Snowmen at Night

Written by Caralyn Buehner 

Pictures by Mark Buehner 

Read with permission from

Mark & Caralyn Buehner

Keywords

Snowmen, Winter, Wonder, Play 

Age

3 – 7 years

Summary

“Have you ever made a snowman and the next day found his grin a little crooked, or that his arms had moved? Which made you start to wonder—what do snowmen do at night?”

Wonderful for any age or time of day.

It pairs well with a Winter theme.

Snowmen at Night pays tribute to a child’s sense of wonder and play. Depending on your delivery, I’ve used it to jazz up a class first thing in the morning and as an after lunch pre-naptime story.

As summer fades, the onset of a cool, darker climate can be a stark contrast to sunnier days. Daylight Savings Time can be as discombobulating for children as it can be for adults, as circadian rhythms readjust. Children often need additional support and understanding during this time.

Behavioral changes, such as aggression or an increase in disagreeableness, and other bouts of naughty bunny business may result from fatigue.

While seasonal changes occur throughout a child’s lifetime, for many, as they begin to intellectualize the world around them, it’s like seeing rain, snow, or sunset for the first time. It can be as exciting as it can be frightening, as they establish a point of reference for a new experience.

If they need to return to the classroom earlier than usual due to sunset, you can start a conversation about the sun and seasonal changes by asking questions like:

• Why did we have to come back to the classroom earlier than we usually do?
• Why do you think it got darker earlier?

Depending on your circumstances, you can remind them how lucky they are because now, they get to come back to the classroom to do a special activity. By sunset, several students may have gone home for the day, so a smaller class size can allow for puzzles, building toys, and other activities they may not play with regularly since it would be more challenging to manage with a larger class.

Activity Ideas

– Glue two or three paper plates of various sizes (if available, otherwise regular-sized paper plates are fine) to a piece of construction paper that the child will use to decorate a snowman or snow-woman.

– Wrap the end of a paper roll with construction paper that they can decorate with beads, markers, and even macaroni to look like a snow-person.

– Warm-up some hot cocoa and marshmallows! You can even build a little snow-person with larger marshmallows, pretzel sticks, and chocolate chips or raisins for the eyes and buttons. Toss a pajama day in there, too, and really go to town. While you’re at it, turn on the bubble machine, crank up the holiday tunes, and start cutting out snowflakes! Yes, the floor will forever have tiny bits of paper on it, but hey, it’s preschool, have a blast!