Activities for The Snowy Day Book

There are a lot of great winter-themed books that lend themselves to activities in the classroom or at home, and it’s great to read and explore winter books after the holiday break because it makes getting back to school a little more fun (and maybe gets kids dreaming of snow days, too).

Of course one of the classics of winter literature for kids is The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. It’s a classic because it expresses the joy of exploring on a snowy day, which can get kids thinking about what they would like to do on a snow day.

Kids can draw their own snowman and snow angel, or write about or draw what they would do on a snow day.

Homeschoool Creations has a good free printable activity pack that includes some writing practice, drawing and cutting lines, vocabulary, writing practice and sorting winter clothes and summer clothes.

Homeschool Share has a printable Snowy Day lapbook that includes sequencing cards, making a snowman with simple shapes, counting snowballs in the pocket, things that are white and more.

Make your own pretty snowflakes with this craft idea from Mama Jenn. These would be so cute to decorate the classroom with!

Deep Space Sparkle has a fun process art activity for making kids playing in the snow just like Peter did.

I love this little Peter doll from Wildflower Ramblings, which you could make for use in retelling the story, or kids could make out of paper instead of felt.

Anita Bremer has a 79 page activity guide on her Teachers Pay Teachers site that includes story elements, vocabulary, making connections, comprehension activities, a craft and more. Mrs. Wills Kindergarten has another set of paid resources, including writing and drawing prompts, that are part of her January activity pack on TPT.

Here are some more “Snow Day” Books

Snow Day! by Barbara Joosse – A delightful picture book suitable for young children. The story captures the joy of a snowy day

Snow Day by Mercer Mayer – Another charming picture book that explores the magic of a snowy day. Recommended for early readers

The Snow Day by Komako Sakai – A beautifully illustrated book suitable for children who enjoy quieter, reflective stories.

When my daughter was younger I would spend a lot of time trying to come up with activities she could do in the car on long road trips and things to entertain her when we were waiting at restaurants and things that didn’t involve screens.

But it turns out there are a lot of great activities you can do with just a piece of paper and a pen.

What Do We Do All Day has a great collection of pen and paper games, including some that can be done with just one person, though they’re all more fun if you have at least two.

There are some classics on here like hangman and dots and boxes, but there are also quite a few I hadn’t heard of before.

I don’t want to spoil the whole list for you because you should definitely click over there and look around, but I will share about the one that you see pictured above.

This game is called Bridges, and you start by making the big random shape and the dividing it into a bunch of sections (the post says 30-50 sections is ideal but I think this one is smaller than that).

Each player gets their own color marker and you take turns drawing bridges from one space to another, crossing a third. Once there’s a bridge, no other bridges can start, end or cross in those spaces. Keep going until no more bridges can be built, and the person who makes the last bridge wins.

Check out the post over at What We Do All Day for more great ideas for no or almost-no prep games you can play with your kids or that kids can play together. I’d love to know if you have a favorite paper and pen game, whether it’s on this list or a different one.

[Photo: What We Do All Day]

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