Winter Clothes

Book Ideas: Sam’s Winter Hat by Albert Lamb
“Sam Bear is prone to losing things when he goes out to play. When he loses his red winter coat, his best friend Billy brings it back. When Sam loses his green fuzzy mittens, Papa Bear finds them. Then a package from Grandma arrives--with a new woolly hat inside! Sam can't wait to show Billy. But when Sam loses his new winter hat, his whole life goes wobbly! Where is the hat that Grandma made him?”



Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London
“Rambunctious Froggy hops out into the snow for a winter frolic but is called back by his mother to put on some necessary articles of clothing.”



The Mitten by Jan Brett
“Several animals sleep snugly in Nicki's lost mitten until the bear sneezes.”



The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shriley Neitzel
"Rhyme follows rhyme as layer after layer of winter clothing ('bunchy and hot, wrinkled a lot, stiff in the knee, and too big for me!') is first put on and then taken off to the relief of the child bundled inside."


One Winter’s Day by M. Christina Butler
“When a fierce windstorm blows away Little Hedgehog’s nest, he puts on his winter clothes and sets off for Badger’s warm house. On his way, Hedgehog meets his friends, all shivering in the wind and snow. One by one, Hedgehog gives away his cozy mittens, hat, and scarf.
But will Little Hedgehog make it through the storm to safety without his warm clothes?”



Under my Hood I have a hat by Karla Kuskin
“A young girl describes all the layers she is wearing as she takes them off piece by piece. She then takes a break on a wordless double page, sharing a snack with her dog. Then more layers are added, until she is ready to go outside in the snow.”




Songs and Rhymes:


Boot Prints
Up and down the yard we go
Making boot prints in the snow
Big steps, little steps
Around and around
Oh what fun with snow on the ground!
Black boots, white boots
Red boots bright
Isn’t it strange our boot prints are white?

Snowy Day
“Oh Mom,” I said on a snowy day.
“Must I wear my boots to play?”
“Yes my dear!” my mother said.
“And your hat, and your scarf and your mittens red!”



Winter Weather
Let's put on our mittens
And button our coats;
Wrap a scarf snuggly
Around our throats.
Pull on our boots,
Fasten the straps.
And tie on tightly,
Our warm winter caps.
Then open the door
And out we go
Into the soft and feathery snow.

Mitten Finger play
Here is a mitten, (hold up one hand)
A snug, fuzzy one- (rub palms together)
With a place for my fingers (wiggle 4 fingers)
And a place for my thumb (wiggle thumb)
Here are two mittens, (hold up two hands)
A colorful sight. (hands back and forth)
One for the left hand (hold up left hand)
One for the right. (hold up right hand)
Here are OUR mittens, (hold up two hands)
As soft as can be (stroke the back of one hand)
A warm pair for you (point to the neighbor)
And a warm pair for me (point to yourself)


Winter Pokey (Hokey Pokey)
You put your mitten in, you take your mitten out….you do the winter pokey…..etc..
You put your boots in, you take your boots out….
You put your coat in, you put your coat out…
You put your hat in, you put your hat out….
You put your scarf in you put your scarf out….


Dressing for Winter
This is how we dress on a cold Winter’s day.
We put on our snowsuit to go to play.
Then we put on our boots for walking in the snow.
Next, our hats and our mittens.
‘Cause the wind begins to blow.
And now we’re all ready to go out and play.
We’ll stay nice and warm on this cold Winter’s day.


Mitten Match
Find your mittens, new or old.
Help your fingers fight the cold.
Red or yellow, green or blue—
Put your thumb and fingers through!

Mittens
Mittens for the snow time
When the world is white.
Mittens for my two hands.
Mittens left and right.
Mittens with a thumb place.
Mittens warm and snug.
Mittens make me feel like
A bug inside a rug


Losing Things
I'm very good at losing things,
Especially things in twos.
Like socks and gloves and mittens,
And even boots and shoes.
There's always one - that seems to stay.
And always one - that hides away!




Activity Ideas:


Idea#1: Winter Clothes Book


Read one of the book titles and then help your child make a "Early Reader" predictable book. These books are great for preschoolers because it is a simple repetitive text that has only one or two word changes, with a picture as a clue to the new word. You'll need to print off the clip art from the list below(copy and paste them into a word document and drag the image to change the size. Some of the images wouldn't let me copy, so I had to save the image and import it into my word document). You will also need four pieces of construction paper, all in the same color. Fold the paper and staple on one side to make a book.

Each page in the book will go something like this (click on the links to see the clip art):

This is a blue coat.
This is a purple mitten.
This is a red scarf.
This is a white sock.
This is a yellow boot.
This is a green hat.
This is a brown sweater.


(The clip art includes two socks and boots, but you only need one of each for the book)

You can either tell your child which crayon to use for each item, or let them choose. Just make sure that they use a different color for each article of clothing. Let them color each item and cut them out. Then glue one on each page.
You can write in the text before or after they glue. Then have them read you their book. Do it together once, saying "This is a ...." and let them say the color and item on each page. After you've done it together see if your child can do it by themselves. Remind them to look at the pictures for clues. My two year old loved this and wanted to "read" her book over and over (she needed a little help on the colors, but loved to shout out the clothing item on each page). I titled the cover: "Winter Clothes".

Idea #2: Retelling of "The Mitten"-Dramatic Play


Read "The Mitten" by Jan Brett and then have your child help retell the story by acting it out. We used a white pillowcase as the mitten and gathered up a bunch of stuffed animals to play the various animals. Have your child be the bear and give a big sneeze and then make the animals fly out of the mitten. If you don't want to act it out, you can print off a paper copy of the animals and mitten and retell it using paper props, instead.





Idea #3: Mitten Collage

Read one of the stories and then let your child decorate their own mitten. All you'll need is a large printout of a mitten (on cardstock or construction paper) some scissors, glue, and some leftover Christmas wrapping paper or scarps of scrapbook paper in various colors. I just cut up the wrapping paper into small pieces.



Squirt some glue onto the mitten and let your child spread out the glue covering the whole mitten, using a q-tip.


Then have your child make a collage by sticking the scarps of paper all over their mitten.





Idea #4: Symmetrical Mittens

Read one of the stories and then play a little shapes game to build your child's understanding of symmetry. First you will need to copy and paste a bunch of shapes into a word document and print them off in various sizes. I colored each shape a different color and then cut them out.

You will also need to copy and paste two mitten outlines into a word document and print. (I had to do a little photo editing to get a mirror image(or a right mitten) of the left mitten clip art. Then I taped them together, so the thumbs were touching.

To play the game, I built a design on the left mitten using the paper shapes, and then had my daughter see if she could make the exact same design on the other mitten(see photo above).
Then we switched roles, and my daughter made a shape and I had to copy her design on the other mitten.

Below are some examples of the different kinds of patterns we made.




The last two photos show a common mistake that your child will make in trying to copy your design. Symmetry is a concept of higher level thinking. Your child might not be at the age or understanding to fully grasp it. If you would like to try and extend your child's learning, continue to read the explanation below.
In order for it to be symmetrical, the design has to be a mirror image of each other, so that if you held up each mitten facing each other the design would match up. In this photo my daughter replicated the design exactly the same as mine, with the orange triangles pointing right, instead of the triangles pointing toward the thumb like in the photo below. If you think your child has the understanding and you want to extend their learning, help them begin to gain an understanding of symmetry by gluing down the shapes so that they can see that when you fold it in half the same shapes and colors should match up.


Idea #5: Winter Clothes Memory Game

Read one of the book titles and then play a winter clothes memory game. Someone will be chosen to be the "snowman" that you have to dress. Put scarf, mittens, etc. on the snowman and have the others close their eyes. Change one clothing item ( e.g.. put a different hat on) or take a clothing item away. Ask the others to uncover their eyes and guess what is different about the snowman.

Idea #6: Winter Clothes Experiment

Read one of the book titles and then do a little science experiment to show the importance of wearing warm clothes during cold weather. Fill 2 jars with hot water. "Dress" one of the jars in a sweater/jacket and hat. The other "wears" a T-shirt. Place both jars outside for an hour or two. Then bring them inside, open them up, and test the water temperature.