Snow festival

Print a variety of posters and use them to decorate the walls of your daycare. (Open thematic poster-Snow festival)

Plan a week-long snow festival to celebrate winter with the children in your group. (Open perpetual calendar-Snow festival) Print and display to inform parents of the week’s activities.

Invitations

(Open invitations-Snow festival) Print and give each child an invitation. Plan several kiosks and agility games that children can enjoy throughout the theme.

Kiosks-Snow festival

(Open posters-Kiosks-Snow festival) Print, laminate, and display. Once you have greeted children in the morning, explain the various kiosks you have chosen among those suggested below.

Passport-Snow festival

(Open passport-Snow festival) Print for each child. Don’t forget to write each child’s name on his/her passport. Every time children visit a kiosk or participate in a game, remind them to stamp their passport (or to add a sticker) next to the corresponding kiosk.

Snow festival king and queen

Be sure to crown each child “Snow festival king” or “Snow festival queen” during the theme. You may choose to grant children a privilege fit for a king or queen on their special day. For example, they will enjoy skipping naptime or not having to help clean up. (Open king’s and queen’s crown) Print and decorate. Children can wear their crown when it’s their turn to be the “Snow festival king” or the “Snow festival queen”.

Snow festival parade

You will need a large cardboard box. With your group, decorate it to make it look like a float for your Snow festival parade. Paint each child’s face and distribute musical instruments. Have fun parading around your neighborhood.

Snow festival song

Practice this simple song throughout the theme. (Open songs & rhymes-Snow festival) Print and display.

Sung to: The ants go marching-By: Patricia Morrison

Snow

Let’s go marching in the snow

Hooray, hooray!

Let’s go marching in the snow

Hooray, hooray!

We’ll clap our mittens and stomp our boots

Just for fun will wiggle our toque

It’s the snow festival

Snow, snow, snow, snow

Snow, snow, snow, snow

AREA SETUP

For your snow festival, present several different kiosks. Dedicate an area of your daycare or yard to each one. (Open posters-kiosks-Snow festival) Display the corresponding poster next to each kiosk so that children know which activity they are participating in. Plan decorations (balloons, garlands, confetti, etc.), music, treats, cake, etc. Each child must have his or her own passport (Open passport-Snow festival) so they can stamp it (or add a sticker) every time they take part in one of the activities.

Educa-decorate-Snow festival

(Open educa-decorate-Snow festival) Print, laminate, and cut out the illustrations. Use them to decorate your walls and set the mood for the theme.

My snowflake path

(Open my snowflake path) Print, laminate, and arrange the illustrations on the floor to create a path that leads to different areas within your daycare. The path can lead to areas children visit frequently such as the bathroom, the cloakroom, etc. If you prefer, you may also use the illustrations to delimit workshops.

KIOSKS

Kiosk-Snowball toss

You will need three cardboard boxes (different sizes). Wrap each one with winter-themed wrapping paper. Provide white balls and encourage children to try to toss them in the gifts.

Kiosk-Snowball painting

(Open models-Snowball) Print. Give each child a black and white snowball and ask them to paint it as quickly as possible. There must be no white areas left! Time children. The fastest, most efficient painter wins!

Kiosk-Snowman game

(Open snowman game) Print and display on a wall, at children’s level. Blindfold the children in your group and have them try to press the snowman’s nose as close to the correct spot as possible.

Kiosk-Catch my scarf

Two players stand in a delimited territory. Both children insert a scarf in the back of their pants, at their waist. For a pre-determined length of time, they try to steal their opponent’s scarf.

Kiosk-Don’t wake up the snowman

Divide your group into two teams. Each team forms a line. Give a bell to the first child in line for each team. The goal of the game is to pass the bell all the way down the line and back to the first child without hearing it jingle.

Kiosk-Snow festival treats

Set 25-30 “Smarties” in a bin filled with icing sugar. Children must find them as quickly as possible.

Kiosk-Snowballs

You will need two ping-pong balls. Divide your group into two teams. Draw a start and finish line on a table. Children take turns blowing on their team’s ball. The ball must roll from the start to the finish line and back again. Each child must succeed. The first team to complete the challenge wins.

Kiosk-Snow festival souvenir photos

Stick several large pieces of blue poster board together to create a mural. Paint snowflakes all over it. Write “Snow Festival” at the top of your mural. Cut a hole out of the centre, big enough for children to insert their face. Photograph each child and print the pictures. Send them home at the end of the day as a souvenir of your snow festival.

Kiosk-My snowman

Fill a bin with scarves, hats, and white bedsheets or pieces of white fabric. Each child picks a partner. Children take turns “decorating” their friend to make him or her look like a snowman. Take pictures.

Kiosk-Snow festival treasure hunt

Make a list of items children must search for. Make sure the children in your group recognize each object you have chosen for your treasure hunt. Divide your group into pairs. Each team searches for the items on the list. The team who finds the most items wins.

Variation: Prepare several ice cubes in a variety of colors. Hide them in the snow throughout your yard and have children search for them. If you wish, you may have children search for ice cubes of a specific color.

Kiosk-Snow festival relay race

Have children crawl between the legs of your dining room chairs, slither under a coffee table, and hop over an exercise ball. Hang a scarf between two chairs and have them jump over it. Use whatever you have on hand to create a snow-themed obstacle race. Divide your group into two teams. Each child must complete the course. The first team to finish wins.

Kiosk-Clothespin race

Hang a long scarf between two chairs. Divide your group into two teams. Give each team a bag containing clothespins. When you give the signal, children add clothespins to the scarf for the duration of one winter-themed song. At the end of the song, count the clothespins each team added to the garland. The team with the most clothespins wins. You may use a blue marker to identify one team’s clothespins and a white marker to identify the other team’s clothespins.

Kiosk-Fragile snowballs

Fill a basket with white water balloons. Divide your group into two teams. Determine a start and finish line. Set two baskets on the finish line, one for each team. The goal of the game is for children to transport as many fragile snowballs (water balloons) to their team’s basket as possible before the end of a winter-themed song. To make this more challenging, ask children to transport them between their legs.

Kiosk-Snowball race

Give each child a small spoon and white ping-pong ball. The goal of the game is to reach the finish line with the ball still in the spoon. If a child drops his ball, he must go back to the start line.

Kiosk-Snowball throwing contest

Children stand on a line. Each child must throw a snowball (or a white ball) as far as possible. Use a tape measure to determine which child threw his or her snowball the farthest.

Variation: Divide your group into two teams. Set two baskets on the ground (one for each team) and encourage children to try to toss their snowball in their team’s basket. Determine the duration of the game before you start.

Kiosk-Snow-filled buckets

One child fills a bucket with snow before threading one end of a rope through its handles and sliding it towards his partner who is holding the other end of the rope. They must work together so the bucket reaches the second child.

Kiosk-Rolling snowballs

Set an empty basket on its side for each child. Children roll snowballs towards their basket. The goal is to have the most snowballs in their basket at the end of the activity.

Kiosk-Snow structure

Use empty tissue boxes to build a pyramid. Once this is done, children throw snowballs at the pyramid to make it fall.

Kiosk-Basket full of snowballs

Divide your group into two teams. Set up two baskets. The object of the game is for children to toss as many snowballs as possible in their team’s basket. Determine the duration of the activity ahead of time.

Kiosk-Snow jumps

Organize a long jump competition in the snow.

ACTIVITIES-SNOW FESTIVAL

Winter bingo

(Open bingo-Winter) Print, laminate, and store in a small box. Play bingo with your group.

Igloo

Drape a white blanket over a table. Set a snow-filled bin under the table and add figurines. Provide books about polar animals too. Encourage children to play in your “igloo”.

Snow

Fill a large container with clean snow and ask children to use the snow to build a castle. They will quickly realize that snow melts and becomes water. Once the snow has melted completely, pour the water into aluminum pie plates. Set the plates outside on a cold day. With your group, observe the water as it becomes ice.

Falling snow

Set a white blanket on the floor. Have children tear pieces of white paper into tiny pieces and set them on top of the blanket. Invite children to hold on to the edges of the blanket and have fun moving it up and down. They will enjoy watching the “snowflakes” dance on the blanket. Once all the pieces of paper have fallen to the floor, ask children to collect them and put them back on the blanket so you can repeat the activity.

Winter white

Set a bin filled with sugar, salt, flour, or white rice on the floor to represent snow. Let children play in the bin with figurines and toy cars. As they play, they will explore new textures.

Snowstorm

Empty approximately ten bags of cotton balls on the floor, in the center of your daycare. Children will have fun tossing the cotton balls in the air, rolling around in them, and resting among them. Encourage them to use the cotton balls to build snowy roads for your toy cars.

Snow festival face painting

Provide non-toxic face paints as well as unbreakable mirrors. Children will have fun painting snowflakes and crystals on their cheeks, forehead, and chin to celebrate winter.

Winter hide-and-seek

Select an object with your group and pick a child who will hide it in the snow in your yard. The other children will have fun searching for the object. The child who finds the object may hide it for the next round.

Ice castle

Prepare a large quantity of colorful ice cubes (simply add a few drops of food coloring to the water). Set your ice cube trays in the freezer overnight. Fill a large bin with snow or present this activity outdoors. Invite children to use the colorful ice cubes to build an ice castle.

Head in the clouds

Invite the children in your group to lie on their back in the snow. Encourage them to relax as they observe the clouds in the sky. Help them notice different shapes. When you go inside, you may ask them to draw a shape they saw in the clouds.

Snowshoes

Give each child two empty tissue boxes. Have them wear the boxes on their feet to represent snowshoes. They will have fun trying to walk around the daycare with their “snowshoes”.

Downhill skiers

Leaving a certain distance between them, arrange several empty soda bottles in a line on your daycare floor to represent a slalom course. Children can pretend they are downhill skiers. Invite them to “ski” around the bottles.

A pair of skis

Cut two skis out of heavy cardboard for each child. Let children paint and decorate their skis as they wish. Attach a rope to the center of each ski to represent bindings. Use the rope to tie the skis on children’s feet. Take pictures of your little skiers.

SCRAPBOOK-SNOW FESTIVAL

(Open scrapbook-Snow festival) Print this new page for each child. Add it to their scrapbook (if you don’t already have a scrapbook for a child, visit the Scrapbook section in the Educatall club).

COLORING PAGES

(Open coloring pages theme-Snow) Print for each child.

DIFFERENT WAYS TO EXPLORE THE COLORING PAGES

Identical coloring pages

Print the same coloring page for each child and an additional copy for your model. Color only certain parts of your picture. Present the model to your group and ask them to color their picture to make it look exactly like yours.

Coloring binder

Print and laminate several coloring pages and arrange them in a binder with a few dry-erase markers. Leave everything on a table for children to explore.

Musical drawing

Play musical drawing with your group. Give each child a coloring page. Have children sit around a table. When the music starts, they must pass the coloring pages around the table. Every time the music stops, they must color the picture in front of them until the music starts again.

Homemade puzzles

Give each child a picture to color. When they are done, cut each picture into pieces to create unique puzzles.

Have fun!

The educatall team