Looking for winter activities? Drop by the library and make some snowflakes. There are activities for kids of all ages, from 9 to 90. For smaller hands, there are snowflakes ready to decorate and hang, as well as a holly wreath and coloring sheets. For those who like a challenge - take home an origami star kit. With a bit of folding you'll end up with a 3-D star perfect for hanging on a tree or tying to a package.
Check out some books for winter reading while you're there.
No two alike,
by Keith Baker features two red birds that create their own snowy day
fun. They make a mound of tiny snowballs, use pine needles
as cross-country skis, nibble dry leaves into snowflake shapes, and fly
about,
using a twig to knock the snow off fence posts. Meanwhile, they notice
things
around them, noting that each one is
different from the others. Even the two birds themselves, who look so
similar, are not alike.
Crinkleroot's book of animal tracking, by Jim Arnosky is a great introduction for kids who want to learn about animals in the winter landscape. Crinkleroot knows all about raccoons, deer,
rabbits, foxes, otters, and other animals in the wild - and
he's eager to share his secrets! Crinkleroot
even knows how to find an owl in the daytime -- and he wants you to be able to
find one, too.
His short introductions are accompanied by drawings that show the tracks of each animal or bird and includes information on each animal's habitats and behavior.
Winter Trees by Carole Gerber
Trees that once had leaves are bare.
They're dressed instead in lacy white.
Snow dusts their trunks and coats their limbs
with flakes that outline them with light.
This book followa a boy and his dog as they use their senses of sight and
touch to identify seven common trees in the snow covered forest. You;ll learn how to identify these trees even in the middle of winter, when only bare branches and bark offer clues to who they are.
What's Christmas without a tree? Patricia Polacco shares a story based on a childhood memory in The trees of the dancing goats .
Trisha loves the eight days of Hanukkah, when her mother
stays home from work, her Babushka makes delicious potatolatkes, and her Grampa
carves wonderful animals out of wood as gifts for Trisha and her brother. In
the middle of her family's preparation for the festival of lights, Trisha
visits her closest neighbors, expecting to find them decorating their house for
Christmas. Instead they are all bedridden with scarlet fever.
Trisha's family
is one of the few who has been spared from the epidemic. It is difficult for
them to enjoy their Hanukkah feast when they know that their neighbors won't be
able to celebrate their holiday. Then Grampa has an inspiration: they will cut
down trees, decorate them, and secretly deliver them to the neighbors.
"But what can we decorate them with?" Babushka asks. Although it is a
sacrifice, Trisha realizes that Grampa's carved animals are the perfect answer.
Soon her living room is filled with trees -- but that is only the first miracle
of many during an incredible holiday season.
