A fun and simple way to explore color with snow!
While on break from preschool, we have been getting lots of snow and it has also been very cold outside. This is my grandson’s first year to be old enough to explore snow but since it is so cold outside, we have been bringing the snow inside for a little exploration and snow painting…
The preschool experience at home (a non-designated preschool space) with young children is often a different experience than what takes place in a classroom setting (a designated preschool space) because you are working in an environment where everyday living by the entire family takes place rather than in an environment solely designed for the preschool experience. Although activities may look and be a little different, both the process at home and in a preschool classroom can lead to amazing learning and development…
Preparing the Invitation to Explore
While my grandson was taking his nap, I set up a little snow play station in my kitchen. Normally, I would have put everything out ahead of time as an invitation to play but my grandson never wants to do anything until he has had his snack, so before diving into our snow play – we had a snack. Then I dumped a bowl of snow into the middle of the table…
Experimenting with Color
On the counter, I had already prepared a few dishes of colored water (food color added to water) and paint brushes. I set out the blue water first and my grandson immediately started exploring…
While my grandson explored the blue water and paintbrush, I set out the other colors of water I had prepared…
My grandson went around the table exploring the different colors of water – sometimes painting a little on the snow and sometimes just stirring the water in the tray…
My grandson came and went from the snow painting table throughout the next little while. He would wander off every few minutes to go and play with his toys then come back to the table to explore some more…
Adding to the Experience
While he was off playing with other toys, I would change the table up a little or move things around just to see if the change would create new interest in exploring the color and the snow…
Making Observations
Then my grandson would come back to see what I was doing and play a little more with the snow. While he played, I would say statements like “Brrrr, the snow is cold!” or “The snow turned blue!” and so on…
Building Vocabulary
My grandson is learning to say lots of new words right now and it seems the words “cold” and “hot” or “up” and “down” are at the top of his vocabulary list of new words…
A fun and Simple Process!
There was no right or wrong to this process – it was simply an exploration of color and snow and all the concepts that naturally arise as my grandson explored…
My role as the facilitator of play was to keep the process inviting. I tried to make a simple snowman but the snowman looked a little more like a snow mountain. My grandson liked the ball on top so we focused on the snowball instead…
Our exploration of snow was a simple experience with no specific pre-planned agenda. As my grandson explored the snow, I watched for opportunities to keep his interest but when he would go off to do something else for a bit (like try on my house shoes) I modified the experience to see if he might come back and try exploring a little more…
And yes, we did drop a little snow on the floor during our play but no worries, I had a towel handy for just this purpose…
After awhile, my grandson had definitely moved onto other interests so I simply dumped the snow into the sink and wiped down my board and table. A simple process to set up and take down…
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Great fun.
That looks great!! We still have a very small amount of snow outside here, but I get the feeling after today it will be gone again! 🙂 I would love to do this with my son- where might one find a tray like the one you put on your table to keep the melted snow-water contained?
Thanks!
Hi Beth,
The tray on the table is actually what I use for our magnetic tray. It is a metal grease pan that I painted white. I purchased it for $10 from walmart in the auto section and use it everyday in my classroom (or at home too). I put it on top of tables when I need an edge. I set it up for a magnetic board, and we use it in circletime for graphing or math. You can see the board here too: https://www.teachpreschool.org/2012/08/diy-magnetic-board/
Deborah
wonderful!! thank you so much! 🙂
Thanks! A perfect activity for my 3 yr old daughter today – too sick to go out, but enough energy for some indoor snow painting. We used Christmas cookie cutters to create shapes in the snow & then painted them.
The cookie cutter idea is such a great idea Julie! I will have to share that with my kids in preschool if the snow sticks around long enough!
Love this idea! Thank you for sharing!
Where did you get your child-sized white table you used for this activity? I have two child-sized long tables set up in my classroom, but I am looking for a third a tad shorter for smaller groups and your size looks like it would be perfect!
Thank you for all your posts!
Mary Beth
Hi Marybeth,
This is a folding table from Walmart. They have them in small (like this one) and large. The legs raise up or lower and are very light weight.
Deborah
Makes me wish we had snow!
Thanks for this great idea! I just set it up for my daughter today and she loved it! She started mixing colors to see what colors she could make. Then she had a drink and she started using her cup to smash the snow, so then I got the idea to get out some cookie cutters to use. I love how the learning process evolves. Thanks so much for all of your work that benefits so many children 🙂
thank you for the idea, we try it and the kids at Green Star loved it, we don’t have much snow in Vancouver , so we surely enjoy it, having show on the table lead to making “icecream” and other kids of food pretend play 🙂
This is one of our favorite things to do with snow. You just can’t go wrong! I am so glad your class enjoyed this experience!
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