It is a winter wonderland outside...

It looks like a winter postcard outside of my window today. The trees are loaded down with freshly fallen snow and the snowflakes are huge and spiraling down like goose down. I love to be indoors and see this spectacular view framed by my window. It reminds me of my teaching days when I had a basket full of "snow books" gathered for this particular occasion. I would take the basket and invite my kids to come to the carpet and we would read about the adventures, dangers, and beauty of snow. We would go outside for a "field trip" to actually feel and taste (yup taste) the snow. We made little squares of black paper and I punched a hole in the middle and gave one to each child. We would take our homemade cameras outside and hold the square up to our eyes and report on the focused beauty we beheld. We built, threw (gently) and rolled in the snow. The vocabulary wrapped around a good snowy day is extensive. We also took a real camera outside and did photo shoots of kids playing and goofing around on a school day in the snow. These pictures lead to many conversations and pleasurable memories of our capers. We then took the pictures and applied them individually and collectively to creative writing projects. Snow is magical and stirs your imagination to birth wonderful experiences in the snow. Ezra Jack Keats book "A Snowy Day" is an all time classic. If you go to amazon or chapters and put snow in the search engine you will be set for many snow days to come. Make your books come alive after you read it. Live snow and make warm memories to cherish forever.