To put children, parents and staff in the winter mood for their January Parent Activity Day, Troy Pre-K Teacher Casey Williams read the book “Snowballs”. In this book author Lois Ehlert puts a creative twist on one of the favorite traditions of winter – building a snowman or in this case a whole snow family, complete with pets! The author encourages and inspires the reader to use their imagination to adorn each member of the snow family. Building on the experiences in the book, children and their families were invited to celebrate the winter season by making a snow family of their own! “The children love the book “Snowballs” and were very excited to make their own snowmen using various art materials”, said Casey.
Other fun, winter-embracing activities for Parent Day included taste testing hot chocolate where everyone sampled plain hot chocolate, hot chocolate with marshmallows, hot chocolate with whipped topping. When the sampling was done, children, parents and staff cast a vote for their favorite! The children also participated in a cooking activity in which they made hedgehogs using crescent rolls for snacks and a snow globe making activity. Snow globes were made using see-through plastic plates and small pictures of the children dressed in their winter attire so that the globe looked as though the children were in a winter scene.
At day’s end, it is fair to say that the winter doldrums had been chased away. For it is by finding just one simple pleasure such as a snow family, a cup of hot chocolate or a crescent roll hedgehog, that we can all embrace winter – at least until spring!
Bradford-Tioga Head Start, Inc. is a program which offers state and federally funded programs for pregnant mothers, families and their children, newborn up to the age of 5; this includes Early Head Start, Head Start, and Pre-K Counts services. Its mission “… provides exceptional, educational opportunities and high quality, supportive services which empower children and families to grow and thrive.” For more information call 570-638-1400, or visit www.bradfordtiogahs.org.