SNOW Much Fun… with a HUGE Freebie

This post is full of ideas to cover everything about SNOWMEN in a kindergarten classroom,
including an awesome Classroom Management idea
with a HUGE freebie. 
{Keep reading… it will be worth it.}

Each January, I get excited when I get to teach about snow, ice, and SNOWMEN.

Here in Georgia, we get snow maybe once a year.

And usually that doesn’t “stick” to the ground for more than a day.

{In case you remember the weather reports from last year,

we actually got a snow storm and were “stuck” in the house for a few days.

This almost never happens.}

 When we talk about snow and ice, my students know what fake snow.This is my Instant Snow sensory station.

We use Be Amazing Insta-Snow in plastic bins.
Although this is cool, we have to add the educational element
and the
fun element by adding Arctic and Antarctic toys to the snow bins.
I love the size of these Safari Ltd Arctic TOOB.
{I have larger toys in there too, but I don’t recommend that size.
The smaller figures work better and last longer.}

And ice is something Southerns put in their tea…
Or it is in their freezer.

We love doing water science experiments like this one pictured above.
As a class, we predicted which cup of water would freeze first.
Since each cup had a different amount of water in it,
it was fun to check on our cups over the entire morning.

{I believe it was actually below freezing outside on this day
so we placed the cups outside our back door to the classroom.
We also discusses whether the cups should be in the sun or shade.}

The idea of having enough snow to MAKE A SNOWMAN

 is something almost unreal to most of my students.

{Even last year with the storms, most of us had more ice than snow.
I saw a few snowmen, but not too many.
We didn’t have enough snow at our house to make a snowman.
So my 6 year old has never gotten to experience snowman making before.}

Good thing we have some great children’s books
to help bring alive the fun of snowmen to aid our lack of experiences.

And one of my favorite books to use is There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow.

After reading this book, we used our pocket chart to sequence the book.

During our Daily 5 time, we use the student copies of the books and

these pictures to complete these sequencing sheets independently.

For word work, we used these labeling sheets to label the parts of the snowman.

Do they all get it right?

NOPE.
{If you missed it, check my friends work on the right side.}

But for some of my little ones, I am happy if they TRY each and every time.

Since this is an independent station,

I have to assume that some students will not get the work done correctly.

I reteach and use these moments to learn what my students NEED to work on.

And I also can document this incorrect work in their SST folders.

My aid worked with my students on their writing station.

They completed this writing activity.

I wanted them to recall one part of the story,

then remember why she ate them…

or make up a reason at least.

Then I want to draw a picture that matches it.

Here is another one…

and she DOESN’T KNOW why she swallowed the snow in the book.

I love seeing happy, engaged students completing meaningful activities to cover content.

And I was very happy to find out I was up for my long eval this upcoming week for our new state requirement eval system for teachers.

{Honestly, I haven’t had admin in my room every much over the past 10 years.

I am kinda excited to get the chance to show off how awesome my students are doing.
My admin are usually in and out and around all the time,
so they know what we are doing.
I am not use to the requirement stuff.}

I took some time this weekend to update my whole Snowman Unit 

to make sure I was more than ready.

Here are our fill in 100 charts for math centers.

There are 4 different versions with an completed chart to help those who need it.
I love using different charts. If a student struggles with one, they can try again with another.

 We also have this fun Fill the Ten Frame activity made with all the parts to make up a snowman.

We role the die and fill in one box in that ten frame to match the image on top.

They keep going until one of the images has all ten frames.

Then, they count all the totals and place it in the box.

I check them and ask them comparing numbers questions.

I also have these FUN How to Make a Snowman cards.

{They match the reader in this unit too!}

We can use these cards to predict how we could make a snowman,

 then test it out in our sensory table.

We also can use marshmallows to do this in a fun STEM activity!

{I will post pictures when we do it.}

I also have matching sequencing sheets.
Again, we do the sequencing sheets independently in daily 5.

 Since one of our standards is informative writing,

 we can also use the idea of a snowman to cover this.

We can write about things each snowman has, using the provided prompts.

These prompts work well in independent writing station.

We also write to describe the snowmen using a the second set of prompts.

After using these, my students have all the tools they need

to write some awesome informative writing.

 Some of additional activities we use are here.

We have an ABC writing activity, comparing numbers activity and printable,

and an ABC order printable.

All of these can and will be used during my Daily 5 stations this week.

And I know my principal will be able to see many of them in action!

{I think my eval has to last 40 minutes.}

 We have this FUN FUN FUN 

Reading Comprehension Game

with 27 comprehension question and answers.

This is a class favorite.

My students RUN to this station at Daily 5.

And I laugh because I know how many great
reading comprehension standards this GAME covers.

My TA mans this game station.

And I will man this writing station.

We have a large variety of activities to choose from.

I will doing some causal assessments of my students’ needs this week,

 then make a decision on what area they need to work on Thursday afternoon
for our Daily 5 time on Friday.

We can do a comparing activity, a name three things about the book

{which could be characters, activities, or ordering events),

a beginning, middle, or end writing prompt, or open ended writing prompts.

Many times I mix and match these to ensure all my students are learning what they need to be learning.

And we all know kinders can always use lots of help with writing.

Snowmen are fun.

And thanks to Frozen…

Olaf is the most popular snowman I know.

So I was OVERJOYED when I saw this FUN idea…

 This is a Hide and Hug Olaf doll and book.

It was marketed to me as a way cooler version of that creepy elf.
{That elf’s eyes freak me out… just saying.}

And when I got the book I was pleased to read it wasn’t Christmas or holiday based.
It seems to actually be a little more like a fun hide and seek game to play at home.
Well, lets fix that!

(Updated in 2019, this Hide and Seek Olaf is harder to grab but you can get this Olaf Stuffed Animal to use instead.)

So… Olaf is making his appearance in my classroom on Tuesday morning.
He will be hidden and none of the kids will know where he is.

The book is very general, which helps in some ways.Here is my idea.

I wanted to plan a specific way to use this Olaf

as a Classroom Management tool in my room.

My solution?

An AWESOME freebie to help you find

  thoughtfulness,

and positive students in your own classroom.

 When I read this book to my class, THIS letter from Olaf will “fall” out of the back of the book.

 This note gives my class an idea of what Olaf is looking for in his friends.

I plan to give this note to my weekly star student to start the game.

THAT STUDENT gets to find Olaf, who will be hiding in the classroom.

Once the star student finds him, that students gets to keep Olaf with him all day.

Yes, I know this won’t be perfect, but it will be FUN.

And I know it will encourage the behaviors I want to be seeing in my classroom.

And the students who earn the right to hug Olaf all day

are the ones who deserve something a little more fun.

And my idea isn’t to use Olaf to reward those who are the BEST behaved…

but those who are kind, thoughtful, and positive.

I made some fun printable encouraging note for those that try so hard,

but don’t get to hug on Olaf that day.

I will print these and have them cut out and on hand to place on desks

of those kind, thoughtful, and positive students.

I also made a printable card that you can write in great student efforts to give them too!

They are the white ones in the back.
Please customize these with specific great acts “Olaf” sees through the school day.

Olaf leaves the note for ONE new friend to find everyday.
But that friend has to FIND Olaf.
{I am thinking of having my friends who got Olaf to sign the back of the note each day too.
So they leave Olaf and the note behind at the end of the day.}You can also have Olaf hidden and watching your students all morning long,
but not giving out the note until after lunch.
Do whatever works for you and your needs.

I also wanted a way to encourage the class as a whole.

So there are two additional classroom note to encourage the class.

One is from Anna and the other from Elsa.

When the class earns these notes, they also get prizes.

Elsa encourages the class to build snowmen so she will bring classroom supplies as a gift.
It is very general, so you can bring whatever supplies you can to your students.
Instant snow, real snow for those cold weather friends, or whatever else you think of.

Anna bring a little class snack of her favorite treat… CHOCOLATE.

You can grab your Hide-and- Hug Olaf Here…

and  this Hide-and- Hug in the Classroom FREEBIE pack here.

 I hope you LOVE this freebie.
I hope your students LOVE hiding and hugging Olaf too.

Lastly, I hope you also take a peek at these snowman packs as well.