Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Snow Globes!

Snow is just not one of those things we get much of in southern California. Despite that, my students still love the thought of snow! Last year while I was visiting my friend Sarah's classroom I saw so many wonderful student projects! One of the projects I fell in love with was the snow globes that she had her students make! She had her students make them for Christmas and they were covered with a clear plastic plate to resemble the glass. They looked adorable!

Fast-forward to this year.


We have a ton of Christmas projects that we do, but not as many things for January, so I decided to have my students make their snow globes in January with a snowman! I was trying to figure out how to incorporate their picture into the snow globe when I saw what Hope did with her class. Then our snow globes were born!


I planned a whole day of snow-related learning and had my students wear snow gear to school on our "snow day." I brought in my portable picture printer so I could print the pictures off at school.

To make the snow globes they traced the plate on light blue construction paper and carefully cut it out.
Then they glued their picture on the paper, painted their snowman, and added accessories when it was dry!


After that they put lots of glue around the outside of the construction paper (and I added snow glitter in the middle of the paper), then glued the plate on top!

They turned out so well! I put them up on the door outside our classroom so everyone could see them!

Disclaimer: The glue does not hold super well, and we have had a couple snowfalls from plates being bumped open! Still, the kids have enjoyed having them up and hearing everyones' compliments!





Also, while we were enjoying our snow day they wrote a fictional narrative about "The Day I Spent in a Snow Globe" that described how they got stuck in the snow globe, what they did in there, and how they got out. Then they published their stories on some snowy stationary!


Our snow globe project and writing were a huge success and definitely something that I will be doing in the future! It's nice to be able to have all the snowy fun without having to deal with the actual freezing temperatures and hassle of real snow!

Update: A lot of people have asked about the snow glitter. You can get it on Amazon here


19 comments:

  1. This is such a great idea! My goodness! I love this. I am totally stealing this.
    xoxo,
    Sierra. AKA Ms. Ainge :)
    Oh, Just Living the Dream

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  2. OMG!I love these!! I'm going to have to try it. I especially love the writing activity that tied it all together. Going on the lesson plans ASAP. Thanks for sharing :)

    Kelly
    First Grade Fairytales

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  3. Those are adorable. We had a real snow globe kind of day here in Wisconsin today so they will be a perfect project for next week. Love the writing idea, too!

    Thanks-
    Jane
    Learning in the Little Apple
    Hope you'll come check out the give-a-way I'm having this week!

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  4. Your door is so cute with those snow globes! I am embarrassed of how my door looks compared to yours! :-/ It isn't pretty!!!!

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  5. Those turned out absolutely and adorably amazing!!! So Cute!!!! I wish I could squeeze those in in our room but we have the state writing test in 4 weeks!!!! ugggs! Your globes and writing wall are so cute!

    4th Grade Frolics

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  6. I bought all of my supplies for the snow globes and I ended up doing it without the plates. I heard that the glue kept coming undone and I didn't have any hot glue. Maybe next year. It looks super cute!!

    Jennifer
    Darling Little Learners

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  7. Molly, these are so adorable!!! I love that you put their picture in there, too. Great idea.

    Another awesome project from you!

    Kate
    Second Grade Sparkle

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  8. So cute!!! We will doing this on Friday. The kids are so excited!

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  9. These are super cute! How was I not following your blog before?
    Terri
    Terri's Teaching Treasures

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  10. Replies
    1. It is literally called snow glitter! ha! You can get it here: http://www.amazon.com/School-Smart-Silver-Snow-Glitter/dp/B003U6SBRA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1391999839&sr=8-2&keywords=snow+glitter
      I've also picked some up at my local craft store around the holidays!

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  11. Just interested - are you a public or private school teacher?

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  12. Hey Molly!
    I hope you are doing well! I linked to this post in my blogpost today, I hope that's ok? I couldn't find pictures of when I did this with my class last year and your picture was the main one that came up on pinterest. :O) I didn't think you'd mind if I linked to your post?
    Happy New Year!
    Amanda
    Collaboration Cuties

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    Replies
    1. Hey Amanda!! Thanks so much!! And of course it's ok!! These are such a fun project... can't wait to do them again this year! Happy New Year to you too! xo

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  13. How many containers of the snow glitter would you purchase for 26 students? Thank you for the creative idea!!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Michelle!! I just used one when I did this with my students... it depends on how much snow glitter you put in each snow globe! Maybe get two just in case... then if you have leftovers you can always use it for other projects or next year! Hope your students have fun making these!

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  14. These are awesome!!! We started making them in my class yesterday. What did you use to hang them up? They're a little heavy so I'm afraid they'll fall down eventually.

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