45 things to help programme planning in the winter
1.
Gather several pairs of mittens. Let the BS sort them by
size, colour, design, left hand, right hand, etc. Make it a game.
2.
Make a 'tent' using blankets draped over a table or chairs.
Pretend it is a bear cave and the BS are a bear getting ready to hibernate. Try
singing the Bear Hunt song
3.
Use white clay to make tiny snow people. Embellish with
small twigs, pebbles, chenille stems, scrap material, etc.
4.
Make a pin the nose on the snowman game. Play by seeing who,
blindfolded, can pin a paper carrot nose closest to where it belongs.
5.
Trace your winter boots, gloves, mittens, hats, etc and
colour them.
6.
Paint a snow scene on light blue paper using glue. Sprinkle
the glue with white glitter or salt and let dry.
7.
Make a mini ice castle using coloured ice cubes (use salt to
'glue' them together). May be a bit hard !
8.
Make miniature igloos using marshmallows and frosting.
9.
Draw out snowflake designs on wax paper using glue, sprinkle
on glitter if desired. Once the glue is dry, peel off your snowflake and it
should stick to the window.
10.
Draw a winter scene on black construction paper using white
chalk.
11.
Make a snow gauge by marking inch lines on a coffee can and
setting it outside to catch snow in.
12.
Have snowballs for a snack (the ones from the supermarket)!
13.
Place an ice cube or snowball in a large bowl. Set it in the
middle of a table and observe how it melts. Let the BS write down their findings
14.
Have an indoor snowball fight using wadded up pieces of
paper or marshmallows!
15.
Make a winter clothing collage by cutting pictures of
clothes you where in the winter and gluing them on paper.
16.
Pretend it is summer and have a beach party! Everyone can
where their bathing suits and sunglasses inside. Sit on lawn chairs and sip
lemonade.
17.
Design your own snowflakes using white play dough and with
silver glitter mixed into it.
18.
Make a snowstorm inside by tearing up several pieces of
white paper. Place them on a sheet or towel, have everyone grab around the edge,
and toss the snow into the air.
19.
Cut snowflakes out of coffee filters and hang them around
the room.
20.
Blow bubbles outside when it is very cold and see what
happens!
21.
Make large snowmen indoors by stuffing large, white rubbish
bags with newspaper.
22.
Experiments with the effects sand and salt have on ice on
ice.
23.
Make a winter picture by gluing Honeycomb cereal on
construction paper to look like snow.
24.
Place small Styrofoam balls on spoons and try to carry this
mini "snowballs" across the room without dropping them.
25.
Make ice cube lollies by freezing juice in ice cube trays
and inserting cocktail sticks or
lolly sticks cut in half.
26.
Make hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows.
27.
Give everyone an ice cube and see who can find ways to melt
them the fastest.
28.
Make snowman prints using a marshmallow dipped into white
paint.
29.
Put on some music and pretend to be snowflakes gently flying
around.
30.
Make round bean bags out of white material to look like
snowballs. Have a snowball toss competition!
31.
Collect different pairs of gloves. Mix them up and set them
in a pile. Take turns finding the matching gloves.
32.
Fingerpaint snowflakes on the windows using white tempera
paint mixed with a bit of dish soap!
33.
Learn about different kinds of snowflakes.
34.
Cut snowflakes out of paper. Experiment with different
folding techniques and cuts.
35.
Have a scavenger hunt and look for objects that are white.
36.
Make your own puffy, snow paint by mixing equal parts of
glue and shaving cream.
37.
Build an igloo inside using empty milk jugs taped or glued
together.
38.
Pretend to be a snowman melting on a warm day.
39.
Make a snowman snack using marshmallows, pretzel sticks,
chocolate chips, and peanut butter (to hold them all together).
40.
Make a winter white collage by cutting white objects out of
magazines and gluing them on paper.
41.
Hide a mitten in the room somewhere and let others try to
find it. Give them clues by telling them whether they are 'hot' (near the
mitten) or 'cold' (far from the mitten).
42.
Write a poem or story about snow.
43.
Blow up several white balloons and pretend they are
snowballs! Toss them around, or try to build something with them (using tape).
44.
Make snowflakes on cookies by placing a small doily on top
of a cookie and sprinkling on some powdered sugar. This well for cakes also.
45.
If you have slippery hardwood or tiled floors, pretend to
ice skate in your stocking feet.