Inside: Our preschoolers had fun learning about winter after reading “The Thing About Yetis”. We then made our own yetis out of coffee filters!
When I received a copy of the new book “The Thing About Yetis” by Vin Vogel, I knew I wanted to save it for our snow and ice theme.
I also knew I wanted to do a yeti winter craft for preschoolers after we read the book.
Little did I know that we would actually experience snow right before sharing this book, so it was much more exciting to the preschoolers.
Throughout the story the children would point to the pictures and share their own snow experiences. When our morning meeting was over, I invited them to the art table to make their own yeti. I love connecting books with activities, as I’ve done when we made fruit salad and vegetable soup.
Learning About Winter with a Fun Yeti Craft
As soon as we started reading The Thing About Yetis, we learned that they love winter. We learned all the different reasons they love winter. However, they also sometimes miss summer. This was a fun way for us to compare the 2 seasons. We compared what we would wear in each season, what we would do outdoors. Our preschoolers eagerly recalled camping trips they went on last summer. They were reminded of sand play at the beach and swimming in the pool in the backyard.
When the story was finished, I got out my “magic microphone” and asked each child what season they loved most, winter or summer? These types of circle time activities build confidence as the children make decisions and speak out loud when the microphone is in their hands. They also help develop important language skills.
Making our Own Yetis
I cut commercial-sized coffee filters into a simple shape that almost looked like a snowman. They were glued to blue construction paper. I drew a (sort-of) hat shape out of red construction paper and provided buttons, cotton balls, and eyes.
They brushed white glue onto the yeti.
Then they added the hat and other materials.
Each preschooler told me what season they thought their yeti liked the most, and what they enjoyed doing most.
We placed them on our hallway bulletin board for all our preschool families to see. (Notice how we still have our beautiful watercolor snowflakes on the board. I couldn’t bear to take them down yet.)
More literacy ideas for young children:
Looking for more winter ideas? Head on over to my winter Pinterest board!
Related posts:
17 Tasty Winter Snacks for Kids
15 Fun Winter Ice Activities for Preschoolers
15 Winter Learning Activities for Preschoolers
More activities using picture books:
