PASS IT ON!_®

Zippin' into Winter 
Seasonal Songs and Activities for Young Children

by Tina Stone

From Pass It On! Issue #43 (Winter 2003)

I have taught preschool and kindergarten in Massachusetts for nine years, and winter is always a favorite topic. Here in New England, it is a magical, wonderful time of the year. It is rich with such topics to sing and learn about as migration, hibernation, seasons, ice and snow. 

On the first day of my winter theme, my children are immersed in their own winter wonderland, from the "igloo" in the corner made of recycled gallon jugs, complete with Styrofoam snowballs, to the metallic contact paper "skating pond", made with material from a recycling center nearby. "The Skater's Waltz" is playing nearby. 

Our opening song is a zipper version of Fink/Marxer's "What Do You Wanna Wear?" We sing, "What do you wanna do (when it snows outside)?" I first teach them the ASL sign for snow, and ask them to sign it whenever we sing it. Here, everyone can get a little language arts practice by sharing their thought and having it "zipped" into the song, along with their name. Children love to hear their name in a song, and we quickly have lots of sharing. 

I next introduce A. A. Milne's poem "The More It Snows" from House at Pooh Corner. I lead with a phrase, and the children respond with the words "tiddely pom" while patsching.* It becomes a rhythmic exercise as they try to "say" the "tiddely-poms" with their hands. The poem starts like this: 

Hibernation is introduced as both a craft and a song. While making a paper tube "cave" and a cut-out paper bear glued to a craft stick, we sing the "Little Bear" song, to the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." 

Little bear, little bear, where will you go? 
Here comes the winter, soon it will snow. 
Crawl inside your cave so deep, 
Curl into a ball and sleep, sleep, sleep. 
Little bear, little bear, close your eyes. 
Dream of honey and butterflies. 

Children are beckoned to our second circle time by the sound of my mbira playing, as I whirl and twirl around like a gently falling snowflake. When all have joined in, the children reach up into the snowy sky with their hands, and transform their fingertips into snowflakes. We make it snow and snow in our room until there is enough for "sledding." I hum the tune to "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" so the children can practice their listening and auditory discrimination skills. I like to see if anyone can guess the song. We then zip in the following words: 

Trudge, trudge, trudge-trudge-trudge 
Up the hill of snow! 
Sledding-sledding-sledding-sledding 
Down the hill we go! 

We line up on both sides of the "sledding hill" (a.k.a. the coat room hallway). Groups of four take turns "trudging" up the hill, imaginary sleds in tow, and then tiptoe quickly down the hill on the last two lines of the song. I often see the children bring the game outside and play on the hill in our playground. Here they can really run and get a gross motor workout, which today's more sedentary kids need. We then bring out one of the Styrofoam snowballs and play a passing game, again zipping in words, this time to the tune of "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain." In this game your neighbor is the person next to you. 

Pass the snowball to your neighbor, pass it 'round. 
Pass the snowball to your neighbor, pass it 'round. 
Pass the snowball to your neighbor, pass the snowball to your neighbor, 
Pass the snowball to your neighbor, pass it 'round. 

Once they have learned the game, you can zip in variations such as jump one time and pass it, turn around one time and pass it, toss it up one time and catch it, or pass it on. I bring out my wind whistle, and whenever they hear the wind "blow," the passing changes directions. Who knew how much fun can be had with a Styrofoam snowball? 

We would probably stay on this topic for two weeks, making time to visit many other winter songs such as Sally Rogers' "Migratin'," Tepper/Bennett's "Suzy Snowflake," and "Winter Wonderland." On the last day of the unit, I bring in my owl puppet. We shut off all the lights and sing Bruce O'Brien's "Owl Moon" (PIO! #34) as the memorable closing to our unit of discovery. 

By simply using imaginative play and lots of zipper songs, skill building with three- to five-year-olds can provide practice in listening, language arts, rhythmic/kinesthetic, and gross motor disciplines. Concepts introduced can become a springboard for further discussions at school and at home. Most importantly, it's just plain fun. 

* Patting one's hands on one's knees to create a rhythm.

A former preschool/kindergarten teacher, Tina Stone is currently a singer/storyteller at childcare centers throughout Massachusetts, providing programs for infant through school-aged children. Her passion is sharing songs, dances, and stories with children and their families at concert venues, as well as conducting workshops for parents and teachers.