooly sweaters.

Ms. Stringer shares how she got the idea for this winter book: "Since my children were born, I have kept notes on things they have said and done that delight and surprise me. I had no idea on one hot, steaming summer day when my six year old son turned to me and said, “Winter is the hottest season ‘cause everybody drinks hot chocolate and wears warm clothes, and sits in front of hot fires,” that his interesting logic would turn itself into a picture book!" Writing down your children's thoughts in an ongoing journal is such a great idea. Maybe one day these pieces of wisdom will become ideas for a future children's book.

Next on Emmy's list is Tracks in the Snow by Wong Herbert Yee. With simple words and illustrations,

Yee takes us on a little girl's adventure to find out who made the tracks in the snow.

Just outside my window, there are tracks in the snow. Who made the tracks? Where do they go?

Now when we venture out into the snow, our eyes are looking for tracks and wondering what creature might have made them. We enjoy making our own tracks and noticing that Mommy's tracks are bigger than Emmy's. Although Emmy will often say that her tracks are the biggest.

Falling Snow

See the pretty snowflakes

Falling from the sky;

On the wall and housetops

Soft and thick they lie.

On the window ledges,

On the branches bare;

Now how fast they gather,

Filling all the air.

Look into the garden,

Where the grass was green;

Covered by the snowflakes,

Not a blade is seen.

Now the bare black bushes

All look soft and white,

Every twig is laden,

What a pretty sight!