Snowmen, Snowmen

I've been doing several winter themes and last week I focused on snowmen.  This first one is one that we make ages ago (& despite the photo it is still very white).

We used a rhyme from RHYMES FOR FINGERS & FLANNELBOARDS by Louise Binder Scott.  We added the last four lines since the children were upset that the original rhyme didn't have arms.

THE SNOWMAN

 

Roll a snowball large,

Then one of middle size;

Roll a snowball small;

Use lumps of coal for eyes.

Place a carrot for a nose,

An old hat on his head,

And for his necktie, tie around

His neck a ribbon red.

A corncob pipe goes in his mouth,

Some buttons on his vest;

And there he stands so round and fat;

Of snowmen, he's the best.

But's something's missing...Can you guess what?

Let's give our friend a hand;

Some sticks from a tree will work just great

As arms for our snowman.

 

 

 

 

This guy is new (& also white)  I found the following rhyme in an old book that was donated to us & loved the fact that it used pebbles for eyes and raisins for the mouth.  I've since seen some very similar rhymes on the web. 

 

LET'S BUILD A SNOWMAN

 

First the body

And then the head.

A stovepipe hat

And a scarf of red.

Pebbles for eyes,

And a carroty nose,

And a mouth made of raisins

In two smiling row.

 

 

 

Just by adding a heart, you can use any snowman for Valentine's Day:

 

VALENTINE SNOWMAN

 

I made a snowman yesterday

So jolly, fat and fine.

I pinned a red heart on his chest

And called him Valentine.

 

 

Lisa at Libraryland is hosting Flannel Friday this week, so visit her site for lots of good ideas.

 



Snowmen

For our holiday extravaganza, I thought I'd share an old favorite:  "FIVE LITTLE SNOWMEN" and some different ways in which it can be done.  The first is for the flannel board and these pieces are almost 15" tall and 12" wide at the arms.  I made these many years ago out of card stock then laminated them and they're beginning to show wear and tear.

 

FIVE LITTLE SNOWMEN

 

Five little Snowmen standing in a line,

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 so fine.

Melting in the sunshine with a sigh,

"We'll see you next year. Bye bye!"

 

Four little Snowmen standing in a line,

1, 2, 3, 4, 'sh' so fine.

Melting in the sunshine with a sigh,

"We'll see you next year. Bye bye!"

 

Three little Snowmen standing in a line,

1, 2, 3, 'sh', 'sh' so fine.

Melting in the sunshine with a sigh,

"We'll see you next year. Bye bye!"

 

Two little Snowmen standing in a line,

1, 2, 'sh', 'sh', 'sh' so fine.

Melting in the sunshine with a sigh,

"We'll see you next year. Bye bye!"

 

One little Snowman standing in a line,

1, 'sh', 'sh', 'sh', 'sh' so fine.

Melting in the sunshine with a sigh,

"We'll see you next year. Bye bye!"

 

 

This has proved so popular with a toddler group that Miss Sue does it every week in the winter and then switches to ice cream cones for the summer.  If you're someone like me who likes to put the pieces on the board with one rhyme then off with another later, here is another one that you can use:

 

 

BUILDING SNOWMEN

 

Playing outside under the winter sun,

I built a snowman and that made one.

 

One frosty snowman under a sky so blue,

I built another one and that made two.

 

Two frosty snowmen underneath a tree,

I built another one and then there were three.

 

Three frosty snowmen standing near my door,

I built another one and then there were four.

 

Four frosty snowmen looking quite alive,

I built another one and then there were five.

 

 

These really big pieces are great for our big groups and if you have a large flannel board.  But what about smaller groups or taking something with you for a presentation?  Here are some quick, easy & inexpensive ideas.  For a glove puppet, you can use gift tags (I got mine at Dollar Tree)

 

 

 



 

What is nice about these is that by using the hook velcro on the back of the gift tag, you can also use them on a small flannel board.  Another alternative is shaped playing cards--these are also good for small stick puppets.  I shared this idea at a conference and another librarian said that she had playing card collectors in her city who took out the face cards they collected and gave her the rest of the deck.  She thought this would be a great way to use some of those.  (These are still wrapped so the picture is a bit fuzzy)  I found these in dollar bins but Oriental Trading Company also carries shaped cards.  These are stiff and would also work as a clothesline story.

 

Linda at Notes from the Story Room is hosting this week.  Check out her blog to see lots of other ideas you can incorporate into your storytime.  You can also check out Flannel Friday on Pinterest.  Happy Storytiming!