Although it hasn’t actually been snowing this week, the weather has been most obliging and turned very cold with quite a few frosty mornings, so the children were able to discuss all the changes that winter has brought. The children decided that wearing a swimming costume would not be advisable and that it was far better at this time of year to wear clothes that keep the cold at bay.

It's easy to assume that children understand everyday things such as how ice is made and, after a little discussion, we realised that many thought ice simply appears in the freezer. So in order to experience the process for themselves, the children filled up some ice cube trays with water and put them into the freezer. The freezer was checked regularly until lo and behold the next day, we had ice! I was asked if they could take them home, so it was important that they experienced how the ice melts back into water. Much excitement, discussion and experimentation was had as the children worked out the best way of melting their ice cubes (not actually cubes but stars).

We have been looking out for snow and are hopeful it might be on its way before the winter is out. Meanwhile, we have been having ‘snowball fights’ in the classroom. This involved two teams who individually picked up squares of paper with a number in the form of a symbol, a ten frame, a number of objects or a domino. They had to run to a grown up and shout out the number on their paper before crumpling it up and throwing it at the other team. At the end of the snowball fight we counted how many snowballs had crossed the midline. Pleasingly it was a very close finish with the final result coming in at 53 to 56 which we counted out together after a few estimations.

Apart from numberwork, we have also been working on repeating patterns. The children have made some beautiful snowflakes decorated with repeating patterns which now hang in the corner of the classroom looking like a snowstorm. Repeating patterns were also created on long strips of paper, allowing room for more complex patterns.

Without the chance to actually build a snowman, we decided to make a book all about Building a Snowman. The children collated the paper, stapled it into a book, and cut and stuck the pictures in the correct sequence. Then they stuck on the cover and coloured the pictures. They were so pleased with the result - I hope you enjoyed them too.

With snow still in mind, they have also been reading, drawing and writing about Elmer in the Snow. It's a great story that helps the children understand that feeling cold or hot is not always about the temperature. Finally, I have included some photos of the children having lots of fun playing Winter Bingo in pairs which helps listening skills, observational skills, communication, counting and, most importantly, working cooperatively.