NEWSLETTER

Creating our own Snowmen

Building off the creation of our winter scene last week, the children used clay and various art materials to create their own unique snowman. We decided to use clay to introduce a new medium for the children to manipulate. It is harder to move and mold than the playdough that they are used to, so it introduced a new level of motor work. Clay develops both the large and small muscles and helps with the development of dexterity. The pinching, patting, kneading and rolling all help to build up the muscles and fine motor coordination they will need for holding a pencil and writing. The children immediately noticed that it was "like our dough but feels different," which was a great observation. 

In order to create a snowman, the children were tasked with creating balls with the clay. This movement of rolling the dough on the table and in their hands is great motor work. They then "built" their snowman in any way that they wished. The stacking of the balls required hand-eye coordination and balance. We then decided that we needed art materials to make body parts and accessories for our snowmen. The art materials were specifically chosen to promote fine motor practice - there were flat, round, thin and thick materials. They also had to be placed in the clay in a way that would make them stick and stay as the clay was maneuvered and eventually dried. As the children worked, we asked them to tell us about the materials they were using. They described the color, size and placement of each piece. This led to the second part of our experience...

Tell me about your Snowman 

The next step in creating our snowmen was to talk about them. During the art experience, the children went beyond the explanation of their materials to share more specific characteristics. We decided to pull them aside one at a time to expand on these ideas, thereby creating an engaging literacy experience. The children used their oral language to describe their snowman and tell us about them. They created experiences for their snowman and described them in great detail. Their descriptions and stories were all different lengths based on the message they wanted to communicate about their snowmen. Each one was thoughtful and very specific, and we had so much fun listening to them tell us their stories!

“Frosty”

by Amelia

Frosty was a boy and he loves to run and play and then he run away and then there’s a snowstorm and he eat it. The End! 

“Snowman Frosty”

by Jay

Play in the snow.

“Cutie” …cause he’s cute

by Luke

Cutie was jumping on gems “boing–boing” and then he found a shark and then he ran all the way back and stepped on the shark and got away. And then he got to gem land where lots of gems were. And he bounced everywhere on the gems, “boing–boing–boing” and then he bounced back on and saw a shark and he was sitting on the shark and he was sailing on him! And then he went back to gem land. That’s how the story went! And that’s how the story goes!

“Sah”

by Ryleigh

Play outside. Went outside. Come inside. Eat snack. Go home.

“Holdy-tha”

by Landon

So he loves people. And he likes to run a lot. He likes to jump a lot. And that’s all. 

“Elsa”

by Lily

So she has powers and I wish I could have powers like Elsa. I have a story at my house about Elsa about her birthday. There’s lots and lots of jewels on Elsa and that’s pretty funny and there’s buttons on her and that’s pretty funny and there’s buttons on her and that’s pretty funny and there’s arms and legs are so funny! 

“Lyla”

by Eliana

She went through the woods and then she saw alligators and then she got ate-ed by an alligator! And then she ran off to her house. That’s it! 

“Elsa”

by Everly

She always loves her sister Anna, but then Anna, then Elsa loved each other and they singed songs together. And they go did ice skating together. And Cristoff loves his deer and he says to Olaf he can’t touch him. And then Olaf does funny words. 

“Baby” 

by Isabelle

He was a baby a long time ago and then he got hurt by a car. That’s all of it! The End! 

“Talon”

by Landon 

He was walking and then he just fell and then he just fell down! And bumped him! And when he was walking all his pieces came off and then when he fell the pieces came back on. And then he was going down a hill that with a tire and he was rolling with a tire. He was jumping on a trampoline and then he just fell. And then he just jump way, way, way high on the moon. He’s living there. He was walking and then he fell and then he was going to walk and he was reading a book and he fell again. And then he was playing on a playground here and then he was going on a slide and he fell.