It's about a little child who gets dressed in all sorts of layers and is very uncomfortable in it all.
The first time when we read the book, we share our opinions about why we think the child was crying. You'll get lots of different answers, which is great! It's such a good way to introduce opinions. We talk about how one person's idea wasn't right or wrong, but each idea is what each person thought made the child cry. An opinion can't be wrong, because it is what you think. Opinions can be different from other people's, but that doesn't make one right and one wrong. (Sometimes kids are better at remembering this than adults are...)
After we read the story, we do an interactive writing activity to label our winter person. It's great to watch (and listen to) the children hearing sounds as they stretch out those words. I leave this poster up as another reminder about what to wear in the winter.
We talk about what, "Bundle up," means. Some of their ideas are great, like wrap up in a blanket or carry a cat... OK...
You could also have a child come up all dressed for outside and label him or her with Post-its (Like this picture from Julie Lee) or 3"x 5" cards with tape on back (because sometimes my Post-its don't stick great on people- I know- isn't that strange?! I'm sure that is what they are made for, right?) and really talk about each piece of winter clothing.
I take a picture of each child dressed for winter one day before they go out to play, and print it out for their project. ( I cut the pictures out for them.) Each child's picture goes on a background paper.
I made several different versions of the background paper. Some have snowflakes. One has lines if you would like the children to write more. One is blank if you want the children to add their own snowflakes. Click on the picture below if you would like a copy.
Here are some samples from other years: I printed my background on blue paper. I also had some extra batting left over from Christmas, so I cut "snow" for the bottom of the paper.
The children labeled themselves.
(NJ hat is ninja hat, in case you wondered.)
Then, they added snowflakes with Q-Tips and white paint.
When the pictures were all dry, we shared them on the rug.
I hung these over the children's lockers. I also made a black and white copy for each child to take home to remind them what they need to bring to school each day. (You know- I really drilled this into the ground.)
Every month, Dr. Jean and I have lots of reading activities, as well as activities and songs for all subject areas, in our monthly HAPPIES packets! You can find these at Dr. Jean’s website or at my TpT Store!
