Our Snow Trip Told in Pictures
A motor story about a trip to the snow where every scene is drawn on a strip of picture cards that's visible from the start, and every action can be done standing or seated. It builds creative movement, anticipating what comes next and shared pretend play.
How to play
- Sitting down, look at the strip of story pictures in order; the teacher names and points to each one: bundle up, climb, snowballs, sled, snowman and trip home (2 min).
- Bundle up with gestures (hat, scarf, boots) and climb the mountain marching hard, or rowing with our arms from a wheelchair (3 min).
- Crumple newspaper into snowballs and throw them at the sky and at the mat mountain (3 min).
- Sled down: sit on a piece of fabric while a buddy pulls very slowly, or scoot by pushing with our hands (3 min).
- Make a snowman with our bodies and slowly melt when the sun comes out (2 min).
- Ride the bus home, flip over the last picture and rub our hands to warm them up (2 min).
Rules
- I look at the picture to know what's next.
- Snowballs go to the sky or the mountain, not at friends.
- On the sled, I pull slowly and watch my friend.
- When a picture flips over, that part is done.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, four scenes (bundle up, climb, snowballs and snowman), with the teacher modeling everything.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, all six scenes with sledding in pairs.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, children invent one more scene, draw it on a card and add it to the strip.
Adaptations
- Autism: the picture strip is the child's preview; they can be the one who flips each card when a scene ends.
- Limited mobility: for the sled, the child is gently pushed in their wheelchair along the "snow trail," and every other scene has a seated version.
- Deaf or hard of hearing: mark each scene change by pointing to the card and doing the key gesture, without relying on narration.
Learning goals
- Act out story actions with the body.
- Anticipate the session's sequence with visual supports.
- Share pretend play with the whole group.
Equipment for a class of 25
- story picture cards: 6
- newspaper: 25
- fabric pieces or blankets: 6
- mats: 2
Teacher tip
Stick the strip on the wall at child height with Velcro so each card can be flipped. On the sled, the classic mistake is pulling hard: show them "snail speed" yourself.
PatioLab has "Our Snow Trip Told in Pictures" and 8714 more activities ready to drag into your lesson and run from your phone in the gym.
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