Mittens Hide a Snowball

 

I've been using this variation on the Little Mouse Hiding in a House game for years.  I thought I'd share it in time for Winter themes at Storytime!  This website has several great ideas to use with preschoolers!

Where’s the Snowball?

http://tonsoffunpreschoolactivities.blogspot.com/2011/01/tot-school-mittens.html

Snowball, snowball cold and round

behind which mitten can you be found?

I have always just used the one snowball to find but this time I might 'hide' other funny things behind the other mittens. It makes for a silly, fun activity! I cut my mitten shapes about 8 inches so that leaves me plenty of room to hide funny things.  I cut my snowball shape from batting so it is flat and keeps it's shape.  Mittens and snowballs are so much Fun with Friends at Storytime!

        

Mittens Galore!

 

I just realized I didn't have any mitten posts!  So here you go.  The mittens are for a color match rhyme activity.  You can hand out pairs so that the kiddos bring up their matching mittens to make a pair. You can put up one color and the kiddo that has that color brings it up to make a pair.  I have strung a yarn line and had the kiddos clothespin their mitten to the line (fine motor). There are any number of ways to play with these. Here's a couple of rhymes - Each Mitten Has a Mate  or  10 Little Mittens Hanging on the Line.  Here's a song I found MANY  years ago. I don't know the tune but it's a cute chant as you put on a pair of mittens! 

 The Mitten Song    

By Marie Louise Allen

“Thumbs in the thumb-place,

Fingers all together!”

This is the song

We sing in mitten-weather.

When it is cold,

It doesn’t matter whether

Mittens are wool,

Or made of finest leather-

This is the song

We sing in mitten-weather;

“Thumbs in the thumb-place,

Fingers all together!”

  

Stay as toasty warm as you can in mitten weather! Mittens are so much Fun with Friends at Storytime.

Dressed for Winter!

Time for winter themes!  I have so many flannel sets for winter, snow, snowflakes, snowmen, penguins... but still I make new ones LOL!  I was inspired by this terrific post by  Lisa @ Thrive after Three of her flannel set for the book, The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Nietzel; illus. by Nancy Winslow Parker.  Of course, my set doesn't exactly match hers or the illustrations in the book. I used, felt, fabric paint, some yarn and a pom pom. I'm really looking forward to using this set with my storytime children this January.  I plan on handing out the pieces and as we read the book they can bring up their piece and add it to the board.

I'm planning to read, Keats' The Snowy Day and  Under My Hood I Have a Hat by Karla Kuskin. Lisa also has this recent post with her flannel set for Under My Hood... Maybe I can make me a set before next year?!  

I also play my 'Which One is Missing?' game with this theme. I made 5 adorable felt toboggans to count, discuss colors and play with. I used the variegated color yarn from Walmart to make my pom poms. I used a Google image as a pattern.  I cut 5 extra brims; one of each color, and cut them apart and glued them back together for each toboggan.  I LOVE these little hats!!  I made up a rhyme to use with these before we play the game; here's the link to 'Five Toboggans'.   Winter time is Fun with Friends at Storytime.