By Guest

• June 23, 2011
Juliet Mickelburgh A topic support article on a seasonal theme, with 12 focus activity sheets, a booklist and a mindmap. These are ideas only: ANY CURRICULUM LINKS DO NOT RELATE TO THE CURRENT (2012) EYFS REQUIREMENTS

A topic about Snow and Ice provides a great starting point for observing similarities and differences and talking about changes in the world around us. It is also a good way to introduce other climates and cultures, with a focus on the North and South Poles. Children can learn about the lives of the Inuit people and find out about the animals living in the snow and ice. It is worth taking care to avoid stereotypes, so look at the Inuit people who live in towns as well as those who build homes out of ice.

Overview

This topic support article includes a book list, mind map and suggested activities to cover the six areas of learning. The mindmap bullet points are included as a separate document for ease of reference, but also listed in the 'Ideas and Suggestions' sections below. Each topic focus provides a book list and a brainstorm of ideas for activities linked to the Areas of Learning and Development, as well as some activity plans. There are usually book recommendations and other resource suggestions in the topic forum as well, so make sure you have a browse through the discussions to see if there is anything else of interest.

Personal Social and Emotional Development (PSED)

Communication, language and literacy (CLL)

Knowledge and understanding of the world (KUW)

Mathematical Development (MD)

Physical Development (PD)

Creative Development (CD)

Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED)

Ideas and Suggestions

• Look at ways to keep warm in winter – clothes/eating/moving around/warm drinks.
• Have a selection of warm clothes and ask the children which bit of their body they keep warm (gloves-hands, scarf-neck etc).
• How do Inuit people keep warm?
• Talk about the ways that animals keep warm.
• Discuss the dangers of snow and ice – look at pictures of avalanches/taking care on slippery ice/why we don’t walk on frozen ponds
• Look at pictures of snowflakes close up and talk about how they are all different
• Make hot chocolate and share together after a winter walk/outside play

Activities

Everyone is Different /forums/uploads/word.gif /forums/uploads/pdficon.gif

Feed the Birds/forums/uploads/word.gif /forums/uploads/pdficon.gif

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Communication, language and literacy (CLL)

Ideas and Suggestions:

• Small world play with arctic animals
• Role Play area – Ice Cave – using white sheets/boxes/make icicles and snowflakes with children/soft toy and small world arctic animals/glitter/arctic animal masks
• Read fiction and non fiction books and poems
• Collect snow and ice words
• Cold, colder, coldest – dress dolls in different amounts of clothing and talk about which would get the coldest
• Draw spiky and zig-zag lines
• Make a collection of shiny things and words
• Use white paint on black card to paint letters and shapes

Activities

Frosty Poems /forums/uploads/word.gif /forums/uploads/pdficon.gif

Snow Story Telling /forums/uploads/word.gif /forums/uploads/pdficon.gif

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Knowledge and understanding of the world (KUW)

Ideas and Suggestions:

• Melting and Freezing – make some ice cubes and salt half of them. Which melt first?
• If it snows, bring some indoors and guess what will happen to it?
• Freeze water in balloons or rubber gloves
• Freeze small objects in a bowl of water – lego/small world animal etc
• Do an experiment to see whether everything freezes – try plasticine, ketchup, jam
• Use ice and small world arctic animals to make an arctic scene in the water tray
• Make ice lollies
• Use a globe to talk about the North and South Poles
• Look at books about the Inuit people
• Why are polar bears white?
• Make seed cakes for the birds
• Go on a frosty walk

Activities

Freezing and Melting /forums/uploads/word.gif /forums/uploads/pdficon.gif

Make an Igloo /forums/uploads/word.gif /forums/uploads/pdficon.gif

Display example

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Problem solving, reasoning and numeracy (PSRN)

Ideas and Suggestions:

• Compare the lengths of children’s scarves
• Sorting winter wear – when children are ready to go outside, sort each other into groups of those with hats/scarves/gloves or a mix of each
• Match pairs of gloves
• Make repeating patterns for scarves
• Sequence the seasons using pictures/puzzles
• Count snowflakes/snowmen/frosty spider’s webs outside
• Look at the shapes that make up a snowflake
• Tessellation
• Set up a gloves/hats and scarves shop

Activites

Winter Woollies Shop /forums/uploads/word.gif /forums/uploads/pdficon.gif

Scarf Solutions /forums/uploads/word.gif /forums/uploads/pdficon.gif

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Physical Development (PD)

Ideas and Suggestions:

• Collect large cardboard boxes to make igloos
• Do some running and jumping exercises outside on a cold day
• Listen to ‘We’re Walking in the Air’ from The Snowman and move like a snowflake
• Listen to some lively staccato music and make spiky, frosty movements
• Play games where you have to ‘freeze’
• Move like a polar bear/penguin/seal
• Make paper snowflakes to practice cutting skills

Activites

Warming Up /forums/uploads/word.gif /forums/uploads/pdficon.gif

Snowflake, Icicle /forums/uploads/word.gif /forums/uploads/pdficon.gif

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Creative Development (CD)

Ideas and Suggestions:

• Paint with ‘cold’ colours (white, blue, silver, purple)
• hen compare them with ‘warm’ colours (red, orange, brown, gold)
• Make snowflake mobiles
• Make a snow and ice collage with picture from magazines, or found materials such a foil, sweet wrappers etc
• Make footprints in the snow with white/silver paint on white/blue card
• Draw with white chalk on black paper
• Make arctic animal masks
• Make icicles and snowflakes for the arctic ice cave role play area
• Listen to gentle floating music/spiky music
• Use instruments to make spiky, frosty sounds

Activites

Polar Puppets /forums/uploads/word.gif /forums/uploads/pdficon.gif

Frosty Twigs /forums/uploads/word.gif /forums/uploads/pdficon.gif

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'Snow and Ice' Forum

Accompanying this article we have a dedicated Forum area - please feel free to join in and contribute to discussions and suggestions on the topic. Find the 'Snow and Ice' forum here

Other Resources

• A booklist is available here:

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• 'mindmap' document here:

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