Snowflake Paintings

I think this idea came from Frugal Family Fun (and even if it didn't Valerie is fabulous enough to deserve the credit in any case). All you'll need is masking or painters tape, cardstock, and paint.
Create a snowflake shape with strips of tape in the center of your paper, or let your older children design one themselves. (We took the opportunity to discuss how snowflakes always have six sides.) Then simply paint the entire surface of the paper.

Wait until the paint has completely dried before removing the tape, or it will tear the damp paper. E wanted to use purple paint, but I gave A dollops of blue and green and love the end result.

I'm so glad to finally have something wintery to hang in our art display! It's been looking empty and forlorn since I took down the Christmas art.

Snow by Cynthia Rylant

We picked this one up at the library today and A loved the illustrations while I enjoyed its descriptive language. Again, this one is not a story - there's no plot. Rather, it's a description of different kinds of snow. Rylant describes snow in sentimental terms focusing on its relationship with the world around it. There's the quiet snow that shyly falls in the middle of the night, and the cheerful snow that comes during school and takes you home. Then there's the light dusting of snow that let's you see bird tracks or the light of a streetlamp.

While my three year old may not have appreciated it, I enjoyed exposing her to a well-written book and enjoyed the memories it stirred in me of past snowfalls.

Snow Music by Lynne Rae Perkins


This is an interesting one. The story - such as there is - is about a boy looking for his dog who ran out of the house one snowy morning. The book itself is a description of the sounds through the snow as the dog, a boy, a girl, a deer, a rabbit, and a squirrel cross paths throughout the day. Each character makes different sounds through the snow, and this music is worked cleverly into the illustrations and moves the story along. It's one worth checking out.