How To Build a Snowman Writing and Art Craft
This is the perfect time of year to explore expository writing using a fun and easy winter activity that makes one of the cutest crafts to display in your classroom! Students use prior knowledge (or you can even brainstorm as a class) to correctly sequence the steps of how to build a snowman. To get their ideas flowing, you may want to start by reading a few snowman themed books. There are so many good ones to choose from! Some of our favorites include Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright, Snowman Magic by Katherine Tegen and The Biggest Snowman Ever by Steven Kroll. These are great winter themed books that have wonderful visuals to help your kiddos get into the snowman-making spirit!
Getting Started
You will want to gather the following materials for your students to complete this activity:
- scissors
- glue sticks
- crayons or markers
- white glue
- shaving cream
- construction or cardstock paper
- disposible cups or bowls
- cotton swabs (q-tips)
- snowman, globe and writing templates
You will first want to print and copy the snowman, globe and writing templates for each student. The snow globe looks best when it is copied on colored construction paper or cardstock. We like to discuss the steps on how to build a snowman as a class, and then give the students a copy of the writing template to complete on their own.
How to Build a Snowman Writing and Art Activity
Have your students cut out the snow globe and color and cut the snowman parts. This activity is great for fine motor skill practice! They will then use a glue stick to assemble the snowman inside the globe.
For an added 3-dimensional effect you can have your students make a white puffy paint that looks like snow! It is very easy to make – just have them mix equal parts shaving cream and white glue into a disposable cup or bowl. They can add this faux snow on their project by dipping a cotton swab into the mixture and using it to decorate their globe as desired.
An alternative to the glue/shaving cream mixture is to simply use white paint for the “snow” inside the snow globe. You can back their writing page onto a piece of colorful paper and attach the snow globe as a topper!
How adorable do the completed projects look displayed in The Turquoise Teacher’s classroom? It just made our day when she shared this beautiful photo with us!
An Optional Hands-On Approach
You may teach in an area where snow is scarce or where your students have not had much (or any) experience with the actual process of building a snowman. Being from Southern California, we have only been to the snow a handful of times. On our recent trip to the mountains this winter, we attempted to make a snowman with our kids. Here is the sad little snowman we came up with. We CLEARLY need more practice! Haha!
In these cases, you can buy instant snow (we found a tub that makes 2 gallons from Amazon) and create your own little winter wonderland in your classroom! Use shallow plastic tubs or pans to put your “snow” into and have students make mini snowmen! You can put little pieces of carrots (for the nose), small buttons and even scraps of fabric for the scarf. This is always a hit and one activity that children just can’t get enough of!
Download your copy of our “How to Build a Snowman” activity by clicking on the button below. Enjoy!
If you’re looking for more winter learning fun for your students, take a closer look at our Hibernation unit.
