Don't Freeze Up! Let's Get Rolling.
Do You Want To Build A Snowman?
Frozen lyrics aside, I did want to build a snowman- a snowman lesson plan! With the winter and holiday season in full swing, I wanted to make a homeschool lesson plan themed all about the frosty joy of snow and snowmen. Living in an area where it doesn't snow, the tradition of building a snowman is something we don't always get to check off the holiday list. That didn't keep us from experiencing the fun of snowmen though, because I rolled out all the snowballs to build a lesson plan that captured the thrill of making a snowman in our own special way.
Grab Your Mittens!
To prepare for this learning adventure, I needed some snow gear. I had to collect enough inspiration to bring the snowman unit to life, and with no magical hat to speak of, I started with something that can often be mistaken for magic... science!
So grab your mittens and let's start building your snowman with these chill ideas.
Find More Festive Lesson Plans, Filled With Learning Activities, Worksheets, and Creations HERE!
First, The Silk Hat
Liquid, Solid, Gas... A snowman goes through all these things. What's more, is all these things are states of matter! With a science topic like this, I knew I found the magic. So to demonstrate states of matter, we made a snowman and melted him. Okay, so not the tradition snowman, but a snowman none the less. Frozen ice blocks, a pipe cleaner, and some felt bits, and we had our man. We observed him throughout our day, taking note of his changes. Once completely melted, we poured the liquid into a pot and boiled the water to then observe another change- steam. A fun process to observe and to further understanding of states of matter.
Next, The Stories
With so many great snowman stories, be sure not to leave these fun kid favorites out in the cold.
"How to Catch a Snowman" by Adam Wallace
A fast moving and entertaining story of a group of friends trying to catch their very own snowman. Delightful read even up to the end.
"Snowmen At Night" by Caralyn Buehner
Full of imagination and whimsy, this story takes the curiosity about what exactly goes on with a snowman at night to find them so disheveled in the morning. Written with rhyming, this book paves the way to include the language topic in the lesson plan.
"The Story of Snow" by Mark Cassino with Jon Nelson Ph.D
An exploration into the science behind snow. This beautiful book explains how ice crystals form, take shapes, and how no two snowflakes are the same. Snow catching instructions are also included. Beautifully introduces the social development topic of uniqueness and individuality that could also be included in the lesson plan.
Then, The Activities
Activities and learning games have played a profound role in my kids' learning progress, so I didn't want to put them on ice this week. We focused on number patterns and measuring by playing "Snowfall" and "Snow Stack". Both games were easy to prepare, and fun to play while practicing our math skills. With a bit of dissolvable paper, I created "Melt the Snowman" spelling game, where they had to "melt" the misspelled words. Their favorite of the week though by far was "Snow Roll". Setting up a few paper snowmen, a strip of labeled paper, and getting the snowballs ready, we were rolling on our measurement game. So much learning in a variety of ways made this unit one we remember!
Last, The Extras
We love the extras within our lesson plans! The arts and crafts and kitchen creations are much appreciated time beyond the core subjects. With a few ingredients and goodies, try adding melting snowman cupcakes to the lesson plan or make snowballs by using shaved ice. For a fun craft and keepsake, turn a mason jar into a snow globe filled and designed with a character or small toy figure of their choice. You could also make snowflakes by cutting away bits of a folded up coffee filter. There are a lot of fun extras with a thematic unit like this one to help totally immerse your young learner in the topic.
Don't Get Left Out In The Cold.
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