J is for Jack Frost

We are still waiting for the first frost in our area. Unfortunately, it doesn’t get very cold and we don’t get much snow. So, it was fun to bring a little Jack Frost indoors for preschool today.

• Read “Here Comes Jack Frost” by Kazuno Kohar … I fell in love with Kohar’s Halloween book, “Ghosts in the House” and was thrilled to find this one. The story and illustrations are simple, beautiful, and fun.

• Jack Frosty Art … I decided it would be fun to make pictures similar to those in the book.
  1. Draw a simple fall tree outline (bare branches) on contact paper. Cut out.
  2. Remove the paper backing and stick the tree to a piece of white cardstock.
  3. Give the kids a cup of watered-down blue paint. We used Crayola Washable Kid's Paint with glitter! I thought the glitter would help the picture look more wintery It worked perfectly. 
  4. Have the kids paint their entire page blue. You could show them how to paint a gradient (darker on top, lighter on the bottom). Let dry.
  5. Give the kids an old toothbrush and a small cup of white paint.
  6. Show them how dip their toothbrush in the paint and splatter paint white snow onto their blue painting.

  7. Remove the contact paper tree. You should have a beautiful, white wintery tree underneath!

     NOTE: the paper pulled up with the contact paper in spots. Other areas pulled away very easily. Not sure what I would do differently.

  8. OPTIONAL: Shake a little bit of clear glitter onto the wet, white paint to have a frosty effect. Looks so cool!

• Wax Paper Ice Skates … time to get up and move!
  1. You’ll need two pieces of wax paper, each larger than your kid’s feet.
  2. Shoes and socks off!
  3. Step on the wax paper and slide around on the carpet, just like you’re ice skating.

• Jack Frost Finger Painting … always a hit and so easy to clean up.
  1. When Jack Frost visits, he leaves snow and frost everywhere. Unfortunately, we don’t get much snow or frost where we live, but this activity is still fun indoors.
  2. Squirt a large pile of shaving cream (snow!) on the table.
  3. Have the kids spread it around and explore!
  4. Show them how to spread it out and use their fingers to draw pictures (and practice writing letter J!)
  5. Cleans up easily with a wet rag (and smells so nice!)

 

• Marshmallow snowball fight … just like the boy and Jack Frost in the book.
  1. I get that “Best Mom of the Day” award when we do this
  2. Pull out a bag of large marshmallows.
  3. Have an indoor marshmallow snowball fight. Trust me, it’s fun.

 

• Jack Frost Snacks
1. Make Snow Cones in November!!
   • We happen to have this snow-cone maker (highly recommended for summer treats … and Jack Frost preschool days)
   • Let the kids help shave the ice and catch it at the bottom.
   • Maybe not the best idea to have cold snow cones on a chilly day. My 4-year-old wrapped herself up in a blanket on the couch after finishing hers. Brrr!
2. ‘Frost’ your snack!
   • Cream cheese on bagels
   • Peanut butter on graham crackers
   • Frosting on cupcakes (we had a family birthday today, so that’s what we did!)
3. I also LOVED this wintery Jack Frost lunch idea from Bent On Better Lunches … wish I had thought of it
• Peanut butter & jelly sandwich cut with a snowflake cookie cutter
• Vanilla yogurt
• Powdered mini donuts
• Strawberries (not so wintery, but they sounded really good!)