Let it Snow!

We still have a couple weeks before the official “first day of winter” but it can snow any time, so I want to share these fun books today.

theme: snow, snowflakes, STEM

Flurry, Float, and Fly!: The Story of a Snowstorm 

by Laura Purdie Salas; illus by Chiara Fedele 

40 pages; ages 4-7

Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2025

Clouds lie heavy, gray, and low. From down below, just one wish: Snow!

The kids are waiting, and waiting… they pull out the sled and sit on it and wait some more. Above, the sky is dark with clouds that look like they might bring snow. And above those clouds, the air currents, cold from the north and damp from the south, mix and swirl. “Water vapor clings to dust, begins to build a slushy crust.” From the endpages – autumn leaves at the front, snow at the back – to the rhythmic, rhyming language, this is one fun read-aloud!

What I like about this book: there’s a ton of science in this book, beginning with cloud formation. Readers will learn how a drop freezes and how water vapor clings, forming branches, and how those crystals begin to fall and collect into flakes. Back matter all about The Science of Snow, from the ingredients you need for a snowstorm to flake formation, accompanied by snowflake photos. 

Hello Snow (Board Book)

by Katherine Pryor; illus. by Rose Soini 

24 pages; ages 0-3

Schiffer Kids, 2025

Flakes flutter. Wind swirls.

Parents help two youngsters zip up into their outdoor clothes so they can greet the snow. They slip and slide, make snow angels, and roll snow into a friend. There is so much to explore outside in the cold.

What I like about this book: The rhymes are short and focus on sounds and action. Boots crunch, ice cracks. Activities are perfect for toddlers (and their adults!), and the bright colors bring life to a snowy page.

Beyond the Books:

Go snowflake watching. Make sure you’re dressed warmly and then go outside to watch snowflakes fall. What do they look like when you watch them looking straight ahead? What do they look like when you look up into the sky? Come up with words that show what you see.

Catch snowflakes. You’ll need to put some dark colored paper in the freezer a couple hours before. Then head outside and let flakes land. Some things to do: look at flakes through a magnifying glass; catch flakes at the beginning of the storm and later on to see if they have changed shape and size; try to count how many land on your paper in 10 seconds. 

Build a snowflake using materials at hand: legos, twigs, straws, or cut one out of paper. Remember the two rules of snowflakes: they have six rays and they are symmetrical. Here’s a video showing one way to cut a paper snowflake.

Make a list of five more things you can do to play with snow! Then go do them.

We'll be joining Perfect Picture Book Friday when it resumes after the holidays. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.

Explore Outdoors ~ Look closer

 

Even when drying out, rosehips add a splash of color to the landscape: bright red against the white snow. But when you look closer you discover real treasure. The stem has thorns, but also hairs. As the hip ages, it becomes wrinkled. And sometimes, when you look even closer, you find tiny treasures. In this case it's snowflakes stacking on each other. 

Look closer at the winter weeds and plants in your neighborhood. What do you notice?

Explore Outdoors ~ Be a Flake-Watcher

 

Some people watch birds at the feeder. I watch snowflakes. It's a lot cheaper, as I don't have to buy bags of sunflower and thistle seeds. And, during a snowstorm, I can look at flakes everywhere. I can stand by a window, or walk out into my yard, or walk to the neighbor's house, or watch flakes falling at the park. 

I've been a flake-watcher since kindergarten, when our teacher took us outside and let us look at snowflakes through a magnifying glass. So this winter, check out snowflakes. 

• How big are the flakes? Are they like feathers or like tiny balls of ice?
• How fast are they falling? The average snowflake falls at a speed of 1 to 6 feet per second.
• Do falling flakes behave the same out in the open as they do near a building?
• Chill some dark paper in the freezer. Then catch a snowflake on it and use a magnifying glass to observe your flake.
• Snowflakes have 6 arms (or sides). Does yours?
• Create a paper snowflake. Here's how.

Explore Outdoors ~ Snowflake Size

Last week we had a bunch of snow fall from the sky. At first, the flakes were large and fluffy. They looked like downy feathers about as long as my index finger. In the space of a half hour they were replaced by smaller flakes. Over that time, the temperature had fallen from near 30 degrees F to about 24 degrees.

If you get snow during these last few weeks of winter, pay attention to the flakes. What do they look like? How big are they? Do they float or are they intent on reaching the ground? And how do they change over the course of a storm?

This year I'm encouraging everyone to spend 1,000 hours outdoors. So on Wednesday I'll be posting ideas for nature breaks, field trips, and outdoor play. The goal: to have fun!

Teachers and homeschoolers who want to use nature breaks as field trips can grab a sketchbook or journal, something to draw and write with, and some watercolors, colored pencils, crayons, or markers. Think cross-curricular: art, language, science, math, engineering, movement, exercise! And come back Friday for some STEM book-talk.

Explore Outdoors ~ Snowflakes

It snowed a couple times last week. One day, the flakes were fat and lazy, drifting from the sky as if they had all the time in the world to reach the ground. A couple days later the snow was round, like kernels of corn, and windblown. They tapped against the window and coated the stairs with a bumpy texture.

This week, watch what falls out of the sky. If it's snow, what does it look like when it lands? How does it move in the air? Capture the precipitation around your house in art, poetry, notes, a song, or even a dance.

This year I'm encouraging everyone to spend 1,000 hours outdoors. So on Wednesdays I'll be posting ideas for nature breaks, field trips, and outdoor play. The goal: to have fun!

Teachers and homeschoolers who want to use nature breaks as field trips can grab a sketchbook or journal, something to draw and write with, and some watercolors, colored pencils, crayons, or markers. Think cross-curricular: art, language, science, math, engineering, movement, exercise! And come back Friday for some STEM book-talk.

Wild Outdoor Wednesday

Chill a piece of dark colored paper in the freezer. Then take it outside when snow is falling - and catch some snowflakes. Look at them with a magnifying lens. Capture what you see in colors, words, a song, or movement.


Remember to take your sketchbook or journal with unlined pages, something to draw and write with, and something to add color ~ watercolors, colored pencils, crayons, or markers.

Wordless Wednesday

There's No Business Like Snow Business...

not an actual snowflake...

The northeast has had its share of snow this winter. Where does all this white stuff come from?

A snowflake starts as water vapor that condenses on a dust particle. At cloud temperatures of 23 degrees F, the water vapor begins to form ice crystals. As long as the cloud remains supersaturated with water vapor, the crystals grow. When they get too big and heavy, gravity takes over and the crystals fall toward earth.

Air temperature determines the basic shape of the snowflake, and th4e degree of saturation in the clouds determines how fast the crystal grows. Snow crystals tend to grow larger and faster when the air temperature is higher and there is a lot of water vapor.  Lower air temperatures and less water vapor means smaller snowflakes.

Though each snowflake is unique they generally reflect six-sided symmetry. Here are some of the typical types of snowflakes:

• Star-like crystals that have six arms that extend from the center;
• Plates that are flat six-sided crystals with no obvious projections;
• Columns that may be hollow or solid, with flat or pointed ends;
• Capped columns with flat plates on each end;
• Needles - skinny columns that end in points;
• Spatial dendrites that have fern-like branches; and
• Irregular crystals that live up to their name.

Go outside next time it snows and take a good look at the flakes that are falling down. And if you need an expert flake guide, check out Ken Libbrecht’s Field Guide to Snowflakes (2006, Voyageur Press) or check out his website, Snow Crystals. He’s got lots of flake photos online, and even some advice on making snowflake fossils.