When Winter Comes by Nancy Van Laan Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: What happens to fish, flowers, field mice, and other living things when ponds freeze and the air turns blustery? Walk with a curious child and his parents as winter's first snow falls and find out....

Flannel Board

	When It Starts to Snow by Phillis Gershator Age Level: Toddler and up
Synopsis: Various animals tell what they do and where they go when it starts to snow.

Song

	The First Snowfall by Anne Rockwell Age Level: Toddler and up
Synopsis: Snow falls and falls all through the night. And when morning comes, it's time for fun! Watch the snowplows sweep the streets. Shovel walkways through the snow. Build a snowman! Sled! Ski! There are so many wonderful things to do in this magical snow-covered world!

Song

	The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel Age Level: Toddler and up
Synopsis: A young girl names all the clothes that she must wear to play in the snow.

Films

	The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats Age Level: PreK-2
Synopsis: The adventures of a little boy in the city on a very snowy day.

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More Books to Read On Your Own

Winter: An Alphabet Acrostic
by Steven Schnur
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: Sleds sailing downhill on newly fallen snow, animals nestled deep in underground burrows, and families gathered hearthside to share the joys of the season are among the alphabet of cold-weather delights celebrated in 26 acrostic poems, alphabetically arranged. The colors and textures of winter—the cool blue of icy ponds and the golden glow of holiday candles—are gloriously captured in linoleum-cut illustrations.

Flannel Kisses
by Linda Crotta Brennan
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: Rhyming text describes a winter day spent playing in the snow.

Time to Sleep
by Denise Fleming
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: When Bear notices that winter is nearly here he hurries to tell Snail, after which each animal tells another until finally the already sleeping Bear is awakened in his den with the news.

Bear Snores On
by Karma Wilson
Age Level: Toddler and up
Synopsis: On a cold winter night many animals gather to party in the cave of a sleeping bear, who then awakes and protests that he has missed the food and the fun.
Note: These characters also appear in Bear Wants More and Bear Stays Up for Christmas.

A Little Bit of Winter
by Paul Stewart
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: Hedgehog and Rabbit are great pals. But every winter, Hedgehog has to burrow info a cozy spot and sleep while Rabbit plays in the snow. Rabbit is sad because he knows he will miss Hedgehog. Hedgehog is more interested in what winter is like. So he asks Rabbit to save him a little bit of winter. He even writes it on a free for his forgetful pal. But if's a long, cold winter and Rabbit has a hard enough time just finding food. He even cats some of the bark that Hedgehog's note is written on. Will Rabbit remember his best friend's request?

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More Songs for at Home

Frosty the Snowman

Frosty the Snowman
Was a jolly happy soul
With a corncob pipe and a button nose
And two eyes made out of coal

Frosty the Snowman
Is a fairytale they say
He was made of snow
But the children know
How he came to life one day

There must have been some magic
In that old silk hat they found
For when they placed it on his head
He began to dance around

Frosty the Snowman
Was alive as he could be
And the children say
He could laugh and play
Just the same as you and me

Frosty the Snowman
Knew the sun was hot that day
So he said let's run
And we'll have some fun
Now before I melt away

Down to the village
With a broomstick in his hand
Running here and there all around the square
Saying catch me if you can

He led them down the streets of town
Right to the traffic cop
And he only paused a moment when
He heard him holler stop

Frosty the Snowman
Had to hurry on his way
But he waved goodbye
Saying don't you cry
I'll be back again some day

Thumpety thump thump
Thumpety thump thump
Look at Frosty go
Thumpety thump thump
Thumpety thump thump
Over the hills of snow

Sleigh Ride

Just hear those sleigh bells jingling,
Ring-ting-tingling, too.
Come on, it's lovely weather
For a sleigh ride together with you.
Outside the snow is falling and
Friends are calling "Yoo-hoo".
Come on, its lovely weather
For a sleigh ride together with you.

Giddy-up, giddy-up, giddy-up, let's go,
Let's look at the show;
We're riding through a wonderland of snow;
Giddy-up, giddy-up, giddy-up, it's grand
Just holding your hand;
We're glinding along with the song
Of a wintery fairyland.

Our cheeks are nice and rosy and
Comfy cosy are we;
We're snuggled up together
Like two birds of a feather would be.
Let's take that road before us
And sing a chorus or two;
Come on, it's lovely weather
For a sleigh ride together with you.

There's a birthday party at the home of
Farmer Gray;
It'll be the perfect ending of a perfect day.
We'll be singing the songs we love to sing,
Without a single stop,
At the fireplace while we watch
The chestnuts pop.
Pop! Pop! Pop!

There's a happy feeling nothing in the
world can buy,
When they pass around the coffee and the
pumpkin pie;
It'll nearly be like a picture framed
by Courier and Ives;
These wonderful things are the things
We remember all through our lives!

Our cheeks are nice and rosy and
Comfy cosy are we;
We're snuggled up together
Like two birds of a feather would be.
Let's take that road before us
And sing a chorus or two;
Come on, it's lovely weather
For a sleigh ride together with you.

Winter Wonderland

Over the ground lays a mantle of white
A heaven of diamonds shine down through the night
Two hearts are thrillin' in spite of the chill in the weather
Love knows no season, love knows no clime
Romance can blossom any old time
Here in the open, we're walkin' and hopin' together.

Sleigh bells ring, are you list'nin'?
In the lane snow is glist'nin'
A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight,
Walkin' in a winter wonderland!

Gone away is the bluebird,
Here to stay is the new bird;
He sings a love song as we go along
Walkin' in a winter wonderland!

In the meadow we can build a snowman,
And pretend that he is Parson Brown.
He'll say "Are you married?" We'll say, "No, man!"
But you can do the job when you're in town!"

Later on, we'll conspire
As we dream by the fire,
To face unafraid, the plans that we made,
Walkin' in a winter wonderland!

Sleigh bells ring, are you list'nin'?
In the lane snow is glist'nin'
A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight,
Walkin' in a winter wonderland!

Gone away is the bluebird,
Here to stay is the new bird;
He's singing a song as we go along,
Walkin' in a winter wonderland!
In the meadow we can build a snowman
And pretend he's a circus clown.
We'll have lots of fun with Mister Snowman,
Until the older children knock 'im down!

When it snows, ain't it thrillin',
Tho' your nose gets a chillin?
We'll frolic and play the Eskimo way,
Walkin' in a winter wonderland!
Walkin' in a winter wonderland!

Six Little Snow People

Six little snow people round and fat
Each one wore a tall, tall hat.

The first red hat blew up in a tree
The second orange hat fell into the sea
The third yellow hat got covered with snow
The fourth green hat was eaten by a crow
The fifth blue hat got stomped by a shoe
The sixth purple hat tumbled into the zoo

Six little snowpeople round and fat,
And not one has a tall, tall hat!

Flannelboard tips: Make six identical snowmen with a hat in the specified colors. Add scarves in matching colors to each snowman.

I Am a Snowman

I am a snowman, cold and white
[Stand up tall.]
I stand so still through all the night
With a carrot nose
[Point to nose.]
And head held high,
And a lump of coal to make each eye.
[Point to eyes.]
I have a muffler made of red,
[Pretend to tie a muffler.]
And a stovepipe hat upon my head
[Place hands on top of head.]
The sun is coming out, oh my!
[Make big circle with arms over head.]
I think that I am going to cry.
[Wipe tear from eyes.]
Yesterday, I was plump and round.
[Form large circle with arms.]
Now, I'm just a river on the ground!
[Sink to floor.]

In the Flaky Frosty Morning
by Karla Kuskin

In the flaky frosty morning
Some mittens made a start
They rolled cold snow together
And they built my bottom part.
After that they made my middle
With pushes, slaps and punches,
And then they left me headless
And went in to eat their lunches
Well stuffed and well rebundled
They stamped back snowily
To wallop, whack, and pummel
The rest of frosted me.

My smile was made of candy
My arms were patted fat.
They gave me button eyes, a nose
And topped me with a summer hat
A passing father stopped to chat.
"Hello," he said.
"I like my hat
upon your head,"
And then before he turned to go
He tucked his scarf around my snow.
I stood, an ice white statue then
And glistened through the night.
I watched the pale sun rise again.
It touched my hat with early light.
And now it casts a pleasant glow
That warms my nose and melts my snow.
I slip a bit,
I dwindle,
Droop.
The sun will set
On Snowman soup.

Flannelboard tips: Use three white circles in graduated sizes for snowman, two ovals for arms, red candy mouth, blue buttons for eyes, orange carrot nose, straw colored hat, scarf. At the end of the poem, squash all the pieces down on top of each other to show how the snowman melts.

Let It Snow!

The snowman in the yard is frozen hard;
It's a sorry sight to see;
But if he had a brain, he'd complain
That he wishes he were me.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we've no place to go,
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
It doesn't show signs of stopping,
And I brought some corn for popping;
The lights are turned way down low,
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

When we finally say "good night",
How I'll hate going out in the storm;
But if you really hold me tight,
All the way home I'll be warm.
The fire is slowly dying,
And, my dear, we're still good-bye-ing,
But as long as you love me so.
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Snowflakes

[Flutter fingers high above head in the air, slowly falling to the ground.]

Snowflakes whirling all around,
All around, all around,
Snowflakes whirling all around
Until they cover all the ground

The Snowman

Roll him and roll him until he is big
[Roll hands.]
Roll him until he is fat as a pig.
[Make big circle with arms.]
He has two eyes and a hat on his head.
[Point to eyes and top of head.]
He'll stand there all night
[Raise arms above head.]
While we go to bed.
[Rest head against hands.]