Week 3: Pretending Winter, Snow and Ice

We aren’t having any winter weather out here on the West Coast, but we can still imagine the frosty February other parts of our country are experiencing.

 

Snowman Chant

Once there was a snowman,      snowman,    snowman

(grow tall slowly as you chant)

Once there was a Snowman:  tall,         tall,     tall!

And in the sun he melted,            melted,          melted

(shrink down to the ground slowly as you chant)

In the sun he melted:  small,       small,             small.

 

Sensory Play:  Ice

The ice in our touch table was made with water and food dye and toys in a baby bathtub and other plastic containers.  It took overnight to freeze.  You can try letting kids choose what toys to freeze.  (Hans Solo is a favorite in our house.)  Don’t worry if they can’t wait overnight—even after a few hours the surface will be frozen with some water bubbles in the middle.  The bathtub and sink are fun places to melt ice.  With children who are not tasting the melting ice, you can add paints and glitter.  Try ice melting on the porch, sidewalk or pool this summer!

Salty Snow Paintings

A great excuse to drizzle, squeeze and pour puddles of glue.  We sprinkled table salt on our glue to make the glue look like snow. 

Wonder what other things in the kitchen cabinet might make a great glitter substitute? 

Let me know if your family tries any new sprinkled in glue.

Gluten Free Salt Dough

2 cups gluten-free flour mix

1 cup kosher salt

about 1 cup lukewarm water

Put the flour and salt in bowl.  Slowly, add the lukewarm water while stirring until the dough comes together around the spoon. It should feel pliable without being sticky. If it’s too wet, add a bit more flour. If it’s too dry, add some water. Keep playing until it feels right.

Bake in the 200° oven until the shapes feel firm, which takes 2 hours. Turn off the oven and let the baking sheet sit in there for another hour.  When the shapes have cooled, paint them any way you want. And remind the kiddos that no, this still isn’t a cookie.

Goodbye Everybody, I’ll see you on Monday: 

On Mondays we will clean up early and head to the gym.

Next Week’s Forecast:  More cold weather at Playschool.

Ever been curious about what kind of art Ms. Amy makes?

Amy has clay bells in the Trees show at Currents Gallery and masks on display in Marilyn Affolter’s Gallery (across the street from Red Fox Bakery).  Both shows open this weekend.  I’ll be wandering around during Downtown McMinnville’s Art and Wine Walk this Saturday sometime between 5-8 pm.  The work will be up through mid-March.