We Enjoy Playing in the Ice and Snow
• when it is very cold, water freezes (gets hard), making ice, snow, sleet, and icicles.
• A blizzard is when a strong wind blows for a long time during a heavy snowstorm.
• Days are shorter, and nights are longer.
• Most plants stop growing for a while.
• Some plants and trees grow all year round, and are called “evergreens”.
• Some trees lose their leaves in the winter.
• Some animals hibernate.
• Many birds fly south (migrate) for the winter.
• We wear warmer clothing in the winter.
• We enjoy playing in the ice and snow – we build snow forts, throw snow balls, skate on ice, ski on snow.

Feeding the Birds and Squirrels Will Give Your Child Many Hours of Enjoyment

In the winter, we dress warmly. It’s better for the environment to put on a layer of long underwear rather than crank up the heat on your thermostat. It may be healthier, too. It’s less of a shock going out to the cold, when you have that extra layer of insulation next to your skin. Thermal (long) underwear comes in so many attractive colors and prints! Get a dozen pair for your child and yourself, as well. Hard-to-find flannel-lined overalls fit nicely over the thermal underwear. A long-sleeved tee-shirt,then a sweatshirt completes the layers. Don’t forget wool socks for the family. Never buy synthetic socks in the winter. Synthetics do nothing to insulate, or wick away moisture. Cotton socks are okay inside, but when you are outside, if you want your feet to stay toasty warm and dry, you must go with pure wool. They can be expensive, but if you take care of your wool socks, they will last a lot longer than cotton. I’ve heard so many people complain that they just don’t like winter – but nearly everyone of them isn’t dressed appropriately for the weather. If you dress warmly, you won’t begrudge the chilly temperatures.

Dog Sledding Can Be a Great Family Sport

For answers to all your mushing questions, you can either email me, or contact: Sled Dog Central. I’ve been mushing for about ten years, so while I don’t know all the answers, I do know several places I can go to get the answers.

The worksheets for this week were all taken from First_School.
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
Worksheet 3
Worksheet 4
Worksheet 5
Alphabet

All of the books that are recommended for this week can be found here, if you don’t find anything suitable at your library. When I select books, they are either ones that I have read and loved, or they have a five-star rating from parents. The music and a few seasonally appropriate toys are also found here .

Lesson Plans for Winter Week

Related Reading:
Beginning Writing
Play Areas for Encouraging Creativity
Working With the Lesson Plans

Photo Credits:
Snowy Day by Mark Evans
Chubby Squirrel by Jeremy Noble
Running Sled Dogs by Lorelei Sieja

First off, if you want to raise a reader, you must be one!  Your actions really do speak louder than words.  The toddler and preschool child is eager to be just like you.  If you swear when you stub your toe, you can expect to hear those words coming from your child’s mouth at the most inopportune moments.  If your child often sees you in front of the mirror fixing your hair, she may want her hair fixed, too.  Let your child watch you brush your teeth. Hand her a toothbrush and she will try to copy your actions.  This “show and do” method of teaching is so simple!  How else do you think your baby learned to speak in the first place?

Read to Your Child Often, Not Just at Bedtime

Visit the library weekly.  Many libraries have beautiful children’s sections.  Ours is filled with sturdy preschool toys, puzzles, games, kitchen sets, play houses, and more.  Little ones can play while their parent selects picture books for them.  They even have book sets to check out – a bag of books, puzzles and toys centered on a theme, such as “pets” or “music”. I love the children’s library, but more importantly, so does my granddaughter.

Next, teach your child to recognize her own name.  Do just the first name, or the first, middle and last- especially if there are likely to be other children in school with the same first name.  Print it out, and say it.  Write it on a card for your child to keep in her pocket.  Label every piece of artwork she makes with her name in the corner.  Put it in the upper left corner, so she learns to read from top to bottom and from left to write.  Write her name on all her outside toys if you take them to a public park or playground.  Write her name inside her clothing, especially jackets and outer wear that she might remove and leave behind.  Write her name on a peg where you want her to hang her jacket, if appropriate.  Write her name on a placemat at the table.

And finally, teach your child to write her own name.  Have her form crude letters with ropes of playdough.  Let her draw the letters in wet sand or shaving cream.  Write her name with glue on cardboard and shake colored salt or sand into the glue.  After it dries, she can trace the letters with her fingers.  And when she can hold a pencil or crayon well, help her learn to write her name.

Never to Young to Learn

If your child enjoys that sort of game, move on to ending sounds.  This is very helpful for the child who doesn’t pronounce the last sound of words.  That is, by the way, not uncommon, but do not let it continue.  If your child says “dow” for down, or “uh, uh” for “up”, then you need to fix that.  Over-enunciate the final sounds.  Pretend you do not understand.  Say something like, “Do you mean dowN?  Downuh?  Say “DOWN”.  You can expect your child to rebel a little, but before long she will be listening for, and pronouncing the final sounds of her words, as well.  If not, then you may want to have your child’s hearing tested.  It is not a bad idea to have both hearing and vision tested sometime before kindergarten.

Readiness for kindergarten and the school experience is more than just letter recognition.  Other skills your child should master include tying her shoes, toileting by herself including washing her hands, cutting with scissors, holding a pencil correctly, able to sit reasonably still on a chair for a minimum of fifteen minutes, listen to and follow directions, and get along with other children.

For further reading:
How to Teach Your Baby to Read
Early Reading Pros and Cons
Great Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers
My Book Store