Winter... Brrrrr!

We did not have a Story Hour last week as no one came, and this week one little girl and her grandma came to our first evening session.

We started with our opening song to the tune of  "The Farmer in the Dell" [see prior blogs for the words] and then we talked about winter and the things "A" likes to do outside. We also discussed problems winter creates, including the fact that we have to dress more heavily. That lead to our first book titled Under My Hood I Have a Hat by Karla Kuskin.  It is a cute story of a little girl who puts on layers and layers to go outside with her dog. We learned a new word too... 'muffler' as another name for a winter neck scarf. The ending is the funny part, so check this book out at your local library.

After reading the book we went to the craft table to create a snowman out of paper, buttons and dried up marshmallows. It may sound disgusting, but they sure turned out cute as you can see by the picture below.

While our snowmen dried we read Snow Music by Lynne Rae Perkins. A beautiful book about how snow makes the world more hushed. It included sounds that you might hear on a snowy day as well as what some of the animals do when it snows.

After reading the book I excused myself and went outside to collect a bit of our snow in a small black tray. I had a magnifying glass so "A" could look at the snow and see the sparkles and crystals. She immediately wanted to touch it and then remarked at how cold it was. I also took a small bunch in my hand and gave her the same and had her hold it tightly. When we opened our hands she remarked that it was "gone and there's only water", so we had a discussion about snow and clouds. I then scooped up the remainder of the snow and formed a ball. She asked if I was building a snowman, and I had her figure out what I had made. After stating that it was a snowball, she wanted to hold it. After a bit she squeezed it tightly as we had done with the small amount and it "exploded" throwing snow on A., her grandma and myself. Which led to a fit of giggles from her and then lots of laughter for all of us!

Our next book was Snowball Fight! by Jimmy Fallon. It's the story of a little boy and his sister who get into lots of winter wear and go outside to have a snowball fight with the neighborhood kids. This book also has a surprise ending. 

I then got our my cloth snowballs [that have cute little faces on them] and we had our own snowball fight, which also included lots of laugher and squeals. "A" had a little trouble sharing the snowballs and tended to want to hang onto them.

 At that point we were going to be done, but "A" had seen a fourth book on display and wanted it read. Grandma said it was okay with her so I did a 'talk through'  The First Day of Winter by Denise Fleming. It is similar to the song "Twelve Days of Christmas" and is all about the things that happen to a snowman on days one through ten.

When we finished the story I gave "A" a snowflake to take home and hang up somewhere, along with a folder for Story Hour and a sheet to color of a snowman, a snowlady and mittens and a cap.

Thanks for reading our blog. Come and join us for next Thursday's Story Hour at either 9:30 a.m. or 6:00 p.m.  The door opens 15 minutes earlier for playtime. The theme is winter colds and flu and there are some cute animal stories to go with it.

Children's Librarian,

Mitzi