“Snowmen at Night”

Dear Teachers and Parents,

Thanks for attending our “One Book One University” literacy event! We hope that you had fun and learned about the importance of literacy for the development and learning of young children.

We were pleased to present a free copy of “Snowmen at Night” to your child(ren) and hope that you will take the opportunity to expand on what was learned today by trying some of these recommended activities in your child(ren)’s home setting.

A few ideas for things you can do with your child(ren) are listed below:

Additional Reading Activities

• Read the book with your child. When a snowmen does an activity, ask your child open-ended questions about the what is happening, such as “What is the snowman doing?” “What do you think he is feeling right now?” “What is your favorite thing to do when it snows?” Continue this discussion.

• Allow children to hear the book read to them on YouTube. This will allow them to hear the narration while they follow along in their copy of the book. View the YouTube video.
• For older children, there are several rhyming words found in the story that create a great flow to the plot. Select one of these words when reading the story with your child. Then, encourage them to come up with another word that rhymes with the selected word. For example places and races rhyme, what else rhymes with these words?

Art Activity

Create your own snowmen! Use recyclable materials, such as milk jugs, newspapers, and cardboard. Use markers or paint to decorate the snowmen. Line with cotton balls to represent the snow. You can discuss with your child suitable clothing that the snowmen might need in order to play outside in the winter.

Cooking Activities

In the story, the snowmen choose some exciting activities to engage in. Here is a recipe for a healthy snowman that you and your child can create together.  As you each build your snowmen, discuss the activities the snowmen did and the importance of giving our bodies healthy foods so we can have energy to do the things we love.  Ask your child(ren) what their favorite fruit is to eat.  Discuss how that fruit tastes, smells, and sounds while you eat it.  Recipe at https://blogs.goddardschool.com/.

Music/Movement Activities

1. Sing or listen to the song “Once there was a snowman.” Encourage children to pretend like they are in the situation and do the actions with them to get their large motor muscles working!

2. Create a quick obstacle course in your living room or outdoors. Mimic the races that the snowmen do and see who can complete the course first.

3. Have an indoor “snowball fight!” Ball up some old newspapers and stack dixie cups in a pyramid shape. Toss the newspaper balls at the cups to see who can knock more over.

Thank you for all you do to show your child(ren) the importance of literacy in their everyday lives. As you can see, the content of books can be extended in many areas to teach various developmental skills and encourage learning in young children.