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.

Snowflake Bentley

Emmy and I are in awe of the man who discovered that no two snowflakes are alike. His name was Wilson A. Bentley and his magnificent discoveries regarding snowflakes can be found in the book Snowflake Bentley written by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and illustrated by Mary Azarian. Snowflake Bentley won the 1999 Caldecott Award for the most distinguished picture book of the year. The illustrations give an old world feel and a true understanding of the Vermont landscape as Ms. Azarian lives just an hour away from Wilson Bentley's home. Her use of woodcuts to create the illustrations is simply divine. Ms. Martin pays tribute to Wilson Bentley through her storytelling. About Wilson Bentley, she says: "He saw beauty where no one else had noticed it - and he was determined to show others that beauty. His vision and his single-minded pursuit of his goal, as well as his belief that the 'treasure' was in the beauty of snow, not in money - all made him one of my heroes."

Here's a bit about Wilson Bentley: He grew up in the late 1800's on a farm in Vermont where the average snowfall is about 120 inches. His happiest days were snowstorm days. When his

mother gave him an old microscope, Willie began catching single

snowflakes and studying the ice crystals. He wanted to find a way to save the snowflakes so that others could see their wonderful designs so for three winters he tried drawing the snow crystals, but they always melted before he could finish. He did manage to draw a hundred snow crystals each winter for three winters! Willie's study of snow really got going when his parents helped him to buy a camera with its own microscope. Through trial and error, he photographed more than 5000 snowflakes during his lifetime (his first in 1885) , not finding any two alike. The

photographs attracted world attention and made Wilson Bentley a pioneer in the area of photomicrography. Two thousand of these clear photomicrographs are printed in a wonderful book titled Snow Crystals. This book will amaze you and have you looking at snowflakes in a completely different way!!!

After reading Snowflake Bentley, Emmy and I put black paper near the back door so that when the next snow fell, we would be ready to try to capture snowflakes just like Wilson Bentley. Although the snowflakes were quick to melt, Emmy and I were able to see the detail in the flakes and appreciate Mr. Bentley's work even more.

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!

The Snowy Day

With our recent trip to the mountains of Colorado, we can now say that Emmy is a Snow Bunny! She LOVED the snow. She enjoyed sled riding, skiing and ice-skating, but her very favorite thing was pretending that she was a mountain climber. She could spend all day climbing up a snow pile and then sliding down the other side. Watching her reminded me of the book The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. As soon as we returned, I shared this book with Emmy and it quickly became a favorite. She now enjoys mimicking the main character, Peter, by finding a very big stick, hitting a tree branch and pretending that snow plops on her head. If you are not familiar with Ezra Jack Keat's work, please check out the series of books about Peter, a young African American boy who lives in the city. In 1963, The Snowy Day was awarded the Caldecott Medal for the delightful illustrations. 40 years later, this tale of a young boy experiencing the first snow of winter continues to charm young and old alike.

Here is a delicious recipe to add to the snowy fun!

Snowflake Sopapillas
Ingredients:
Flour tortillas
Oil
Powdered Sugar
Honey or syrup

Directions:
Fold a flour tortilla in half, then half again, and half again, so you have a triangle. Using scissors, cut small shapes and score into the sides of the triangle without cutting all the way through, and then unfold. Heat a frying pan and add oil, then lay the tortilla on the heated oil until it browns (about 1- 2 minutes on each side). Lay on paper towels to remove excess oil, then transfer to a plate. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and drizzle with honey or syrup. Enjoy!