Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner is a wonderful winter read aloud. This cute book is full of rhyme and beautiful, detailed illustrations. It lends itself to creating accountable talk through the use of text dependent questions and is a favorite of all my kindergartners. To turn this adorable story into a great read aloud or possibly a fun Friday theme, choose a few of the following Snowmen at Night activities and crafts. I have also included a list of great Snowmen at Night comprehension questions. Print the list and keep it on your lap while you read this book, or write the questions on sticky notes and stick them to the corresponding pages to lead your class in meaningful discussion.
Snowmen at Night Crafts
Kids love crafts! Here are 4 that complement the book perfectly.
Shaving Cream Snowman
This adorable craft is easy and fun (and a little bit messy)! All you need is some glue, shaving cream and construction paper. Mix equal parts glue and shaving cream. Using a white crayon, have your kids draw three circles for the snowman. They can draw a winter background too. Next, students fill in the circles with the puffy paint (glue mixture). Your kids can use paintbrushes, spoons, tongue depressors, or their fingers to spread the puffy stuff in the circles. Add some construction paper eyes, nose, mouth, hat, scarf or buttons to complete the snowman. Once the snowman dries, he will be puffy and cute.
Melted Snowman
This snowman craft is cute and perfect for preschool and kindergarten students. After reading the book, ask your students what might happen to the snowmen in the days to come. Will he melt? Now introduce the Melted Snowman craft. You can use white paint for this activity, but I suggest using the puffy glue mixture mentioned above to add a 3-dimensional aspect to the craft. To make the puffy glue, mix equal parts shaving cream and Elmer’s glue. Students then spoon the glue mixture onto some construction paper. The thicker they spoon it on, the puffier it will be when dry. Finally, have your kids add some construction paper cut outs (eyes, carrot nose, hat, buttons, etc.) The melted snowmen will be cute no matter the placement of the cut outs.
Snowman Puppet
Have your students make one of the snowmen from the book to take home and retell the story, Snowmen at Night. For this simple snowman craft, you will need white paper bags (you can order these in bulk from Amazon); glue; and construction paper. This craft does require some prep as you need to pre-cut construction paper. To expedite the cutting process, use a paper cutter to cut out the following construction paper shapes: 3 white squares for the body and head; 2 black squares for the eyes (more if you want buttons); 5 small black squares for the mouth; 1 orange triangle for the nose; 1 large black square and 1 large black rectangle for the hat and brim; 1 colorful rectangle for the scarf; 2 long brown rectangles for the arms. Children snip off the corners of the squares to make them round (ish), and make small cuts to the end of the scarf. Glue the pieces onto the white bag to make a Snowman at Night puppet and have your students practice retelling the story.
Construction Paper Snowman
Like the snowman puppet, this Snowmen at Night craft takes a bit of prep using a paper cutter and construction paper. For each snowman, you will need: 3 white squares; black squares for eyes, mouth and buttons (a hole punch also works great for this); 1 orange triangle for the nose; 1 large black square and rectangle for the hat and brim; 1 rectangle (any color) for the scarf. Children snip off the corners of the squares to make them round (ish) and glue them onto blue construction paper. You may want your kids to draw a background.
Snowman Snack
To make your snowman themed day extra fun, have your kids create this tasty snowman treat! For each snowman snack, you will need: 2 large marshmallows; flat round sprinkles; a few tablespoons of white frosting; 1 pretzel sticks (broken in half); and ½ graham cracker. You can model step by step how to create the snowman and then have your kids create their own, or you can have your class create it altogether, one step at a time. Pair this snack with our Snowman Snack Recording Sheet to make this activity complete. Students will need to draw a picture of their snowman on the page before eating it. Then brainstorm a list of adjectives to describe how the treat tasted. Students can use this list to complete their Snowman Snack Recording Sheet.
Snowmen at Night Writing Activities
After you read and discuss the book Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner, have your students write to answer the question, What do Snowmen do at Night? You could also have your students write about their favorite part, or whether they agree with the narrator. We have created some great writing pages to make this writing activity cute and fun.
Snowmen at Night Comprehension Questions
You may want to read this book twice. Read it once to simply enjoy the story. During the second reading, stop periodically and ask the following text dependent questions. These questions will increase comprehension and facilitate meaningful discussion. I recommend writing the questions on sticky notes and sticking them on the corresponding pages.
- On page 7 (It made me start to wonder: What do snowmen do at night?) Ask: Why is the little boy wondering, “What do snowmen do at night?” Use evidence from the text.
- On page 11 (…sipping cups of ice-cold cocoa, made by snowman mothers) Ask: Why do you think the cocoa is ice-cold instead of hot?
- On page 19 (…and underneath the moonlit sky they play a baseball game.) Ask: What are some of the activities the snowmen have participated in?
- On page 27 (…they slowly gather up their things, and one by one they go.) Ask: Why are the snowmen tuckered out?
- At the end of the book, ask one of the following: Do you agree with the narrator about what snowmen do at night? Why do you think the snowman looks different here? Or What do you think snowmen do at night?
Snowmen at Night Hidden Pictures
There is a note at the end of the book reminding readers to look for the following hidden images: a cat, a rabbit, a Santa face, and a Tyrannosaurus Rex. What child (or adult) doesn’t love the challenge of a picture hunt!
Exploding Snowman Science Experiment
This fun and simple experiment is a great way to get your kids excited about science. Follow the simple steps below. To add a writing component, check out our Exploding Snowman Science Experiment recording pages.
Materials:
- 1 sandwich sized ziploc bag
- 3 teaspoons of baking soda
- 1 cup of vinegar
- 1 black sharpie
- 1 orange sharpie
- 1 paper towel
Procedure:
- Using sharpies, draw a snowman face on the ziploc bag.
- Wrap 3 teaspoons of baking soda in a paper towel and place it in the bag.
- Pour 1 cup of vinegar into the bag and shut it quickly.
Snowmen at Night Youtube Read Aloud
After you read the book, you can have your kids watch a Snowmen at Night video. There are plenty to choose from , but here is one I have watched from beginning to end.
Make it a Snowman Themed Fun Friday
Make your school day extra fun by adding snowmen activities to every subject. We have created a great resource full of snowman themed printables for all subjects. Our Snowman Activities for Kindergarten comes with cute snowmen themed writing pages, The Snowman easy reader, a snowman snack recording page, some fun color by addition snowman pages, 2 snowmen ten frame worksheets, and some differentiated snowman science experiment pages. Find this great resource at our TPT store, 4 Kinder Teachers.
More Helpful Resources from 4 Kinder Teachers
We hope you find this blog helpful! If you are looking for some more teacher approved resources and great activities to do with your kindergartners this winter, read Winter Activities for Kindergarten. And don’t miss Make Every Friday Fun or 3 Steps to Create Meaning Experiences Through Read Aloud.
