Little Snowflakes: A Winter Singing Game for Kindergarten and First Grade Music Students

Winter seems to go on forever in my music classroom, especially in my kindergarten and first grade classes. The kids are still excited from Christmas and have lots of energy from being cooped up inside all day. To get them moving and engaged, I love to play this singing game with them in the winter! Little Snowflakes is a fun singing game that is perfect for practicing musical contour, steady beat, and quarter and eighth-note rhythms! Although this is a great song for the winter time, we play it all year by substituting the word snowflakes for feathers or raindrops! My students love this song from kindergarten to first grade and they love playing the game. 

The Song

Click Here to Listen

The Game

My students always have a blast playing this game. We start by singing the song in a circle, with one student walking around with a "snowflake" (I use a feather, scarf or crumpled up piece of paper). The student holds the snowflake above the heads of the sitting students. When the song ends, the student under the snowflake is out and takes on the role of the person walking around the circle. It's a simple, but fun game!

My students enjoy this variation even more - we all walk around the the steady beat and sing the song, with one student holding the "snowflakes." At the end of the song, everyone else freezes and the student with the snowflakes throws them in the air. If one touches you, you're out. The last person standing wins! For the students who are out, I usually let them start join the person throwing the snowflakes or play some unpitched percussion instruments to the beat.  Another great thing about this game is that it doesn't take too long to play, so it is easy to keep the littles attention.

Teaching the Song

To teach the song, I start by echo singing a line at a time. I show the contour on my body while I sing - sol on my head, mi on my shoulders, re on my knees and do on my toes. Once the students can sing it, I take a scarf out to show them the "wintery air." I ask them which way the melody blows for each line and mirror it with my scarf. To extend the lesson further, you could also give the students scarves to trace the contour with. Then, I ask them to tap the snowflakes to the beat to prepare them for walking to the beat in a second for our game!

After that, we play the game!

In the next lesson, we review the song and the game and take it a step further by looking at the rhythms! I start by having one half of the class play the steady beat and the other half of the class sing the song. You could have them play the steady beat on unpitched percussion instruments or just have them keep it somewhere in their body. We then use "snow" and "falling" to read some simple snowflake rhythms. 

Finally, we compose! Students create their own rhythms by dragging either Snow or Falling to the four different boxes. I then pair them up and have them speak their rhythms to each other. You could also sing the song while some of the class plays or says the different ostinatos that the students have created!

Finally, we compose! Students create their own rhythms by dragging either Snow or Falling to the four different boxes. I then pair them up and have them speak their rhythms to each other. You could also sing the song while some of the class plays or says the different ostinatos that the students have created!

If you are interested, I have a lesson pack that includes all of the visuals you need to teach the song, the lesson, and a worksheet for students to compose the rhythms. 

You can purchase that here!

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Other Resources You Might Be Interested In

Winter Welcome Slides

Winter Rhythm Virtual Flash Cards (Ta, Ti-Ti)

Neutral Welcome Slides - FREE

Mitten Songs

Mittens on My Hands (sung to The Wheels on the Bus). 

The mittens on hands cover my fingers

The hat on my head covers my ears...

The scarf around my neck is oh so long...

The boots on my feet jump in the snow...

The coat on my body keeps me warm

Teaching Ideas:

1. Have the clothing items in the song and dress yourself or a child

Mittens Mittens

Mittens Mittens for the snow time, when the world is white.
Mittens for my two hands, (hold up hands)
Mittens left & right (show left & right)
Mittens with a thumb place (show thumb)
Mittens warm and snug
Mittens make me feel like a bug inside a rug (hug self)

Three Little Kittens (tune-Three Blind Mice)

Three little kittens, Three little kittens.

Lost their mittens, Lost their mittens.

They all ran around with their tails in the air.

Looking for their mittens everywhere.

They found them hiding under the chair.

Those three little kittens,  Those three little kittens.

Teaching Ideas:

1. Talk about the way kittens and mittens rhyme.  Can you think of an animal that rhymes with hat? (rat, cat, bat) How about coat?  (goat)

2. Hide the items and have three children go look for them

The Mitten: for Jan Brett's The Mitten
(to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell")

The mitten on the ground.
The mitten on the ground.
Brrr- Brrr It's cold outside.
The mitten on the ground.
The (mole) snuggles in.
The (mole) snuggles in.
Brrr- Brrr  It's cold outside.
The (mole) snuggles in.
(After the last animal, all pretend to sneeze and fall out of the mitten.) 

Teaching Ideas:

1. Sing the song as you read the book

2. Have a white table cloth and have students pretend to be the different animals in the mitten

Mitten Mates Sung to: "If You're Happy And You Know It"
Each mitten has a mate, has a mate.
Each mitten has a mate, has a mate.
Can (child's name) find the pair?
(He/She) is looking here and there.
Can (child's name) find the mate.
Find the mate? 

Have several pairs of mittens for the children to match.  You could make some on card stock or have the children bring in some mittens from home.

Use this template to make patterns on mittens

Mittens

Winter Pokey

You put your right mitten in,

You take your right mitten out.

You put your right mitten in,

And you shake it all about.

You do the winter pokey, [shiver]

And you turn yourself around.

That's what it's all about!

Others Include:

You put your left mitten in....

You put your right boot....

You put your left boot....

You put your winter hat in....

You put your snowsuit (whole body) in....

Dressed and Undressed 

The day is cloudy and the wind is bold. 

Dress up warmly, you mustn't get cold!
Put on your coat and zip it up tight, 

Put on your left boot, put on your right.
Put on your scarf and put on your hat, 

(ut on your mittens and clap-clap-clap!
Go outside and play and play. 

Come in again, and then we'll say-
Take off your coat that was zipped up tight, 

Take off your left boot, take off your right.
Take off your scarf, take off your hat,

Take off your mittens, and then take a nap! 

Act out this fun action poem.

Recommended Reading

1. The Mitten by Jan Brett

2. Three Little Kittens by Paul Galdone

3. The Missing Mitten Mystery by Steven Kellogg

4. One Mitten by Kristine O'Connell

Snow Songs

Snow Songs  

10 Little Snowmen Sung to "Mary Had a Little Lamb"

10 little snowmen dancing all around

Dancing all around, dancing all around

10 little snowmen dancing all around

The sun came out and one melted to the ground.

Continue with different actions: 

9. Hopping

8. Sliding

7. Marching

6. Twisting

5. Bending

4. Tip toeing

3. Skipping

2. Running

1. Jumping

Teaching Idea

1. Use a bigger number and subtract two or three or more at a time for harder problems

2. Have children represent the snowmen and melt to the ground.

10 little snowballs
Snow fell last night and it fell so hard
When I looked out my window
It covered up my yard
I made 10 little snowballs and I put them in a line
One fell off and then there were 9
9 little snowballs I put them on the gate 1 fell off and then there were 8
8 little snowballs I hit 1 up toward heaven.  It came down splat! and then there were 7
7 little snowballs I hit 1 with a stick.  It broke into pieces and then there were 6
6 little snowballs all lined up side by side.  My dog stole 1 and then there were 5
5 little snowballs I took them to the store 1 fell off my sled so then there were 4
4 little snowballs underneath a tree I threw 1 at a monster and then there were 3
3 little snowballs I'll share them with you.  You have one and and I  have two
2 little snowballs left out in the sun.  1 melted away and then there was 1
1 little snowballs left all alone, I'll put it in my pocket and take it home.

Teaching Ideas
1. Have numbers either felt, magnet or wood and have the student hold up the number of snowballs left
2.  Make a snowball out of paper and give ten out.  Students shoot the snowball in a basket each time you count down.

Built a Snowman
I built a snowman (pretend to build)
Pat, pat, pat (pat in air 3 times)
He turned out great (make Okay sign)
Now clap, clap, clap (clap 3 times)
I put a hat (pretend to put on a hat)
On his head, head, head (touch head 3 times)
I made his mouth (touch mouth)
Gave him bread, bread, bread (touch mouth 3 times)
I patted snow (pat snow)
On his cheeks, cheeks, cheeks (touch cheeks 3 times)
His button eyes are (point to eyes)
Pink, pink, pink (touch eyes three times)
An acorn for his  (make a fist)
Nose, nose, nose (touch nose 3 times)
Big black boots (make arms wide)
For his toes, toes, toes (touch toes 3 times)


Teaching ideas
1. Talk about rhyming words and review the ones in the song.
2. Have a snowman made out of felt or construction paper and build him as directed in the song.
3. Talk about the sequence of events and have the children tell you what was 1st, 2nd, etc. . .

Recommended Books
1. The Biggest, Best Snowman by Margery Cuyler
2. Snowballs by Lois Ehlert (63)
3. White Snow, Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt (70)
4.  The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats